Reliable Auto DB

2013 Cadillac Escalade reliability

Is it reliable?

Owners have filed 19 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade over 14 years — 1 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Escalade years here — under the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Inflator, Electrical system, and Anti-theft device.

2012 Cadillac Escalade
Photo by Baron Maddock, resized from the original. Wikimedia Commons CC BY 4.0
Complaints

19

Per year

1

Recalls

4

Years on the road

14

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (5 of 19), then Electrical system (4) and Air bags (3). Those filings include 1 that reports a fire.

Next to 2012 and 2014

The 2012 Escalade has 26 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 20 complaints, 2 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014.

The complaint rate is complaints filed in this year’s first 3 years on the road, divided by however many of those years have passed. Recalls are a separate count. The numbers are for the US-market 2013 Cadillac Escalade. How we count. Data as of .

Recalls (4)

Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2021-02-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V053000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.
Recall air bags, frontal, passenger side, inflator 2021-02-05 · NHTSA campaign 21V054000
Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 2022. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328800.
Recall Electrical system 2014-10-01 · NHTSA campaign 14V614000
Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM’s number for this recall is 14515.
Recall steering, column locking, anti-theft device 2013-01-02 · NHTSA campaign 13V001000
Summary General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.
Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.

Complaints by component (19 total)

Powertrain
5
Electrical system
4
Air bags
3
Engine
3
Seat belts
2
Speed control
2
Steering
2
Electronic stability control (ESC)
1
Forward collision avoidance
1
Fuel and propulsion system
1
Visibility
1
Show 3 more Show less
Crash-flagged

0

Fire-flagged

1

Injury reports

0

Death reports

0

Complaints filed per year

220143201722018120194202022022120231202532026
Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at highway speeds, the "Engine Power Reduced" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the…"
    Powertrain, Engine · filed 2026-09-21
  • "The L87 in our Escalade had a catastrophic failure at 97,088 miles. We were told that the right cylinder head had failed which caused the lower main bearings to fail. We had the engine replaced with a newly rebuilt L87…"
    Engine · filed 2026-08-26
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 72 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. The driver discovered that the accelerator pedal adjustment button had been…"
    Speed control · filed 2026-04-14
  • "I am currently experiencing a concerning issue with my hybrid car, which has been stalling unexpectedly and shutting itself off while driving. This alarming behavior poses a significant safety risk, as it could…"
    Engine, Fuel and propulsion system · filed 2025-03-14
  • "The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle downshifted unintendedly, and the vehicle shut off. The contact was able to veer to…"
    Powertrain · filed 2023-03-21

NHTSA crash ratings

Version Overall Front Side Rollover
2013 Cadillac Escalade ESV SUV AWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade ESV SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT SUV AWD Not rated Not rated Not rated 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV AWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade SUV AWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars
2013 Cadillac Escalade SUV RWD 4 stars 5 stars 5 stars 3 stars

Stars are how this vehicle did in NHTSA crash tests. They are a safety result, separate from the complaint record. Not rated means that test was not run for this version.

Fuel economy

Trim Engine Transmission Drive City Hwy Combined Annual fuel cost
Escalade two-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 14 18 16 MPG $4050
Escalade all-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 13 18 15 MPG $4300
Escalade ESV two-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed Rear-wheel drive 14 18 16 MPG $4050
Escalade ESV all-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 13 18 14 MPG $4650
Escalade Ext all-wheel drive 6.2L, 8-cyl Automatic 6-speed All-wheel drive 13 18 14 MPG $4650
Escalade hybrid two-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Rear-wheel drive 20 23 21 MPG $3100
Escalade hybrid four-wheel drive 6L, 8-cyl Automatic (variable gear ratios) Four-wheel drive 20 23 21 MPG $3100

Compare

Previous year 2012 Cadillac Escalade Next year 2014 Cadillac Escalade See every Cadillac Escalade model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2013 Cadillac Escalade reliable?

Owners have filed 19 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade over 14 years — 1 per year. That is fewer complaints per year than most Escalade years here — under the median of the other years, which is 5. NHTSA has 4 recalls on file, including Inflator, Electrical system, and Anti-theft device.

What are common problems with a 2013 Cadillac Escalade?

The complaints owners file most often name Powertrain (5 of 19), then Electrical system (4) and Air bags (3). Those filings include 1 that reports a fire.

Is the 2013 Cadillac Escalade more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2012 Escalade has 26 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2014 has 20 complaints, 2 per year. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2012. The 2013 has fewer complaints per year than the 2014.

Has the 2013 Cadillac Escalade been recalled?

The 2013 Cadillac Escalade has 4 recalls on file with NHTSA. See the recalls table on this page for dates, components, and remedies.

How many complaints have owners filed about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade?

Owners have filed 19 complaints about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2013 Cadillac Escalade get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2013 Cadillac Escalade is 16.7 MPG. See the fuel economy table on this page for city and highway figures by engine and transmission.

What generation is the 2022 Cadillac Escalade?

T1 generation (2021-on).

What oil does a Cadillac Escalade take?

US notes for the 6.2L V8 list 0W-20 full synthetic on both K2 and T1 generations here.

What tire sizes does a Cadillac Escalade use?

K2 Platinum pages often list 285/45R22; T1 trims commonly use 275/50R22 or 275/60R20.