CSR

Cadillac · NHTSA safety record

2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV

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

8

Complaints

1

Crashes

0

Fires

0

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV have filed 8 safety complaints with NHTSA between May 2015 and May 2025. The most complained-about system is the electrical system, named in 2 of them (25%). The typical failure was reported at 40,000 miles, the median across the 7 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 6 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (6)

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE

26V329000 · May 21, 2026

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, XTS, 2015-2016 Cadillac ATS, CTS, and SRX vehicles. The front-driver air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.
The risk
An inflator rupture may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
The remedy
Dealers will replace the front-driver air bag module, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed June 19, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N262555870. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 21, 2026.

General Motors, LLC · up to 5,014 vehicles across all model years covered

POWER TRAIN:TRANSFER CASE (4-WHEEL DRIVE)

26V289000 · May 7, 2026

Do not drive until repaired

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2026 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, and GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles with four-wheel (4WD) or all-wheel drive (AWD), and certain 2015-2020 Suburban, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Yukon, Yukon XL, and Tahoe vehicles. A component missing from the drivetrain transfer case may cause the front and/or rear wheels to lock up without warning to the driver.
The risk
Front or rear wheel lockup increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Owners are advised not to drive their vehicle until the remedy is completed. Dealers will inspect and, if necessary, replace the transfer case assembly, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 18, 2026. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. GM's number for this recall is N262557620. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 7, 2026.

General Motors, LLC · up to 66 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

17V437000 · July 10, 2017

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
The risk
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 17287.

General Motors LLC · up to 40,683 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

16V651000 · September 8, 2016

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, 3500 HD, Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Sierra 2500 HD and 3500 HD, GMC Yukon, GMC Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles and 2014-2017 Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
The risk
A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 16007.

General Motors LLC · up to 3,640,162 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS

14V624000 · October 6, 2014

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV vehicles. The passenger side instrument panel top cover on the affected vehicles may have been manufactured using an incorrect spacer fabric, causing a reduction of adhesion between the spacer fabric and the vinyl show surface. This reduced adhesion may result in inconsistent passenger air bag deployment. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
Inconsistent air bag deployment increases the risk of personal injury in the event of a crash necessitating air bag deployment.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the instrument panel top cover, free of charge. The recall began on November 11, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14686.

General Motors LLC · up to 1,046 vehicles across all model years covered

AIR BAGS

14V259000 · May 16, 2014

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV vehicles manufactured April 6, 2014, through May 13, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the air bag module is secured to a chute adhered to the backside of the instrument panel with an insufficiently heated infrared weld. This may result in only a partial deployment of the front passenger air bag in the event of a crash. As such, these vehicles do not conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
The risk
In the event of an accident, an air bag that only partially deploys increases the risk of occupant injury.
The remedy
GM sent the owners an interim notification letter on May 16, 2014 to advise owners of the recall, and will mail owners a second letter when remedy parts are available. When the parts are available, dealers will replace the instrument panel right side upper trim panel, free of charge. The recall began on June 9, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14220. Note: Owners are advised that until the vehicle has been remedied, occupants should not sit in the front passenger seat position.

General Motors LLC · up to 2,838 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

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.

Brake Vacuum Pump Failure

PE18012

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened November 20, 2018 · closed April 10, 2022 · led to recall 19V645000

the brakes, the hydraulic brakes

On November 20, 2018, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE18-012 to investigate instances of sudden onset of a hard brake pedal that could result in extended stopping distance due to an issue with the brake assist vacuum pump in model year (MY) 2014 through 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 series pickup trucks and MY 2015 through 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, and GMC Yukon SUVs.If the brake assist vacuum pump fails to operate as intended, the amount of brake power assist supplied to the driver can be significantly reduced, extending the subject vehicle stopping distance. GM stated that the root cause of pump failures was due to foreign debris such as oil sludge in the engine oil. GM stated that this debris can become trapped by the oil inlet filter screen. Under normal operation, this screen allows a small amount of oil into the brake vacuum pump. The foreign debris can, over time, clog the pump which can cause a loss of lubrication and a reduction in the amount of vacuum produced leading to a hard pedal and extended stopping distance.On December 13, 2018, GM issued a Special Coverage (N182202780) for the brake vacuum pump issue in MY 2014-2017 trucks and 2015-2017 SUVs on the K2XX platform for 6 years or 72,000 miles. Special Coverage repair includes the replacement of the vacuum pump and vacuum pump belt. Consumers received notification of the coverage via mail. On September 6, 2019, GM notified NHTSA that it was conducting safety recall 19V-645 which reprograms the electronic brake control module (EBCM) and included approximately 3.5 million trucks and SUVs. In October 2019, GM extended the terms of special coverage N182202780 to 10 years or 150,000 miles as well as now including the entire scope of recall 19V-645. In October 2020, GM expanded the scope of coverage N182202780 to include the MY 2018 Escalade and 2019 Tahoe.The remedy implemented in GM recall 19V-645 appears to be sufficient in addressing the safety-related concerns of this issue. Loss of vacuum assist now occurs at a progressive rate as well as there being a more timely warning of a brake problem to the driver through the driver information center (DIC). In view of the recall action and revision to the special coverage, this Preliminary Evaluation is closed. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances. The ODI reports cited above are available for review online at NHTSA.gov under the identification numbers in the attached document.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 8.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 2 25%
ENGINE 2 25%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 2 25%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 13%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 13%
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM 1 13%
POWER TRAIN 1 13%
STRUCTURE 1 13%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 13%
VISIBILITY/WIPER 1 13%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2015 at 2.

