2011 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV Owners Manual

Black plate (25,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-25Q: What is wrong with this?
A: The belt is over an armrest.
{ WARNINGYou can be seriously injured if the
belt goes over an armrest like
this. The belt would be much too
high. In a crash, you can slide
under the belt. The belt force
would then be applied on the
abdomen, not on the pelvic
bones, and that could cause
serious or fatal injuries. Be sure
the belt goes under the armrests. Q: What is wrong with this?
A: The shoulder belt is worn under
the arm. It should be worn over
the shoulder at all times.

Black plate (26,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-26 Seats and Restraints
{ WARNINGYou can be seriously injured if
you wear the shoulder belt under
your arm. In a crash, your body
would move too far forward,
which would increase the chance
of head and neck injury. Also, the
belt would apply too much force
to the ribs, which are not as
strong as shoulder bones. You
could also severely injure internal
organs like your liver or spleen.
The shoulder belt should go over
the shoulder and across the
chest. Q: What is wrong with this?
A: The belt is behind the body.
{ WARNINGYou can be seriously injured by
not wearing the lap-shoulder belt
properly. In a crash, you would
not be restrained by the shoulder
belt. Your body could move too
far forward increasing the chance
of head and neck injury. You
might also slide under the lap
belt. The belt force would then be
applied right on the abdomen.
That could cause serious or fatal
injuries. The shoulder belt should
go over the shoulder and across
the chest.

Black plate (27,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-27Q: What is wrong with this?
A: The belt is twisted across
the body.
{ WARNING
You can be seriously injured by a
twisted belt. In a crash, you would
not have the full width of the belt
to spread impact forces. If a belt
is twisted, make it straight so it
can work properly, or ask your
dealer to fix it. Lap-Shoulder Belt All seating positions in the vehicle
have a lap-shoulder belt except for
the center front passenger position,
if equipped, which has a lap belt.
See Lap Belt on page 3 ‑ 33 for more
information.
The lap ‐ shoulder belts for the first
and second row seating positions
are equipped with free ‐ falling latch
plates. If the vehicle has a third row,
the lap ‐ shoulder belts have either
free ‐ falling or cinching latch plates. Use the following pictures to
determine the latch plate style:
Free-Falling Latch Plate

Black plate (28,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-28 Seats and Restraints
Cinching Latch Plate
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat is
adjustable, so you can sit up
straight. To see how, see “ Seats ”
in the Index. 2. Pick up the latch plate and pull
the belt across you. Do not let it
get twisted.
The lap-shoulder belt may lock if
you pull the belt across you very
quickly. If this happens, let the
belt go back slightly to unlock it.
Then pull the belt across you
more slowly.
If the shoulder portion of a
passenger belt with a free ‐ falling
latch plate is pulled out all the
way, the child restraint locking
feature may be engaged. If this
happens, let the belt go back all
the way and start again.
Engaging the child restraint
locking feature in the right front
seating position may affect the
passenger sensing system,
if equipped. See Passenger
Sensing System on page 3 ‑ 44
for more information. If the belt stops before it reaches
the buckle, for lap ‐ shoulder belts
with cinching latch plates, tilt the
latch plate and keep pulling the
safety belt until it can be
buckled.

Black plate (29,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-29
3. Push the latch plate into the
buckle until it clicks. If you find
that the latch plate will not go
fully into the buckle, see if you
are using the correct buckle.
Pull up on the latch plate to
make sure it is secure. If the belt
is not long enough, see Safety
Belt Extender on page 3 ‑ 34 .
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary. 4. If equipped with a shoulder belt
height adjuster, move it to the
height that is right for you. See
“ Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster ”
in this section for instructions on
use and important safety
information.
5. To make the lap part tight, pull
up on the shoulder belt.
It may be necessary to pull
stitching on the safety belt
through the latch plate to fully
tighten the lap belt on smaller
occupants. To unlatch the belt, push the button
on the buckle. The belt should
return to its stowed position.
Before a door is closed, be sure the
safety belt is out of the way. If a
door is slammed against a safety
belt, damage can occur to both the
belt and the vehicle.
Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster The vehicle has a shoulder belt
height adjuster for the driver and
right front passenger positions.
Adjust the height so the shoulder
portion of the belt is on the shoulder
and not falling off of it. The belt
should be close to, but not
contacting, the neck. Improper
shoulder belt height adjustment
could reduce the effectiveness of
the safety belt in a crash. See How
to Wear Safety Belts Properly on
page 3 ‑ 22 .

Black plate (30,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-30 Seats and Restraints
Squeeze the buttons (A) on the
sides of the height adjuster and
move the height adjuster to the
desired position.
The adjuster can be moved up just
by pushing up on the shoulder belt
guide.
After the adjuster is set to the
desired position, try to move it down
without squeezing the buttons to
make sure it has locked into
position. Safety Belt Pretensioners This vehicle has safety belt
pretensioners for front outboard
occupants. Although the safety belt
pretensioners cannot be seen, they
are part of the safety belt assembly.
They can help tighten the safety
belts during the early stages of a
moderate to severe frontal, near
frontal, or rear crash if the threshold
conditions for pretensioner
activation are met. And, if the
vehicle has side impact airbags,
safety belt pretensioners can help
tighten the safety belts in a side
crash or a rollover event.
Pretensioners work only once. If the
pretensioners activate in a crash,
the pretensioners and probably
other parts of the vehicle's safety
belt system will need to be replaced.
See Replacing Safety Belt System
Parts After a Crash on page 3 ‑ 35 .Rear Safety Belt Comfort
Guides This vehicle may have rear shoulder
belt comfort guides. If not, they are
available through your dealer. The
guides may provide added safety
belt comfort for older children who
have outgrown booster seats and
for some adults. When installed and
properly adjusted, the comfort guide
positions the belt away from the
neck and head.
There is one guide, if equipped, for
each outside passenger position in
the second row seat and the third
row, if the vehicle has one.

Black plate (31,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-31
Second Row
Here is how to install a comfort
guide to the safety belt:
1. For the second row, remove the
guide from its storage clip on the
interior body. Third Row
If your vehicle has a third row,
remove the guide from its
storage pocket on the side of
the seat. 2. Place the guide over the belt,
and insert the two edges of the
belt into the slots of the guide.

Black plate (32,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
3-32 Seats and Restraints
3. Be sure that the belt is not
twisted and it lies flat. The
elastic cord must be under the
belt and the guide on top.
{ WARNING
A safety belt that is not properly
worn may not provide the
protection needed in a crash. The
person wearing the belt could be
seriously injured. The shoulder
belt should go over the shoulder
(Continued) WARNING (Continued) and across the chest. These parts
of the body are best able to take
belt restraining forces.
4. Buckle, position, and release the
safety belt as described
previously in this section. Make
sure the shoulder portion of the
belt is on the shoulder and not
falling off of it. The belt should
be close to, but not contacting,
the neck. To remove and store the comfort
guide, squeeze the belt edges
together so that the safety belt can
be removed from the guide. Slide
the guide into its storage clip on the
interior body or storage pocket on
the side of the seat.
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy Safety belts work for everyone,
including pregnant women. Like all
occupants, they are more likely to
be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts.