
2012 Cadillac ESCALADE ESV
Problems, Recalls & Reliability Report
Quick Summary
The 2012 Cadillac ESCALADE ESV has 5 owner complaints filed with NHTSA — that's 0.1x the segment average of 80. The most common issue is electrical problems (40% of all complaints), specifically: driving down the highway at 65 mph the dash lights started blinking, radio went on and off, door locks locked and unlocked, revved the engine, cooled seats automatically came on, all dash lights came on like vehicle died(but never died) then went back to normal for about 10 miles and same thing was .
5
Total Complaints
0
Recalls Issued
—/5
Safety Stars
0.1x
vs Segment Avg
Known Problems
ELECTRICAL
2 complaints- • DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH THE DASH LIGHTS STARTED BLINKING, RADIO WENT ON AND OFF, DOOR LOCKS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, REVVED THE ENGINE, COOLED SEATS AUTOMATICALLY CAME ON, ALL DASH LIGHTS CAME ON LIKE VEHICLE DIED(BUT NEVER DIED) THEN WENT BACK TO NORMAL FOR ABOUT 10 MILES AND SAME THING WAS
- • DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE
“DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH THE DASH LIGHTS STARTED BLINKING, RADIO WENT ON AND OFF, DOOR LOCKS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, REVVED THE ENGINE, COOLED SEATS AUTOMATICALLY CAME ON, ALL DASH LIGHTS CAME ON LIKE VEHICLE DIED(BUT NEVER DIED) THEN WENT BACK TO NORMAL FOR ABOUT 10 MILES AND SAME THING WAS ”
— NHTSA complaint filing
ENGINE
1 complaints- • DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE
“DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE”
— NHTSA complaint filing
SPEED CONTROL
1 complaints- • DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE
“DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE”
— NHTSA complaint filing
AIR BAGS
1 complaints- • TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V054000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT CALLED MALOUF CADILLAC (1975 US-1, NORTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, NJ 08902) WHERE IT WA
“TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V054000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT CALLED MALOUF CADILLAC (1975 US-1, NORTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, NJ 08902) WHERE IT WA”
— NHTSA complaint filing
Estimated Repair Costs
Estimates based on average reported repair costs. Actual costs vary by location, shop, and severity.
🔍 Pre-Purchase Inspection Checklist
Based on 5 owner complaints for this specific year, here's what to check or ask about:
- ☐ELECTRICAL: DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT 65 MPH THE DASH LIGHTS STARTED BLINKING, RADIO WENT ON AND OFF, DOOR LOCKS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, REVVED THE ENGINE, COOLED SEATS AUTOMATICALLY CAME ON, ALL DASH LIGHTS CAME ON LIKE VEHICLE DIED(BUT NEVER DIED) THEN WENT BACK TO NORMAL FOR ABOUT 10 MILES AND SAME THING WAS
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐ENGINE: DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐SPEED CONTROL: DRIVING NORMAL ON A CITY STREET FOR ABOUT ONE HOUR WITHOUT ANY WARNING THE VEHICLE STARTED ACTING STRANGE, THE DOORS LOCKED AND UNLOCKED, THE AC& HTG CAME ON, HTG&FAN FOR THE SEATS CAME ON, CLOCK BLINKED, NAVIGATION SCREEN BLINKED ON AND OFF, THE VEHICLE SOUNDED AS THOUGH IT WOULD ACCELERATE AND THE
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐AIR BAGS: TL* TAKATA RECALL. THE CONTACT OWNS A 2012 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 21V054000 (AIR BAGS) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE CONTACT CALLED MALOUF CADILLAC (1975 US-1, NORTH BRUNSWICK TOWNSHIP, NJ 08902) WHERE IT WA
Typically appears around 50K miles. Repair cost ~$500
- ☐General: Get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic ($100-$200)
Cadillac ESCALADE ESV — Year Comparison
How does 2012 compare to other years? Fewer complaints = more reliable.
NHTSA Safety Rating
No NHTSA safety rating available
At a Glance
- Complaints
- 5
- Recalls
- 0
- Fire reports
- 0
- Crash reports
- 0
- Injury reports
- 0
- Segment avg
- 80
Check a Specific VIN
See recalls for YOUR 2012 Cadillac ESCALADE ESV