Cadillac ESCALADE EXT 2003 User manual

The 2003 CadillacEscaladeEXTOwnerManual
SeatsandRestraintSystems ........................... 1-1
FrontSeats
............................................... 1-2
RearSeats
............................................... 1-6
Safety Belts .............................................. 1-8
Child Restraints
....................................... 1-28
Air BagSystems
...................................... 1-50
Restraint SystemCheck
............................ 1-63
Keys
........................................................ 2-3
DoorsandLocks
....................................... 2-8
Windows
................................................. 2-24
Theft-Deterrent Systems ............................ 2-26
Starting and Operating Your Vehicle ........... 2-28
Mirrors
.................................................... 2-41
Onstar@System ...................................... 2-46
HomeLinka Transmitter
............................ 2-48
Storage Areas
......................................... 2-52
Sunroof
.................................................. 2-70
Vehicle Personalization
............................. 2-71
Instrument Panel Overview
.......................... 3-4
Climate Controls
...................................... 3-23
Driver Information Center(DIC)
.................. 3-46
Audio System(s)
....................................... 3-62
FeaturesandControls ..................................... 2-1
InstrumentPanel ............................................. 3-1
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators
......... 3-30
DrivingYourVehicle ....................................... 4-1
Your Driving,the Road, and Your Vehicle
........ 4-2
Towing
................................................... 4-47
Service
..................................................... 5-3
Fuel
......................................................... 5-5
CheckingThingsUnder the Hood
............... 5-10
All-Wheel Drive
........................................5-50
Rear Axle ............................................... 5-52
HeadlampAiming
..................................... 5-53
Bulb Replacement
.................................... 5-58
Windshield WiperBladeReplacement
......... 5-66
Tires
...................................................... 5-67
AppearanceCare
..................................... 5-92
Vehicle Identification
............................... 5-1 00
Electrical System .................................... 5-1 01
Capacities and Specifications ................... 5-110
NormalMaintenanceReplacement Parts
...... 5-1 1 1
ServiceandAppearance Care .......................... 5-1
Maintenance Schedule ..................................... 6-1
MaintenanceSchedule
................................ 6-2
CustomerAssistanceInformation .................... 7-1
Customer Assistance Information
.................. 7-2
Reporting Safety Defects
............................ 7-9
Index ................................................................ 1

GENERAL MOTORS, GM, the GM Emblem, CADILLAC,
the CADILLAC Crest
& Wreath and the name
ESCALADE are registered trademarks and the name
EXT is a trademark of General Motors Corporation.
This manual includes the latest information at the time it
was printed. We reserve the right to make changes
after that time without further notice. For vehicles first
sold in Canada, substitute the name “General Motors of
Canada Limited” for Cadillac Motor Car Division
whenever it appears in this manual.
Please keep this manual in your vehicle,
so it will be
there
if you ever need it when you’re on the road. If you
sell the vehicle, please leave this manual in it so the
new owner can use it.
Litho in U.S.A.
Part No.
S2318 A First Edition
Canadian Owners
You can obtain a French copy of this manual from your
dealer or from:
Helm, Incorporated
P.O. Box 07130
Detroit, MI 48207
How to Use This Manual
Many people read their owner’s manual from beginning
to end when they first receive their new vehicle. If
you do this, it will help you learn about the features and
controls for your vehicle. In this manual, you’ll find
that pictures and words work together
to explain things.
Index
A good place to look for what you need is the Index in
back of the manual.
It’s an alphabetical list of what’s
in the manual, and the page number where you’ll find it.
@Copyright General Motors Corporation
06/24/02
All Rights Reserved

Safety Warnings and Symbols
You will also find a circle
with a slash through it in
You
will find a number of safety cautions in this book.
warning.
“Don’t
do this” or “Don’t let
things that could hurt you
if you were to ignore the symbol means “Don’t,’’
We use a
box and the word CAUTION to tell you about this book. This safety
this happen.”
I I
These mear. ____.e is sometl ...-= _.._ t cc,., .wrt
I you or otherpeople.
In the caution area, we tell you what the hazard is.
Then we tell you what
to do to help avoid or reduce the
hazard. Please read these cautions.
If you don’t, you
or others could be hurt.
...
Ill

Vehicle Damage Warnings
Also, in this book you will find these notices:
Notice: These mean there is something that could
damage your vehicle.
A notice will tell you about something that can damage
your vehicle. Many times, this damage would not be
covered by your warranty, and it could be costly. But the
notice will tell you what to do to help avoid the
damage.
When you read other manuals, you might see CAUTION
and NOTICE warnings in different colors or in different
words.
You’ll also see warning labels on your vehicle. They use
the same
words, CAUTION or NOTICE.
Vehicle Symbols
Your vehicle has components and labels that use
symbols instead of text. Symbols, used on your vehicle,
are shown along with the text describing the operation
or information relating to a specific component, control,
message, gage or indicator.
If you need help figuring out a specific name
of a
component, gage or indicator reference the following
topics:
Seats and Restraint Systems in Section
1
Features and Controls in Section 2
Instrument Panel Overview in Section 3
Climate Controls in Section 3
Warning Lights, Gages and Indicators in Section 3
Audio System(s) in Section 3
Engine Compartment Overview in Section 5
I\’

These are some examples of vehicle symbols you may find on your vehicle:
POSSIBLE A
CAUTION
INJURY
PROTECT
EYESBY
@
SHIELDING
CAUSTIC
BATTERY
ACID COULD
CAUSE
BURNS
AVO
ID
SPARKS OR
FLAMES
SPARK
OR
FLAME ‘lb
COULD
EXPLODE
BATERY
LATCH BOTH LAP AND
SHOULDER BELTS TO
PROTECTOCCUPANT
@
DO NOTTWISTSAFETY *
BELT WHENAITACHING
FASTEN
SEAT
BELTS
MOVESEAT
FULLY
\$%=
REARWARD* /z
SECURE
CHILD SEAT
PULL BELT
COMPLETELY
THEN SECURE
CHILD SEAT
DO NOT INSTALL
A REAR-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT
INTHIS SEATING
POSITION
DO NOT INSTALL A
‘ORWARD-FACING
CHILD RESTRAINT
INTHIS SEATING
POSITION
DOOR LOCK
UNLOCK
LIGHTING
-
MASTER SWITCH B- 0 , \
PARK‘NG LAMPS Pf
LAMPS $0
COOLANT
-1-
TEMP
-
ENGINE
CHARGING
BATTERY
SYSTEM
BRAKE
(@)
COOLANT
d
ENGINE OIL
PRESSURE
Wb
ANTI-LOCK (@)
BRAKES
L7-J
ACCESS
ENGINE
COOLANT
FAN
OWNER’S
MANUAL
SERVICE
MANUAL
V

.fi NOTES
vi

Section
1
Seats and Restraint Systems
Front Seats ..................................................... .l -2
Power Seats .................................................. 1-2
Power Lumbar ............................................... 1-2
Heated Seats
................................................. 1-3
Reclining Seatbacks
........................................ 1-4
Head Restraints
............................................. 1-5
Rear Seats ....................................................... 1-6
Rear Seat Operation
....................................... 1-6
Safety Belts .................................................... .l -8
Safety Belts: They Arefor Everyone ................. 1-8
Questions and AnswersAbout Safety Belts ......1-12
How
to WearSafety Belts Properly ................. 1-13
Driver Position
.............................................. 1-13
RightFrontPassenger Position
....................... 1-22
RearSeatPassengers
.................................. 1-22
RearSafetyBeltComfort Guides for
Children and Small Adults
.......................... 1-25
SafetyBeltExtender ..................................... 1-27
Child Restraints ............................................. 1-28
Older Children
.............................................. 1-28
Infants and Young Children
............................ 1-31
Child Restraint Systems
................................. 1-35
Where
to Put the Restraint ............................. 1-38
SafetyBeltUse During Pregnancy
.................. 1-21
Top Strap
.................................................... 1.39
Top Strap Anchor Location
............................. 1.41
Lower Anchorages and Top Tethers for
Children (LATCH System)
........................... 1.41
Securing a Child Restraint Designed forthe
LATCH System
......................................... 1-43
Securing a Child Restraint in a Rear Seat
Position
................................................... 1-44
Securing a Child Restraint in the Right
Front Seat Position
.................................... 1-46
Air Bag Systems ............................................ 1-50
Where Are the Air Bags? ............................... 1-52
When Should an Air Bag Inflate?
.................... 1-55
What Makes an Air Bag Inflate?
..................... 1-56
How Does an Air Bag Restrain? ..................... 1-56
What Will You SeeAfter an Air Bag Inflates?
....... 1-57
Passenger Sensing System
............................ 1-59
Servicing YourAir Bag-Equipped Vehicle
......... 1-64
Adding Equipment
to YourAir Bag-Equipped
Vehicle
.................................................... 1-64
Restraint System Check .................................. 1-65
Checking Your Restraint Systems
................... 1-65
Replacing Restraint System Parts After a
Crash
.................................................. 1-66
1-1

