2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV steering

Reducing Speed While Using Cruise
Control To reduce your speed while using cruise control:
Press and hold the SET– button on the steering
wheel until the desired lower speed is reached,
then release it.
To slow down in very small amounts, press the
SET– button on the steering wheel briey. Each
time you do this, the vehicle will go about 1 mph
(1.6 km/h) slower.
Passing Another Vehicle While Using
Cruise Control Use the accelerator pedal to increase your speed.
When you take your foot off the pedal, your vehicle will
slow down to the previous set cruise speed. Using Cruise Control on Hills How well your cruise control will work on hills depends
upon your speed, load, and the steepness of the
hills. When going up steep hills, you may have to step
on the accelerator pedal to maintain the vehicle’s speed.
When going downhill, you may have to brake or shift
to a lower gear to keep the vehicle’s speed down.
Of course, applying the brake takes you out of cruise
control. Many drivers nd this to be too much trouble
and do not use cruise control on steep hills.
Ending Cruise Control There are three ways to end cruise control:
Step lightly on the brake pedal.
Press the cancel button on the steering wheel.
Press the On/Off button on the steering wheel.
Erasing Speed Memory When you turn off the cruise control or the ignition, the
cruise control set speed memory is erased.
3-15

Exterior Lamps The exterior lamps control
is located on the
instrument panel to the left
of the steering wheel.
It controls the following systems:
Headlamps
Taillamps
Parking Lamps
License Plate Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights The exterior lamps control has four positions:
9 (Off): Turn the control to this position to turn off the
automatic headlamps and daytime running lamps (DRL).
Turning the headlamp control to the off position again will
turn the automatic headlamps or DRL back on.
For vehicles rst sold in Canada, the off position will only
work when the vehicle is shifted into the PARK (P)
position.
AUTO (Automatic): Turn the control to this position to
set the headlamps to automatically turn on at normal
brightness, together with the following:
Parking Lamps
Instrument Panel Lights
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
; (Parking Lamps): Turn the control to this position to
turn on the parking lamps together with the following:
Instrument Panel Lights
Taillamps
License Plate Lamps
3-16

If the vehicle is started in a dark garage, the automatic
headlamp system will come on immediately. Once
the vehicle leaves the garage, it takes approximately
one minute for the automatic headlamp system to
change to DRL if it is bright enough outside. During that
delay, the instrument panel cluster may not be as
bright as usual. Make sure the instrument panel
brightness control is in the full bright position. See
Instrument Panel Brightness on page 3-21 .
To idle the vehicle with the automatic headlamp system
off, turn the control to the off position.
The headlamps will also stay on after you exit the
vehicle. This feature can be programmed using the
Driver Information Center (DIC). See DIC Vehicle
Customization on page 3-61 .
The regular headlamp system can be turned on when
needed.
Fog Lamps
- (Fog Lamps): If your vehicle has fog lamps, the
control is located next to the exterior lamps control
on the instrument panel to the left of the steering
column.
The ignition must be in the ON/RUN position for the fog
lamps to come on. Press the button to turn the fog lamps on or off. A light
will come on in the instrument panel cluster.
When the fog lamps are turned on, the headlamps
automatically turn on.
When the headlamps are changed to high-beam, the
fog lamps also go off. When the high-beam headlamps
go off, the fog lamps will come on again.
Some localities have laws that require the headlamps to
be on along with the fog lamps.
Instrument Panel Brightness
D (Instrument Panel Brightness): This feature
controls the brightness of the instrument panel lights
and is located next to the exterior lamp control.
Push the knob to extend out and then it can be turned.
Turn the knob clockwise or counterclockwise to
brighten or dim the instrument panel lights. Turning the
knob to the farthest clockwise position turns on the
dome lamps.
3-21

DIC Operation and Displays The DIC has different displays which can be accessed
by pressing the DIC buttons located on the instrument
panel, next to the steering wheel.
The DIC displays trip, fuel, and vehicle system
information, and warning messages if a system problem
is detected. A digital speedometer also appears at
the bottom of the DIC display. The digital speedometer
can be enabled or disabled. See “DISPLAY DIGITAL
SPEED” under DIC Vehicle Customization on page 3-61
for more information.
DIC Buttons The buttons are the
trip/fuel, vehicle
information, customization,
and set/reset buttons.
The button functions are
detailed in the following
pages. 3 (Trip/Fuel): Press this button to display the
odometer, trip odometer, fuel range, average economy,
fuel used, timer, and transmission temperature.
T (Vehicle Information): Press this button to display
the oil life, units, tire pressure readings, and Remote
Keyless Entry (RKE) transmitter programming.
U (Customization): Press this button to customize the
feature settings on your vehicle. See DIC Vehicle
Customization on page 3-61 for more information.
V (Set/Reset): Press this button to set or reset certain
functions and to turn off or acknowledge messages
on the DIC.
3-49

