2023 Cadillac Escalade Reliability Report

Most of these filings describe waiting on a recall repair because the part is not yet available, and many of those owners have had no failure. Others report loud engine noise, knocking, clicking, a chugging sound with no response at 75 mph, heavy oil consumption with a Check Oil message, and unexpected shutoff. Dealer diagnoses include crankshaft damage and engines that need replacing. One owner reports knocking and slow acceleration about 16,000 miles after the recall visit. Warning lights are usually absent before trouble starts.

Missing guidelines on the front and rear camera views are the most common complaint in this group. The guideline option is grayed out, an hourglass icon stays on screen, and owners say dealers cannot fix it. Other reports describe an engine seizing on the highway at about 9,600 miles with metal in the oil, plus rattling and lagging acceleration. One owner reports a faulty built-in trailer brake controller that disables trailer brakes. Another complains that auto hold switches itself off at every restart.

Brakes engaging on their own is the core complaint. One driver reports the brakes locking for about a second at 55 mph with nothing ahead. Another describes repeated unintended braking after an engine replacement, which wore out pads and rotors several times. Other filings describe the engine shutting down on the highway, taking braking and acceleration with it and forcing the driver to steer to the shoulder. One of those failures came at about 18,969 miles. Grinding while turning and four-wheel drive cutting out also appear.

Lost power assist during engine failure accounts for most of these filings. Drivers describe a hard shift followed by lost power, steering assist, and braking assist at highway speed. Dealers then replaced the engine after finding spun bearings and metal debris. Separate reports cite abnormal noise when turning the wheel, including a cranking sound. One owner had the steering column replaced and still hears the noise. Another could not get the car inspected while waiting for a recall part.

The rear camera loses its parking and pedestrian guidelines, either at delivery or within about a month, and a blue hourglass icon appears on the center screen. Owners say neither dealers nor Cadillac have a fix. A separate report describes automatic braking engaging at random while reversing with nothing nearby, at 1,506 miles. One owner also reports a vibration sound above 70 mph that repeated dealer visits did not cure.

A snapped front upper control arm on the driver side let the wheel come off while the SUV was moving, a direct loss-of-control risk. The other report describes the engine dying at highway speed at about 16,500 miles. Steering became heavy and braking became hard. A long wait for a replacement engine followed, and the owner reports continuing problems since then.