Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13690472) - 2021 - CRC - 8/10/21
INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS 125
Service Electric Parking
Brake Light
This light should come on briefly
when the vehicle is turned on. If it
does not come on, have it fixed so it
will be ready to warn if there is a
problem.
If this light stays on or comes on
while driving, there is a problem with
the Electric Parking Brake (EPB). Take
the vehicle to a dealer as soon as
possible. In addition to the parking
brake, other safety functions that
utilize the EPB may also be degraded.
A message may also display in the
Driver Information Center (DIC). See
Electric Parking Brake0261.
Antilock Brake System
(ABS) Warning Light
This warning light should come on
briefly when the vehicle is turned on.
It is located on the center stack, below
the infotainment screen. If the light
does not come on, have it fixed so it
will be ready to warn if there is a
problem.
If the light comes on while driving,
safely stop as soon as it is possible
and turn off the vehicle. Then turn on
the vehicle again to reset the system.
If the ABS warning light stays on,
or comes on again while driving, the
vehicle needs service. A chime may
also sound when the light stays on.
If the ABS warning light is the only
light on, the vehicle has regular
brakes, but ABS is not functioning. If both the ABS warning light and the
brake system warning light are on,
ABS is not functioning and there is a
problem with the regular brakes. See
your dealer for service.
See
Brake System Warning Light 0124.
Automatic Vehicle Hold
(AVH) Light
This light comes on when AVH is
actively holding the vehicle. See
Automatic Vehicle Hold (AVH) 0263.
Lane Keep Assist (LKA)
Light
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS 133
last time this menu item was reset.
This number reflects only the
approximate average fuel economy
that the vehicle has right now, and
will change as driving conditions
change. The Average Fuel Economy
can be reset along with the trip
odometer by touching and holding the
touchscreen display when trip
odometer is displayed.
Zone 2
Time/Date :Displays current date and
time information.
Auto Lane Change : Displays the
status of a driver-requested lane
change when Super Cruise is active.
See Super Cruise 0283.
Average Speed : Shows the average
speed of the vehicle in kilometers per
hour (km/h) or miles per hour (mph).
This average is calculated based on
the various vehicle speeds recorded
since the last reset of this value. The
average speed can be reset by
touching reset in vehicle information
screen. Timer :
This display can be used as a
timer. To start the timer, touch Start
while this display is active. The
display will show the amount of time
that has passed since the timer was
last reset. To stop the timer, touch
Stop briefly while this display is active
and the timer is running. To reset the
timer to zero, touch and hold Reset
while this display is active.
Off Road : Displays vehicle pitch and
roll information, road wheel angle,
and four-wheel drive (4WD) status.
Battery Voltage : Shows the current
battery voltage.
Trailer Brake : On vehicles with the
Integrated Trailer Brake Control
(ITBC) system, the trailer brake
display appears in the DIC.
TRAILER GAIN shows the trailer gain
setting. This setting can be adjusted
from 0.0 to 10.0 with either a trailer
connected or disconnected.
TRAILER OUTPUT shows the power
output to the trailer any time a trailer
with electric brakes is connected.
Output is displayed as a bar graph. Dotted lines may appear in the
OUTPUT display if a trailer is not
connected.
Oil Life :
Shows an estimate of the
oil's remaining useful life.
If REMAINING OIL LIFE 99% is
displayed, that means 99% of the
current oil life remains.
When the remaining oil life is low, the
CHANGE ENGINE OIL SOON message
will appear on the display. The oil
should be changed as soon as
possible. See Engine Oil0367. In
addition to the engine oil life system
monitoring the oil life, additional
maintenance is recommended. See
Maintenance Schedule 0442.
The Oil Life display must be reset
after each oil change. It will not reset
itself. Do not reset the Oil Life display
accidentally at any time other than
when the oil has just been changed.
It cannot be reset accurately until the
next oil change. To reset, see Engine
Oil Life System 0369.
Fuel Economy : Displays information
about current and average fuel
economy.
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
13690472) - 2021 - CRC - 8/10/21
138 INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS
Vehicle Messages
Messages displayed on the DIC
indicate the status of the vehicle or
some action that may be needed to
correct a condition. Multiple messages
may appear one after another.
The messages that do not require
immediate action can be
acknowledged and cleared by pressing
the thumbwheel. The messages that
require immediate action cannot be
cleared until that action is performed.
All messages should be taken
seriously; clearing the message does
not correct the problem.
If a SERVICE message appears, see
your dealer.
Follow the instructions given in the
messages. The system displays
messages regarding the following
topics:
.Service Messages
.Fluid Levels
.Vehicle Security
.Brakes
.Ride Control Systems
.Driver Assistance Systems
.Cruise Control
.Lighting and Bulb Replacement
.Wiper/Washer Systems
.Doors and Windows
.Seat Belts
.Airbag Systems
.Engine and Transmission
.Tire Pressure
.Battery
Engine Power Messages
REDUCED ACCELERATION DRIVE
WITH CARE
This message displays when the
vehicle's propulsion power is reduced.
