2017 CADILLAC ESCALADE Recalls, Complaints & Safety

My 2017 Cadillac Escalade with the 6.2L V8 engine experienced AFM (Active Fuel Management) valve lifter failure. While driving on the freeway the vehicle began stuttering and shaking violently, and it felt as though I had lost control of the vehicle. The check engine light illuminated and diagnostic codes P0300 (random misfire) and P0304 (cylinder 4 misfire) were found. The vehicle was confirmed by a Cadillac dealership to have collapsed AFM lifters on the right side, a faulty valve lifter oil manifold (VLOM), and a broken exhaust bolt requiring extraction. The engine was also showing slightly low compression at times and making noise on cylinder 4. This is a known defect in GM's AFM system across multiple model years. The failure poses a serious safety risk as the stuttering, shaking, and sudden loss of engine power occurred unexpectedly at freeway speeds, significantly reducing my ability to safely control the vehicle. The repair has been confirmed and quoted by an authorized Cadillac dealership. The vehicle is available for inspection upon request.

The 6.2 L engine on my 2017 Cadillac Escalade failed at around 97,000 miles. I took it to Heritage Cadillac dealership for a diagnostic check and had it repaired. The engine had a broken engine rod and lifters damage to the engine. I had the engine repaired at the dealership but a few weeks later I heard rattling noise coming from the engine. I took it back and told I would need a another engine due to complete engine failure. Prior to my engine failure around 55,000 miles, I reported to the same dealership service department that I noticed the engine would give me a rough idle occasionally and burn more gas whenever it happened. I was told it was nothing they could do because the check engine light wasn't on.

System that failed/malfunctioned: power steering (EPS) system How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Power steering went out while driving. Steering wheel immediately became stiff and made it extremely to turn the wheel in either direction. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? The problem was confirmed at an independent service center. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Others. Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear? There were NO warning messages or other symptoms prior to failure.

I am writing to formally report an unresolved issue involving a 2015 Cadillac Escalade that I purchased from a Toyota dealership less than one year ago. The vehicle has experienced a complete engine failure, and I am currently left with a non-drivable vehicle and a loan balance of approximately $30,000. Shortly after the engine failure, I took the vehicle to two different certified repair shops, one of which was a Cadillac service center. Both informed me that the engine is beyond repair and advised me to return the vehicle to the selling dealership due to the short time since purchase. I attempted to return to the Toyota dealership to seek a resolution or possibly trade in the vehicle. However, they informed me that the engine is now inoperable, and they declined to offer assistance. Despite repeated phone calls and emails requesting to speak with a manager, I have not received any response to date. I have also been informed that replacing the engine would cost approximately $17,000, while the current value of the vehicle is around $18,000. This puts me in an extremely difficult position—paying off a $30,000 loan on a vehicle that I cannot drive or repair affordably. The dealership arranged my financing and is fully aware of my financial obligations. I believe they should take some level of responsibility for selling me a vehicle that failed so quickly, especially given that I purchased it less than a year ago. I am seeking assistance from the DMV to help resolve this issue. I believe there may have been negligence or lack of proper disclosure at the time of sale, and I request a formal investigation into this matter. I am also open to mediation or any recommended steps to hold the dealership accountable and find a fair resolution. Please advise on the appropriate next steps or documentation you may need from me to proceed with this complaint. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response. Sincerely, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U

At 86,000 miles my 6.2 engine had to be rebuilt. Costing $14,000

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 25 MPH, the vehicle briefly jerked and was unable to accelerate as needed. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, who diagnosed a failure with the fuel injectors. The vehicle was not repaired. After investigating the failure, the contact related the failure to Special Coverage: N182198000. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 130,000.

Widely known problem with the 2017 Escalade motor with the active fuel management system. Driving in a very remote part of Wisconsin when engine light went on, indicating a lifter failure due to the afv shutting down cylinders. This is an extremly common problem with this engine/feature. I was left stranded with my family and a costly repair. (5k)

on 5/15/25 at approx. 11am the vehicle was seen with smoke rolling out of the doors and windows, which were all closed. The vehicle had been parked since approx. 8am that day. Once the FD had the fire knocked down, they found that a seat belt retractor module, replaced in 1/2025, was most likely the cause for the fire and damage. The locking mechinisms were metled and unable to open either the driver door (where the fire had occured) or the front passenger door. The FD was only able to gain initial access to the vehicle by breaking out the driver window and the back passenger window. There were no warning signs of this happening. The vehicle is currently sitting with an auto body shop for an estimate of damage. Had the driver been in the seat they could have received severe burns, smoke inhalation or worse with the doors unable to open.