While your vehicle is parked:
Familiarize yourself with all of its controls.
Familiarize yourself with its operation.
Set up your audio system by presetting your
favorite radio stations, setting the tone, and
adjusting the speakers. Then, when driving
conditions permit, you can tune to your favorite
radio stations using the presets and steering wheel
controls if the vehicle has them.
Notice: Before adding any sound equipment to
your vehicle, such as an audio system, CD player,
CB radio, mobile telephone, or two-way radio, make
sure that it can be added by checking with your
dealer/retailer. Also, check federal rules covering
mobile radio and telephone units. If sound
equipment can be added, it is very important to do
it properly. Added sound equipment may interfere
with the operation of your vehicle’s engine, radio, or
other systems, and even damage them. Your
vehicle’s systems may interfere with the operation
of sound equipment that has been added.
Notice: The chime signals related to safety belts,
parking brake, and other functions of your vehicle
operate through the radio/entertainment system.
If that equipment is replaced or additional equipment
is added to your vehicle, the chimes may not work. Make sure that replacement or additional
equipment is compatible with your vehicle before
installing it. See Accessories and Modifications
on page 5-3 .
Your vehicle may have a feature called Retained
Accessory Power (RAP). With RAP, the audio system
can be played even after the ignition is turned off.
See Retained Accessory Power (RAP) on page 2-26 for
more information.
Setting the Clock 1. Press the
w (tune/select) knob (the passenger
side knob) to enter the main menu.
2. Turn the same knob until SET CLOCK displays.
3. Press this knob to select SET CLOCK.
4. Turn this knob to adjust the time.
5. Press the same knob to update the time. VEHICLE
TIME UPDATED displays.
If the CLOCK/RADIO DISP (display) is programmed into
one of the congurable keys, pressing the key switches
the display back to the clock set function. The time
and date always appears on the radio display.
See “Congurable Radio Display Keys” later in this
section for more information on conguring the keys.
3-71

When a DVD video menu is being displayed, press
either the left
© or right
¨ seek arrow to perform a
cursor up or down on the menu. Hold the left
© or
right
¨ seek arrow to perform a cursor left or right on
the menu.
PROG (Program): Press this button to go to the next
preset radio station or channel set on the main
radio. This function is inactive, with some radios, if the
front seat passengers are listening to the radio.
When a CD or DVD audio disc is playing, press this
button to go to the beginning of the CD or DVD audio.
This function is inactive, with some radios, if the
front seat passengers are listening to the disc.
When a disc is playing in the CD or DVD changer,
press this button to select the next disc, if multiple discs
are loaded. This function is inactive, with some radios,
if the front seat passengers are listening to the disc.
When a DVD video menu is being displayed, press the
PROG button to perform the menu function, enter. Theft-Deterrent Feature THEFTLOCK ®
is designed to discourage theft of your
vehicle’s radio. The feature works automatically by
learning a portion of the Vehicle Identication Number
(VIN). If the radio is moved to a different vehicle, it does
not operate and LOC, LOCK, or LOCKED could display.
With THEFTLOCK ®
activated, the radio does not
operate if stolen.
Audio Steering Wheel Controls Your vehicle has audio
steering wheel controls,
they may differ depending
on your vehicle’s options.
3-106

Some audio controls can be adjusted at the steering
wheel. They include the following:
xw (Next/Previous): Press the down or up arrow to
go to the next or to the previous radio station stored
as a favorite.
When a CD/DVD is playing, press the down or up arrow
to go to the next or to the previous track or chapter.
g (Mute/Voice Recognition): Press and release this
button to silence the vehicle speakers only. The
audio of the wireless and wired headphones, if your
vehicle has these features, does not mute. Press and
release this button again, to turn the sound on.
If your vehicle has the navigation system, press and
hold this button for longer than one second to initiate
voice recognition. See “Voice Recognition” in the
Navigation System manual for more information. Press and hold this button for longer than one second
to interact with the OnStar ®
system. If your vehicle
also has the navigation system, press and hold
this button for longer than one second to initiate voice
recognition and say “OnStar” to enter OnStar ®
mode. See the OnStar ®
System on page 2-50 in this
manual for more information.
SRCE (Source): Press this button to switch between
the radio (AM, FM), XM™ (if equipped), CD, and if your
vehicle has these features, DVD, front auxiliary, and
rear auxiliary.
+
e −
e (Volume): Press the plus or minus volume
button to increase or to decrease the radio volume.
¨ (Seek): Press the seek arrow to go to the next radio
station while in AM, FM, or XM™ (if equipped). Press
the seek arrow to go to the next track or chapter
while sourced to the CD or DVD slot. Press the seek
arrow to go to the next disc while sourced to a CD
or DVD changer, if multiple discs are loaded.
3-107

Your Driving, the Road, and Your Vehicle ......... .4-2
Defensive Driving .......................................... .4-2
Drunk Driving ................................................ .4-2
Control of a Vehicle ....................................... .4-3
Braking ........................................................ .4-3
Antilock Brake System (ABS) .......................... .4-4
Braking in Emergencies .................................. .4-5
Locking Differential ........................................ .4-5
Road Sensing Suspension .............................. .4-6
StabiliTrak ®
System ....................................... .4-6
All-Wheel Drive (AWD) System ........................ .4-8
Steering ....................................................... .4-9
Off-Road Recovery ...................................... .4-11
Passing ...................................................... .4-11
Loss of Control ............................................ .4-11
Off-Road Driving .......................................... .4-12
Driving at Night ........................................... .4-26 Driving in Rain and on Wet Roads ................. .4-27
Before Leaving on a Long Trip ...................... .4-28
Highway Hypnosis ....................................... .4-28
Hill and Mountain Roads ............................... .4-29
Winter Driving ............................................. .4-30
If Your Vehicle is Stuck in Sand, Mud, Ice,
or Snow .................................................. .4-33
Rocking Your Vehicle to Get It Out ................ .4-34
Recovery Hooks .......................................... .4-34
Loading Your Vehicle ................................... .4-35
Towing ......................................................... .4-41
Towing Your Vehicle .................................... .4-41
Recreational Vehicle Towing .......................... .4-42
Autoride ®
.................................................... .4-43
Towing a Trailer .......................................... .4-44
Trailer Recommendations .............................. .4-57Section 4 Driving Your Vehicle
4-1