2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv: what breaks, and at what mileage
What breaks on the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv
On the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv, the failure owners report most often is other engine problem, with 6 reports on file. Across every failure mode on this year, half the dated reports were filed before 100,000 miles. Overall it scores 76 out of 100, severe risk for a 2019.
Severe risk for a 2019 — 121st riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. 51 owner reports; fleet size estimated from this year's own recall paperwork.
The failures owners actually file about
Owners have reported 16 named failure modes on the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv, and the three most-reported carry 33% of everything filed, which is an unusually even spread for one model year.
Other engine problem leads with 6 reports and about 5.3 per 1,000 vehicles.
Other electrical problem follows with 6 reports, median 165,000 miles.
Other body or interior problem follows with 5 reports, median 85,000 miles.
By system, the reports fall mostly into engine (13), electrical (7) and transmission (7).
When these failures get reported
10 of the reports on the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv came with an odometer reading, and half of those were filed before 100,000 miles.
Cumulatively, 30% by 50,000 miles, 50% by 100,000 miles and 90% by 150,000 miles of the dated reports had been filed.
The busiest stretch is between 0 and 10,000 miles, which alone holds 20% of the dated reports.
30% of the dated reports were filed below 36,000 miles.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
Showing the 12 most-reported failure modes of 16. The full list is in the table below.
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
What happens when these parts fail
Across the named modes, 1 mentions a crash, 1 a fire and 3 an injury. Those are the words owners used in their own complaints, and NHTSA does not verify them, but they are the closest thing in this data to a measure of what a failure actually did.
The average severity weight across every report on this year is 4.67, 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: other engine problem at $300–$4,000, other electrical problem at $250–$2,000, other body or interior problem at $200–$2,000 and complete engine failure or seizure at $4,500–$12,000. Dealer labour, a seized bolt or a part that is no longer made can push any of these past the top of its range.
43% 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.
Every reported failure mode
| Failure mode | System | Reports | With reading | 25th | Median | 75th | Per 1,000 | Typical repair | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other engine problem | engine | 6 | 1 | — | 149k | — | 5.3 | $300–$4,000 | High |
| Other electrical problem | electrical | 6 | 1 | — | 167k | — | 5.3 | $250–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Other body or interior problem | body | 5 | 1 | — | 85k | — | 4.4 | $200–$2,000 | Moderate |
| Complete engine failure or seizure | engine | 4 | 1 | — | 23k | — | 3.5 | $4,500–$12,000 | Critical |
| Complete transmission failure | transmission | 4 | 2 | — | 109k | — | 3.5 | $2,800–$8,000 | Critical |
| Misfire or rough idle | engine | 3 | 1 | — | 90k | — | 2.7 | $250–$1,600 | Moderate |
| Cruise control failure | adas | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 2.7 | $200–$1,400 | High |
| Other powertrain problem | transmission | 3 | 1 | — | 149k | — | 2.7 | $400–$4,500 | High |
| Other brake problem | brakes | 3 | 1 | — | 244 | — | 2.7 | $300–$1,800 | High |
| Thermostat failure | cooling | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.8 | $250–$900 | Moderate |
| Other fuel system problem | fuel | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.8 | $300–$2,200 | High |
| Other driver assistance problem | adas | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 1.8 | $250–$1,800 | High |
| Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure | electrical | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.9 | $700–$3,000 | High |
| Backup camera failure | infotainment | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.9 | $250–$1,200 | Moderate |
| ABS module or sensor failure | brakes | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.9 | $500–$2,400 | High |
| Other lighting problem | lighting | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.9 | $120–$1,200 | Moderate |
| Unclassified problem | other | 4 | 1 | — | 244 | — | 3.5 | — | 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 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv draws about 45 per 1,000 vehicles, which puts it in the 96th percentile of complaint rates among 2019 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 1,128 vehicles. If the true number is twice that, every rate on this page is half what it says; the ranking against other 2019 vehicles, which is what the risk score uses, is far more robust than the rate itself.
Recalls on the 2019 model year
NHTSA has issued 1 recall campaign covering the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv, affecting an estimated 1,128 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 seat belts:rear/other. 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.
SEAT BELTS:REAR/OTHER
15,800 vehicles 2018-09-26- Defect
- General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2018-2019 Cadillac CT6, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Volt, and GMC Yukon XL vehicles. Certain second-row or third-row rear seatbelts retractor assemblies may not automatically lock when the seatbelt is fully pulled out of the retractor, possibly preventing a child seat from being properly secured. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 208, "Occupant Crash Protection."
- Consequence
- If the child seat is not properly secured in the event of a crash, it can increase the risk of injury.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the rear seatbelt retractors and replace them if necessary, free of charge. The recall began November 7, 2018. Owners may contact 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 18315.
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.
How it ranks in the 2019 field
The score at the top of the page, placed among its peers. The zones are the same thresholds the scorer applies, read out of the scorer itself, so the picture and the band word cannot disagree.
Scores are ranked within the model year, never across years, because an older car has had longer to accumulate reports.
- Left fewer and less serious reports
- Right more, or worse
- Marker this vehicle
Where 2019 sits in the model line
Severe risk for a 2019 — 121st riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. Because the ranking is against the same model year only, age cancels out of it.
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, with 2019 itself at 76.
If the model year is negotiable, 2016, 2011, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2018, 2017, 2007, 2022, 2024 and 2023 score lower than 2019 by a margin worth acting on. Same body, same engines, different luck — usually a supplier change or a mid-cycle fix, which the complaint data can show but never explain.
Within the 2018–2020 generation specifically, 2018 is the strongest year at 69 and 2020 the weakest at 84.
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 2018-2020 generation, 2018 Cadillac Escalade Esv scores best at 69 and 2020 Cadillac Escalade Esv worst at 84.
The limits of complaint data
51 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 51 reports, 10 carried an odometer reading, so the mileages here describe 20% 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 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv?
The most-reported failures are other engine problem (6 reports, median 150,000 miles), other electrical problem (6 reports, median 165,000 miles) and other body or interior problem (5 reports, median 85,000 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.
Is the 2019 Cadillac Escalade Esv reliable?
It scores 76 out of 100 on our risk index, which is severe — 121st riskiest of the 245 2019 vehicles we can rate. The score is a comparison against other 2019 vehicles, not a prediction about any individual car, and it is built from complaint rates, severity and how early failures appear.
Which year of the Cadillac Escalade Esv is best?
Within the 2018–2020 generation, 2018 scores best at 69 out of 100 and 2020 worst at 84. 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