I came across the same issue. When towing, I like to downshift without getting hard on the gas. The paddle shift doesn't work like it is illustrated in the owners manual. Anybody else have better luck?

 

Thanks auto385 for the reply!

Talking to the first level folks at Cadillac via their website & telephone, they both agree with the owner's manual that the the Temporary Tap Manual Shift Mode should work....but they push you back to the dealer for confirmation. The dealer contact agrees it is listed in the owner's manual but it contradicts reality in that the vehicle does not function as described. Ironically, in the dealer loaner car (XT4) Temporary Tap Manual Shift Mode functions correctly!

Cadillac makes it very difficult to find the knowledgeable employee to say the owner's manual is wrong.....or say they are working on a software update to "fix" this since the Escalade has all the hardware to make it function correctly.

Thanks.

 

I had a similar frustration with the paddles. Seems the owner manual that came with the car (and even on the Cadillac web site as of this morning) contains incorrect / unclear info. The 2021s do not have "D/M" on the gearshift lever as the manual describes, but just have "D/L". To use the paddles, when in D, pull the lever down and that then enables the paddles. Then you remain in manual mode until you pull the lever down again which then puts you back into regular auto mode. The paddles only work this way; they otherwise don't do anything when trying to use them in regular auto mode. I spoke with my dealer and his tech foreman and they told me the above. They told me the car / transmission should be safe and fine using the paddles even when not in 2WD mode and not just at low speeds. I subsequently tried this on my own 2021 and everything worked as described above. Proceed at your own risk, of course, and if the above is helpful to anyone, then great.

 

Thanks for the reply AJW99....my 2021 does the SAME thing! Good catch on the gearshift markings being different than what is in the owner's manual. I just checked mine and it is the same mismarking.

Thanks.

 

The paddles should work like I'm in any other car. Pull the downshift, and it downshift. Period.

 

Agreed totally. So frustrating and annoying. Loving the car otherwise. This is the only stand-out "what the heck?" negative to the car I have found so far, fortunately. I hope they can fix it permanently with a simple OTA update or even a simple quick dealership service.

 

Anybody have any updates on this issue. Love to use the paddles as intended.

 

Hello everyone, I’m new to this forum.
I also have 2021 Cadillac Escalade and the only problem I have with the car are the paddle shifters, any updates on this ? I also have a Cadillac xt6 as a loaner and temporary mode works there . thanks

 

The instructions:
“Temporary Tap Manual Shift Mode”
1. With the transmission in D (Drive) and not in Permanent Tap Shift Mode, the Tap Shift controls will activate a temporary tap manual shift mode, allowing the transmission to be manually shifted.
2. To shift to the lowest available gear, press and hold the left control.
3. To deactivate, hold the right control briefly. Automatic shifts return after no manual shifts have been done for seven to 10 seconds.

describe how it works in any other car I have owned (Audi, VS, Dodge Jeep, BMW.) So they wrote the manual on how it should work... but as others noted.... the guys actually doing the software programing seemed to have missed the memo and got it wrong. :-/ I am a bit frustrated that we haven't seen more OTA updates to fix some of the software/programing issues.

 

The instructions:
“Temporary Tap Manual Shift Mode”
1. With the transmission in D (Drive) and not in Permanent Tap Shift Mode, the Tap Shift controls will activate a temporary tap manual shift mode, allowing the transmission to be manually shifted.
2. To shift to the lowest available gear, press and hold the left control.
3. To deactivate, hold the right control briefly. Automatic shifts return after no manual shifts have been done for seven to 10 seconds.

describe how it works in any other car I have owned (Audi, VS, Dodge Jeep, BMW.) So they wrote the manual on how it should work... but as others noted.... the guys actually doing the software programing seemed to have missed the memo and got it wrong. :-/ I am a bit frustrated that we haven't seen more OTA updates to fix some of the software/programing issues.

I completely agree, this is very frustrating.

 

Anything new on this? Surprised no one else is bothered by this. Going to the dealer this week to complain, but doubt it will do any good. It is just a software update to make this work right.

 

Hi there,
My car was at the dealership for two weeks, and they tried to get answers from the Cadillac engineers .. they came with a response , this car does not support the temporary shifting .
This is very frustrating because even the entry level Cadillac have it but not this one .
I use this feature all the time on my 2021 navigator and I love it wish it was the same in this one.
This is my biggest complain about this car and the second one , that it doesn’t have a place for sunglasses 😎👎🏻
Good luck to you let me know if you find anything

 

To turn on all the lights in the car, press and hold the light on top of the driver's seat. That will activate them all!

I find the car is definitely missing quite a lot of storage. It's surprising, because the interior is quite large. It's a big cockpit. It's quite spacious. My 2017 seems tiny in comparison. But yeah, they missed the mark on storage and cup holders. Very surprised about that.

For the HUD, you can turn all all sorts of info. Did you turn everything on? No turn signals, time or temperature, but I did activate a lot of other things. It filled up nicely,

My wife and I find the interior (Onyx Platinum Sport with auburn interior) to be really large; classy; luxurious. I think the screens are pretty cool!

 

Thanks letting me know how to turn the lights and activate all of them.
Yes I think I turned everything on in the HUD
But all I have is the speed , I do see the change of music source but only when I press the button, it’s not permanent on the HUD , I will try to play with it again.

very nice configuration of your car .

 

I have to agree with everyone on here that Cadillac made a MAJOR Screw up on the paddle shifters. They should be able to work anytime and in regular Drive mode you should be able to switch to manual mode. On my 2023 the ONLY way to shift is in Low gear. WTF

 

Cadillac updated the online owners manual. It's only under V-Series and not in the general manual mode section.