2021 Cadillac Escalade reliability

Is it reliable?

The 2021 Cadillac Escalade has 89 complaints with NHTSA after 6 years, or 6 per year. That is more complaints per year than most Escalade years here — over the median of the other years, which is 3. NHTSA has 9 recalls on file, including Tank, Internal engine parts, and Control module, software.

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

Complaints

Per year

Recalls

Years on the road

What owners report

The complaints owners file most often name Engine (50 of 89), then Electrical system (10) and Engine and engine cooling (10). The most filings arrived in 2025 (36 of 89). Those filings include 3 that report a crash, 2 that report a fire, and 2 that report an injury.

Next to 2020 and 2022

The 2020 Escalade has 14 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2022 has 82 complaints, 3 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

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 2021 Cadillac Escalade. How we count. Data as of 2026-10-16.

Recalls (9)

Recall diesel fuel system, storage, tank 2025-09-18 · NHTSA campaign 25V619000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, 2021, 2023-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe, and 2022 and 2024 GMC Yukon vehicles equipped with a 6-cylinder diesel engine. The original fuel tank may have been replaced with an incorrect fuel tank, which can allow fuel to leak in a rollover crash.

Remedy Dealers will inspect for the correct fuel tank and replace it, if necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed November 5, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N252512770. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on September 18, 2025.

Recall engine and cooling, engine, internal engine parts 2025-04-24 · NHTSA campaign 25V274000

Summary General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, and Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with a 6.2L V8 gas engine. The connecting rod and/or crankshaft engine components may have manufacturing defects that can lead to engine damage and engine failure.

Remedy Dealers will inspect the engine, and as necessary, repair or replace the engine. For vehicles that pass inspection, dealers will add higher viscosity oil, install 6 oil fill cap, replace the oil filter, and update the owner's manual. Repairs will be performed free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed June 18, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N252494000.

Recall powertrain, automatic transmission, control module, software 2024-10-24 · NHTSA campaign 24V797000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, GMC Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with diesel engines. The transmission control valve may fail and cause the rear wheels to lock-up.

Remedy Dealers will install new transmission control module software, free of charge. GM will provide a special coverage program to cover the repair of transmissions that are identified by the remedy software as containing a defective control valve. Owner notification letters were mailed December 12, 2024. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, GMC customer service at GMC 1-800-462-8782 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242454440.

Recall exterior lighting, lighting control module, software 2022-11-03 · NHTSA campaign 22V827000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Yukon, Yukon XL, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, Cadillac Escalade, and Cadillac Escalade ESV vehicles. The daytime running lights (DRLs) may not deactivate when the headlights are on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."

Remedy Dealers will provide an over-the-air (OTA) update for the Body Control Module software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed December 15, 2022. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N222382220.

Recall seat belts, critical fasteners 2022-08-11 · NHTSA campaign 22V617000

Summary General Motors, LLC (M) is recalling certain 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles equipped with third-row seats. The rivet that retains the buckle to the mounting bracket in the left or right side third-row seat belt buckle assembly may have been improperly formed.

Remedy Dealers will inspect the rivet head formation on both the left and right side third-row seat belt buckle assemblies and replace seat belt buckle assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters informing owners of the safety risk were mailed September 28, 2022. Owner notification letters were mailed on November 1, 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 N222372380.

Recall Driveshaft 2022-01-27 · NHTSA campaign 22V036000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, and Chevrolet Tahoe vehicles. The rear wheel driveshaft assemblies may have internal components that were not heat-treated properly, possibly resulting in driveshaft failure.

Remedy Dealers will replace the left and/or right rear driveshaft assemblies, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 14, 2022. 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 N212351030.

Recall gasoline fuel system, delivery, fuel pump, control module 2021-09-23 · NHTSA campaign 21V739000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The fuel pump power control module may cause the fuel pump to fail or operate intermittently, which can interrupt fuel flow to the engine, and cause an unexpected engine stall.

Remedy Dealers will replace the fuel pump power control module, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 14, 2021. 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 N212332040.

Recall air bags, SRS malfunction warning light 2021-06-10 · NHTSA campaign 21V421000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Buick Envision, Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Corvette, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles. The communications gateway module incorrectly processes a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module (SDM), causing the air bag malfunction indicator light to inconsistently illuminate.

Remedy The communications gateway module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 1, 2021. 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 N212338110.

