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Cadillac · NHTSA safety record

2010 Cadillac Escalade

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 38 safety complaints about the 2010 Cadillac Escalade with the US government. Of those, no death is recorded. 3 recall campaigns are open against it, covering the air bags.

The most complained-about system is the air bags, named in 21 complaints, 55% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 82,000 miles, the median across the 16 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers February 2010 to March 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

38 complaints on file

38

Complaints

0

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

0

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year. A further 1 defect investigation is open and unresolved.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
AIR BAGS 21 · 55%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 13%
ENGINE 3 · 8%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 3 · 8%
EQUIPMENT 2 · 5%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 5%
SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 5%
TIRES 2 · 5%
WHEELS 2 · 5%
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE 1 · 3%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 1 · 3%
POWER TRAIN 1 · 3%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 38.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 8.

12 9 6 3
10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 23 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2010 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2010 Cadillac ESCALADE, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test 4-DR. w/SAB
Overall Not rated
Frontal crash Not rated
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash Not rated
Side barrier Not rated
Side pole Not rated
Rollover
Chance of rollover 22.8%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

NHTSA made its frontal crash test harder for the 2011 model year, and says ratings from before that change should not be compared with ratings after it. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

3 on file

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

21V054000 · February 5, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.

General Motors, LLC · up to 1,778,128 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

21V053000 · February 5, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.

General Motors, LLC · up to 692,526 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

21V050000 · February 5, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2007-2008 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
The risk
An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328760.

General Motors, LLC · up to 2,641,272 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations

1 on file

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

EA21002

Still open engineering analysis · opened September 17, 2021

the air bags

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 Blomquist Report at www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.Consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substance that traps and holds moisture) in US vehicles are under recall. These "non-desiccated" inflators either have been or are required to be replaced.In some cases, the remedy part for these recalled inflators was, or will be, an inflator using either propellant 2004 or 2004L that does contain a desiccant. None of these "desiccated" remedy parts (which were installed in older model year vehicles) are currently under recall for a degradation concern. Certain subsets of desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004 for use as original equipment, however, have been recalled for a degradation concern. All Takata inflators produced with propellant 2004L contain desiccant, and none of these desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L are under recall for a degradation concern. There have been no reported field ruptures in any non-recalled desiccated PSAN inflators.It is understood that desiccants fully saturate at some threshold, at which point any additional moisture will not be captured. This means the degradation process observed in non-desiccated inflators using propellant 2004 may also occur in non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004, assuming additional moisture enters the inflator and high temperature cycling occurs. Based on available information, desiccant saturation can occur within the first five years in the worst environments, and the time required for full saturation is affected by multiple factors. While no present safety risk has been identified, further work is needed to evaluate the future risk of non-recalled desiccated inflators using propellant 2004.Three entities -- Takata (now known as TK Global), the Independent Testing Coalition, and Exponent -- have been studying the long-term behavior of Takata desiccated PSAN inflators using propellant 2004L (as well as 2004) in the presence of moisture and temperature cycling. The research efforts, which include development of predictive modeling techniques and field sample analysis, are ongoing. To date, none of the researchers have identified field evidence showing that propellant 2004L is undergoing a degradation process that leads to aggressive deployment and potential rupture. However, the time in service of such inflators remains short compared to that of the inflators using propellant 2004. Further study is needed to assess the long-term safety of desiccated inflators using propellant 2004L.The Office of Defects Investigation is opening this investigation to examine whether a safety defect related to propellant degradation exists in non-recalled desiccated PSAN frontal inflators manufactured by Takata. This investigation will require extensive information on Takata production processes and surveys of inflators in the field. Lists of recall actions that may have used desiccated PSAN inflators as remedy parts, as well as the makes and models originally manufactured with them, is available with the downloadable version of this document (see nhtsa.gov/recalls?nhtsaId=EA21002 -- note this information is subject to change/revision as the investigation proceeds). This investigation does not supersede EA15-001, which remains open.

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

ENGINE

towed · 91,000 miles

The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the check engine warning light illuminated with an abnormal sound. The contact changed the spark plugs, wires and coils however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not drivable. The contact towed the vehicle to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed with needing the lifters to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 91,000.

NHTSA complaint 11418274. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES
Tubo problema en k a lus derecha delantera l

NHTSA complaint 11724236. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

121,440 miles

My son was driving home from work down Highway 288 in Houston and the car just died and did not start. The door locks were going up and down like it was trying to reset and lock the car. I had it fixed and they said it was the fuel pump was out. We had the fuel pump fixed and a new battery put in. Would this cause it to loose power immediately and the door locks to go crazy?

NHTSA complaint 11560641. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

TIRES:TREAD/BELT

9,000 miles

The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac Escalade equipped with Uniroyal Tires, Tire Line: PAW Touring, Tire Size: 285/45/R22, DOT Number: (Unavailable). The contact stated that upon inspection, it was discovered that all four tires had experienced tread separation and the steel belts were exposed. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was 9,000.

NHTSA complaint 11530836. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CADILLAC ESCALADE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V050000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS NOT YET AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED IMPERIAL VALLEY CHEVROLET BUICK GMC CADILLAC (602 WAKE AVE, EL CENTRO, CA 92243) AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY NEITHER HAD THE TOOLS NOR THE PROCEDURE TO REPAIR THE VEHICLE. THE CONTACT NOTIFIED THE MANUFACTURER AND WAS INFORMED THAT THEY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT THE RECALL. THE CONTACT WAS TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER NUMBER HOWEVER, THERE WAS NO RESPONSE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER HAD EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONTACT HAD NOT

NHTSA complaint 11404990, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

242,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2010 CADILLAC ESCALADE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V050000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT CALLED MICHAEL CADILLAC (5787 N BLACKSTONE AVE, FRESNO, CA 93710) WHERE IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT THE PART WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PARTS DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

NHTSA complaint 11403575. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Cadillac Escalade

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2026 33 3 —
2025 20 1 —
2024 49 2 —
2023 139 4 —
2022 84 4 —
2021 72 9 —
2020 14 2 —
2018 21 1 —
2017 51 2 —
2016 89 4 —
2015 98 9 —
2014 20 2 —
2013 19 4 —
2012 20 3 —
2011 49 6 —

Other 2010 Cadillac models

SRX 474 CTS 67 DTS 22

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Cadillac on this site — 97 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst