2017 Cadillac Escalade
Gas Midsize / large SUV
The 2017 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 2 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of B. Owners have filed 88 complaints, most often about engine. NHTSA crash-tested it at 4 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escalade 2WD | Gas | RWD | 6.2L 8-cyl | 15 | 22 | 17 | $3,650 |
| Escalade 4WD | Gas | 4WD | 6.2L 8-cyl | 15 | 20 | 17 | $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 (2)
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
highProblem: 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.
Air Bags
highProblem: 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.
Owner complaints
88 complaints filed
6 involved a crash, 2 a fire, 6 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2017: 4 · 2018: 6 · 2019: 14 · 2020: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2024: 5 · 2025: 19 · 2026: 9
Most-cited components
- Engine — 31
- Power Train — 20
- Service Brakes — 20
- Electrical System — 13
- Unknown Or Other — 10
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
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SUV AWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 22% |
| SUV AWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 21% |
| SUV RWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 23% |
| SUV RWD | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | 20% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program.
Other Escalade model years
2026 Escalade
4 recalls · 41 complaints
A2025 Escalade
1 recalls · 37 complaints
B2024 Escalade
2 recalls · 68 complaints
C2023 Escalade
4 recalls · 218 complaints
C2022 Escalade
4 recalls · 134 complaints
F2021 Escalade
12 recalls · 155 complaints
C2020 Escalade
2 recalls · 35 complaints
A2019 Escalade
1 recalls · 57 complaints
B2018 Escalade
2 recalls · 36 complaints
D2016 Escalade
4 recalls · 104 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 37676, 37688). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.