Cadillac
Cadillac Escalade years to avoid
Years to avoid: 2022, 2023 and 2024. Best years: 2018, 2019 and 2020.
The 2022, 2023 and 2024 Cadillac Escalade draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2022 has 84 complaints (17 for each year on the road), 2023 has 138 complaints (34 for each year on the road) and 2024 has 49 complaints (16 for each year on the road), against a median of 8 a year across the 11 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2023 is engine failure (71 reports).
- 171complaints
- 7recall campaigns
- 2model years with a page
Newest report Sep 29, 2026 · checked Oct 2, 2026
Pick your model year
Owner complaints on file for each year.
Years to avoid
2022
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2023
Most reported: engine failure (71 reports, median 29,434 miles) and stalling (42 reports, median 28,000 miles).
2024
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Best years
2018
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2019
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
2020
Too few complaints for a page of its own.
Complaints for each year on the road
Each model year's NHTSA complaints divided by the calendar years it has been on sale, counting this one (a 2018 model has had 9). Older cars have had longer to collect complaints, so raw totals flatter the new ones. Blue bars are the years to avoid. Too new to judge: 2025 and 2026.
Within one model, sales change less from year to year than they do between models, so a jump here is mostly a jump in problems. The call: the years to avoid are the (up to three) highest at 1.5 times the model's median rate or more, and the best are the (up to three) lowest at two thirds of it or less, from 2016 on.
Guide How much should a years-to-avoid list decide? What these lists get wrong
At a glance
- Where the complaints sit
- The 2023 has the most complaints of any Cadillac Escalade year here: 138 of 171 (81%).
- Problem across the years
- Engine failure is the top problem in every model year with a page, 98 reports in all. Pooled across the years, half of the 47 owners who gave a mileage for engine failure were under about 16,000 miles.
- Crash, fire and injury reports
- 2% of Cadillac Escalade complaints report a crash, a fire or an injury, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
- Recalls on the top problem
- 1 of the 2 model years where owners report engine failure have a recall on the same system: 2023. A recall on the same system doesn't always cover the failure owners describe, so compare its summary with the complaints.
- When owners filed
- Filings jumped in 2025, with 81 complaints, 8.1 times the next busiest year. So far in 2026, 73 more have come in.
Photo: HJUdall, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
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Model years with too few complaints for a page of their own: 2014 (19), 2015 (98), 2016 (89), 2017 (51), 2018 (21), 2019 (25), 2020 (14), 2021 (72), 2022 (84), 2024 (49), 2025 (20).
Year by year
2026 Cadillac Escalade
33 owner complaints so far; too new to call. Most reported: engine failure (27 reports, median 7,000 miles) and stalling (14 reports). 3 recalls, including 26V-289 on the transmission and drivetrain (do not drive) and 26V-304 on the wheels.
2023 Cadillac Escalade avoid
138 owner complaints, 34 for each year on the road (4.3 times the model median). Most reported: engine failure (71 reports, median 29,434 miles), stalling (42 reports, median 28,000 miles) and misfire (16 reports, median 26,000 miles). 3 reports involved a crash and 2 people were hurt. 4 recalls, including 25V-274 on the engine and 24V-674 on the brakes.
Questions
What Cadillac Escalade years should you avoid?
The 2022, 2023 and 2024 Cadillac Escalade draw the most owner complaints for their age: 2022 has 84 complaints (17 for each year on the road), 2023 has 138 complaints (34 for each year on the road) and 2024 has 49 complaints (16 for each year on the road), against a median of 8 a year across the 11 model years old enough to judge. The most reported problem on the 2023 is engine failure (71 reports).
What are the best years for the Cadillac Escalade?
The 2018, 2019 and 2020 draw the fewest complaints for their age: 2018 has 21 (2 a year), 2019 has 25 (3 a year) and 2020 has 14 (2 a year). Model years before 2016 aren't called best, because complaints filed before 2015 aren't in the files this site reads and their counts run short.
What is the most common problem on the Cadillac Escalade?
Engine failure, with 98 reports across the 2 model years that have a page here. It's the single most reported problem on the 2023 and 2026.
How many recalls does the Cadillac Escalade have?
7 recall campaigns cover the Cadillac Escalade model years 2023 to 2026 on this site.
How many Cadillac Escalade complaints involve a crash, fire or injury?
2% of them, against 6% for the typical vehicle on this site.
Is there a recall for engine failure on the Cadillac Escalade?
On 1 of the 2 model years where owners report it: 2023.