2011 CADILLAC ESCALADE warning

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
7-2 Infotainment System
Introduction
Read this manual thoroughly to
become familiar with how the
navigation system operates.
The navigation system includes
navigation and audio functions.
Keeping your eyes on the road
and your mind on the drive is
important for safe driving. The
navigation system has built-in
features intended to help keep
your eyes on the road and mind on
the drive. A few features may be
disabled while driving. Note that
these functions will be grayed-out.
A grayed-out function indicates it is
not available when the vehicle is
moving.All functions are available when the
vehicle is parked. Do the following
before driving:
.Become familiar with the
navigation system operation,
control buttons on the faceplate,
and touch-sensitive screen
buttons of the navigation
system.
.Set up the audio by presetting
favorite stations, setting the
tone, and adjusting the
speakers.
.Set up the navigation features
before beginning driving, such
as entering an address or a
preset destination.
.Set up your phone numbers
in advance so they can be
called easily with the press
of a single button or a single
voice command (for navigation
systems equipped with phone
capability).
{WARNING
Taking your eyes off the road too
long or too often while using the
navigation system could cause a
crash resulting in injury or death
to you or others. Focus your
attention on driving.
{WARNING
Avoid looking too long or too
often at the moving map on the
navigation screen. This could
cause a crash and you or others
can be injured or killed. Use the
turn-by-turn voice guidance
directions whenever possible.

Black plate (28,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
7-28 Infotainment System
A warning message will display for a
few seconds.A message to safely remove the
device displays.
MP3
Using an MP3 CD
MP3 Format
There are guidelines that must be
met, when creating an MP3 disc.
If the guidelines are not met when
recording a CD-R(W), the CD may
not play. The guidelines are:
.Sampling rate: 16 kHz,
22.05 kHz, 24 kHz, 32 kHz, and
44.1 kHz.
.Bit rates supported: 32, 40, 48,
56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160,
192, 224, 256, and 320 kbps.
.ID3 tag information is displayed
by the radio if it is available.
The radio supports ID3 tag
information v1.0, v1.1, or v2.0.
The radio will display a filename,
song name, artist name, album
name, and directory name.

Black plate (93,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Infotainment System 7-93
Traffic Event Display Categories
The following are traffic condition
categories and symbols that can
appear on the display:
Category 1, Road Closure:
q(Road Closed):Road and/or
ramps closed.
Category 2, Traffic Delayed:
o(Stopped Traffic): Traffic
stopped, stop and go traffic, delayed
and congested traffic.
Category 3, Incidents:
p(Alert): Object in the roadway,
disabled vehicle, or dangerous road
conditions.
t(Accident): Roadway obstructed
due to accident.
s(Road Works): Delayed traffic
due to construction.
Category 4, Advisories:
j/r(Road Condition): Delayed
or stopped traffic, lane blocked or
closed due to a road condition.
k(Weather): Heavy rain, snow,
or fog weather condition.
m(Parking): Available
parking area.
l(Information): Special event,
general information, or warning. Detailed Traffic Event Screens
Traffic Event Screen
The detailed Traffic Event screens
are used to display additional
details of a traffic event condition.
This screen may display if:
.Scrolling to an event on the map
and then pressing INFO.
.Selecting a traffic event listed on
the Traffic Event List screen.
The Traffic Event screen may
display when approaching a traffic
event.

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-2 Driving and Operating
Towing
General TowingInformation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-70
Driving Characteristics and Towing Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-71
Trailer Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-74
Towing Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . 9-78
Conversions and Add-Ons
Add-On Electrical
Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-82
Driving Information
Defensive Driving
Defensive driving means “always
expect the unexpected.” The first
step in driving defensively is to wear
your safety belt. See Safety Belts on
page 3‑22.
{WARNING
Assume that other road users
(pedestrians, bicyclists, and other
drivers) are going to be careless
(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
and make mistakes. Anticipate
what they might do and be ready.
In addition:
.Allow enough following
distance between you and
the driver in front of you.
.Focus on the task of driving.
Driver distraction can cause
collisions resulting in injury or
possible death. These simple
defensive driving techniques
could save your life.

Black plate (3,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-3
Drunk Driving
{WARNING
Drinking and then driving is
very dangerous. Your reflexes,
perceptions, attentiveness,
and judgment can be affected by
even a small amount of alcohol.
You can have a serious—or
even fatal —collision if you drive
after drinking. Do not drink and
drive or ride with a driver who has
been drinking. Ride home in a
cab; or if you are with a group,
designate a driver who will not
drink.
Death and injury associated with
drinking and driving is a global
tragedy.
Alcohol affects four things that
anyone needs to drive a vehicle:
judgment, muscular coordination,
vision, and attentiveness. Police records show that
almost 40 percent of all motor
vehicle-related deaths involve
alcohol. In most cases, these
deaths are the result of someone
who was drinking and driving.
In recent years, more than
17,000 annual motor vehicle-related
deaths have been associated with
the use of alcohol, with about
250,000 people injured.
For persons under 21, it is against
the law in every U.S. state to drink
alcohol. There are good medical,
psychological, and developmental
reasons for these laws.
The obvious way to eliminate the
leading highway safety problem is
for people never to drink alcohol
and then drive.
Medical research shows that
alcohol in a person's system
can make crash injuries worse,
especially injuries to the brain,
spinal cord, or heart. This means
that when anyone who has been
drinking
—driver or passenger —is
in a crash, that person's chance of
being killed or permanently disabled
is higher than if the person had not
been drinking.
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems
help to control the vehicle while
driving —brakes, steering, and
accelerator. At times, as when
driving on snow or ice, it is easy to
ask more of those control systems
than the tires and road can provide.
Meaning, you can lose control of the
vehicle. See StabiliTrak
®System on
page 9‑47.
Adding non‐dealer accessories
can affect vehicle performance.
See Accessories and Modifications
on page 10‑3.

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
9-4 Driving and Operating
Braking
SeeBrake System Warning Light on
page 5‑21.
Braking action involves perception
time and reaction time. Deciding
to push the brake pedal is
perception time. Actually doing
it is reaction time.
Average reaction time is about
three‐fourths of a second. But that
is only an average. It might be
less with one driver and as long
as two or three seconds or more
with another. Age, physical
condition, alertness, coordination,
and eyesight all play a part. So do
alcohol, drugs, and frustration. But
even in three‐fourths of a second,
a vehicle moving at 100 km/h
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft).
That could be a lot of distance
in an emergency, so keeping
enough space between the
vehicle and others is important. And, of course, actual stopping
distances vary greatly with the
surface of the road, whether it is
pavement or gravel; the condition
of the road, whether it is wet, dry,
or icy; tire tread; the condition of the
brakes; the weight of the vehicle;
and the amount of brake force
applied.
Avoid needless heavy
braking. Some people drive in
spurts
—heavy acceleration
followed by heavy braking —rather
than keeping pace with traffic.
This is a mistake. The brakes
might not have time to cool between
hard stops. The brakes will wear
out much faster with a lot of heavy
braking. Keeping pace with the
traffic and allowing realistic following
distances eliminates a lot of
unnecessary braking. That means
better braking and longer brake life. If the engine ever stops while
the vehicle is being driven, brake
normally but do not pump the
brakes. If the brakes are pumped,
the pedal could get harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
still be some power brake assist but
it will be used when the brake is
applied. Once the power assist is
used up, it can take longer to stop
and the brake pedal will be harder
to push.
Adding non‐dealer accessories
can affect vehicle performance.
See
Accessories and Modifications
on page 10‑3.

Black plate (7,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-7
Of course, traction is reduced when
water, snow, ice, gravel, or other
material is on the road. For safety,
slow down and adjust your driving
to these conditions. It is important
to slow down on slippery surfaces
because stopping distance is longer
and vehicle control more limited.
While driving on a surface with
reduced traction, try to avoid
sudden steering, acceleration,
or braking, including reducing
vehicle speed by shifting to a lower
gear. Any sudden changes could
cause the tires to slide. You might
not realize the surface is slippery
until the vehicle is skidding. Learn
to recognize warning clues—such
as enough water, ice, or packed
snow on the road to make a
mirrored surface —and slow down
when you have any doubt.
Remember: Antilock brakes help
avoid only the braking skid.Off-Road Driving
Vehicles with all‐wheel drive can be
used for off‐road driving. Vehicles
without all‐wheel drive and vehicles
with 22‐inch tire/wheel assemblies
should not be driven off-road except
on a level, solid surface.
Many of the vehicle design features
that help make the vehicle more
responsive on paved roads during
poor weather conditions also help
make it better suited for off‐road
use than conventional passenger
vehicles. The vehicle does not
have features usually thought to
be necessary for extended or
severe off‐road use such as special
underbody shielding and transfer
case low gear range.
The airbag system is designed to
work properly under a wide range
of conditions, including off‐road
usage. Always wear your safety belt
and observe safe driving speeds,
especially on rough terrain. 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
reflexes, 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.
Off-roading can be great fun but has
some definite hazards. The greatest
of these is the terrain itself. When
off-road driving, traffic lanes are not
marked, curves are not banked, and
there are no road signs. Surfaces
can be slippery, rough, uphill,
or downhill.
Avoid sharp turns and abrupt
maneuvers. Failure to operate the
vehicle correctly off‐road could
result in loss of vehicle control
or vehicle rollover.

Black plate (9,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2011
Driving and Operating 9-9
Loading Your Vehicle for
Off-Road Driving
{WARNING
.Cargo on the load floor piled
higher than the seatbacks
can be thrown forward during
a sudden stop. You or your
passengers could be injured.
Keep cargo below the top of
the seatbacks.
.Unsecured cargo on the
load floor can be tossed
about when driving over
rough terrain. You or your
passengers can be struck
by flying objects. Secure
the cargo properly.(Continued)
WARNING (Continued)
.Heavy loads on the roof raise
the vehicle's center of gravity,
making it more likely to roll
over. You can be seriously or
fatally injured if the vehicle
rolls over. Put heavy loads
inside the cargo area, not on
the roof. Keep cargo in the
cargo area as far forward
and low as possible. There are some important things to
remember about how to load your
vehicle..The heaviest things should be
on the floor, forward of the rear
axle. Put heavier items as far
forward as you can.
.Be sure the load is properly
secured, so things are not
tossed around.
You will find other important
information under Vehicle Load
Limits on page 9‑24 andTires on
page 10‑50.