Recall Seat belts 2021-03-18 · NHTSA campaign 21V190000

Summary General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL, Chevrolet Suburban, and Tahoe vehicles with third-row seating. The third-row outboard seat belts may have been entrapped or misrouted behind the outboard seat-folding mechanism, which could result in damaged seat belts.

Remedy GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the third-row outboard seat belts, replacing any damaged seat belts, and rerouting them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began on April 21, 2021. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, and Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N202313000.

Complaints by component (89 total)

Engine

Electrical system

Engine and engine cooling

Powertrain

Forward collision avoidance

Fuel and propulsion system

Exterior lighting

Seat belts

Service brakes

Lane departure

Air bags

Steering

Structure

Visibility and wipers

Back-over prevention

Fuel system, gasoline

Latches, locks, and linkages

Suspension

Show 10 more Show less

Crash-flagged

Fire-flagged

Injury reports

Death reports

Complaints filed per year

Excerpts from recent NHTSA complaint filings

"On Saturday August 16, 2026, my family and I were in Laredo Texas and when we were driving on the freeway the motor blew out on my 2021 Cadillac escalade. One month before this occurred the dealership contacted me to…"
Engine · filed 2026-09-20
"There was knocking and stalling happening. I looked up the issue and saw that there was a recall on all 2021 Cadillac escalades with my exact engine. Unfortunately my vin did fall in the recall but I have the same…"
Engine · filed 2026-09-15
"The same exact engine make and model was recalled and mine didnt fall under it but I am having the same exact issues. And now my car is in the shop and im having to pay an outlandish amount of money to get my car fixed…"
Engine · filed 2026-09-11
"My husband and I were on the toll when the steering wheel completely unattached."
Steering · filed 2026-09-09
"The engine started clicking and rumbling out of no where. I have done every maintenance protocol since buying and was told there was a recall on all of these engines. Somehow mine is not covered in the recall?"
Engine · filed 2026-09-09

NHTSA crash ratings

Version	Overall	Front	Side	Rollover
2021 Cadillac Escalade SUV 2WD	4 stars	4 stars	5 stars	3 stars
2021 Cadillac Escalade SUV 4WD	4 stars	4 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 10-speed	Rear-wheel drive	14	20	16 MPG	$5000
Escalade two-wheel drive	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic 10-speed	Rear-wheel drive	21	27	23 MPG	$4100
Escalade two-wheel drive	6.2L, 8-cyl	Automatic 10-speed	Rear-wheel drive	15	20	17 MPG	$4700
Escalade four-wheel drive	6.2L, 8-cyl	Automatic 10-speed	Four-wheel drive	14	19	16 MPG	$5000
Escalade four-wheel drive	6.2L, 8-cyl	Automatic 10-speed	Four-wheel drive	13	19	16 MPG	$5000
Escalade four-wheel drive	3L, 6-cyl	Automatic 10-speed	Four-wheel drive	20	26	22 MPG	$4300

Specs and fitment

T1 generation, 2021–present

Body styles SUV

Oil 0W-20 (capacity varies by engine; confirm for your powertrain)

Tire size 275/50R22 or 275/60R20 (trim dependent)

Known issues for this generation

Recall 22V617000 covers certain 2021-2022 Cadillac Escalade vehicles equipped with third-row seats (with Escalade ESV, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon, and Yukon XL; 484,155 units across the campaign) where a third-row seat-belt buckle rivet may be improperly formed. Dealers inspect and replace buckle assemblies as necessary. Recall 25V274000 covers certain 2021-2024 Escalade vehicles with a 6.2L V8 among other GM trucks and SUVs; dealers inspect the engine and repair or replace it as necessary.

Compare

Previous year 2020 Cadillac Escalade Next year 2022 Cadillac Escalade See every Cadillac Escalade model year →

Frequently asked questions

Is the 2021 Cadillac Escalade reliable?

What are common problems with a 2021 Cadillac Escalade?

Is the 2021 Cadillac Escalade more reliable than the years next to it?

The 2020 Escalade has 14 complaints, 1 per year, and the 2022 has 82 complaints, 3 per year. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2020. The 2021 has more complaints per year than the 2022.

Has the 2021 Cadillac Escalade been recalled?

The 2021 Cadillac Escalade has 9 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 2021 Cadillac Escalade?

Owners have filed 89 complaints about the 2021 Cadillac Escalade with NHTSA.

What mpg does a 2021 Cadillac Escalade get?

EPA-rated combined fuel economy for the 2021 Cadillac Escalade is 18.3 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.