A reduction in propulsion power can
affect the vehicle's ability to
accelerate. If this message is on, but
there is no observed reduction in
performance, proceed to your
destination. Under certain conditions
the performance may be reduced the
next time the vehicle is driven. The
vehicle may be driven while this
message is on, but maximum
acceleration and speed may be
reduced. Anytime this message stayson, or displays repeatedly, the vehicle
should be taken to your dealer for
service as soon as possible.
Under certain operating conditions,
propulsion will be disabled. Try
restarting after the ignition has been
off for two minutes.
Vehicle Speed Messages
SPEED LIMITED TO XXX
KM/H (MPH)
This message shows that the vehicle
speed has been limited to the speed
displayed. The limited speed is a
protection for various propulsion and
vehicle systems, such as lubrication,
thermal, brakes, suspension, Teen
Driver if equipped, or tires.
Vehicle Personalization
The following are all possible vehicle
personalization features. Depending
on the vehicle, some may not be
available.
For System and Search functions, see
Settings
0203.
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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140 INSTRUMENTS AND CONTROLS
Rear Climate on Startup
This setting controls the rear climate
system behavior at vehicle startup.
Mimic Front will sync the rear
settings with the front driver climate
settings.
Touch Off or Mimic Front.
Auto Defog
This setting automatically directs air
to the windshield to assist in
defogging, based on temperature and
humidity conditions.
Touch Off or On.
Auto Rear Defog
This setting automatically turns on
the rear window defogger on based on
temperature and humidity conditions.
Touch Off or On.
Ionizer
If equipped and on, this feature helps
clean the air inside the vehicle and
remove contaminants such as pollen,
odors, and dust. SeeDual Automatic
Climate Control System 0220.
Touch Off or On. Auto Air Distribution
This setting controls the way air flows
in the vehicle when using Auto
Climate Control.
Touch Direct Airflow, Normal Airflow,
or Diffuse Airflow.
Collision/Detection Systems
Touch and the following may display:
.Alert Type
.Forward Collision System
.Front Pedestrian Detection
.Intersection Stop Alert
.Adaptive Cruise Go Notifier
.Side Blind Zone Alert
.Lane Change Alert
.Seat Belt Tightening
.Park Assist
.Park Assist Towbar
.Rear Camera Park Assist Symbols
.Rear Cross Traffic Alert
.Rear Pedestrian Detection
.Super Cruise Lane Change
Alert Type
This feature sets the type of alert from
the driver assistance systems to help
avoid crashes.
Touch Beeps or Safety Alert Seat.
Forward Collision System
This setting can alert of a potential
crash with a detected vehicle ahead
and can apply brakes to help reduce a
collision’s severity.
Touch Off, Alert, or Alert and Brake.
Front Pedestrian Detection
This feature may help avoid or reduce
the harm caused by front-end crashes
with nearby pedestrians. See
Front
Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System 0317.
Touch Off, Alert, or Alert and Brake.
Intersection Stop Alert
This feature alerts the driver when the
vehicle is about to go through a red
light or when the vehicle enters an
intersection and detects a potential
crash with a vehicle crossing ahead.
Touch Off or Alert.
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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210 INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM
.Enhanced Low Fuel Warning (if
equipped)–When the vehicle is low
on fuel, the low fuel light on the
instrument cluster flashes and the
DIC low fuel warning cannot be
dismissed.
.Do not tow a trailer.
Report Card
The vehicle owner must secure the
driver’s consent to record certain
vehicle data when the vehicle is driven
with a registered Teen Driver key.
There is one Report Card per vehicle.
Data is only recorded when a
registered Teen Driver key is used to
operate the vehicle.
The Report Card data is collected from
the time Teen Driver is activated or
the last time the Report Card was
reset. The following items may be
recorded:
.Distance Driven –the total distance
driven.
.Maximum Speed –the maximum
vehicle speed detected.
.Overspeed Warnings –the number
of times the speed warning setting
was exceeded.
.Wide Open Throttle –the number
of times the accelerator pedal was
pressed nearly all the way down.
.Forward Collision Alerts –the
number of times the driver was
notified when approaching a vehicle
ahead too quickly and at potential
risk for a crash.
.Forward Automatic Braking, also
called Automatic Emergency
Braking (if equipped) –the number
of times the vehicle detected that a
forward collision was imminent and
applied the brakes.
.Reverse Automatic Braking (if
equipped) –the number of times
the vehicle detected that a rearward
collision was imminent and applied
the brakes.
.Traction Control –the number of
times the Traction Control System
activated to reduce wheel spin or
loss of traction.
.Stability Control –the number of
events which required the use of
electronic stability control.
.Antilock Braking System Active –
The number of Antilock Brake
System activations.
.Tailgating Alerts –the number of
times the driver was alerted for
following a vehicle ahead too
closely.
Report Card Data
Cumulative Data is saved for all trips
until the Report Card is reset or until
the maximum count is exceeded.
