2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv
On the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv, the failure owners report most often is overheating, with 3 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 80,000 miles.
What breaks on the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv
Owners have reported 5 named failure modes on the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv, and the three most-reported carry 70% of everything filed, so the trouble here is concentrated rather than scattered.
Overheating leads with 3 reports and about 0.1 per 1,000 vehicles.
CV axle or driveshaft failure follows with 3 reports, median 160,000 miles.
Fuel pump failure follows with 1 report, median 60,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into cooling (3), drivetrain (3) and airbag (2).
When these failures get reported
8 of the reports on the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 80,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 13% by 50,000 miles, 63% by 100,000 miles and 63% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 70,000 and 80,000 miles, which alone holds 38% of the dated reports.
0% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles, so this is mostly a story about older, higher-mileage cars.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
How reports accumulate
Every report with an odometer reading, cumulative, from 0 to 200,000 miles. A curve that climbs early is a car with early problems, whatever its total.
- Line share of reports filed by that mileage
- Dashed the median reported mileage
Severity, and what it costs
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 5.30, where a stalled engine or a failed airbag weighs many times more than a rattling trim panel, and a figure this high means the reports are dominated by failures with safety consequences rather than annoyances. The weighting is set out in full on the methodology page.
What the top failures cost to put right, as editorial estimates for an independent US shop rather than figures from NHTSA: overheating at $400–$3,500, CV axle or driveshaft failure at $450–$2,200, fuel pump failure at $600–$2,600 and airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault at $300–$1,600. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
60% of the reports on this year sit in the engine, transmission, drivetrain or cooling systems — the four where a repair bill is usually four figures, so more than half of what owners complained about here is expensive.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overheating | cooling | 3 | 3 | — | 79k | — | 0.1 | $400–$3,500 | High |
| CV axle or driveshaft failure | drivetrain | 3 | 3 | — | 162k | — | 0.1 | $450–$2,200 | High |
| Fuel pump failure | fuel | 1 | 1 | — | 60k | — | 0.0 | $600–$2,600 | High |
| Airbag warning light or occupant sensor fault | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $300–$1,600 | High |
| Airbag inflator rupture | airbag | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | $0–$0 | Critical |
| Unclassified problem | other | 1 | 1 | — | 47k | — | 0.0 | — | Moderate |
Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound. Repair costs are typical independent-shop ranges for the failure, not figures from these reports.
How often, against how many were built
Scaled by an estimate of how many of these cars exist, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv draws about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 74th percentile of complaint rates among 2009 vehicles we can rate.
That denominator is the weakest number on the page and it is fair to say so plainly. Rate per 1,000 uses a fleet-size estimate derived from recall paperwork for this exact model year. It is a lower bound.
The working figure is 30,014 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2009 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The odometer reading is the one the owner gave.
Overheating
Stuck throttle at 4000+ rpms: while passing a car on a straight two lane highway, the engine stayed at 4000 rpms or greater after the throttle pedal was released. No carpet or floor mat was impeding the throttle pedal. The pedal was pressed hard and release several times to try to disengage the throttle but rpms stay above 4000 rpms. The transmission was placed into the manual position but rpms continued to stay above 4000 for approximately 3.5 miles and 2.5 minutes with the vehicle uncontrollably going in excess of 90 MPH. The brake pedal was applied throughout the stuck throttle event but the brakes became overheated and ineffective. Eventually the vehicle gear shift selector was moved into the neutral position and the vehicle coasted to a stop with the rpms still at 4000+ prms. While stopped the ignition was turned off and only then did the rpms go from 4000+ to zero. The cadillac dealer stated they removed the throttle body and replaced the throttle body sensor to repair the stuck throttle issue.
Stuck throttle at 4000+ rpms: while passing a car on a straight two lane highway, the engine stayed at 4000 rpms or greater after the throttle pedal was released. No carpet or floor mat was impeding the throttle pedal. The pedal was pressed hard and release several times to try to disengage the throttle but rpms stay above 4000 rpms. The transmission was placed into the manual position but rpms continued to stay above 4000 for approximately 3.5 miles and 2.5 minutes with the vehicle uncontrollably going in excess of 90 MPH. The brake pedal was applied throughout the stuck throttle event but the brakes became overheated and ineffective. Eventually the vehicle gear shift selector was moved into the neutral position and the vehicle coasted to a stop with the rpms still at 4000+ prms. While stopped the ignition was turned off and only then did the rpms go from 4000+ to zero. The cadillac dealer stated they removed the throttle body and replaced the throttle body sensor to repair the stuck throttle issue.
