engine CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV 2011 Repair Manual

Black plate (36,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-36 Driving and Operating
Shifting Into Park
{ WARNINGIt can be dangerous to get out of
the vehicle if the shift lever is not
fully in P (Park) with the parking
brake firmly set. The vehicle can
roll. If you have left the engine
running, the vehicle can move
suddenly. You or others could be
injured. To be sure the vehicle will
not move, even when you are on
fairly level ground, use the steps
that follow. If you are pulling a
trailer, see Driving Characteristics
and Towing Tips on page 9 ‑ 71 .
1. Hold the brake pedal down, then
set the parking brake.
2. Move the shift lever into the
P (Park) position by pulling the
shift lever toward you and
moving it up as far as it will go. 3. Turn the ignition key to
LOCK/OFF.
4. Remove the key and take it with
you. If you can leave the vehicle
with the ignition key in your
hand, the vehicle is in P (Park).
Leaving the Vehicle with the
Engine Running
{ WARNINGIt can be dangerous to leave the
vehicle with the engine running.
The vehicle could move suddenly
if the shift lever is not fully in
P (Park) with the parking brake
firmly set. And, if you leave the
vehicle with the engine running, it
could overheat and even catch
fire. You or others could be
injured. Do not leave the vehicle
with the engine running. If you have to leave the vehicle with
the engine running, be sure the
vehicle is in P (Park) and the
parking brake is firmly set. After the
shift lever is moved into P (Park),
hold the regular brake pedal down.
Then, see if you can move the shift
lever away from P (Park) without
first pulling it toward you. If you can,
it means that the shift lever was not
fully locked into P (Park).

Black plate (38,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-38 Driving and Operating
Parking Over Things
That Burn
{ WARNINGThings that can burn could touch
hot exhaust parts under the
vehicle and ignite. Do not park
over papers, leaves, dry grass,
or other things that can burn. Active Fuel Management ®
Vehicles with V8 engines may have
Active Fuel Management ™ . This
system allows the engine to operate
on either all or half of its cylinders,
depending on the driving conditions.
When less power is required, such
as cruising at a constant vehicle
speed, the system will operate in
the half cylinder mode, allowing the
vehicle to achieve better fuel
economy. When greater power
demands are required, such as
accelerating from a stop, passing,
or merging onto a freeway, the
system will maintain full-cylinder
operation.
If the vehicle has an Active Fuel
Management ™ indicator, see
Driver Information Center (DIC) on
page 5 ‑ 26 for more information on
using this display. Engine Exhaust
{ WARNINGEngine exhaust contains carbon
monoxide (CO) which cannot be
seen or smelled. Exposure to CO
can cause unconsciousness and
even death.
Exhaust may enter the vehicle if: .
The vehicle idles in areas
with poor ventilation (parking
garages, tunnels, deep snow
that may block underbody
airflow or tail pipes). .
The exhaust smells or
sounds strange or different. .
The exhaust system leaks
due to corrosion or damage. .
The vehicle exhaust system
has been modified, damaged
or improperly repaired.
(Continued)

Black plate (39,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-39WARNING (Continued) .
There are holes or openings
in the vehicle body from
damage or after market
modifications that are not
completely sealed.
If unusual fumes are detected or
if it is suspected that exhaust is
coming into the vehicle: .
Drive it only with the windows
completely down. .
Have the vehicle repaired
immediately.
Never park the vehicle with the
engine running in an enclosed
area such as a garage or a
building that has no fresh air
ventilation. Running the Vehicle
While Parked It is better not to park with the
engine running. But if you ever have
to, here are some things to know.
{ WARNINGIdling a vehicle in an enclosed
area with poor ventilation is
dangerous. Engine exhaust may
enter the vehicle. Engine exhaust
contains carbon monoxide (CO)
which cannot be seen or smelled.
It can cause unconsciousness
and even death. Never run the
engine in an enclosed area that
has no fresh air ventilation. For
more information, see Engine
Exhaust on page 9 ‑ 38 .{ WARNINGIt can be dangerous to get out
of the vehicle if the automatic
transmission shift lever is not fully
in P (Park) with the parking brake
firmly set. The vehicle can roll.
Do not leave the vehicle when
the engine is running unless you
have to. If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can
move suddenly. You or others
could be injured. To be sure the
vehicle will not move, even when
you are on fairly level ground,
always set the parking brake and
move the shift lever to P (Park).
Follow the proper steps to be sure
the vehicle will not move. See
Shifting Into Park on page 9 ‑ 36 .
If parking on a hill and pulling a
trailer, see Driving Characteristics
and Towing Tips on page 9 ‑ 71 .

