2005 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT engine

Keep your vehicle in good shape. Check all uid
levels and also the brakes, tires, cooling system,
and transmission. These parts can work hard
on mountain roads.
Know how to go down hills. The most important
thing to know is this: let your engine do some of
the slowing down. Shift to a lower gear when you
go down a steep or long hill.
{CAUTION:
If you do not shift down, your brakes could
get so hot that they would not work well. You
would then have poor braking or even none
going down a hill. You could crash. Shift down
to let your engine assist your brakes on a
steep downhill slope.
{CAUTION:
Coasting downhill in NEUTRAL (N) or with
the ignition off is dangerous. Your brakes
will have to do all the work of slowing down.
They could get so hot that they would not
work well. You would then have poor braking
or even none going down a hill. You could
crash. Always have your engine running and
your vehicle in gear when you go downhill.
Know how to go uphill. You may want to shift down to
a lower gear. The lower gears help cool your engine
and transmission, and you can climb the hill better.
Stay in your own lane when driving on two-lane
roads in hills or mountains. Do not swing wide or cut
across the center of the road. Drive at speeds that let
you stay in your own lane.
As you go over the top of a hill, be alert. There could
be something in your lane, like a stalled car or an
accident.
You may see highway signs on mountains that warn
of special problems. Examples are long grades,
passing or no-passing zones, a falling rocks area, or
winding roads. Be alert to these and take appropriate
action.
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If You Are Caught in a Blizzard
If you are stopped by heavy snow, you could be in a
serious situation. You should probably stay with
your vehicle unless you know for sure that you are near
help and you can hike through the snow. Here are
some things to do to summon help and keep yourself
and your passengers safe:
Turn on your hazard ashers.
Tie a red cloth to your vehicle to alert police that
you have been stopped by the snow.
Put on extra clothing or wrap a blanket around you.
If you do not have blankets or extra clothing, make
body insulators from newspapers, burlap bags,
rags, oor mats — anything you can wrap around
yourself or tuck under your clothing to keep warm.
You can run the engine to keep warm, but be careful.
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{CAUTION:
Snow can trap exhaust gases under your
vehicle. This can cause deadly CO (carbon
monoxide) gas to get inside. CO could
overcome you and kill you. You cannot see it
or smell it, so you might not know it is in your
vehicle. Clear away snow from around the
base of your vehicle, especially any that is
blocking your exhaust pipe. And check around
again from time to time to be sure snow does
not collect there.
Open a window just a little on the side of the
vehicle that is away from the wind. This will
help keep CO out.Run your engine only as long as you must. This saves
fuel. When you run the engine, make it go a little
faster than just idle. That is, push the accelerator
slightly. This uses less fuel for the heat that you get
and it keeps the battery charged. You will need a
well-charged battery to restart the vehicle, and possibly
for signaling later on with your headlamps. Let the
heater run for a while.
Then, shut the engine off and close the window
almost all the way to preserve the heat. Start the
engine again and repeat this only when you feel really
uncomfortable from the cold. But do it as little as
possible. Preserve the fuel as long as you can. To
help keep warm, you can get out of the vehicle and
do some fairly vigorous exercises every half hour or
so until help comes.
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If You Are Stuck: In Sand, Mud,
Ice or Snow
In order to free your vehicle when it is stuck, you will
need to spin the wheels, but you do not want to
spin your wheels too fast. The method known as rocking
can help you get out when you are stuck, but you
must use caution.
{CAUTION:
If you let your tires spin at high speed, they
can explode, and you or others could be
injured. And, the transmission or other parts of
the vehicle can overheat. That could cause an
engine compartment re or other damage.
When you are stuck, spin the wheels as little
as possible. Do not spin the wheels above
35 mph (55 km/h) as shown on the
speedometer.Notice:Spinning your wheels can destroy parts of
your vehicle as well as the tires. If you spin the
wheels too fast while shifting your transmission
back and forth, you can destroy your transmission.
For more information about using tire chains on your
vehicle, seeTire Chains on page 5-76.
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out
First, turn your steering wheel left and right. That
will clear the area around your front wheels. If your
vehicle has the StabiliTrak
®System, turn the system
off by pressing the StabiliTrak®button so that the
STABILITY SYS DISABLED message and the traction
off light are illuminated on the instrument panel
cluster. Then shift back and forth between
REVERSE (R) and a forward gear, spinning the wheels
as little as possible. Release the accelerator pedal
while you shift, and press lightly on the accelerator pedal
when the transmission is in gear. By slowly spinning
your wheels in the forward and reverse directions, you
will cause a rocking motion that may free your
vehicle. If that does not get you out after a few tries,
you may need to be towed out. Or, you can use
your recovery hooks. If you do need to be towed out,
seeTowing Your Vehicle on page 4-50.
