Cadillac 2003 Escalade Owner's Manual page 253

The STABILITY SYS ACTIVE message will appear on
the Driver Information Center (DIC) only when the
system is both on and activated. You may also feel or
hear the system working; this is normal. For more
information on the stability messages, see Driver
Information Center (DIC) on page 3-47.
Stabilitrak@ and part of the
traction control system can
be turned off or back on
by pressing the Stabilitrak@
button located on the
instrument panel.
When the Stabilitrak@ system has been turned
off
you
may still hear system noises as a result of the
brake-traction control coming on.
It is recommended to leave the system on for normal
driving conditions, but it may be necessary to turn
the system off if your vehicle is stuck in sand, mud, ice
or snow, and you want to "rock your vehicle to
attempt to free it. It may also be necessary to turn off
the system when driving in extreme off-road conditions
where high wheel spin is required. See If You Are
Stuck: In Sand, Mud, Ice or Snow on page 4-44.
Traction Control Operation
The traction control system is part of the Stabilitrak@
system. Traction control limits wheel spin by reducing
engine power to the wheels (engine speed
management) and by applying brakes to each individual
wheel (brake-traction control) as necessary.
When the system is turned off, the traction off light will
illuminate, and the STABILITY SYS DISABLED
message will appear on the DIC to warn the driver that
both the stability system and part of the traction
control system are disabled. Your vehicle will still have
brake-traction control when Stabilitrak@ is off, but
will not be able to use the engine speed management
system. See "Traction Control Operation'' next for
more information.
The traction control system is enabled automatically
when you start your vehicle, and it will activate
and display the TRACTION ACTIVE message in the
Driver Information Center (DIC) if it senses that any of
the wheels are spinning or beginning to lose traction
while driving. If you turn off Stabilitrak@, only the
brake-traction control portion of traction control will
work. The engine speed management will be disabled.
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