
Black plate (37,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-37Torque Lock If you are parking on a hill and
you do not shift the transmission
into P (Park) properly, the weight
of the vehicle can put too much
force on the parking pawl in the
transmission. It might be difficult to
pull the shift lever out of P (Park).
This is called torque lock. To
prevent torque lock, set the parking
brake and then shift into P (Park)
properly before you leave the driver
seat. To find out how, see Shifting
Into Park on page 9 ‑ 36 .
When you are ready to drive, move
the shift lever out of P (Park) before
releasing the parking brake.
If torque lock does occur, you might
need to have another vehicle push
yours a little uphill to take some
of the pressure from the parking
pawl in the transmission. Then
you should be able to pull the shift
lever out of P (Park). Shifting Out of Park This vehicle is equipped with an
electronic shift lock release system.
The shift lock release is
designed to: .
Prevent ignition key removal
unless the shift lever is in
P (Park) with the shift lever
button fully released. .
Prevent movement of the shift
lever out of P (Park), unless the
ignition is in ON/RUN or ACC/
ACCESSORY and the regular
brake pedal is applied.
The shift lock release is always
functional except in the case of
an uncharged or low voltage (less
than 9 volt) battery.
If the vehicle has an uncharged
battery or a battery with low voltage,
try charging or jump starting the
battery. See Jump Starting on
page 10 ‑ 82 for more information. To shift out of P (Park) use the
following:
1. Apply the brake pedal.
2. Move the shift lever to the
desired position.
If you still are unable to shift out
of P (Park):
1. Ease the pressure on the shift
lever.
2. While holding down the brake
pedal, press the shift lever all
the way into P (Park).
3. Move the shift lever to the
desired position.
If you are still having a problem
shifting, then have the vehicle
serviced soon.

Black plate (80,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-80 Driving and Operating Safety Chains Always attach chains between the
vehicle and the trailer. Cross the
safety chains under the tongue
of the trailer to help prevent the
tongue from contacting the road
if it becomes separated from the
hitch. Instructions about safety
chains may be provided by the
hitch manufacturer or by the trailer
manufacturer. Safety chains should
be attached to holes on the trailer
hitch platform. Always leave just
enough slack so the combination
can turn. Never allow safety chains
to drag on the ground.
Trailer Brakes A loaded trailer that weighs more
than 900 kg (2,000 lbs) needs to
have its own brake system that is
adequate for the weight of the
trailer. Be sure to read and follow
the instructions for the trailer brakes
so they are installed, adjusted and
maintained properly. Since the vehicle is equipped with
StabiliTrak, the trailer brakes cannot
tap into the vehicle's hydraulic
system.
Trailer Wiring Harness Heavy-Duty Trailer Wiring Harness
Package
The vehicle has a seven-pin
universal heavy-duty trailer
connector attached to the rear
bumper beam next to the
integrated trailer hitch. The seven-wire harness contains
the following trailer circuits: .
Yellow: Left Stop/Turn Signal .
Dark Green: Right Stop/Turn
Signal .
Brown: Taillamps .
White: Ground .
Light Green: Back-up Lamps .
Red: Battery Feed* .
Dark Blue: Trailer Brake*
*The fuses for these two circuits
are installed in the underhood
electrical center, but the wires are
not connected. They should be
connected by your dealer or a
qualified service center.
If charging a remote (non-vehicle)
battery, press the tow/haul mode
button located at the end of the
shift lever. This will boost the
vehicle system voltage and
properly charge the battery.

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
i-2 INDEX
BBattery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
Load Management . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Power Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12
Voltage and Charging
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Blade Replacement, Wiper . . . 10-32
Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-103
Brake
Pedal and Adjustable
Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-31
Brake System Warning Light . . . 5-21
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Antilock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-45
Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-47
Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-46
System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
Break-In, New Vehicle . . . . . . . . . 9-30
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Back-Up Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . . 10-34 Bulb Replacement (cont.)
Headlamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
High Intensity Discharge
(HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
License Plate Lamps . . . . . . . 10-37
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-61
C Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
California
Fuel Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Perchlorate Materials
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-2
Camera, Rear Vision . . . . . . . . . . 9-59
Canadian Vehicle Owners . . . . . . . . iii
Capacities and
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-2
Carbon Monoxide
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-38
Liftgate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9, 2-10
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-21
Cautions, Danger, and
Warnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
CD/DVD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-19
Center Console Storage . . . . . . . . 4-3 Chains, Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-66
Charging
System Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Check
Engine Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Ignition
Transmission Lock . . . . . . . . 10-31
Child Restraints
Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Securing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-68, 3-71
Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
Cigarette Lighter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Cleaning
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-90
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Climate Control Systems
Dual Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Rear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Cluster, Instrument . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Collision Damage Repair . . . . . 13-12

Black plate (6,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
i-6 INDEX High-Beam On Light . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High-Speed Operation . . . . . . . . 10-54
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . 9-20
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
IIgnition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Ignition Transmission Lock
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Immobilizer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Infants and Young Children,
Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
Infotainment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
JJump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82 K Key and Lock Messages . . . . . . . 5-35
Keyless Entry
Remote (RKE) System . . . . . . . . 2-3
Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
L Labeling, Tire Sidewall . . . . . . . . 10-48
Lamp Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Lamps
Daytime Running (DRL) . . . . . . . 6-6
Dome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Exterior Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off
Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
License Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Malfunction Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-18
On Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
LATCH System
Replacing Parts After a
Crash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-67 LATCH, Lower Anchors and
Tethers for Children . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
LED Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Level Control
Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-50
Liftgate
Carbon Monoxide . . . . . . . . 2-9, 2-10
Lighter, Cigarette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Lighting
Entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-11
Illumination Control . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
LED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-36
Lights
Airbag Readiness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-16
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-22
Brake System Warning . . . . . . . 5-21
Charging System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
Engine Oil Pressure . . . . . . . . . . 5-24
Flash-to-Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Front Fog Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
High-Beam On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25

Black plate (7,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
INDEX i-7Lights (cont.)
High/Low Beam Changer . . . . . . 6-6
Safety Belt Reminders . . . . . . . . 5-15
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25
StabiliTrak ®
Indicator . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-49
Locks
Automatic Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Delayed Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Lockout Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Power Door . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Front Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 M Maintenance
Records . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11-10
Maintenance Schedule
Recommended Fluids and
Lubricants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11-7
Scheduled Maintenance . . . . . . 11-2
Malfunction Indicator Lamp . . . . 5-18
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-43
Map Data Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-99
Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-62
Memory Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Menu
Configure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-83
Messages
Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-38
Anti-Theft Alarm System . . . . . . 5-38
Battery Voltage and
Charging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Brake System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Door Ajar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Engine Cooling System . . . . . . . 5-33
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Engine Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-34
Fuel System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Key and Lock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35 Messages (cont.)
Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-35
Object Detection System . . . . . 5-36
Ride Control System . . . . . . . . . . 5-37
Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-39
Transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Vehicle Reminder . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-40
Mirrors
Automatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-17
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Monitor System, Tire
Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-28