2017 Cadillac Escalade Esv: problems, recalls and reliability
1 recall and 37 owner complaints on record; the weakest area is service brakes (33% of complaints); the 2015 and 2016 and 2018 model years look more trouble-free.
Data updated weekly · 1 new complaint in the last 90 days · latest recall Sep 2016
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 37 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“With only 78k miles on my 2017 Escalade the same issue happened with the lifters like in the 2021-2025 models. We had to pay out 14k to replace the motor. GM has known about this problem for almost a decade and it's not fair that we had to pay out this much money to replace an engine with them knowing the problems. Had they told us years ago to change to a heavier oil or whatever we would have done so and maybe our factory engine would have lasted like so many previous year models up to 250k miles.”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2025
“Engine is stalling as if its choking and whole car is shaking. Vehicle has been up to date in maintenance with 26000. Miles. Now Check engine light is on along with traction control light .”Owner report · Engine · May 2025
“The engine is a 8 cylinder 6.2 liter. It starts out using 8 cylinders and progressively drops to 4 at highway speeds. The lifter failed, seized and gouged and ruined the block and camshaft. This preventable repair necessitated an entirely new engine. This happens to thousands of GM vehicles of a similar year, but GM only acknowledges years 2021-2024. They made a defective product, knew about it and refused to adress it”Owner report · Engine · Mar 2025
Show 7 more owner reports
“Transmission failing. The transmission has had hard shifts and was serviced to try and fix this issue. No fix and now the transmission is slipping.”Owner report · Engine · Sep 2024
“Lifters went out in January 2024 Paid thousands and thousands to repair and now having more issues again. Same issues the recalled 2021-2025 gym 6.2L have”Owner report · Engine · Jan 2024
“When driving at lower speeds the vehicle is hard to stop. I have to press the brakes down hard to get it to stop. A message will usually come up saying to service the brake assist but no maintenance lights show up. In looking online there is a recall with this exact issue that I'm having but it start at the 2018 model in which mine is a 2017. I feel the 2017 should also be part of the recall since I'm having the exact same issue.”Owner report · Service Brakes · Dec 2023
“We were hit from the side, in the front part of the drivers door at between 35-45 mph, by someone who ran a red light as we were turning right. The force rammed us head on into a telephone pole. The impact of the pole was just shy of the middle of the front bumper. None of the airbags deployed.Emergency personnel were shocked they hadn't given the severity of the case and the double impact.”Owner report · Air Bags · Sep 2023
“The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle stalled without warning. The contact stated that the failure also occurred while the vehicle was idling and while making left or right turns. The contact stated that he was able to restart the vehicle after waiting for several minutes. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer however, the failure could not be duplicated. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 103,000.”Owner report · Engine · Jun 2023
“I parked my 2017 Cadillac in a parking spot put the car in park shut it off and put the brake on went in side the pharmacyand my daughter was in the passenger seat with the windows downwind the car went Forward and hit a pole then rolled back and wrecked in the two cars with the car shut off in park a man tryed to stop it and the brake pedal was hard as a rock and the car was still in park . I got in to move the car and it was still in park .. I had the keys in my pocket in side the pharmacy..”Owner report · Power Train · Sep 2021
“The service ABS brake please see dealer message has come up on my dash 3 times in the past 5 weeks. Each time the message appeared the vehicle operated very strangely when braking, the whole vehicle shook and made weird noises so I immediately turned around went home and grabbed our other vehicle. I then called cadillac and made an appointment at jake sweeney cadillac in lebanon ohio for service. The first two times they said they fixed this issue the most recent time they said they found no codes and were unable to figure out why this message appeared on my dash”Owner report · Service Brakes · Oct 2020
When filing, owners marked a crash in 4 of these complaints and injuries in 5 - self-reported to NHTSA, not verified accident statistics.
Recalls - 1 campaign
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: 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.
How other years compare
Check your exact Escalade Esv by VIN
Recalls and equipment differ between individual vehicles. Decode your VIN to see what applies to yours.
Open VIN decoderFrequently asked questions
Is the 2017 Cadillac Escalade Esv reliable?
NHTSA has 37 owner complaints and 1 recall campaign on record for the 2017 Cadillac Escalade Esv. The most complained-about area is service brakes (33% of complaints).
At what mileage do 2017 Cadillac Escalade Esv problems usually appear?
Half of the complaints that mention mileage were filed at 31,278 miles or less.
Does the 2017 Cadillac Escalade Esv have open recalls?
1 recall campaign has been issued, the latest concerning seat belts:pretensioner. Check your specific vehicle by VIN - recall repairs are free at franchised dealers.
Source: NHTSA recall campaigns and owner complaints (public domain). Counts reflect reports on file and are not a defect rate.