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2016 Cadillac Escalade recalls, complaints and safety ratings

There are 4 US recalls for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade, including 1 urgent (do not drive or park outside), and 6 in Canada. Owners filed 89 complaints with NHTSA, most often about engine.

4US recalls
1urgent recalls
89owner complaints
–overall crash rating

Is your car affected?

Check by VIN to confirm the exact model and see every recall for it.

Recalls are issued for a make, model and model year. Whether the repair has already been done on one specific car is known only to its manufacturer and dealers. Check your vehicle's official status at nhtsa.gov/recalls or with a dealer.

US recalls (4)

Do not drive

Suspension: front, control arm

2016-04-28 · campaign 16V256000 · 3,738 vehicles

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.

Risk and remedy

Risk: Inadequate welds may allow the control arm to separate from the bushing, compromising steering and increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Service brakes, hydraulic: power assist, vacuum

2019-09-06 · campaign 19V645000 · 3,456,719 vehicles

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.

Risk and remedy

Risk: As the vacuum level drops, the brake assist decreases, increasing braking effort, extending the distance required to stop the vehicle, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy: 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.

Seat belts: pretensioner

2017-07-10 · campaign 17V437000 · 40,683 vehicles

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.

Risk and remedy

Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

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 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.

Seat belts: pretensioner

2016-09-08 · campaign 16V651000 · 3,640,162 vehicles

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.

Risk and remedy

Risk: A failure of the front air bags or seat belt pretensioners to deploy in the event of a crash necessitating deployment increases the risk of injury to the driver and front passenger.

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.

Canadian recalls (6)

Show 6 Canadian recalls

Airbag

2026-05-21 · campaign 2026-246 · 328 vehicles

Issue: On certain vehicles, the driver-front airbag inflator could rupture when the airbag deploys in a crash. If this happens, the airbag may not properly inflate and metal fragments could be propelled toward vehicle occupants. Safety Risk: An airbag inflator that ruptures can create a risk of injury or death. Corrective Actions: General Motors will notify owners by mail and advise you to take your vehicle to a dealership to replace the driver-front airbag module.

Other

2019-08-21 · campaign 2019-420

Issue: This recall is for aftermarket replacement rear window glass produced by Vitro Automotriz. Certain rear window glass may not have been properly tempered. If the window breaks, the glass may separate into large pieces instead of very small ones. Note: This is a voluntary recall that is not being conducted under the requirements of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Safety Risk: Glass that breaks in to large pieces could create a risk of injury. Corrective Actions: The company will notify consumers by mail and instruct them to inspect the designation code marked on the rear window glass. Products affected by this recall have the designation “DOT 287” along with the lettering “VMR” (Replacement Market) and a date code that is before July 2019. This information is printed on the bottom corner of the glass. Consumers should contact Vitro's customer service at 1-412-995-6457 or argbacklites@vitro.com to arrange for replacement of the glass.

Brakes

2019-06-28 · campaign 2019-324

Issue: On certain vehicles, there could be a reduction in power brake assist due to a decrease in output from the vacuum pump. This could cause a hard brake pedal and an increase in brake pedal effort to stop the vehicle. Safety Risk: A sudden increase in brake pedal force could lead to an increase in stopping distance. This could increase the risk of a crash. Corrective Actions: The company will notify owners by mail and instruct them to take their vehicle to a dealer to reprogram the electronic brake control module.

Airbag

2017-07-10 · campaign 2017-342 · 152 vehicles

On certain vehicles, the sensing and diagnostic module (SDM), which controls airbag and pretensioner deployment, contains a software defect which may prevent the deployment of frontal airbags and pretensioners in certain circumstances. Failure of frontal airbags and seatbelt pretensioners to deploy in a crash (when warranted) could increase the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will reflash the SDM with new software. In vehicles with any previous deployment events recorded in the SDM, the dealers will replace the existing SDM with a new SDM containing the latest software.

Airbag

2016-09-09 · campaign 2016-439

On certain vehicles, the sensing and diagnostic module (SDM), which controls airbag and pretensioner deployment, contains a software defect which may prevent the deployment of frontal airbags and pretensioners in certain circumstances. Failure of frontal airbags and seatbelt pretensioners to deploy in a crash (when warranted) could increase the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers will reflash the SDM with new software. In vehicles with any previous deployment events recorded in the SDM, the dealers will replace the existing SDM with a new SDM containing the latest software. Note: This recall affects 2014-2017 model year Sierra LD/Silverado LD models and 2015-2016 model year Sierra HD/Silverado HD model vehicles.

Suspension

2016-04-28 · campaign 2016-190 · 432 vehicles

Certain vehicles may have been built with front upper control arms with a poor quality weld near the control arm’s bushing. If these welds were to fail, it could cause the upper control arm to deform or separate from the bushing, which could affect steering and directional control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash causing injury and/or property damage. Correction: Dealers will replace the left and right front upper control arms, and perform a realignment.

Owner complaints (89)

Owners filed 89 complaints with NHTSA about the 2016 Cadillac Escalade (2 crashes, 3 fires, 3 injuries reported). Among 28 model years of this model, it ranks #6 for the most complaints (median 51).

Most-reported problemComplaints
Engine31
Power train17
Electrical system15
Unknown or other14
Suspension8
Steering7
Air bags6
Electronic stability control (esc)4

Crash test ratings

NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings for the 2016 Cadillac Escalade.

VersionOverallFrontalSideRollover
2016 Cadillac Escalade SUV RWD––5★3★
2016 Cadillac Escalade SUV AWD––5★3★

Fuel economy

EPA ratings for each 2016 Cadillac Escalade version.

VersionCity MPGHighway MPGCombinedYearly fuel cost
Escalade 2WD 6.2 L Automatic 8-spd152217$3,950
Escalade 4WD 6.2 L Automatic 8-spd152117$3,950
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Sources: NHTSA recalls, complaints and 5-Star Safety Ratings, US EPA fuel economy and Transport Canada's Vehicle Recalls Database (contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Canada). Recalls updated 2026-10-30.