Fire

on 5/15/25 at approx. 11am the vehicle was seen with smoke rolling out of the doors and windows, which were all closed. The vehicle had been parked since approx. 8am that day. Once the FD had the fire knocked down, they found that a seat belt retractor module, replaced in 1/2025, was most likely the cause for the fire and damage. The locking mechinisms were metled and unable to open either the driver door (where the fire had occured) or the front passenger door. The FD was only able to gain initial access to the vehicle by breaking out the driver window and the back passenger window. There were no warning signs of this happening. The vehicle is currently sitting with an auto body shop for an estimate of damage. Had the driver been in the seat they could have received severe burns, smoke inhalation or worse with the doors unable to open.

Fire

The driver seat has randomly started moving while driving most recently moving further back away from the steering wheel making it difficult to reach the break and gas. Which is severely dangerous since I was on a busy roadway. Sometimes the seat also goes completely forward also making it difficult as I’m literally pushed against the steering wheel. All times when I go try to adjust the seat after these kind of incidents I have to keep messing with the side buttons because they don’t want to work right away. The most recent incident was on May 11, 2025 The driver seat moved back away from the steering wheel as well as the back part of the seat moved back into a reclining position all while driving.

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to be restarted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the rocker arm, crankcase, and the overhead valve needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was a misfire coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.

Engine making loud lifter tick

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving approximately 70 MPH with the cruise control engaged, the vehicle unintendedly decelerated to 30 MPH. The contact continued driving the vehicle to the residence at 30 MPH. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the lifters had collapsed and bent the push rods. The contact was informed that the cam shifter, push rods, and lifters needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact stated that after the vehicle was repaired, there was a misfire in cylinder #2. The vehicle was returned to the dealer, who determined that the active fuel management port holes needed to be flushed with fuel additive. The vehicle was not repaired a second time. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred the contact to the dealer for assistance. The manufacturer opened a case for the failure and offered to cover half the cost of the repair. The failure mileage was 65,000. The VIN was not available.

Battery terminals going from battery to power distribution panel on top of battery, crimps bad/corroded causing intermittent connection and overcharging the battery by providing false voltages to alternator,

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, there was an abnormally loud ticking sound coming from the engine before the vehicle decelerated. The check engine warning light and traction control light were illuminated. The contact was able to pull over to the side of the road. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was not repaired due to the cost. The vehicle was towed to the residence. The independent mechanic sent the contact a picture and diagnosed that a rod bearing was damaged. The contact stated that on a separate occasion, an abnormally loud ticking sound was coming from the engine. The contact towed the vehicle to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the lifters had failed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was approximately 95,000.

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormally loud clunking sound coming from the vehicle and the vehicle then decelerated to 30 MPH. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was replaced, but the failure recurred. The vehicle was taken back to the local dealer, who recommended replacing the valve body. The part was on backorder, and the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and opened a case. The approximate failure mileage was 85,000.

I have a 2017 Cadillac Escalade that is all black. This vehicle is now sitting a 140,000 miles now. but before the 140,000 miles I was experiencing horrible peeling, and discoloration of the black paint on the hood, and roof of my vehicle. This particular issue should not be happening in such a highly luxury vehicle. I have driven Lexus, Nissan, and other vehicles, that are way older, im still possession of those vehicle, and still have not experienced such issues, with the paint or coating. This paint peeling and discoloration began well before the 140,000 miles. I want to say at about 90,000 miles I observed issues with the paint located on the top of my hood, and roof. I have also done research on the class action law suit for such issues as well. So I have seen I’m not the only person experiencing the paint discoloration or peeling problem

Cylinder 6 always presents as a misfired. Between my fiancé and I, we have 3 Escalades. After several diagnostic checks and repair bills, the lifters damaged the Cam shaft. According to the certified Cadillac mechanics, this is an ongoing problem based on the motor’s design. This is a pretty costly repair x3 vehicles.

My family and I were driving and the car started breaking and turning the wheel then died . We took it to the dealership 3x and on the third time they found a code for the safety module On each incident the car was difficult to control and it put my families life at risk. I have sent an email to Mr Roth with GM of my concerns

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 40 MPH, the vehicle started shaking abnormally. The check engine and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the valve lifter needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 57,000.