2015 2025
2015 to 2025

In owners' own words

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

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

crash · 9,170 miles

ACCELERATION FOR NO REASON. I WAS BACKING OUT OF A PARKING SPOT AND I PUT THE CAR IN REVERSE. I WAS NEARING THE EDGE OF THE CURB ON MY RIGHT FRONT WHEEL SO I STEPPED ON THE BRAKE, STOPPED THE CAR, AND SHIFTED INTO DRIVE SO I COULD MOVE THE VEHICLE FORWARD TO AVOID HITTING THE CURB WHILE BACKING OUT . ONCE I SHIFTED INTO DRIVE, THE CAR WENT TO FULL ACCELERATION FOR NO REASON AND HIT A POLE AT FULL ACCELERATION APPROXIMATELY 5 FEET AWAY.

NHTSA complaint 10716407. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

towed · 89,000 miles

The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, there was an abnormal knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the variable valve timing, resulting in damage to the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be rebuilt or replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V274000 (Engine and Engine Cooling), but the VIN was not included. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the

NHTSA complaint 11658187, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

57,213 miles

CAR AT 56000 MILES WOULD NOT SHUT OFF. REASON WAS THE CHASSIS CONTROL,MODULE WAS IMPROPERLY DESIGNED AND WAS LEFT EXPOSED ALLOWING SNOW TO CORRODE THE MODULE. CADILLAC REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIR THAT INCLUDED $650 IN DIAGNOSTIC TIME

NHTSA complaint 11220368. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE

67,000 miles

EXHAUST GAS ENTERS CABIN WHENEVER STATIONARY. EVEN AT BRIEF TRAFFIC SIGNALS, FUMES QUICKLY ENTER VEHICLE. CAR IS LESS THAN 4 YEARS OLD.

NHTSA complaint 11151544. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)

40,000 miles

MY 2015 CADILLAC ESCALADE HAS BEEN IN THE SHOP FOR 50+ DAYS SINCE PURCHASING IN 2015 FOR DEFECTIVE BRAKES, TRANSMISSION, TRIM, TECHNOLOGY, CHASSIS, ELECTRICAL, AND HVAC. I HAVE CONTACTED GM AND THEY DON'T WANT TO REPURCHASE THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE IS CONSTANTLY IN THE SHOP FOR PROBLEMS AND IT IS NOT A VEHICLE THAT SHOULD BE OPERATED ON PUBLIC ROADWAYS. NUMEROUS PARTS OF MY TRANSMISSION HAVE BEEN REPLACED/REPROGRAMMED/REBUILT BEFORE DUE TO DEFECTS IN DESIGN AND BUILD QUALITY. THE TRANSMISSION CONSISTENTLY VIBRATES, JERKS AND SHUTTERS WHEN DRIVING, POPS AND CREAKS WHEN STOPPED AND CLUNKS WHEN LAUNCHING FROM STOP OR ROLLING STOP. THE TRANSMISSION CAUSES THE CAR TO TAKE OFF IN 4TH GEAR RATHER

NHTSA complaint 11075968, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

VISIBILITY/WIPER

7,500 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. WHILE DRIVING IN THE RAIN, THE AIR CONDITIONER CONDENSER FRACTURED AND THE AIR CONDITIONER FAILED TO WORK. THE FAILURE CAUSED THE WINDOWS TO FOG UP AND IMPAIRED THE DRIVER'S VISIBILITY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER (CADILLAC OF MAHWAH, NJ) WHO STATED THAT THE PART WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND STATED THAT IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE. THE MANUFACTURER PROVIDED THE CONTACT A RENTAL VEHICLE FOR THREE DAYS. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED AFTER SEVEN WEEKS WHEN THE PART WAS LOCATED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE AND REPAIR PART WERE NOT PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 7,500.

NHTSA complaint 11005298. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
THERE IS A DEFECT IN THIS VEHICLE WHERE THE LOWER ANCHORS (LATCH) FOR THE 2ND ROW PASSENGER SEAT ARE ASYMMETRIC - WITH THE INBOARD ANCHOR BEING BOTH LOWER, AND PROTRUDING FARTHER OUT, THAN THE INBOARD LOWER ANCHOR. THIS VEHICLE HAS 2 CAPTAIN'S CHAIRS IN THE 2ND ROW - BOTH FEATURE LOWER ANCHORS (LATCH). A PICTURE OF THE 2ND ROW DRIVER'S SEAT IS ALSO ATTACHED TO SHOW THAT THESE LOWER ANCHORS ARE SYMMETRICAL AS THEY SHOULD BE. THE PICTURE OF THE 2ND ROW PASSENGER SEAT SHOWS THESE LOWER ANCHORS TO BE ASYMMETRICAL. THIS VEHICLE HAS NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN A CRASH. IN THE PAST THE CLEK FOONF CHILD RESTRAINT WAS ATTACHED USING RIGID LATCH IN THE 2ND ROW PASSENGER SEAT OF THIS VEHICLE.

NHTSA complaint 10909660. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Cadillac Escalade ESV

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 10 1
2024 20 2
2023 73 4
2022 52 4
2021 66 10
2020 21 2
2019 32 1
2018 14 1
2017 37 1
2016 15 3
2011 13 5

Other 2015 Cadillac models

Every Cadillac on this site — 91 vehicles, 198 recall campaigns and 4 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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