Used 2018 Cadillac Escalade ESV Consumer Reviews

My dream vehicle!

If you're looking for a great ride, a ton of bells and whistles and a stylish vehicle, you're going to love owning an Escalade. This SUV has everything, hiding spots for your belongings, USB ports everywhere, 120v plugin, a ton of Bose speakers and so much more. The camera system is amazing! When I flip up my rear view mirror I see traffic behind me. When I pull into my garage I still get the 360 view to make sure that I'm over enough and in far enough. My only issue, and this is a me issue is that this is sooo much bigger than the Tahoe I came from. This one is a beast ;o) so I'm having problems pulling into parking spots still, but with time, I'm sure that I'll nail it.

Last Cadillac I will own

Purchased a $90,000 2016 Cadillac Escalade ESV only to find engine coolant on garage floor. Ended up finding out engine was sent out of the factory with bad left engine head. Ended up with motor of the Brand new engine stripped down to motor block in small town GM shop with parts laying all around to be fixed. Asked Cadillac to exchange vehicle since I will never trust this engine and didn't not purchase used or refurbished and told warranty fixed it and that is all they will do. So I spent all this money to have a dependable family vehicle thinking I had the best customer support since it was Cadillac. I was wrong.

Transmission shifting is still not great.

My husband and I have purchased brand new GM vehicles for many years now. Needles to say we have invested a great deal of money in our trucks and suvs. In 2015 we decided to purchase a 2016 Cadillac ESV because we liked the look of it. Well, not everything that glitters is gold, that's for sure!! Shortly after purchasing we started noticing the shifting was rough, the gears shift so rough all the passengers feel the rough shifting especially when taking off and on and off during a ride. The roughness of the shifting gets worse after time. As the problem with the shifting gets worse and worse the truck eventually won't even turn on, it just goes dead. We had to use cables to start it up so we could drive it to the agency and hope it would not leave us stranded. We expected so much more from a Cadillac vehicle being that our investment was a total of 94,000 dollars. The truck has been in the shop a total of six (6) times and it almost feels as if I've been driving a loaner more than my vehicle. Our family loves to take road trips in the summer months but we we have not been able to take summer road trips since we do not trust this truck to keep our family safe. We have no faith in Cadillac products and will never, EVER invest in Cadillac again!! We contacted GM to informed them of our concerns and expected GM to stand by their product but the best they could do was inform us that the shifting pattern is a new one with these new Cadillacs and the customers are not used to it. Whaaat??? No vehicle that we have ever driven shifts as rough and in such unpredictable patterns as this Cadillac ESV. Plus every time we get our vehicle back and new parts such as , gear box, are replaced and computer is reprogrammed it rides much better but eventually the problem starts once again until it gets so bad it eventually goes dead again! We will be trading this useless piece of JUNK for a real quality suv. Obviously GM does not care enough about their customers to keep them satisfied. Never Again!! It's been a while since my first review and a lot has changed. After filing the lemon law documents through the BBB and getting our lawyer involved GMC offered to exchange our vehicle for any other vehicle we wanted. We paid a fee of approximately 10,000 dollars which in the lemon law is called a usage fee. The usage fee is basically what you have to pay for the time the vehicle was used based on a formula. We chose another Cadillac Escalade ESV. it was great at first but now just two months and a half driving the vehicle we are starting to notice the modulator acting up. We will be calling the agency to get it serviced. This truck is much, much better. We are hoping it just needs adjustment. The interior assembly of this new 2017 model seems to be much sturdier since I don't hear rattling of panels like with the last one. It's too soon to tell though. If you are thinking of spending high dollar on a luxury vehicle I don't recommend it. Try Lexus or Range Rover.

GM reliability destroying once great Escalade

Bought a certified 2016 Escalade ESV because we just had our 3rd kid and needed something with extra room for 3 car seats and 2 strollers. Traded in my 2013 Infiniti JX35 with 90k trouble free miles. Loved that SUV, but too small for my needs. Day 1 of owning Escalade heard tranny slipping and truck bangs and thumps with every shift. Dealer replaced tranny fluid and that made a huge difference. Took back possession of vehicle and right away, heard an engine ticking. Took it back and needed a new belt. Now when I put truck into AUTO from 2WD in rain and snow it sounds like the front differential(?) is slipping. Truck sounds rough, feels like crap and I’m trying to get another appointment with the dealer. These trucks looks gorgeous, don’t get me wrong and I love the Kona leather interior with the Captains seats. It’s comfortable and fast, but the reliability is so bad that after 3 months I can comfortably say I won’t buy Cadillac again. Also the dealer experience has been less than stellar, but I realize that depends on individual dealerships. I wish Lexus or Infiniti would build an XL Luxury SUV. With as many Escalades and Suburbans on the road, I have to assume there’s a solid business case. In either case, check out the Navigator or Expedition, because GM has self destructed with their horrendous reliability. But if you must get GM, please get an extended warranty. Cadillac certified warranty is crap. My Fidelity warranty has covered more than $3,700 worth of fixes that Cadillac wouldn’t cover.

