Cadillac · Escalade · 2016
4
Recalls
100
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2016 Cadillac Escalade has 4 recalls and 100 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: engine (18 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade, 2014-2018 Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, 2015-2018 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon vehicles. The amount of vacuum created by the vacuum pump may decrease over time.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the Electronic Brake Control Module, free of charge. The recall began October 8, 2019. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N192268490.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse and Chevrolet Spark EV, Caprice PPV and SS vehicles, 2014-2017 Buick Encore and Chevrolet Corvette, Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles, 2015-2016 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Trax, Suburban and Silverado 2500 and 3500 and GMC Yukon and Yukon XL vehicles, and 2015-2017 GMC Sierra HD 2500 and 3500 vehicles. While being previously remedied for recall 16V-651, the affected vehicles may not have received the complete software update necessary to remedy the recall condition. Without the update, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on August 4, 2017. 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 17287.
General 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, Trax, Caprice Police Pursuit Vehicle, GMC Sierra 1500, Buick Encore, and 2014-2016 Buick Lacrosse, Chevrolet Spark EV and SS vehicles. In the affected vehicles, certain driving conditions may cause the air bag sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) software to activate a diagnostic test. During this test, deployment of the frontal air bags and the seat belt pretensioners would not occur in the event of a crash.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will reflash the SDM software. Vehicles that have had a previous air bag deployment will have the SDM replaced. These repairs will be performed free of charge. The recall began on October 13, 2016. 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 16007.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2016-2017 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and 2016 Cadillac Escalade, Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Sierra, GMC Yukon and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. The front upper control arms may have inadequate welds near the control arm bushing.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms and realign the vehicle, free of charge. The recall began on May 18, 2016. Until the repairs have been made, owners are advised not to drive their vehicles. 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 42190.
Suspension failed at 50,000 miles. At 56,000 miles one of the valve components inside the engine (a lifter) has collapsed. This part controls the opening of the engine valve, and because it is no longer moving, that cylinder cannot build compression and is causing the misfire. This is an internal mechanical failure inside the engine and cannot be caused by body work, fuel quality, or anything external.
TRANSMISSION ISSUES. MY VEHICLE LUNGES AND HAS HARD SHIFTS WHEN ACCELERATING FROM LOW SPEED TO HIGH SPEEDS. ALSO LUNGES WHEN SLOWING DOWN OR STOPPING
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH, there was an abnormal popping sound coming from the engine. The contact stated that the vehicle sounded like it was going to stall, and the accelerator pedal was depressed to keep the vehicle from stalling. The vehicle was driven to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed with lifter failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 137,027.
Experienced loss of electric power steering while driving at 60 MPH on interstate. Had 6 passengers in vehicle at the time and could have crashed if another vehicle was in other lane next to us during steering loss. Steering available for inspection. Have taken vehicle to dealer to fix issue. They diagnosed and replaced Negative and Positive wiring harness to battery; however, vehicle steering loss occurred again right after picking up and is back at dealership now. Sent dealer article about other owners of 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade experiencing same issue to help explain steering issue. Also sent video of steering glitching while driving back to dealership. No warning lamps, messages or other symptoms prior, during, or after failure known.
While driving in rush hour traffic, engine completely stopped. We were stranded in traffic for 2 hours until the police came to help push us out of the street. It was 20 degrees and we sat for 4 hours to get towed. After much ado, the dealership stated the following; "Checked and found engine wouldn't crank over, towed vehicle into the shop. Removed inspection cover to access torque convertor bolts, removed bolts engine still will not turn over. Checked oil in engine full of metal. Engine crank seized will need engine replacement." Upon further investigation, the recall for this vehicle only covers 2021-2025 however this is the same problem that is happening under the recalled years.
I purchased a car from a used car dealer in Sacramento. Two days later, the lifters went bad. This truck only has 115,000 miles on it. This is a know issue that GM has and they're doing nothing to remedy the issue. They keep putting DOD/AFM in these expensive cars knowing the lifters will fail and cause damage to the cam. They should be responsible for doing a DOD/AFM delete on all trucks that have this issue.
The engine started making a tapping noise on the right side. Then the tapping noise got louder and then stopped but the engine light came on and the engine started running very rough. By the noise was described to the shop and they said it is bad lifters and camshafts and this is very common for the GM 6.2L engine. The vehicle has 117,000 miles on it.