Black plate (40,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-40 Driving and Operating
Automatic
Transmission If the vehicle is a hybrid, see
the hybrid supplement for more
information.
The vehicle has a
Hydra-Matic ®
6L80 automatic
transmission, and has an electronic
shift position indicator within the
instrument panel cluster. The
electronic shift position indicator
displays when the shift lever is
moved out of P (Park).
There are several different positions
for the shift lever. P (Park): This position locks the
rear wheels. It is the best position
to use when you start the engine
because the vehicle cannot move
easily.
When parked on a hill, especially
when the vehicle has a heavy load,
you may notice an increase in the
effort to shift out of P (Park). See
“ Torque Lock ” under Shifting Into
Park on page 9 ‑ 36 for more
information. { WARNINGIt is dangerous to get out of the
vehicle if the shift lever is not fully
in P (Park) with the parking brake
firmly set. The vehicle can roll.
Do not leave the vehicle when
the engine is running unless
you have to. If you have left the
engine running, the vehicle can
move suddenly. You or others
could be injured. To be sure the
vehicle will not move, even when
you are on fairly level ground,
always set the parking brake and
move the shift lever to P (Park).
See Shifting Into Park on
page 9 ‑ 36 . If you are pulling a
trailer, see Driving Characteristics
and Towing Tips on page 9 ‑ 71 .

Black plate (41,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-41R (Reverse): Use this gear to
back up.
Notice: Shifting to R (Reverse)
while the vehicle is moving
forward could damage the
transmission. The repairs would
not be covered by the vehicle
warranty. Shift to R (Reverse)
only after the vehicle is stopped.
To rock the vehicle back and forth to
get out of snow, ice, or sand without
damaging the transmission, see If
the Vehicle is Stuck on page 9 ‑ 23 .
N (Neutral): In this position, the
engine does not connect with the
wheels. To restart when you are
already moving, use N (Neutral)
only. Also, use N (Neutral) when
the vehicle is being towed. { WARNINGShifting into a drive gear while
the engine is running at high
speed is dangerous. Unless your
foot is firmly on the brake pedal,
the vehicle could move very
rapidly. You could lose control
and hit people or objects. Do not
shift into a drive gear while the
engine is running at high speed.
Notice: Shifting out of P (Park)
or N (Neutral) with the engine
running at high speed may
damage the transmission. The
repairs would not be covered by
the vehicle warranty. Be sure the
engine is not running at high
speed when shifting the vehicle. D (Drive): This position is for
normal driving. It provides the best
fuel economy. If you need more
power for passing, and you are: .
Going less than about 55 km/h
(35 mph), push the accelerator
pedal about halfway down. .
Going about 55 km/h (35 mph) or
more, push the accelerator all
the way down.
By doing this, the vehicle shifts
down to the next gear and has
more power.
D (Drive) can be used when towing
a trailer, carrying a heavy load,
driving on steep hills, or for off-road
driving. You may want to shift the
transmission to a lower gear
selection if the transmission shifts
too often.