Fuel pump failure
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 cadillac escalade esv. After starting the engine, the vehicle shook, vibrated, and stalled. The dealer diagnosed that the fuel module and fuel pump were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 60,000.
Recalls on the 2009 model year
NHTSA has issued 5 recall campaigns covering the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv, affecting an estimated 75,784 vehicles. A recall is a different kind of evidence from a complaint: it is the regulator and the manufacturer agreeing that something has to be fixed, and the fix is free for as long as the car exists.
The campaigns cover air bags:frontal:passenger side:inflator module and electrical system. Whether the work was actually done on the car in front of you is a question only the VIN can answer, and the manufacturer or NHTSA will answer it free.
One caution about reading these together: a recall usually raises the complaint count for the same part, because owners who read about it go and file. The mileages stay informative; the counts get noisy.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
692,526 vehicles 2021-02-05- Defect
- 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…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- 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.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
557,023 vehicles 2021-02-05- Defect
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2009 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500, Sierra 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…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- 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 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on September 20, 2021. 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 N212328780.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:PASSENGER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULE
2,641,272 vehicles 2021-02-05- Defect
- General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, Yukon XL, and 2009-2011 Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, GMC Sierra 2500 and Sierra 3500 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…
- Consequence
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- 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 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on March 1, 2021. 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 N212328760.
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
1,365,070 vehicles 2010-06-04- Defect
- Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short…
- Consequence
- It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
27,188 vehicles 2009-05-06- Defect
- Gm is recalling 27,188 my 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade hybrid, escalade esv, and escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, suburban, tahoe, tahoe hybrid, and colorado; and gmc yukon, yukon hybrid, yukon xl, and canyon vehicles. The fuel system control modules may have a condition in which an adhesive separation of the room temperature vulcanizing (rtv) seal between the seal and the housing may allow water to seep into the module.
- Consequence
- Water in the module could cause a short or open circuit, illumination of the service engine soon lamp, setting of diagnostic trouble codes or the engine may be hard to start, may not start or may stall increasing the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new fuel system control module free of charge. The recall began on may 18, 2009. Owners may contact cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 and gmc at 1-866-996-9463 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall work is free at a franchised dealer regardless of the car's age. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls before assuming it was done.
Better and worse years of the same car
Across the 15 model years of this car that carry enough reports to score, 2016 comes out best at 66 and 2020 worst at 84.
Within the 2006–2011 generation specifically, 2011 is the strongest year at 66 and 2007 the weakest at 70.
Scores compare each year against other cars of the same model year, so a low number on an older car is a real result and not an artefact of age.
Shorter is better. Years with too few reports to score are shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not good news.
Within the 2006-2011 generation, 2011 Cadillac Escalade Esv scores best at 66 and 2007 Cadillac Escalade Esv worst at 70.
The limits of complaint data
10 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork. Every count on this page is therefore a floor: it is the number of owners who went to the trouble of filing with a federal agency, which is a small and self-selected fraction of the owners who had the fault.
Of those 10 reports, 8 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 80% of the sample rather than all of it. Owners also round: readings pile up on multiples of ten thousand, which is why this site publishes "about 90,000 miles" and not "91,438".
The failure modes are assigned by software reading the owner's own words, which is accurate in bulk and wrong in individual cases. A mode with a handful of reports may contain a misfiled one.
And nothing here predicts what one car will do. These are other people's complaints, filed years apart, on cars maintained by strangers. Read the page as a map of where this model year has previously gone wrong, then have the specific car in front of you inspected.
Questions this page answers
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Esv?
The most-reported failures are overheating (3 reports, median 80,000 miles), cv axle or driveshaft failure (3 reports, median 160,000 miles) and fuel pump failure (1 report, median 60,000 miles). Counts come from owner complaints filed with NHTSA, which are voluntary, so they show what owners bothered to report rather than every fault that occurred.
Which year of the Cadillac Escalade Esv is best?
Within the 2006–2011 generation, 2011 scores best at 66 out of 100 and 2007 worst at 70. Same body, same engines, different luck.
Where this comes from. Every figure above is computed from NHTSA owner complaints and recall records for this exact make, model and year. Complaints are voluntary and self-selected, so treat counts as a floor. The methodology page writes out each formula, and the same numbers are available as JSON.
What breaks at my mileage Compare with another car
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed