Black plate (1,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
Seats and Restraints 3-1
Seats and
Restraints Head Restraints Head Restraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Front Seats Power Seat Adjustment . . . . . . . 3-3
Lumbar Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Reclining Seatbacks . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Memory Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Heated and Ventilated Front
Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Rear Seats Heated Rear Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Second Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Third Row Seats . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Safety Belts Safety Belts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
How to Wear Safety Belts
Properly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Lap-Shoulder Belt . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Safety Belt Use During
Pregnancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23 Lap Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-23
Safety Belt Extender . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Safety System Check . . . . . . . . 3-24
Safety Belt Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Replacing Safety Belt System
Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Airbag System Airbag System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
Where Are the Airbags? . . . . . 3-27
When Should an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
What Makes an Airbag
Inflate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
How Does an Airbag
Restrain? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
What Will You See after an
Airbag Inflates? . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Passenger Sensing
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Servicing the Airbag-Equipped
Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-38
Adding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle . . . 3-38
Airbag System Check . . . . . . . . 3-40
Replacing Airbag System
Parts after a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-40 Child Restraints Older Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Infants and Young
Children . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
Child Restraint Systems . . . . . 3-45
Where to Put the Restraint . . . 3-47
Lower Anchors and Tethers
for Children (LATCH
System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
Replacing LATCH System
Parts After a Crash . . . . . . . . . 3-56
Securing Child Restraints
(Rear Seat Position) . . . . . . . . 3-56
Securing Child Restraints
(Center Front Seat
Position) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
Securing Child Restraints
(Right Front Seat
Position) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-60
Black plate (19,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
Seats and Restraints 3-19
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. 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 ‑ 24 .
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.
Black plate (24,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
3-24 Seats and Restraints
To make the belt shorter, pull its free
end as shown until the belt is snug.
If the belt is not long enough, see
Safety Belt Extender on page 3 ‑ 24 .
Make sure the release button on the
buckle is positioned so you would
be able to unbuckle the safety belt
quickly if necessary.
If you find that the latch plate will
not go fully into the buckle, see if
you are using the correct buckle. Be
sure that the latch plate clicks when
inserted into the buckle. Safety Belt Extender If the vehicle's safety belt will fasten
around you, you should use it.
But if a safety belt is not long
enough, your dealer will order you
an extender. When you go in to
order it, take the heaviest coat you
will wear, so the extender will be
long enough for you. To help avoid
personal injury, do not let someone
else use it, and use it only for the
seat it is made to fit. The extender
has been designed for adults. Never
use it for securing child seats. To
wear it, attach it to the regular safety
belt. For more information, see the
instruction sheet that comes with
the extender.
Safety System Check Now and then, check that the safety
belt reminder light, safety belts,
buckles, latch plates, retractors, and
anchorages are all working properly.
Look for any other loose or
damaged safety belt system parts
that might keep a safety belt system from doing its job. See your dealer
to have it repaired. Torn or frayed
safety belts may not protect you in a
crash. They can rip apart under
impact forces. If a belt is torn or
frayed, get a new one right away.
Make sure the safety belt reminder
light is working. See Safety Belt
Reminders on page 5 ‑ 13 .
Keep safety belts clean and dry.
See Safety Belt Care on page 3 ‑ 24 .
Safety Belt Care Keep belts clean and dry.
{ WARNING
Do not bleach or dye safety belts.
It may severely weaken them. In
a crash, they might not be able to
provide adequate protection.
Clean safety belts only with mild
soap and lukewarm water.
Black plate (27,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
Seats and Restraints 3-27WARNING (Continued)Occupants should not lean on or
sleep against the door or side
windows in seating positions with
seat-mounted side impact airbags
and/or roof-rail airbags.
{ WARNINGChildren who are up against,
or very close to, any airbag
when it inflates can be seriously
injured or killed. Airbags plus
lap-shoulder belts offer protection
for adults and older children, but
not for young children and infants.
Neither the vehicle safety belt
system nor its airbag system is
designed for them. Young
children and infants need the
protection that a child restraint
(Continued) WARNING (Continued) system can provide. Always
secure children properly in the
vehicle. To read how, see Older
Children on page 3 ‑ 41 or Infants
and Young Children on
page 3 ‑ 43 .
There is an airbag readiness light
on the instrument panel cluster,
which shows the airbag symbol.
The system checks the airbag
electrical system for malfunctions.
The light tells you if there is an
electrical problem. See Airbag
Readiness Light on page 5 ‑ 14 for
more information. Where Are the Airbags?
The driver frontal airbag is in the
middle of the steering wheel.
Black plate (29,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
Seats and Restraints 3-29
Driver Side Shown, Passenger
Side Similar
If the vehicle has a third row
passenger seat, the roof-rail airbags
are located in the ceiling above the
rear windows for the outboard
passenger positions in the third row.
{ WARNING
If something is between an
occupant and an airbag, the
airbag might not inflate properly
or it might force the object into
(Continued) WARNING (Continued) that person causing severe injury
or even death. The path of an
inflating airbag must be kept
clear. Do not put anything
between an occupant and an
airbag, and do not attach or put
anything on the steering wheel
hub or on or near any other
airbag covering.
Do not use seat accessories that
block the inflation path of a
seat-mounted side impact airbag.