If the maximum count is exceeded for
a Report Card line item, that item will
no longer be updated in the Report
Card until it is reset. Each item will
report a maximum of 1,000 counts.
The distance driven will report a
maximum of 64 374 km (40,000 mi).
To delete Report Card data, do one of
the following:
.From the Report Card display, touch
Reset.
.Touch Clear All Teen Keys and PIN
from the Teen Driver menu. This
will also unregister any Teen Driver
keys and delete the PIN.
Forgotten PIN
See your dealer to reset the PIN.
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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DRIVING AND OPERATING 229
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driving for Better FuelEconomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Impaired Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Off-Road Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . 238
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Starting the Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Retained Accessory Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248 Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Parking over Things
That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Dynamic Fuel Management . . . . . 250
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Automatic Transmission
Automatic Transmission . . . . . . . . . 251
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Tow/Haul Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Drive Systems
Four-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Brakes
Electric Brake Boost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . 261
Electric Parking Brake . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Automatic VehicleHold (AVH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/ElectronicStability Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Magnetic Ride Control . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Locking Rear Axle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Four Corner Air Suspension
System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Adaptive Cruise Control(Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Super Cruise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Driver Assistance Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . 298
Assistance Systems for Parking or Backing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Rear Pedestrian Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . 312
Assistance Systems for Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Forward Collision Alert (FCA) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315
Front Pedestrian Braking (FPB) System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Night Vision System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319
Side Blind Zone Alert (SBZA) . . . . 321
Lane Change Alert (LCA) . . . . . . . . 321
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) . . . . . . . . . . 324
Fuel
Top Tier Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326
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232 DRIVING AND OPERATING
(60 mph) travels 20 m (66 ft), which
could be a lot of distance in an
emergency.
Helpful braking tips to keep in mind
include:
.Keep enough distance between you
and the vehicle in front of you.
.Avoid needless heavy braking.
.Keep pace with traffic.
If the engine ever stops while the
vehicle is being driven, brake normally
but do not pump the brakes. Doing so
could make the pedal harder to push
down. If the engine stops, there will
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.
Steering
Caution
To avoid damage to the steering
system, do not drive over curbs,
parking barriers, or similar objects
at speeds greater than 3 km/h (Continued)
Caution (Continued)
(1 mph). Use care when driving over
other objects such as lane dividers
and speed bumps. Damage caused
by misuse of the vehicle is not
covered by the vehicle warranty.
Electric Power Steering
This vehicle has electric power
steering. It does not have power
steering fluid. Regular maintenance is
not required. If power steering assist is lost due to a
system malfunction, the vehicle can
be steered, but may require increased
effort.
If the steering assist is used for an
extended period of time while the
vehicle is not moving, power assist
may be reduced.
If the steering wheel is turned until it
reaches the end of its travel, and is
held in that position for an extended
period of time, power steering assist
may be reduced.
Normal use of the power steering
assist should return when the system
cools down.
See your dealer if there is a problem.
Curve Tips
.Take curves at a reasonable speed.
.Reduce speed before entering a
curve.
.Maintain a reasonable steady speed
through the curve.
.Wait until the vehicle is out of the
curve before accelerating gently into
the straightaway.
Cadillac Escalade Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada/Mexico-
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234 DRIVING AND OPERATING
Remember: Antilock brakes help avoid
only the braking skid.
Off-Road Driving
Four-wheel-drive vehicles can be used
for off-road driving. Vehicles without
four-wheel drive and vehicles not
equipped with All Terrain (AT) or
On-Off Road (OOR) tires must not be
driven off-road except on a level, solid
surface. For contact information about
the original equipment tires, see the
warranty manual.
One of the best ways for successful
off-road driving is to control the
speed.
{Warning
When driving off-road, bouncing
and quick changes in direction can
easily throw you out of position.
This could cause you to lose control
and crash. You and your passengers
should always wear seat belts.
Before Driving Off-Road
.Have all necessary maintenance and
service work completed.
.Fuel the vehicle, fill fluid levels, and
check inflation pressure in all tires,
including the spare, if equipped.
.Read all the information about
four-wheel-drive vehicles in this
manual.
.Know the local laws that apply to
off-road driving.
Loading the Vehicle for Off-Road
Driving
{Warning
.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.
.Keep cargo in the cargo area as
far forward and as low as
possible. The heaviest things
should be on the floor, forward
of the rear axle.
.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(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
injured if the vehicle rolls over.
Put heavy loads inside the cargo
area, not on the roof.
For more information about loading
the vehicle, see Vehicle Load Limits
0 240 and
Tires 0393.
Environmental Concerns
.Always use established trails, roads,
and areas that have been set aside
for public off-road recreational
driving and obey all posted
regulations.
.Do not damage shrubs, flowers,
trees, or grasses or disturb wildlife.
.Do not park over things that burn.
See Parking over Things That Burn
0 250.
Driving on Hills
Driving safely on hills requires good
judgment and an understanding of
what the vehicle can and cannot do.