Bought vehicle certified in 2023 with 86000 miles now at 123000 Engine needs replacing..Bought it from an accredited Cadillac dealership
Purchased 2016 Cadillac Escalade in April 2022 - VIN [XXX] . License plate [XXX] . Car has had electrical shortage issues in the navigation screen ever since purchasing. The navigation screen flickers, switches between apps simultaneously and isn’t responsive to finger touch as advertised. I have taken the car to the dealership 4 times within the 90 day dealership warranty. Those dates were April 25, 2022; May 26, 2022; September 3, 2022; and September 24, 2022. However, the problem hasn’t been resolved. This has also caused the car ignition start up to start slowly. The battery has been checked and is fully charged and working properly. The ignition, alternator and transmission are all working properly in good condition. I believe the dealership sold me a “Lemon” vehicle. The initial CarFax report didn’t disclose any mechanical or electrical issues. I paid a $6000 downpayment and have paid $15,999.98 so far. My monthly car payment is $999.98. This car isn’t safe to drive and I am seeking a financial settlement of $20,000 and for the dealership to take back the car without a negative ding on my credit report and no voluntary repossession listed on my credit report. [XXX] my car completely shut down and no longer would start. I had a brand new battery installed a few days prior. Called AAA 4x’s and they couldn’t jump start my car. They tested the alternator, starter, and transmission and there were no failed sensors. I didn’t have any warning lights. I had my car towed to my mechanic and he verified nothing was wrong with transmission, starter and alternator. I noticed there was a strong burn smell and something popped underneath the car causing the car to no longer start or turn on. I ended having to voluntary surrender the car back to Capital One Auto Finance (Account [XXX] ) on Monday [XXX] because the car no longer is operable. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
While I was driving the car turned off and the steering wheel got really hard, making it harder to get out of the road to keep my children safe since we were in the highway. Second time it happened the stabilitrack service message came up, and also the steering assist is reduced please drive with care. The ebrake. ABS and stabilitrack light on the dash turned on. This started happening on may 14 until present
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the contact heard an abnormal sound coming from underneath the vehicle and the vehicle was vibrating abnormally. The dealer was contacted; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 113,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while coming to a stop to park the vehicle, the vehicle turned off and restarted continuously, and the steering wheel straightened unintendedly. The contact stated that on several occasions, the vehicle failed to restart after being turned off. The contact had to disconnect and reconnect the battery cables to start the vehicle. The contact stated that the message "Service Stabili-trak" was temporarily displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic; however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 143,000.
When I’m trying to park my car shuts off and turns back on, steering wheel stops working, service stabilitrak turn on and goes away, sometimes my car won’t turn on and have to disconnect the battery and connect it for it to turn on again.
The engine just stopped working mid traffics shifted to neutral automatically- almost causing a serious accident on a busy interstate . Brought to the mechanic, readings stated misfiring cylinders as engine seized and slipped. Tried fixing issue for $8300.00. Then after trying to fix it with no luck, cylinder 5 and seven were stuck and could not be repaired. Cost of labor to out engine back together was $4600.00 plus $400 to tow it to a dealer. Not only life threatening but also wallet draining with no warning. Will never buy a Cadillac again. This is a serious threat for those driving in it and for those who come across it when something happens.
While driving the vehicle just turned off I though it was the battery, took the battery off but it was good then the alternator then the starter after repairs there was a loud clacking sound took vehicle to TIEKEN AUTO in san antonio texas come to find out the crank was no good scarring on the head and cylinder two bus dropped new engine would cost too much to fix
There is a known issue with this year and other model years of the lifters going bad inside the engines. I personally had this happen and heard about several other cases. This notice stems from the recent news release of 2021 and on model years being affected. This repair cost me roughly 5,000 dollars and I nearly drove off the road once the engine failed.
My starter caught on fire trying to start my car
Engine problems with 6.2 loss of power rod in engine and crankshaft went out. Took into to shop and and shop varified all issues. Check engine light came on dash board. I noticed they have a recall on the newer vehicles with the same issues as what my vehicle has.
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, there was a knocking sound coming from the engine compartment. The contact then observed smoke entering the cabin of the vehicle through the vents from the engine and turned off the vehicle. The contact attempted to restart the vehicle, but the vehicle failed to start. The contact stated that an independent mechanic arrived at the residence, inspected the vehicle, and determined that the engine had seized. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 145,000.
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the noticed a failure with the brake pedal. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed with no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 140,000.
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2016 Cadillac Escalade has 4 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 100 owner-reported complaints for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade are engine (18 reports), power train (12 reports), unknown or other (10 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 4 recalls on record for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.