Stay Away, Transmission complete garbage

We bought our 2016 Escalade ESV new 3.5 years ago and have been PLAGUED with issues. Drove it off the lot and brought it back within 3 weeks complaining of rough transmission shifting at low speeds, steering wheel vibrations and a whining noise at high speeds. Car always 'within spec' so nothing the dealer could do. If we would of just returned the dang thing. Since then, we've had the car in over 12 times complaining about the transmission alone. I've also had to have the rear HVAC controls replaced twice for controls not responding and rear seat warmers turning on by themselves, drivers seat replaced for failing controls, steering week column replaced, rear lift gate motor replaced as it died, the battery died and stranded me, rear shocks leaking and replaced at 33k miles, wood paneling replaced from bending out of place, lane assist recalibrated.... And the kicker... all those times I complained about the transmission, I had GUNK in the transmission fluid at 33k miles - that needed replaced. Now we are ditching this hunk of junk for something more reliable given we believe the transmission is faulty and irreversibly damage given we've been complaining since we drove the car off the lot. DO NOT WASTE YOU MONEY, we are pissed at the quality of this crap GM product with how much we spent. We filed a complaint with GM and they just wanted to 'assist us with getting it fixed with the dealer.' Thanks, but no thanks. I can schedule taking my car into the dealer for the 20+ time on my own, as I have for the entire 3.5 years we've owned the thing. Worst car I've ever owned - never had this many issues on my other cars combined!

Cost vs quality, fitment=big disappointment,

UPDATED 21 Aug 19: Nothing changed DO NOT BUY!!!~Having owned the 2007 ESV I thought long and hard about buying a new 2016. Keeping in context we have owned Lexus since 1990, total of five LS models over the years. Best single auto manufacturer in the world for quality, value, cost of ownership. Unless you need the size of the ESV for family, road travel, don't buy one. Your hard earned $80K+ needs to go elsewhere because of the workmanship, quality issues. It LOOKS awesome, rides great, it is the fitment, vibration, flutter of plastic parts rubbing against each other that will drive you crazy. The center CUE had a vibration as if a wiring harness had been flopping around. The sunroof decided just this morning that something up in there, needed to be jostling around, and these things happen only when they want to. We have only owned her 3 weeks, she has 735 miles on her. We got her for the room, size to accommodate family. If LEXUS ever decides to make one similar in size, we are in. Nothing in my review changes except that I will never own another. It is GM junk at the highest level. Last May 22, 2016 we finally got help from the BBB in Washington DC to help replace the original 2016 we bought in Dec. 2015. It took us 6 months to get rid of that pile of junk, replaced it with another pile of junk. Folks other than the dealer experience being so stealor and supportive, I will never own another. PERIOD. From problems with transmissionn shifting at times I cant understand, to the dye color of the leather already wearing away. Plastic parts look like wood and yet vibrate into a frenzy at times. Listen carefully, you do what you want. If you want to toss money into a pit loaded with stress and problems, then buy this thing. If you want to save yourself the grief, buy Lexus or something else. UPDATE: JUNK it is OVERPRICED JUNK Would love to sell it if you know of anyone interested. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING CADILLAC

Buyer beware GM 8 speed transmission vibration

We have had our 2016 escalade in the shop approximately 30 times in two years. The repair shop stated there is nothing further they can do and that the vibration is common in the 2016 8 speed transmission GM products. GM customer service has stated they would extend our warranty buts thats all they could do for us, since there were no technical services bulletins. Google search reveals several technical bulletins regarding the transmission. The first two years my wife took her car in they never mentioned the transmission problem. The first time I took the car in and showed them the technical service bulletins they started working on the transmission. (funny) I made an attempt at letting them trade our car in on a newer model and reimbursing us for the multple repairs we made in attempts to correct the problem and the Service Manager for the Houston are (Jose) has informed Cadillac customer service that we do not have a problem

