Every 2013 Cadillac Escalade recall
Each campaign as NHTSA published it: what is wrong, what can happen, and the fix. Newest first.
Air Bags · NHTSA 21V053000
May 2, 2021Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module
- Problem
- 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."
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- Fix
- 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.
Full recall details for 21V053000 →Air Bags · NHTSA 21V054000
May 2, 2021Air Bags:Frontal:Passenger Side:Inflator Module
- Problem
- 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.
- Risk
- An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
- Fix
- 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.
Full recall details for 21V054000 →Electrical System · NHTSA 14V614000
Jan 10, 2014Electrical System
- Problem
- 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.
- Risk
- If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
- Fix
- 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). GMs number for this recall is 14515.
Full recall details for 14V614000 →Steering · NHTSA 13V001000
Feb 1, 2013Steering:Column Locking:Anti-Theft Device
- Problem
- 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.
- Risk
- As a result, the vehicle may shift from Park with the ignition key removed or the ignition key in the OFF position. The vehicle may also shift out of Park without application of the brake pedal while the key is off. Either of these scenarios may cause the vehicle to roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible vehicle crash and/or injury.
- Fix
- 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.
Full recall details for 13V001000 →
2013 Cadillac Escalade complaints and service bulletins
Owners filed 22 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade, reporting 1 fires. Cadillac has issued at least 1,663 technical service bulletins (repair instructions to dealers) for this model year. Complaints are unverified owner reports; a recall is the manufacturer’s admission of a safety defect.
Most-reported components
- Electrical System5
- Power Train5
- Engine4
- Air Bags3
- Fuel/Propulsion System2
- Seat Belts2
Service bulletins by component
- Equipment (2,149)
- Electrical System (996)
- Engine and Engine Cooling (502)
- Power Train (491)
- Engine (379)
- Equipment Adaptive/Mobility (301)
Read Cadillac Escalade owner complaints and bulletins, every year
NHTSA defect investigations covering the 2013 Cadillac Escalade
NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation lists this model year in 2 investigations. An investigation is not a recall; it is how NHTSA decides whether one is needed.
What people reported
Owners have filed 22 complaints with NHTSA about the 2013 Cadillac Escalade. A few in their own words, shortened. Complaints are unverified and are not proof of a defect or of any recall.
“The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at highway speeds, the "Engine Power Reduced" message was displayed on the instrument panel. The contact stated that the vehicle lost power while depressing the accelerator pedal.”
2013 CADILLAC ESCALADESep 21, 2026
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11765953
“The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac Escalade ESV. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to switch into V-8 mode. The contact stated that the engine started making an abnormal knocking sound. There was no warning light illuminated.”
2013 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESVOct 11, 2023
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11549324
“THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXT. WHILE DRIVING 45 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND WAS UNABLE TO BE RESTARTED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC TO BE DIAGNOSED. THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE FUEL CONTROL MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED.”
2013 CADILLAC ESCALADE EXTOct 23, 2017
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11035657
“The L87 in our Escalade had a catastrophic failure at 97,088 miles. We were told that the right cylinder head had failed which caused the lower main bearings to fail. We had the engine replaced with a newly rebuilt L87 on XXX (invoice date). The engine was rebuilt by GM.”
2013 CADILLAC ESCALADEAug 26, 2026 · TX
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 11759690
“2013 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE KEY IGNITION PROBLEM.”
2013 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESVJun 5, 2014
Complaint filed with NHTSA, not verified by the agency · NHTSA complaint 10595108
Check your Escalade by VIN
Not every 2013 Cadillac Escalade is in every recall. Enter your 17-character VIN to see the recalls on record for your exact vehicle, then confirm which are still open at NHTSA.gov or with any Cadillac dealer.
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