2008 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT Owners Manual

Surface Obstacles:Unseen or hidden obstacles can
be hazardous. A rock, log, hole, rut, or bump can startle
you if you are not prepared for them. Often these
obstacles are hidden by grass, bushes, snow, or even
the rise and fall of the terrain itself. Here are some
things to consider:
Is the path ahead clear?
Will the surface texture change abruptly up ahead?
Does the travel take you uphill or downhill?
There is more discussion of these subjects later.
Will you have to stop suddenly or change direction
quickly?
When you drive over obstacles or rough terrain, keep a
rm grip on the steering wheel. Ruts, troughs, or other
surface features can jerk the wheel out of your hands if
you are not prepared.
When you drive over bumps, rocks, or other obstacles,
the wheels can leave the ground. If this happens, even
with one or two wheels, you cannot control the vehicle as
well or at all.Because you will be on an unpaved surface, it is
especially important to avoid sudden acceleration,
sudden turns, or sudden braking.
In a way, off-road driving requires a different kind of
alertness from driving on paved roads and highways.
There are no road signs, posted speed limits, or signal
lights. You have to use your own good judgment about
what is safe and what is not.
Drinking and driving can be very dangerous on any
road. And this is certainly true for off-road driving. At the
very time you need special alertness and driving skills,
your reexes, perceptions, and judgment can be affected
by even a small amount of alcohol. You could have a
serious — or even fatal — accident if you drink and drive
or ride with a driver who has been drinking. SeeDrunk
Driving on page 4-2.
4-17

Driving on Off-Road Hills
Off-road driving often takes you up, down, or across a
hill. Driving safely on hills requires good judgment
and an understanding of what your vehicle can and
cannot do. There are some hills that simply cannot be
driven, no matter how well built the vehicle.
{CAUTION:
Many hills are simply too steep for any vehicle.
If you drive up them, you will stall. If you drive
down them, you cannot control your speed. If
you drive across them, you will roll over. You
could be seriously injured or killed. If you have
any doubt about the steepness, do not drive
the hill.
Approaching a Hill
When you approach a hill, you need to decide if it is
one of those hills that is just too steep to climb,
descend, or cross. Steepness can be hard to judge.On a very small hill, for example, there may be a
smooth, constant incline with only a small change in
elevation where you can easily see all the way to
the top. On a large hill, the incline may get steeper as
you near the top, but you may not see this because the
crest of the hill is hidden by bushes, grass, or shrubs.
Here are some other things to consider as you approach
a hill.
Is there a constant incline, or does the hill get
sharply steeper in places?
Is there good traction on the hillside, or will the
surface cause tire slipping?
Is there a straight path up or down the hill so you
will not have to make turning maneuvers?
Are there obstructions on the hill that can block
your path, such as boulders, trees, logs, or ruts?
What is beyond the hill? Is there a cliff, an
embankment, a drop-off, a fence? Get out and walk
the hill if you do not know. It is the smart way to
nd out.
Is the hill simply too rough? Steep hills often have
ruts, gullies, troughs, and exposed rocks because
they are more susceptible to the effects of erosion.
4-18

Driving Uphill
Once you decide you can safely drive up the hill, you
need to take some special steps.
Use a low gear and get a rm grip on the steering
wheel.
Get a smooth start up the hill and try to maintain
your speed. Do not use more power than you need,
because you do not want the wheels to start spinning
or sliding.
{CAUTION:
Turning or driving across steep hills can be
dangerous. You could lose traction, slide
sideways, and possibly roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed. When driving up
hills, always try to go straight up.
Try to drive straight up the hill if at all possible. If
the path twists and turns, you might want to nd
another route.
Ease up on your speed as you approach the top of
the hill.
Attach a ag to the vehicle to make you more
visible to approaching traffic on trails or hills.
Sound the horn as you approach the top of the hill
to let opposing traffic know you are there.
Use the headlamps even during the day. They
make your vehicle more visible to oncoming traffic.
{CAUTION:
Driving to the top (crest) of a hill at full speed
can cause an accident. There could be a
drop-off, embankment, cliff, or even another
vehicle. You could be seriously injured or
killed. As you near the top of a hill, slow down
and stay alert.
4-19