Never secure anything to the roof
of a vehicle with roof-rail airbags
by routing a rope or tie ‐ down
through any door or window
opening. If you do, the path of an
inflating roof-rail airbag will be
blocked. When Should an Airbag
Inflate? Frontal airbags are designed to
inflate in moderate to severe frontal
or near-frontal crashes to help
reduce the potential for severe
injuries mainly to the driver's or right
front passenger's head and chest.
However, they are only designed to
inflate if the impact exceeds a
predetermined deployment
threshold. Deployment thresholds
are used to predict how severe a
crash is likely to be in time for the
airbags to inflate and help restrain
the occupants.
Whether the frontal airbags will or
should deploy is not based on how
fast your vehicle is traveling.
It depends largely on what you hit,
the direction of the impact, and how
quickly your vehicle slows down.
Black plate (34,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
3-34 Seats and Restraints The passenger sensing system will
turn off the right front passenger
frontal airbag under certain
conditions. The driver airbag,
seat ‐ mounted side impact airbags
(if equipped) and the roof-rail
airbags are not affected by the
passenger sensing system.
The passenger sensing system
works with sensors that are part of
the right front passenger seat and
safety belt. The sensors are
designed to detect the presence of
a properly-seated occupant and
determine if the right front
passenger frontal airbag should be
enabled (may inflate) or not.
According to accident statistics,
children are safer when properly
secured in a rear seat in the correct
child restraint for their weight
and size.
We recommend that children be
secured in a rear seat, including: an
infant or a child riding in a
rear-facing child restraint; a child
riding in a forward-facing child seat; an older child riding in a booster
seat; and children, who are large
enough, using safety belts.
A label on the sun visor says,
“ Never put a rear-facing child seat in
the front. ” This is because the risk to
the rear-facing child is so great,
if the airbag deploys.
{ WARNINGA child in a rear-facing child
restraint can be seriously injured
or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates. This is
because the back of the
rear-facing child restraint would
be very close to the inflating
airbag. A child in a forward-facing
child restraint can be seriously
injured or killed if the right front
passenger airbag inflates and the
passenger seat is in a forward
position.
(Continued) WARNING (Continued) Even if the passenger sensing
system has turned off the right
front passenger frontal airbag, no
system is fail-safe. No one can
guarantee that an airbag will not
deploy under some unusual
circumstance, even though the
airbag is turned off.
Secure rear-facing child restraints
in a rear seat, even if the airbag
is off. If you secure a
forward-facing child restraint in
the right front seat, always move
the front passenger seat as far
back as it will go. It is better to
secure the child restraint in a
rear seat.
Black plate (36,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
3-36 Seats and Restraints If the On Indicator is Lit for a
Child Restraint If a child restraint has been installed
and the on indicator is lit:
1. Turn the vehicle off.
2. Remove the child restraint from
the vehicle.
3. Remove any additional items
from the seat such as blankets,
cushions, seat covers, seat
heaters, or seat massagers.
4. Reinstall the child restraint
following the directions provided
by the child restraint
manufacturer and refer to
Securing Child Restraints (Rear
Seat Position) on page 3 ‑ 56 or
Securing Child Restraints (Right
Front Seat Position) on
page 3 ‑ 60 or Securing Child
Restraints (Center Front Seat
Position) on page 3 ‑ 59 . 5. If, after reinstalling the child
restraint and restarting the
vehicle, the on indicator is still lit,
turn the vehicle off. Then slightly
recline the vehicle seatback and
adjust the seat cushion, if
adjustable, to make sure that the
vehicle seatback is not pushing
the child restraint into the seat
cushion.
Also make sure the child
restraint is not trapped under the
vehicle head restraint. If this
happens, adjust the head
restraint. See Head Restraints
on page 3 ‑ 2 .
6. Restart the vehicle.
The passenger sensing system
may or may not turn off the
airbag for a child in a child
restraint depending upon the
child ’ s seating posture and body
build. It is better to secure the
child restraint in a rear seat. If the Off Indicator is Lit for an
Adult-Size Occupant
If a person of adult size is sitting in
the right front passenger seat, but
the off indicator is lit, it could be
because that person is not sitting
properly in the seat. If this happens,
use the following steps to allow the
system to detect that person and
enable the right front passenger
frontal airbag:
1. Turn the vehicle off.
Black plate (42,1)Cadillac Escalade/Escalade ESV Owner Manual - 2012 - 2nd CRC - 11/29/11
3-42 Seats and Restraints According to accident statistics,
children and infants are safer when
properly restrained in a child
restraint system or infant restraint
system secured in a rear seating
position.
In a crash, children who are not
buckled up can strike other people
who are buckled up, or can be
thrown out of the vehicle. Older
children need to use safety belts
properly.
{ WARNINGNever allow more than one child
to wear the same safety belt. The
safety belt cannot properly spread
the impact forces. In a crash, they
can be crushed together and
seriously injured. A safety belt
must be used by only one person
at a time. { WARNINGNever allow a child to wear the
safety belt with the shoulder belt
behind their back. A child can be
seriously injured by not wearing
the lap-shoulder belt properly. In a
crash, the child would not be
restrained by the shoulder belt.
The child could move too far
forward increasing the chance of
head and neck injury. The child
might also slide under the lap
(Continued) WARNING (Continued) 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.