2011 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT engine overheat

Black plate (20,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
10-20 Vehicle Care
Checking Coolant
The vehicle must be on a level
surface when checking the coolant
level.
Check to see if coolant is visible in
the coolant surge tank. If the coolant
inside the coolant surge tank is
boiling, do not do anything else until
it cools down. If coolant is visible
but the coolant level is not at or
above the FULL COLD mark, add a
50/50 mixture of clean, drinkable
water and DEX-COOL coolant at the
coolant surge tank, but be sure the
cooling system is cool before this
is done.
The coolant surge tank is located in
the engine compartment on the
passenger side of the vehicle. See
Engine Compartment Overview on
page 10‑6for more information on
location.
The coolant level should be at or
above the FULL COLD mark. If it is
not, the vehicle may have a leak in
the cooling system.
How to Add Coolant to the
Surge Tank
{WARNING
You can be burned if you spill
coolant on hot engine parts.
Coolant contains ethylene glycol
and it will burn if the engine parts
are hot enough. Do not spill
coolant on a hot engine.
Notice: This vehicle has a
specific coolant fill procedure.
Failure to follow this procedure
could cause the engine to
overheat and be severely
damaged.

Black plate (22,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
10-22 Vehicle Care
4. With the coolant surge tankpressure cap off, start the
engine and let it run until the
upper radiator hose can be felt
getting hot. Watch out for the
engine cooling fan.
By this time, the coolant level
inside the coolant surge tank
may be lower. If the level is
lower, add more of the proper
mixture to the coolant surge tank
until the level reaches the FULL
COLD mark. 5. Replace the pressure cap. Be
sure the pressure cap is
hand-tight and fully seated.
6. Verify coolant level after engine is shut off and the coolant is
cold. If necessary, repeat coolant
fill procedure Steps 1 through 6.
Notice: If the pressure cap is not
tightly installed, coolant loss and
possible engine damage may
occur. Be sure the cap is properly
and tightly secured.
Engine Overheating
The vehicle has several indicators
to warn of engine overheating.
There is a coolant temperature
gauge on your vehicle's instrument
panel. See Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge on page 5‑12. In addition, ENGINE OVERHEATED
STOP ENGINE, ENGINE
OVERHEATED IDLE ENGINE, and
a ENGINE POWER IS REDUCED
message comes on in the Driver
Information Center (DIC) on the
instrument panel. See
Engine
Cooling System Messages on
page 5‑29 andEngine Power
Messages on page 5‑31.
If the decision is made not to lift the
hood when this warning appears,
but instead get service help right
away. See Roadside Service (U.S.
and Canada) on page 13‑8 or
Roadside Service (Mexico) on
page 13‑10.
If the decision is made to lift the
hood, make sure the vehicle is
parked on a level surface.
Then check to see if the engine
cooling fans are running. If the
engine is overheating, both fans
should be running. If they are not,
do not continue to run the engine
and have the vehicle serviced.

Black plate (23,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
Vehicle Care 10-23
Notice:Engine damage from
running the engine without
coolant is not covered by
the vehicle warranty. See
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode on page 10‑24 for
information on driving to a safe
place in an emergency.
Notice: If the engine catches fire
while driving with no coolant, the
vehicle can be badly damaged.
The costly repairs would not
be covered by the vehicle
warranty. See Overheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode on
page 10‑24 for information on
driving to a safe place in an
emergency.If Steam Is Coming from the
Engine Compartment
{WARNING
Steam from an overheated engine
can burn you badly, even if you
just open the hood. Stay away
from the engine if you see or hear
steam coming from it. Turn it off
and get everyone away from the
vehicle until it cools down. Wait
until there is no sign of steam or
coolant before you open
the hood.
If you keep driving when the
vehicles engine is overheated,
the liquids in it can catch fire. You
or others could be badly burned.
Stop the engine if it overheats,
and get out of the vehicle until the
engine is cool.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
SeeOverheated Engine
Protection Operating Mode on
page 10‑24 for information on
driving to a safe place in an
emergency.
If No Steam Is Coming from
the Engine Compartment
The ENGINE OVERHEATED
STOP ENGINE or the ENGINE
OVERHEATED IDLE ENGINE
message, along with a low coolant
condition, can indicate a serious
problem.