Front Seats
Power Seats
Move the seat forward or rearward by moving the
whole control toward the front or toward the rear of
the vehicle.
Moving the whole control up or down raises or lowers
the entire seat cushion.
Power Lumbar
HorizontalControl: You can adjust your vehicle’s front
seats with the horizontal control locatedon the outboard
edge of eachfront seat.
Raise or lower the front of the seat by raising or
lowering the forward edge of the control. Raise or lower
the rear of the seat by raising or lowering the rear
edge of the control.
You can increase or
decrease lumbar support
in an area
of the lower
seat bac k.
To increase support, press and hold the front of the
control.
To decrease support, press and hold the rear
of the control. Let
go of the control when the lower
seatback reaches the desired level of support.
1 -2

You can also reshape the side wing area of the lower
seatback for more lateral support.
To increasesupport, press and hold the top of the
control. To decrease support, press and hold the bottom
of the control. Let go of the control when the lower
seatback reaches the desired level of support.
The buttons used to
control this feature are
located on the front doors.
The engine must be
running for the heated seat
feature to work.
To heat the entire seat, press the horizontal button with
the heated seat symbol. Press the button to cycle
through the temperature settings of high, medium and
low and
to turn the heated seat off. Indicator lights
will glow
to designate the level of heat selected, three
for high, two for medium, and one for low.
The low setting warms the seatback and cushion until
the seat temperature is near body temperature. The
medium and high settings heat the seatback and seat
cushion
to a slightly higher temperature. You will be able
to feel heat in about two minutes.
To heat only the seatback, press the vertical button with
the heated seatback symbol. An indicator light on the
seatback button will glow to designate that only the
seatback is being heated. Additional presses of
the seatback button will cycle through the heat levels for
the seatback only. Press the horizontal button again
to heat the whole seat.
The heated front seats will shut
off automatically when
the ignition
is turned off.
1 -3

Reclining Seatbacks
Your vehicle’s front seatbacks have a recline feature.
Vertical Control: You can use the vertical control
to adjust the angle of the seatback. Move the reclining
front seatback forward or rearward by moving the
control toward the front or toward the rear of the vehicle.
Sitting in are,,,ned position when your vehicle
is in motion canbe dangerous. Even
if you
buckle up, your safety belts can’t
do their job
when you’re reclined like this.
The shoulder belt can’t
do its job. In a crash,
you could go into
it, receiving neck or other
injuries.
The lap belt can’t
do its job either. In a crash
the belt could go up over your abdomen.The
belt forces
would be there, not at your pelvic
bones. This could cause serious internal
injuries.
For proper protection when the vehicle is in
motion, have the seatback upright. Then sit
well back in theseat and wear your safety belt
properly.
But
don’t have a seatback reclined if your vehicle is
moving.
1 -4

Head Restraints
Pull straight up on the head restraint to raise it and
push it down to lower it.
The front head restraints can also be tilted forward in
addition to being slid up or down. To tilt either of
the front head restraints do the following:
Pull the head restraint toward you until you hear a click.
Then let go. The head restraint will stay in this position
unless you pull it forward more until another click is
heard. There are four positions available: initial position,
first click, second click, and third click. After the third
position (three clicks) is reached, pulling the head
restraint farther will release it back
to the normal upright
position.
The rear head restraints can be slid up or down just as
the front head restraints, but they do not tilt.
Adjust your head restraint
so that the top of the restraint
is closest
to the top of your head. This position
reduces the chance of a neck injury in a crash.
I -5

Rear Seats
Rear Seat Operation
The rear seat is a 60/40 split rear seat that can be
folded
to give you more cargo space and access to the
folding midgate. See
Midgate on page 2-13 for more
information on operation of the folding midgate.
To fold either side of the seat do the following:
1. Push the rear head restraints all the way down.
2.
Pull the seat loop
located where the
seatback and
seat cushion meet.
The seat will release
and allow you
to tilt
it toward the front of
the vehicle.
3. Graspthe seatback and pull it towardthe frontof the
vehicle. Push it down until it isflat. You may have
to
movethe front seats forwardslightly to do this.
4. Repeat the procedure for the other side.
To return the seats
to the normal position, pull the
seatback up and fold the seat cushion down.
1 -6

