Page 71 of 508
Black plate (15,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-15
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if your
shoulder belt is too loose. In a
crash, you would move forward
too much, which could increase
injury. The shoulder belt should fit
snugly against your body.Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The lap belt is too loose. It will
not give nearly as much
protection this way.
{WARNING
You can be seriously hurt if your
lap belt is too loose. In a crash,
you could slide under the lap
belt and apply force on your
abdomen. This could cause
serious or even fatal injuries. The
lap belt should be worn low and
snug on the hips, just touching
the thighs.
Page 72 of 508
Black plate (16,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
3-16 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is buckled in the wrong
buckle.
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if
your belt is buckled in the wrong
place like this. In a crash, the belt
would go up over your abdomen.
The belt forces would be there,
not on the pelvic bones. This
could cause serious internal
injuries. Always buckle your belt
into the buckle nearest you. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is over an armrest.
Page 73 of 508
Black plate (17,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-17
{WARNING
You can be seriously injured if
your 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.
{WARNING
You 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.
Page 74 of 508
Black plate (18,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
3-18 Seats and Restraints
Q: What is wrong with this?
A:The belt is behind the body.
{WARNING
You 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. Q: What is wrong with this?
A:
The belt is twisted across
the body.
Page 75 of 508

Black plate (19,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-19
{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.
The following instructions explain
how to wear a lap-shoulder belt
properly.
1. Adjust the seat, if the seat isadjustable, 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 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 may affect the
passenger sensing system,
if equipped. See
Passenger
Sensing System on page 3‑32
for more information.
If the belt stops before it reaches
the buckle tilt the latch plate and
keep pulling the safety belt until
it can be buckled.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 3‑23.
Position the release button on
the buckle so that the safety belt
could be quickly unbuckled if
necessary.
Page 76 of 508

Black plate (20,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
3-20 Seats and Restraints
4. If equipped with a shoulder beltheight 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 that the
shoulder portion of the belt is
centered on the shoulder. The belt
should be away from the face and
neck, but not falling off the shoulder.
Improper shoulder belt height
adjustment could reduce the
effectiveness of the safety belt in a
crash.Squeeze the buttons (A) on the
sides of the height adjuster and
move the height adjuster to the
desired position.
Page 77 of 508

Black plate (21,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
Seats and Restraints 3-21
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,
they will need to be replaced, and
probably other new parts for the
vehicle's safety belt system. See
Replacing Safety Belt System Parts
After a Crash on page 3‑24.
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.
Here is how to install a comfort
guide to the safety belt:
1. Remove the guide from its
storage pocket on the side of
the seat.
Page 78 of 508
Black plate (22,1)Cadillac Escalade EXT Owner Manual - 2011
3-22 Seats and Restraints
2. Place the guide over the belt,and insert the two edges of the
belt into the slots of the guide.3. Be sure that the belt is nottwisted 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.
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
The shoulder belt should go
over the shoulder and across
the chest. These parts of the
body are best able to take belt
restraining forces.
4. Buckle, position, and releasethe safety belt as described
previously in this section. Make
sure that the shoulder belt
crosses the shoulder.