Cadillac cue system malfunction. Cadillac Cue is inoperable and randomly scrolls through screens/selecting features erratically while driving vehicle. It does not switch into the camera view mode so all vehicle safety cameras are inaccessible. When the screen is not randomly scrolling/selecting features and options, the Cadillac Cue screen is stuck on warning screen. All vehicle features within the Cadillac Cue cannot be accessed. Unable to verify if traction control is on/off, vehicle driving mode, etc. Turns the ac/heater on and off at random, dvd system, navigation system, volume levels. Unable to use the radio/bluetooth/dvd system by choice, so vehicle will be silent while driving at it will randomly select an audio feature playing it at full blast. Its terrifying while driving. The controls around the Cadillac Cue system are having the same malfunctions, but not as quite as extreme, *as of right now* these include important vehicle safety features, as stated before, the traction control, moving gas/break pedals, vehicle driving mode, parking assist, etc.

While driving on Highway 360 in Arlington, TX, the engine appeared to not change gears. It was between 3:30 to 4:00 PM, moderate traffic. I left HWY 360 and used the side lane. Later, the engine light came on. I checked the fluid levels and all were fine. This vehicle was last serviced in December 2022. The problem is unknown.

•available for inspection. Unknown exact system failure •issue regularly occurs •dealership service. Transmission had to be replaced at around 10k miles and covered by warranty. •no lights indicating any problems. Forward collision alert activated. Vehicle has a lag between the time pressure is applied to the gas pedal and it causes a delay in acceleration resulting in the vehicle sort of lunging forward unexpectedly. About 15-20 seconds after the gas pedal is pressed it will have a sudden burst of quick acceleration. It only lasts a few seconds and there’s no time to correct the sudden acceleration by braking. I finally realized the seriousness of the issue after I very close to being in an accident today as a result of the delayed acceleration. I was stopped at a red light and pressed the gas once it turned green, another driver happened to change lanes as soon as we crossed the intersection, moving to the front of my vehicle, probably closer than they should have but more than able for me to react under normal circumstances if needed. However, it occurred at the same time my vehicle randomly had a burst of acceleration and I had to swerve into the next lane to avoid hitting the car, because I wasn’t expecting to speed forward and did not have time to correct by braking. It happens about 40% of the time when going over 15-20mph (estimate) after I come to a complete stop and then press the gas to begin moving again. For example it won’t do it if I’m letting off the break to movie forward at a stop sign or lines, etc. It only happens when I accelerate with the intention of being able to reach the posted speed limit before I’d need to make another stop. Stop lights are the primary issue, as well as when exiting somewhere to get back onto the road, for example the gas station.

The side view mirrors will randomly tilt to the sky or ground. Whatever it tilts to also becomes the saved position. The dealership has replaced the seat memory module, battery cables, fuse block and driver mirror. The dealership was unable to correct the issue and says there is nothing else they can do. The problem seems to occur wen the vehicle has been driving for 2 or more hours then goes away if the vehicle has sat for a few days.

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that the vehicle was equipped with a feature that once the vehicle was placed in reverse(R), both side view mirrors would adjust downward to assist with the driver's visibility. The contact stated that the vehicle would either fail to perform this function or would fail to readjust to its proper position once the vehicle was in drive(D). The contact also noted that the mirrors would also adjust upwards which obstructed the contact from using both side view mirrors while driving. The contact took the vehicle to a dealer where he was informed that a software update could be performed to correct the failure however, if the software update failed, the contact had to pay for the repair. The software update was performed; however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer had yet to be notified of the failure. The vehicle had yet to be repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 48,000.

frame rotted where the control arm conects to the frame causing the control arm to break away from the frome. i lost steering fortunetly iwas coming to a stop. The dealer Colonial Cadillac Woburn Ma. confirmed the damage. it was inspected by a tecnition at the dealership. No there was no warning, i bought an etended warenty when the origanel one ran out. ty are not covering this? there resaning the say is because of rust. a 5 year old car should not rot out this bad.

Driving and heard loud pop and shudder. Heavy vibration at highway speeds making vehicle unsafe to drive and vehicle also shuddered and acted like it was going to die when turning. Took to dealer and dealer discovered broken engine mounts. This is a known issue from GM. TSB 17-NA-166. GM certified service refused once to look at the engine mounts while vehicle was under warranty and had me continue to drive it until warranty had expired.

