2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV: owner complaints and recalls

Complaints about the 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV are still climbing years after launch. The last three full years account for 33 of the 86 filings on record, which usually means a defect that surfaces with mileage rather than a factory fault.

86
Complaints
1
Recalls
6
Crash reports
2
Fire reports
6
Injuries
97.7
Severity index

Severity index 97.7 - High. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 97.7p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

Among the 136 2017 vehicles we track with at least 40 complaints on file, the 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV ranks 35 of 136 by severity, where 1 is the worst. Its severity is higher than 74% of its model-year peers. See the full 2017 ranking.

What actually fails

EngineEngine: 30 complaints (34.9%)30 35%Service BrakesService Brakes: 21 complaints (24.4%)21 24%Power TrainPower Train: 20 complaints (23.3%)20 23%Electrical SystemElectrical System: 12 complaints (14.0%)12 14%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 9 complaints (10.5%)9 10%StructureStructure: 5 complaints (5.8%)5 6%SuspensionSuspension: 4 complaints (4.7%)4 5%Vehicle Speed ControlVehicle Speed Control: 4 complaints (4.7%)4 5%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ENGINE3034.9%
SERVICE BRAKES2124.4%
POWER TRAIN2023.3%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1214.0%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER910.5%
STRUCTURE55.8%
SUSPENSION44.7%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL44.7%

Complaints filed per year

010192017: 42018: 62019: 142020: 92021: 72022: 62023: 92024: 52025: 192026: 7 (partial year)1718192021222324251926
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20174
20186
201914
20209
20217
20226
20239
20245
202519
2026 (year to date)7
Complaint volume is rising - the last three years carry 1.5x the filings of the three before them, which usually signals a wear-related defect surfacing with age.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
16V65100008/09/2016AIR BAGS:FRONTALGeneral 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
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.