2013 Cadillac Escalade: problems, recalls and reliability
4 recalls and 17 owner complaints on record; most reports concern power train.
Data updated weekly · latest recall Feb 2021
All counts are reports filed with NHTSA in the United States - US market only, not worldwide totals.
Common problems
Computed from 17 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for this exact model year.
“The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 72 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly accelerated. The driver discovered that the accelerator pedal adjustment button had been inadvertently depressed by the wallet, causing the pedal position to change and resulting in the unexpected acceleration. No warning lights were illuminated. The local dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 250,000.”Owner report · Vehicle Speed Control · Mar 2026
“All three seatbelts in the third row don't lock. I just got this car with only 100k miles on it and when installing my kids' car seats I found that none of them have the needed safety feature. They don't lock when pulled quickly or when pulled all the way out. Cadillac won't cover the repair.”Owner report · Seat Belts · Jun 2022
“2013 cadillac escalade. Consumer writes in regards to takata airbag safety recall. The consumer stated after having the airbag recall completed, the warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer to have it repaired. The dealer advised the airbag failure timing was a coincidence and requested an inspection/repair fee.”Owner report · Air Bags · Feb 2022
Show 5 more owner reports
“I was on the highway going about 65mph and the vehicle started turning off and on. Pushed on the gas pedal and the engine just revved up. This isn't the first time it has done this.”Owner report · Electronic Stability Control (Esc) · Jan 2020
“While driving the vehicle, a complete stop was made at a stop sign on a residential street. When attempting to make a right hand tun from the stop, the steering wheel became very difficult to turn and the vehicle had a loss of powertrain when the accelerator was depressed. The power steering did not come back and the vehicle would not accelerate. The vehicle was place into park, shutdown completely and restarted. The power steering and acceleration returned. The cause is unknown to me.”Owner report · Steering · Nov 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 cadillac escalade. While the vehicle was parked, it failed to start without warning. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was towed to courtesy chevrolet of san diego (750 camino del rio north, san diego, ca 92108, phone number: (619) 297-4321) where it was diagnosed that the main electrical fuse failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14v614000 (electrical system). The manufacturer informed the contact that the VIN was not associated with the recall. The approximate failure mileage was 55,000.”Owner report · Electrical System · Jun 2017
“Airbag light is on and dealer stated it has something to do with the seat belt (diver side) also the cadillac escalade from the past and present years have a airbag and seatbelt issue and I believe my vehicle has the same issue. But no one will listen please look into the issue with my vehicle please help.”Owner report · Air Bags · Aug 2016
“Tl* the contact owns a 2013 cadillac escalade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 mph, the steering wheel seized making the vehicle very difficult to control without warning. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the entire steering column needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but did not rectify the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000 and the current mileage was 14,000.”Owner report · Steering · Apr 2013
Recalls - 4 campaigns
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac CTS, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Yukon, and Yukon XL, and 2014 Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Express, Impala, Silverado HD, Traverse, GMC Acadia, Savana, and Sierra HD vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the chassis electronic module may be internally contaminated, resulting in an electrical short.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14515.
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT; Chevrolet Avalanche, Express, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, and Tahoe; and GMC Savana, Sierra HD, Sierra LD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles, manufactured between November 7, 2012, through December 18, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 102, "Transmission Shift Lever Sequence, Starter Interlock, and Transmission Braking Effect", and FMVSS No. 114, "Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention." The vehicles may have been built with a fractured park lock cable or a malformed steering column lock actuator gear in the lock module assembly.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the affected vehicles and replace the steering column as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on January 21, 2013. Chevrolet owners may call 1-800-630-2438. Cadillac owners may call 1-866-982-2339. GMC owners may call 1-866-996-9463.
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2013 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands (Saipan), and the U.S. Virgin Islands or "Zone A." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered in the states of Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, and Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming or "Zone C."
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 24, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on May 11, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; and GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212328790.
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI or "Zone A." Additionally GM is recalling certain 2011-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, Yukon XL and 2011-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AZ, AR, DE, DC, IL, IN, KS, KY, MD, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NC, OH, OK, PA, TN, VA, and WV or "Zone B." Additionally, GM is recalling certain 2010-2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL and 2010-2013 Cadillac Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, and GMC Sierra 1500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AK, CO, CT, ID, IA, ME, MA, MI, MN, MT, NH, NY, ND, OR, RI, SD, UT, VT, WA, WI, and WY or "Zone C." These vehicles are equipped with non-desiccated passenger frontal inflators containing phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) propellant. These inflators may explode due to propellant degradation occurring after long-term exposure to high absolute humidity, high temperatures, and high temperature cycling.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed to 40 VIN owners on May 11, 2021. A second owner notification letter was mailed to all other owners on January 24, 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 N212328800.
Trouble codes owners mention
OBD-II codes that appear in NHTSA complaints about this car.
How other years compare
Check your exact Escalade 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 2013 Cadillac Escalade reliable?
NHTSA has 17 owner complaints and 4 recall campaigns on record for the 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The most complained-about area is power train.
Does the 2013 Cadillac Escalade have open recalls?
4 recall campaigns have been issued, the latest concerning electrical system. 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.