Black plate (24,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
10-24 Vehicle Care
If there is an engine overheat
warning, but see or hear no steam,
the problem may not be too serious.
Sometimes the engine can get a
little too hot when the vehicle:
.Climbs a long hill on a hot day.
.Stops after high-speed driving.
.Idles for long periods in traffic.
.Tows a trailer. SeeTrailer
Towing on page 9‑68.
If the ENGINE OVERHEATED
STOP ENGINE or the ENGINE
OVERHEATED IDLE ENGINE
message appears with no sign of
steam, try this for a minute or so:
If the overheat warning is displayed
with no sign of steam:
1. Turn the air conditioning off.
2. Turn the heater on to the highest temperature and to the highest
fan speed. Open the windows as
necessary. 3. In heavy traffic, let the engine
idle in N (Neutral) while stopped.
If it is safe to do so, pull off
the road, shift to P (Park) or
N (Neutral) and let the
engine idle.
If the temperature overheat gauge
is no longer in the overheat zone
or an overheat warning no longer
displays, the vehicle can be driven.
Continue to drive the vehicle slowly
for about 10 minutes. Keep a safe
vehicle distance from the vehicle in
front. If the warning does not come
back on, continue to drive normally.
If the warning continues, pull
over, stop, and park the vehicle
right away.
If there is no sign of steam, idle
the engine for five minutes while
parked. If the warning is still
displayed, turn off the engine until it
cools down. Also, see “Overheated
Engine Protection Operating Mode”
later in this section.
Overheated Engine
Protection
Operating Mode
If an overheated engine condition
exists and the ENGINE POWER IS
REDUCED message is displayed,
an overheat protection mode which
alternates firing groups of cylinders
helps prevent engine damage. In
this mode, a loss in power and
engine performance will be noticed.
This operating mode allows the
vehicle to be driven to a safe place
in an emergency. Driving extended
distances and/or towing a trailer in
the overheat protection mode
should be avoided.
Notice: After driving in the
overheated engine protection
operating mode, to avoid engine
damage, allow the engine to cool
before attempting any repair.
The engine oil will be severely
degraded. Repair the cause of
coolant loss, change the oil and
reset the oil life system. See
Engine Oil on page 10‑8.

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
i-4 INDEX
DrivingCharacteristics and
Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-64
Defensive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Drunk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Highway Hypnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-19
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . 9-19
If the Vehicle is Stuck . . . . . . . . . 9-22
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . 9-23
Winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-20
Driving for Better Fuel Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Dual Automatic Climate
Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
DVD Rear Seat EntertainmentSystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-31
DVD/CD Player . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-17E
E85 Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-60
Electrical Equipment,
Add-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-75
Electrical System Engine CompartmentFuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-41
Instrument Panel Fuse Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-46
Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . . . . . . . . 10-16
Check and Service EngineSoon Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Compartment Overview . . . . . . . 10-6
Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Coolant Temperature Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Cooling System Messages . . . 5-29 Engine (cont.)
Drive Belt Routing . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-3
Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-37
Fan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Overheated Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Overheating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Power Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-31
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Running While Parked . . . . . . . . 9-38
Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-32
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Entry/Exit Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10
Equipment, Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-72
Event Data Recorders . . . . . . . . 13-18
Extender, Safety Belt . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Exterior Cargo Lamps . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Exterior Lamp Controls . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Exterior Lamps Off Reminder . . . 6-5

Black plate (8,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
i-8 INDEX
MirrorsAutomatic Dimming . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Automatic Dimming
Rearview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Convex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Heated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Park Tilt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Monitor System, Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-56
MP3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-26
N
Navigation
Destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-51
Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-45
Using the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-42
Navigation System
Vehicle Data Recordingand Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13-19
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . 9-30
O
Object Detection System Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-32
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11 Trip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Off-Road . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7 Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-7
Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5
Oil Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-8
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-12
Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-30
Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21
Older Children, Restraints . . . . . 3-40
Online Owner Center . . . . . . . . . . 13-7
OnStar
®System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Outlets Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Overheated Engine Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Overheating, Engine . . . . . . . . . . 10-22
Overview, Infotainment System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3
P
ParkShifting Into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-35
Shifting Out of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-36
Park Tilt Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Parking Assist, Ultrasonic . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-52
Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-44
Brake and P (Park)
Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-34
Over Things That Burn . . . . . . . 9-36
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Passenger Sensing System . . . 3-32
Perchlorate Materials Requirements, California . . . . . 10-3
Phone Bluetooth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-83
Power Door Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Mirrors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Protection, Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10