Loading vehicle data from NHTSA...
NHTSA recalls, safety ratings, and consumer complaints for the 2026 Cadillac Escalade.
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash | |
| Side Crash | |
| Rollover |
| Overall Rating | |
| Frontal Crash |
Component: EQUIPMENT:OTHER:OWNERS/SERVICE/OTHER MANUAL
General Motors has decided that certain 2027 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 2025-2026 Cadillac OPTIQ, Chevrolet Colorado, Equinox EV, GMC Canyon, 2026 Buick Enclave, Envision, Cadillac CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade IQ, Escalade IQL, LYRIQ, VISTIQ, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Corvette Convertible, Corvette Coupe, Corvette Convertible E-Ray, Equinox, Silverado 1500, 2500, 3500, Silverado EV, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Hummer EV Pickup, Hummer EV SUV, Sierra 1500, 2500, 3500, Sierra EV, Terrain, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The radio may not have been set to the correct status to download the electronic owner's manual during production. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 208, “Occupant Protection.”
Consequence: Without an owner's manual to consult, owners may not know how to safely use and operate the vehicle, increasing the risk of injury in a crash.
Remedy: Dealers will reset the vehicle radio, which will facilitate automatic download of the electronic owner’s manual, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 16, 2026. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-866-467-9700, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N252540430. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 26, 2026.
The engine failed my check engine light came on, it was in the middle of traffic on 4/2/2026. the vehicle had a very rough idle it went away and then came back and then rough idle again I had 2 miles to go to reach my home and then it just shut off. I called the dealer immediately and then I call AAA I received a loaner from the dealer, and they said they would set up a meeting with the tech advisor and myself. My 2026 Cadillac escalate only had 3186 miles on it I was told by the dealership that it was a bearing issue.
Driving on freeway, engine starting knocking loudly and completely failed. I blew an engine on my 2023 escalade esv as well. Seems like the recall might need to be extended to the 2026 models as well.
On March 21, 2026 while traveling at approximately 70 mph on a public highway, the vehicle experienced a sudden and total loss of propulsion. The vehicle stalled in active traffic, creating an immediate and life-threatening hazard. Following the stall, the vehicle’s system failed, and the vehicle would not engage any gear, including “Park” or “Neutral.” Consequently, the vehicle could not be towed by standard means and required a specialized car carrier to be transported to Heritage Cadillac in Morrow, GA 30260.
The 2026 Cadillac Escalade has 1 NHTSA recall and 7 consumer complaints on file. It received an overall safety rating of 5 out of 5 stars in NHTSA crash testing. For the most detailed information about a specific vehicle, decode its VIN using our free decoder above.
Enter a specific VIN to get the full report — specs, recalls, safety ratings, complaints, investigations, and technical service bulletins.
| Side Crash |
| Rollover |
My Escalade had just been into the dealer because the battery died at only 4200 miles. I drove away and after 10 minutes, I was getting warning messages that the engine was overheating and to turn the vehicle off immediately. I had to pull over on the freeway while listening to my engine knock and click. I eventually got it back to the dealer where they were unable to turn the car on and unable to determine the issue other than telling me it’s something with the engine.
ON FEBRUARY 16, 2026, AROUND 4:30 P.M. WE WERE DRIVING OUR NEW CADILLAC ESCALADE SPORT V-SERIES WITH ONLY 900 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AT AROUND 50 MILES PER HOUR ON HIGHWAY T IN FRANKLIN COUNTY TO OUR HOME FROM THE DOG GROOMER WITH OUR 2 LARGE BREED NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS WHO WEIGH 130 POUNDS EACH NAMED [XXX] AND SQUIGGY WHO WERE LAYING DOWN IN THE REAR CARGO AREA WITH THE 3RD ROW SEAT FOLDED DOWN WHEN I NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS SLOWING DOWN EVEN THOUGH I HAD MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THAT'S WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD UNEXPECTEDLY AND WITHOUT WARNING SHIFTED FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL WITHOUT ANY ALERTS OR WARNING MESSAGES. THEN, SUDDENLY AGAIN WITHOUT ANY ALERTS OR WARNING THE BRAKES LOCKED UP ON THE HIGHWAY THROWING US FORWARD INCLUDING [XXX] AND [XXX] INTO THE BACK SIDES OF OUR DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE SEATBACKS. IF ANY OTHER MOTORISTS HAD BEEN FOLLOWING US CLOSELY THEY WOULD HAVE RISK COLLIDING WITH THE REAR BUMPER AREAS OF OUR VEHICLE. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF CHECKED TO MAKE SURE NO OTHER MOTORISTS WERE APPROACHING US WHILE STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE LESS THAN 1 MILE TO OUR HOME. WE UNLOADED [XXX] AND SQUIGGY WHO WERE LUCKILY NOT INJURED AFTER BEING THOWN FORWARD WHEN THE BRAKES UNEXPECTLY LOCKED UP AND CALLED ELCO CADILLAC SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND NOTIFIED THEM OF THE SAFETY CONCERNS WE HAD ABOUT THE ENGINE SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL AND THE SUDDEN UNEXPECTED HARD BRAKING EVENT WE JUST EXPERIENCED AND THAT WE'D BE DRIVING TO THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT 10 MILES FROM OUR HOME TO DROP OFF THE ESCALADE TO DETRERMINE IF THERE WERE ANY CODES IN THE COMPUTER IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES WE ENCOUNTERED. WHEN WE ARRIVED ABOUT 5:45 THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY AND THE ENGINE WAS MAKING A RATTLING NOISE. AS WE PULLED UP TO THE AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR SERVICE ENTRY THE TRANSMISSION AGAIN SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF COMPLETELY AS WE ROLLED INSIDE SERVICE ENTRANCE. NOTED ON LINE 2 OF ELCO ESTIMATE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
On February 12, 2026, while driving my 2026 Cadillac Escalade from Corpus Christi to Portland, Texas, I encountered a severe safety issue. While driving on the bridge, the engine started making a loud knocking noise and then abruptly stopped working, causing the vehicle to turn off in the middle of traffic. I have only had my vehicle for a total of 55 days, and the mileage on my vehicle is 2,455 miles. This incident highlights a critical motor failure that poses a significant safety risk.
We just purchased our new 2026 Cadillac Escalade V this month. We were driving on interstate 64 when we experienced a sudden loss of propulsion and a warning that there was no oil pressure. We barely made it to the side of the highway where the engine had seized up and was unable to be started. The vehicle was towed to our local Cadillac dealer. They informed me today that the crankshaft had failed similar to the previous 6.2 L engine recalls. they have ordered a new engine. They are unable to tell me when the new engine will be there or how long it will take for the repairs to be done. I should also mention that our 2022 Cadillac Escalade experienced catastrophic engine failure as well. This led us to our new purchase of the 2026 Escalade. There were no warning signs prior to this catastrophic failure. It put myself and my entire family at significant risk as the failure occurred to highway speed.