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If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer
If you do, here are some important points:
There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having to do with trailering. Make sure
your rig will be legal, not only where you live
but also where you’ll be driving. A good source for
this information can be state or provincial police.
Consider using a sway control. See “Hitches” later
in this section.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the rst 500 miles
(800 km) your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
Then, during the rst 500 miles (800 km) that you
tow a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 km/h)
and don’t make starts at full throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts of your vehicle wear in at
the heavier loads.
You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift
the transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a
lower gear selection if the transmission shifts
too often (e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly
conditions). See “Tow/Haul Mode” following.Three important considerations have to do with weight:
the weight of the trailer
the weight of the trailer tongue
and the weight on your vehicle’s tires
Tow/Haul Mode
Tow/haul is designed to assist while your vehicle is
pulling a large or heavy load or trailer. Tow/haul is most
useful while pulling such a load in rolling terrain, in
stop-and-go traffic, or when you need improved
low-speed control, such as when parking. The purpose
of the tow/haul mode is to do the following:
Reduce the frequency and improve the predictability
of transmission shifts when pulling a heavy trailer or
a large or heavy load.
Provide the same solid shift feel when pulling a
heavy trailer or a large or heavy load as when
the vehicle is unloaded.
Improve control of vehicle speed while requiring
less throttle pedal activity when pulling a heavy
trailer or a large or heavy load.
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Tow/haul is designed to be most effective when the
vehicle and trailer combined weight is at least 75 percent
of the vehicle’s Gross Combination Weight Rating
(GCWR). See “Weight of the Trailer” later in this section.
Press the button at the end of the shift lever to
enable/disable the tow/haul mode.A light on the instrument
panel will illuminate to
indicate that tow/haul
mode has been selected.
The vehicle will automatically turn off tow/haul every
time it is started.
Operating the vehicle in tow/haul when lightly loaded or
with no trailer at all will not cause damage. However,
there is no benet to the selection of tow/haul when the
vehicle is unloaded. Such a selection when unloaded
may result in unpleasant engine and transmission driving
characteristics and reduced fuel economy. Tow/haul
is recommended only when pulling a heavy trailer or a
large or heavy load.
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Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gearbeforeyou
start down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down, you might have to use your brakes so much
that they would get hot and no longer work well.
You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the
transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower
gear selection if the transmission shifts too often
(e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).
You may also want to activate the tow/haul mode if the
transmission shifts too often. See “Tow/Haul Mode”
earlier.
When towing at high altitude on steep uphill grades,
consider the following: Engine coolant will boil at a lower
temperature than at normal altitudes. If you turn your
engine off immediately after towing at high altitude
on steep uphill grades, your vehicle may show signs
similar to engine overheating. To avoid this, let the
engine run while parked (preferably on level ground)
with the automatic transmission in PARK (P) for a
few minutes before turning the engine off. If you do
get the overheat warning, seeEngine Overheating
on page 5-26.
Parking on Hills
{CAUTION:
You really should not park your vehicle, with
a trailer attached, on a hill. If something goes
wrong, your rig could start to move. People
can be injured, and both your vehicle and the
trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK (P) yet.
2. Have someone place chocks under the trailer
wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4. Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your
parking brake and shift into PARK (P).
5. Release the regular brakes.
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When You Are Ready to Leave
After Parking on a Hill
1. Apply your regular brakes and hold the pedal down
while you:
start your engine,
shift into a gear, and
release the parking brake.
2. Let up on the brake pedal.
3. Drive slowly until the trailer is clear of the chocks.
4. Stop and have someone pick up and store the
chocks.
Maintenance When Trailer Towing
Your vehicle will need service more often when you’re
pulling a trailer. See the Maintenance Schedule for more
on this. Things that are especially important in trailer
operation are automatic transmission uid (don’t overll),
engine oil, axle lubricant, belts, cooling system
and brake system. Each of these is covered in this
manual, and the Index will help you nd them quickly.
If you’re trailering, it’s a good idea to review these
sections before you start your trip.
Check periodically to see that all hitch nuts and bolts
are tight.
Trailer Wiring Harness
Heavy-Duty Trailer Wiring Package
Your vehicle is equipped with the seven-wire trailer
towing harness. This harness with a seven-pin universal
heavy-duty trailer connector is attached to a bracket
on the hitch platform.
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