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the touch screen monitor started jumping up and down and sporadically going in and out while the contact was attempting to use the GPS. Additionally, the hands free and answer screen was inoperable. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the monitor was faulty and needed to be replaced. The contact was informed that the repair would be an out of pocket expense since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 38,000. The VIN was unavailable.

When applying the brakes at a slow speed (>20 mph), the brakes seem “spongy”. The brake pedal seems to require further travel to stop the vehicle. It feels as if air is trapped in the hydraulic system and this does not happen all the time, it is an intermittent problem.

Cadillac Cue system has stopped working. GM will not replace but is aware of the issues with the faulty system. Screen has been checked by the dealership. They indicate that they are aware of the issues with the system but no recall has been issued. Because this controls many functions of the vehicle, it's safety issue. Consumers should not have to pay the costs to have this issue resolved.

REPAIR PLEASE

*SAFETY ISSUE* ESCALADE WILL SHIFT VIOLENTLY INTO GEAR IN EITHER FORWARD OR REVERSE, CAUSING VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY LURCH. CONDITION IS ESPECIALLY PRESENT WHEN STOPPING AT INTERSECTION ON AN INCLINE. FROM A STOP OR ROLLING STOP, THE VEHICLE WILL BE UNRESPONSIVE TO GENTLE ACCELERATION FOR A SECOND OR TWO, THEN BOLT INTO GEAR SCREECHING THE TIRES AND LAUNCHING VEHICLE VIOLENTLY FORWARD. LIKEWISE, FROM ROLLING STOP THEN SHIFTING TO REVERSE TO PARK, SAME LAG WITH SUDDEN BURST OF POWER. THE EFFECT IS VERY SIMILAR TO SOMEONE WHO IS LEARNING TO DRIVE A MANUAL TRANNY IN A MUSCLE CAR. THERE SEEMS TO BE NO DIFFERENCE WITH TRANSMISSION TEMPERATURE, THE INTENSITY OF THE CONDITION SEEMS TO BE RANDOM, AND DIFFICULT TO INTENTIONALLY RECREATE. VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN SHOP TWICE, RECEIVED THE 18-NA-355 BULLETIN SERVICE, AND PROBLEM PERSISTS. DEALER INDICATES THAT TRANSMISSION IS OPERATING AS DESIGNED. ADDITIONALLY, THE TRANSMISSION SHIFTS HARSHLY BOTH UP AND DOWN THROUGH GEARS 1-3 WHEN GENTLY ACCELERATING OR BRAKING. AGAIN, SIMILAR TO SOMEONE WHO IS LEARNING TO DRIVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION. I DONT CONSIDER THIS CONDITION A SAFETY ISSUE, BUT AN ANNOYANCE AND MAY WELL BE RELATED TO THE "LURCHING" CONDITION.

VEHICLE IS AFFECTED BY STEERING AND BREAKS THE CAR JURKS

MY CAR WAS THE SUBJECT OF A BRAKE RECALL N192268490, I HAVE HAD IT TO THE DEALER IN FLEMINGTON GM TWICE, THE LAST TIME APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS AGO. MY CAR WAS KEPT FOR NEARLY 10 DAYS AND I STILL HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE BRAKES, SPECIFICALLY HARD BRAKING AND PROLONGED BRAKING DISTANCE. TODAY AT 1045 AM I CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE AT CADILLAC GM AND THEY WERE COMPLETELY UNHELPFUL TELLING ME TO BRING IT BACK TO THE DEALER AGAIN. I NEED THIS FIXED IN A COMPETENT FASHION

WHILE STATIONARY THE HATCHBACK WILL AUTO CLOSE RANDOMLY WHILE A PERSON IS LOADING OR UNLOADING AND DOES NOT STOP OR SENSE A PERSON IS THERE. IT OCCURS AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. IT HAPPENS WHETHER YOU HAVE THE FOB ON YOUR BODY AND WHEN IT'S NOT. THE HATCHBACK WILL WITHOUT WARNING BEGIN TO CLOSE WHILE YOUR HEAD OR BODY PARTS ARE IN THE WAY.

SEVERE BUCKING AND OR SURGING WHEN SWITCHING GEARS. HAS ACTUALLY SURGED WHEN AT A FULL STOP.