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2016 Cadillac Escalade

Gas Midsize / large SUV

20262025202420232022202120202019201820172016
Specs & fuel economyRecallsComplaintsCrash ratings
D
Safety Signal
61 / 100
DSafety Signal · 61 / 100
4Recalls · 1 critical
104Complaints · owner reports
—Crash rating · NHTSA overall
17 mpgFuel economy · best combined
⚠️
Active NHTSA advisory: do not drive. Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls and see the recall details below.

The 2016 Cadillac Escalade is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize or large SUV with 2 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the Escalade 2WD, is EPA-rated at 17 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, 1 rated critical, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of D. Owners have filed 104 complaints, most often about engine.

Specs & fuel economy (EPA)

ConfigurationPowertrainDriveEngine / motorCityHwyCombAnnual fuel*
Escalade 2WDGasRWD6.2L 8-cyl152217$3,650
Escalade 4WDGas4WD6.2L 8-cyl152117$3,650

*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.

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Recalls (4)

Service Brakes, Hydraulic

high
3,456,719 vehicles

Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.

Risk: As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192268490.

NHTSA campaign 19V645000 · reported Sep 6, 2019 · General Motors LLC

Air Bags

high
40,683 vehicles

Problem: 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) softw

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.

Fix: 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.

NHTSA campaign 17V437000 · reported Jul 10, 2017 · General Motors LLC

Air Bags

high
3,640,162 vehicles

Problem: 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.

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.

Fix: 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.

NHTSA campaign 16V651000 · reported Sep 8, 2016 · General Motors LLC

Suspension

critical
Do not drive3,738 vehicles

Problem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. The front upper control arms may have inadequate welds near the control arm bushing.

Risk: Inadequate welds may allow the control arm to separate from the bushing, compromising steering and increasing the risk of a crash.

Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on May 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been made, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is 42190.

NHTSA campaign 16V256000 · reported Apr 28, 2016 · General Motors LLC

NHTSA investigations

Service Brakes, Hydraulic:Power Assist:Vacuum — Brake Vacuum Pump Failure (closed)

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

Opened Nov 20, 2018 · closed Apr 10, 2022 · action PE18012

Owner complaints

104 complaints filed

4 involved a crash, 3 a fire, 5 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.

Filed by year — 2016: 7 · 2017: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2019: 17 · 2020: 11 · 2021: 9 · 2022: 4 · 2023: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 15 · 2026: 10

Most-cited components

  • Engine — 31
  • Power Train — 22
  • Electrical System — 18
  • Unknown Or Other — 17
  • Suspension — 15
“06/14/2019 I WAS DRIVING MY CADILLAC TO ESCALATE ESV TRAVELING FROM BALTIMORE TO WASHINGTON DC 95 SOUTH BAND. 12:04 PM MY VEHICLE FLIP OVER. I ALMOST LOST MY LIFE. AFTER THE ACCIDENT, I INSPECTED THE VEHICLE. I FOUND THAT LEFT THE REAR WHEEL OF THE CAR; COME OUT OF THE VEHICLE. WHEEL LOCKS AND AXLE BAR OF THE TIRE CUT …”Jun 19, 2019 · Suspension · NHTSA owner report
“VACUUM PUMP DETERIORATION OR FAILURE CAUSED REDUCED STOPPING OF VEHICLE. BACKED UP VEHICLE IN DRIVEWAY AND COULD NOT STOP UNTIL I PUMPED BRAKE PETAL SEVERAL TIMES. AND FINALLY STOPPED. PLACED VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL AND SET HAND BRAKE. I CHECKED ACCELERATOR AND STOP PETALS FOR OBSTRUCTION AND FOUND NONE. PLACED VEHICLE IN D…”Jun 13, 2019 · Service Brakes · NHTSA owner report
“THE TRANSMISSION HAS MULTIPLE MALFUNCTIONS. DELAYED SHIFTS, HARD SHIFTS BOTH WHEN SHIFTING UP OR DOWN, VERY LARGE CLUNK OR HARD SHIFT WHEN GOING FROM 2ND TO FIRST. VERY UNPLEASANT TRANSMISSION AND MULTIPLE WAYS. DEALER KEEPS TELLING ME THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS ADAPTIVE TO THE DRIVER AND IT NEEDS TO LEARN HABITS. I HAVE…”Jun 6, 2019 · Power Train · NHTSA owner report

Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.

Crash ratings

ConfigurationOverallFrontalSideRolloverRollover risk
SUV AWDnot ratednot rated★★★★★★★★☆☆22%
SUV AWDnot ratednot rated★★★★★★★★☆☆21%
SUV RWDnot ratednot rated★★★★★★★★☆☆23%
SUV RWDnot ratednot rated★★★★★★★★☆☆20%

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.

Other Escalade model years

F

2026 Escalade

4 recalls · 41 complaints

A

2025 Escalade

1 recalls · 37 complaints

B

2024 Escalade

2 recalls · 68 complaints

C

2023 Escalade

4 recalls · 218 complaints

C

2022 Escalade

4 recalls · 134 complaints

F

2021 Escalade

12 recalls · 155 complaints

C

2020 Escalade

2 recalls · 35 complaints

A

2019 Escalade

1 recalls · 57 complaints

B

2018 Escalade

2 recalls · 36 complaints

B

2017 Escalade

2 recalls · 88 complaints

Sources & method

Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.

EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 36691, 36698). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.

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