2023 Cadillac Escalade: What to check before buying

Sudden engine shutdown at highway speed dominates these reports. The engine quits, usually with no warning light. The transmission drops into neutral, and the SUV coasts to a stop and will not restart. Many drivers describe this at 70 to 80 mph in traffic, and one report involves a crash. Dealers often find a seized or failed engine, sometimes with metal in the oil, and replace it. Failures cluster between about 10,000 and 28,000 miles. Some owners report a second engine failure. Several describe waits of months for a replacement engine.

Most of these filings describe waiting on a recall repair because the part is not yet available, and many of those owners have had no failure. Others report loud engine noise, knocking, clicking, a chugging sound with no response at 75 mph, heavy oil consumption with a Check Oil message, and unexpected shutoff. Dealer diagnoses include crankshaft damage and engines that need replacing. One owner reports knocking and slow acceleration about 16,000 miles after the recall visit. Warning lights are usually absent before trouble starts.

Engine stalls and loss of propulsion make up most of these filings. Grinding, ticking, knocking, or lifter clatter often comes first. The SUV may shift itself into neutral, sometimes at highway speed and sometimes while stopped at a light. One report involves a crash. Dealers describe crankshaft damage and failed engines, with replacement engines on back-order. Transmission complaints also appear: slipping, hard downshifts, a valve body replacement, a cracked fluid pump, and a torque converter replacement. Some owners say noise and stalling came back after a recall visit.

Loss of propulsion while driving is the main complaint filed here. The engine cuts out without warning, steering and brakes turn heavy, and the vehicle often will not restart. Some drivers see a restart-engine or low-battery message. Two reports involve crashes. In one, the SUV slipped out of gear and rolled backward with the driver outside, injuring the driver. Other complaints cover water leaking in under the steering column, poor rear visibility at night, a trailer brake control switch, and doors auto-locking with the key and a child inside.

Brakes engaging on their own is the core complaint. One driver reports the brakes locking for about a second at 55 mph with nothing ahead. Another describes repeated unintended braking after an engine replacement, which wore out pads and rotors several times. Other filings describe the engine shutting down on the highway, taking braking and acceleration with it and forcing the driver to steer to the shoulder. One of those failures came at about 18,969 miles. Grinding while turning and four-wheel drive cutting out also appear.

Lost power assist during engine failure accounts for most of these filings. Drivers describe a hard shift followed by lost power, steering assist, and braking assist at highway speed. Dealers then replaced the engine after finding spun bearings and metal debris. Separate reports cite abnormal noise when turning the wheel, including a cranking sound. One owner had the steering column replaced and still hears the noise. Another could not get the car inspected while waiting for a recall part.

The rear camera loses its parking and pedestrian guidelines, either at delivery or within about a month, and a blue hourglass icon appears on the center screen. Owners say neither dealers nor Cadillac have a fix. A separate report describes automatic braking engaging at random while reversing with nothing nearby, at 1,506 miles. One owner also reports a vibration sound above 70 mph that repeated dealer visits did not cure.

A snapped front upper control arm on the driver side let the wheel come off while the SUV was moving, a direct loss-of-control risk. The other report describes the engine dying at highway speed at about 16,500 miles. Steering became heavy and braking became hard. A long wait for a replacement engine followed, and the owner reports continuing problems since then.