1. -.le seatback isn’t locked, it could move
forward in a sudden stop or crash. That could
cause injury to the person sittingthere. Always
press rearward on the seatback
to be sure it is
locked.
A safety belt that
is improperly routed, not
properly attached, or twisted won’t provide the
protection needed
in a crash. The person
’ wearingthebeltcouldbeseriouslyinjured.
After raising the rear seatback, always check
to be sure that the safety belts are properly
routed and attached, and are not twisted.

Safety Belts
Safety Belts: They Are for Everyone
This part of the manual tells you how to use safety
belts properly. It also
tells you some things you should
not do with safety belts.
Don’t let anyone ride where he or she can’t
wear a safety belt properly. If you are in a
crash and you’re not wearing a safety belt,
your injuries can be muchworse. You can hit
things inside the vehicle or be ejected from
it.
You can be seriously injured or killed. In the
same crash, you might not be, if youare
buckled up. Always fasten your safety belt,
and check that your passengers’ belts are
fastened properly too.
It is extremely dangerous to ride in a cargo
area,
inside or outside of a vehicle. In a
collision, people riding
in these areas are more
likely to be seriously injured or killed.
Do not
allow people to ride in anyarea of your vehicle
that is not equipped with seats and safety
belts. Be sure everyone in your vehicle is in a
seat and using a safety belt properly.
1
Your vehicle has a light
that comes on as
a
reminder to buckle up.
See Safety Belt Reminder
Light
on page 3-32.
h
In most states and in all Canadian provinces, the law
says to wear safety belts. Here’s why: They
work.
1 -8

You never know if you’ll be in a crash. If you do have a
crash, you don’t know
if it will be a bad one.
A few crashes are mild, and some crashes can be so
serious that even buckled up, a person wouldn’t survive.
But most crashes are in between. In many of them,
people who buckle up can survive and sometimes walk
away. Without belts they could have been badly hurt
or killed.
After more than
30 years of safety belts in vehicles, the
facts are clear. In most crashes buckling up does
matter
... a lot!
Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as
it goes.
Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it’s just a seat on
wheels.
1 -9

oc-1

The person keeps going until stopped by something. In
a real vehicle, it could be the windshield ...
or the instrument panel ...
1-1 1

or the safety belts!
With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does.
You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance,
and your strongest bones take the forces. That’s why
safety belts make such good sense.
Questions and Answers About
Safety Belts
Q: Won’t I be trapped in the vehicle after an
accident
if I’m wearing a safety belt?
A: You could be - whether you’re wearing a safety
belt or not. But you can unbuckle a safety belt,
even
if you’re upsidedown. And your chance
of being conscious during and after an accident, so
you can unbuckle and get out, is much greater if
you are belted.
Q: If my vehicle has air bags, why should I have to
wear safety belts?
A: Air bags are in many vehicles today and will be in
most of them in the future. But they are
supplemental systems only;
so they work with
safety belts - not instead of them. Every air bag
system ever offered for sale has required the use of
safety belts. Even
if you’re in a vehicle that has
air bags, you still have to buckle up to get the most
protection.That’s true not only infrontal collisions,
but especially in side and other collisions.
1-12

Q: If I’m a good driver, and I never drive far from
A: You may be an excellent driver, but if you’re in an
accident
- even one that isn’t your fault - you and
your passengerscan be hurt. Being a good
driver doesn’t protect you from things beyond your
control, such as bad drivers.
Most accidents occur within 25 miles (40 km) of
home. And the greatest number of serious injuries
and deaths occur at speeds
of less than 40 mph
(65 km/h).
home, why should I wear safety belts?
How to Wear Safety Belts Properly
This part is only for people of adult size.
Be aware that there are special things
to know about
safety belts and children. And there are different
rules
for smaller children and babies. If a child will be
riding in your vehicle, see Older Children
on page 1-28
or lnfants and Young Children on page 1-31. Follow
those rules for everyone’s protection.
First, you’ll want
to know which restraint systems your
vehicle has.
We’ll start with the driver position.
Safety belts are for everyone.
Driver Position
This part describes the driver’s restraint system.
1-13