There are some things you should do if the vehicle
stalls, or is about to stall, and you cannot make it up
the hill:
Push the brake pedal to stop the vehicle and keep
it from rolling backwards. Also, apply the
parking brake.
If the engine is still running, shift the transmission to
REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and slowly
back down the hill in REVERSE (R).
If the engine has stopped running, you will need to
restart it. With the brake pedal pressed and the
parking brake still applied, shift the transmission to
PARK (P) and restart the engine. Then, shift to
REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and slowly
back down the hill as straight as possible in
REVERSE (R).
As you are backing down the hill, put your left hand
on the steering wheel at the 12 o’clock position. This
way, you will be able to tell if the wheels are straight
and maneuver as you back down. It is best that you
back down the hill with the wheels straight rather
than in the left or right direction. Turning the wheel
too far to the left or right will increase the possibility
of a rollover.There are also some things you must not do if you stall,
or are about to stall, when going up a hill:
Never attempt to prevent a stall by shifting into
NEUTRAL (N) to rev-up the engine and regain
forward momentum. This will not work. Your vehicle
will roll backwards very quickly and you could go
out of control.
Instead, apply the regular brake to stop the vehicle.
Then apply the parking brake. Shift to
REVERSE (R), release the parking brake, and slowly
back straight down.
Never attempt to turn around if you are about to stall
when going up a hill. If the hill is steep enough to stall
your vehicle, it is steep enough to cause you to roll
over if you turn around. If you cannot make it up the
hill, you must back straight down the hill.
If, after stalling, you try to back down the hill and decide
you just cannot do it, set the parking brake, put the
transmission in PARK (P) and turn off the engine. Leave
the vehicle and go get some help. Exit on the uphill
side and stay clear of the path the vehicle would take if
it rolled downhill.
4-20

Driving Downhill
When off-roading takes you downhill, you will want to
consider a number of things:
How steep is the downhill? Will I be able to maintain
vehicle control?
What is the surface like? Smooth? Rough?
Slippery? Hard-packed dirt? Gravel?
Are there hidden surface obstacles? Ruts? Logs?
Boulders?
What is at the bottom of the hill? Is there a hidden
creek bank or even a river bottom with large
rocks?
If you decide you can go down a hill safely, then try to
keep your vehicle headed straight down, and use a low
gear. This way, engine drag can help the brakes and they
will not have to do all the work. Descend slowly, keeping
your vehicle under control at all times.
{CAUTION:
Heavy braking when going down a hill can
cause your brakes to overheat and fade. This
could cause loss of control and a serious
accident. Apply the brakes lightly when
descending a hill and use a low gear to keep
vehicle speed under control.
There some things not to do when driving down a hill.
These are important because, if you ignore them, you
could lose control and have a serious accident:
When driving downhill, avoid turns that take you
across the incline of the hill. A hill that is not too steep
to drive down may be too steep to drive across.
You could roll over if you do not drive straight down.
Never go downhill with the transmission in
NEUTRAL (N). This is called “free-wheeling.”
The brakes will have to do all the work and could
overheat and fade.
4-21

Your vehicle is much more likely to stall when going
uphill. But if it happens when going downhill:
1. Stop your vehicle by applying the regular brakes.
Apply the parking brake.
2. Shift to PARK (P) and, while still braking, restart the
engine.
3. Shift back to a low gear, release the parking brake,
and drive straight down.
4. If the engine will not start, get out and get help.
Driving Across an Incline
Sooner or later, an off-road trail will probably go across
the incline of a hill. If this happens, you have to
decide whether to try to drive across the incline.Here are some things to consider:
{CAUTION:
Driving across an incline that is too steep will
make your vehicle roll over. You could be
seriously injured or killed. If you have any
doubt about the steepness of the incline, do
not drive across it. Find another route instead.
A hill that can be driven straight up or down may
be too steep to drive across. When you go
straight up or down a hill, the length of the wheel
base — the distance from the front wheels to the rear
wheels — reduces the likelihood the vehicle will
tumble end over end. But when you drive across an
incline, the much more narrow track width — the
distance between the left and right wheels — may
not prevent the vehicle from tilting and rolling over.
Also, driving across an incline puts more weight on
the downhill wheels. This could cause a downhill
slide or a rollover.
4-22

Surface conditions can be a problem when you drive
across a hill. Loose gravel, muddy spots, or even wet
grass can cause your tires to slip sideways, downhill.
If the vehicle slips sideways, it can hit something that
will trip it — a rock, a rut, etc. — and roll over.
Hidden obstacles can make the steepness of the
incline even worse. If you drive across a rock with the
uphill wheels, or if the downhill wheels drop into a rut
or depression, your vehicle can tilt even more.For reasons like these, you need to decide carefully
whether to try to drive across an incline. Just because
the trail goes across the incline does not mean you
have to drive it. The last vehicle to try it might have
rolled over.
When driving across an incline that is not too steep, the
vehicle can hit some loose gravel and start to slide
downhill. If you feel your vehicle starting to slide
sideways, turn downhill. This should help straighten out
the vehicle and prevent the side slipping. However, a
much better way to prevent this is to get out and “walk
the course” so you know what the surface is like before
you drive it.
4-23

Stalling on an Incline
{CAUTION:
Getting out on the downhill (low) side of a
vehicle stopped across an incline is
dangerous. If the vehicle rolls over, you could
be crushed or killed. Always get out on the
uphill (high) side of the vehicle and stay well
clear of the rollover path.
If your vehicle stalls when you are crossing an incline,
be sure you, and any passengers, get out on the uphill
side, even if the door there is harder to open. If you get
out on the downhill side and the vehicle starts to roll over,
you will be right in its path.
If you have to walk down the slope, stay out of the path
the vehicle will take if it does roll over.
4-24