Black plate (42,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-42 Driving and Operating Downshifting the transmission in
slippery road conditions could result
in skidding, see “ Skidding ” under
Loss of Control on page 9 ‑ 6 .
M (Manual Mode): This position
lets drivers select the range of
gears appropriate for current driving
conditions. See “ Driver Shift Control
(DSC) ” under Manual Mode on
page 9 ‑ 43 .
Notice: Spinning the tires or
holding the vehicle in one
place on a hill using only the
accelerator pedal may damage
the transmission. The repair will
not be covered by the vehicle
warranty. If you are stuck, do not
spin the tires. When stopping on
a hill, use the brakes to hold the
vehicle in place. The vehicle has a shift stabilization
feature that adjusts the transmission
shifting to the current driving
conditions in order to reduce rapid
upshifts and downshifts. This shift
stabilization feature is designed
to determine, before making an
upshift, if the engine will be able to
maintain vehicle speed by analyzing
things such as vehicle speed,
throttle position and vehicle load.
If the shift stabilization feature
determines that a current vehicle
speed cannot be maintained, the
transmission does not upshift and
instead holds the current gear. In
some cases, this may appear to
be a delayed shift, however the
transmission is operating normally. The vehicle's transmission
uses adaptive shift controls that
compares key shift parameters to
pre-programmed ideal shifts stored
in the transmissions computer.
The transmission constantly makes
adjustments to improve vehicle
performance according to how the
vehicle is being used, such as with
a heavy load or when temperature
changes. During this adaptive shift
controls process, shifting may feel
different as the transmission
determines the best settings.
When temperatures are very cold,
the Hydra-Matic ®
6L80 automatic
transmission's gear shifting may be
delayed providing more stable shifts
until the engine warms up. Shifts
may be more noticeable with a cold
transmission. This difference in
shifting is normal.

Black plate (44,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-44 Driving and Operating The Tow/Haul Mode works with
the Autoride ®
feature, if the vehicle
has this, to enhance the ride when
trailering or with a loaded vehicle.
See Continuous Damping Control
(CDC) on page 9 ‑ 50 .
Grade Braking The Grade Braking shift modes can
be activated by pressing the button
on the end of the shift control lever.
While in Range Selection Mode,
Grade Braking is deactivated
allowing the driver to select a
desired range of gears.
Grade Braking is only active while
the Tow/Haul Mode is selected and
you are not in the Range Selection
Mode. See “ Tow/Haul Mode ” listed
previously and Manual Mode on
page 9 ‑ 43 for more information on the Range Selection Mode. Grade
Braking assists in maintaining
desired vehicle speeds when driving
on downhill grades by automatically
implementing a shift schedule that
utilizes the engine and transmission
to slow the vehicle. This reduces
wear on the braking system and
increases control of the vehicle.
Grade Braking monitors vehicle
speed, acceleration, engine torque
and brake pedal usage. Using this
information, it detects when the
vehicle is on a downhill grade and
the driver desires to slow the vehicle
by pressing the brake.
Also see Towing Equipment on
page 9 ‑ 78 for more information. Cruise Grade Braking Cruise Grade Braking assists
when driving on a downhill grade.
It maintains vehicle speed by
automatically implementing a shift
schedule that uses the engine and
the transmission to slow the vehicle.
Cruise Grade Braking operates
while Cruise Control is engaged
in Tow/Haul Mode to assist in
maintaining vehicle speed under
loaded vehicle conditions. It utilizes
vehicle acceleration and deviation
from desired speed to determine
the correct gear for the operating
condition. If vehicle speed is above
the desired speed the transmission
will downshift to slow the vehicle.
If vehicle speed is near or below
desired speed the trans will upshift,
allowing vehicle speed to increase.
While in the Range Selection
Mode, Cruise Grade Braking is not
available.
See “ Range Selection Mode ” under
Manual Mode on page 9 ‑ 43 .

Black plate (45,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-45
Drive Systems All-Wheel Drive If the vehicle has this feature,
engine power is sent to all four
wheels when extra traction is
needed. This is like four-wheel
drive, but there is no separate lever
or switch to engage or disengage
the front axle. It is fully automatic,
and adjusts itself as needed for road
conditions.
If the vehicle is a hybrid, see
“ Four-Wheel Drive ” in the hybrid
supplement. Brakes Antilock Brake
System (ABS) This vehicle has the Antilock
Brake System (ABS), an advanced
electronic braking system that helps
prevent a braking skid.
When the engine is started and the
vehicle begins to drive away, ABS
checks itself. A momentary motor or
clicking noise might be heard while
this test is going on, and it might
even be noticed that the brake
pedal moves a little. This is normal. If there is a problem with ABS, this
warning light stays on. See Antilock
Brake System (ABS) Warning Light
on page 5 ‑ 22 .
If driving safely on a wet road
and it becomes necessary to slam
on the brakes and continue braking
to avoid a sudden obstacle, a
computer senses that the wheels
are slowing down. If one of the
wheels is about to stop rolling, the
computer will separately work the
brakes at each wheel.

Black plate (48,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-48 Driving and Operating If these DIC messages appear,
make sure the StabiliTrak system
has not been turned off using the
StabiliTrak on/off button. Then turn
the vehicle off, wait 15 seconds,
and then turn it back on again to
reset the system. If any of these
messages still appear on the Driver
Information Center (DIC), the
vehicle should be taken in for
service. For more information on
the DIC messages, see Driver
Information Center (DIC) on
page 5 ‑ 26 .
The StabiliTrak light will flash on the
instrument panel cluster when the
system is both on and activated.
The system may be heard or felt
while it is working; this is normal. The traction control disable button is
located on the instrument panel.
The traction control part of
StabiliTrak can be turned off by
pressing and releasing the
StabiliTrak button if both systems
(traction control and StabiliTrak)
were previously on. To disable both
TCS and StabiliTrak, press and
hold
5 until
F illuminates and the
appropriate DIC message displays.
Traction control and StabiliTrak can
be turned on by pressing and
releasing the StabiliTrak button if
they are not automatically shut off
for any other reason.
When the traction control system
(TCS) or StabiliTrak system is
turned off, the StabiliTrak light and the appropriate TCS off or
StabiliTrak off message will be
displayed on the DIC to warn the
driver. The vehicle will still have
brake-traction control when traction
control is off, but will not be able to
use the engine speed management
system. See “ Traction Control
Operation ” next for more
information.
When the traction control system
has been turned off, system noises
may still be heard as a result of the
brake-traction control coming on.
It is recommended to leave the
system on for normal driving
conditions, but it may be necessary
to turn the system off if the vehicle
is stuck in sand, mud, ice or snow,
and you want to “ rock ” the vehicle to
attempt to free it. It may also be
necessary to turn off the system
when driving in extreme off-road
conditions where high wheel spin is
required. See If the Vehicle is Stuck
on page 9 ‑ 23 .

Black plate (49,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-49Traction Control Operation The traction control system is
part of the StabiliTrak system.
Traction control limits wheel
spin by reducing engine power
to the wheels (engine speed
management) and by applying
brakes to each individual wheel
(brake-traction control) as
necessary.
The traction control system is
enabled automatically when the
vehicle is started. It will activate and
the StabiliTrak light will flash if it
senses that any of the wheels are
spinning or beginning to lose
traction while driving. If traction
control is turned off, only the
brake-traction control portion of
traction control will work. The
engine speed management will be
disabled. In this mode, engine
power is not reduced automatically
and the driven wheels can spin
more freely. This can cause the
brake-traction control to activate
constantly. Notice: If the wheel(s) of one axle
is allowed to spin excessively
while the StabiliTrak ®
, ABS, brake
warning lights, and any relevant
DIC messages are displayed, the
transfer case could be damaged.
The repairs would not be covered
by the vehicle warranty. Reduce
engine power and do not spin the
wheel(s) excessively while these
lights and messages are
displayed.
The traction control system may
activate on dry or rough roads or
under conditions such as heavy
acceleration while turning or
abrupt upshifts/downshifts of the
transmission. When this happens, a
reduction in acceleration may be
noticed, or a noise or vibration may
be heard. This is normal. If cruise control is being used when
the system activates, the StabiliTrak
light will flash and cruise control will
automatically disengage. Cruise
control may be reengaged when
road conditions allow. See Cruise
Control on page 9 ‑ 51 .
StabiliTrak may also turn off
automatically if it determines
that a problem exists with the
system. If the problem does not
clear itself after restarting the
vehicle, see your dealer for service.
Locking Rear Axle Vehicles with a locking rear axle can
give more traction on snow, mud,
ice, sand, or gravel. It works like a
standard axle most of the time, but
when traction is low, this feature will
allow the rear wheel with the most
traction to move the vehicle.