2016 Cadillac Escalade Esv Platinum

$130,000, seriously for this POS... AC stopped getting cool, replaced condenser $650 Entertainment center "Cue" $1150 Hard shift, replaced fuild then heat sensor $$1400 Fuel injectors, $1980 Bubbled dash, pending Adapative Cruise control module $950 Hard brake pedal, but the said I need 4 rotors and all new pads, expensive, over $1,000 Seat massage, warranty Door handle, warranty Front Suspension, from 2017 miles to Aug 2019 to figure out the bolts was loose. "Right front adjuster nuts" $108 Camera realigned, 3 times and they still don't operate correctly, $100 plus each time I am afraid to start it up, the manager at the Cadillac dealership said my vehicle has 103,000 miles and needs to be replaced, what do you expect from a 100,000 mile vehicle. My complaints started in 2017, around 35k miles, they purposely put a band-aid on the vehicle until my warranty expired.

Unfixable rattling noise

I bought this brand new cadillac Escalade ESV 2016 with 0 miles and after some time it start giving me problems. Rattling noise in the rear end both sides is one of the biggest problem. I went to different dealerships from january 2016 till now(october 216) but no one able to find that noise exactly where its coming from instead they started changing all the parts out of my brand new escalade. They just assume that the noise is coming from here. They messed up my whole car with new parts and they didn't even find the problem.

Won't start, just click, click, click, click

This is a 2017 Cadillac Escalade ESV buyback. We knew they put a new motor in it. We bought it 14 hours away from home. Then stopped 9 hours away from home for dinner. It would not start back up just click, click , click. Had it towed to the nearest Cadillac dealer, stayed in a hotel, got a rental . Called Cadillac customer service and since we had AAA tow it they refused to help me with anything. ( Hello, I JUST purchased the vehicle a few hours previous.) Went back over to the dealership in the morning with the rental after getting uber to take us to the nearest rental place open on a sunday hoping it would start and it did. Took the rental back, drove straight home did not shut it off at all. Once home we shut it off , then tried to start it again and it would not start just click, click, click. Had it towed to a dealership near us. It would not, not start for them (4 days). I went up and got it. I had e-mailed Cadillac Customer service 3 times by now with no response. I called Cadillac customer service got a case# and was told to e-mail my receipts of being stranded in Toledo Ohio, so I put the receipts in the next e-mail for reimbursement. Afraid to shut it off wherever we went, two weeks later it acted up again. no start, just click, click, click. My guys bumped the bottom of the starter and it started so WE knew it was the starter and the dealership confirmed that 20 miles after the motor was put in they put in a starter ( not told to us when we bought the vehicle) . Back up to the dealership it went. For a week this time. I e-mailed Cadillac customer service again asking for the status of my case# and to advise them the vehicle would still not start intermittently . Still no response from Cadillac customer service. Still it would not, not start for them. I went back up to pick it up. Now today June 19 2018 exactly a month from the day we bought it . It will not start just click click, click. I know if we put it on the tow truck to go back it will jostle the starter and it will start again for them. I called the dealership and they can not send someone to my house. So, I am again stuck with a vehicle I do not dare drive anywhere without leaving it running. Cadillac Customer Service is a Joke. I have a case# and yet still nothing has been done. I have e-mailed them 5 times called 9 times and the only contact I have had from them is from me making the effort to contact them. I have received 1 phone call from them on June 16th(Saturday I was with my children and do not answer my phone) and it was on my voice mail that if I did not contact them by June 18th they were closing the case. I called them and got NO ONE, only a voice mail and I left a message. Still no call back. So I called another # this morning and they transferred me to the same "Senior Rep" for me to leave another voice mail. I received a call on my cell phone which I had told them only to use after 5pm. She "Sheila" the senior customer rep stated they denied my reimbursement and told me to have the dealership near me reimburse me. Then they possibly would reimburse the dealership. WHAT it is not the dealership I am taking it to to be fixed fault that the vehicle stranded me 9 hours from home 5 hours after I bought it . I told her it is not the money, I have the money to cover the hotel, uber, rental, it is the principal that Cadillac is suppose to be the ELITE of customer service !! I asked to have her supr call me. She said it will be 1-2 business days. Then preceeded to tell me that they consider business days as 8 hours a day and it would be before 48 "business" hours that I would receive a call. So, maybe 5-6 days before I get a call and in the meantime I am stuck with a Cadillac I can not depend on !!!!! BEYOND FRUSTRATED !!!!!

love it but confused

Before buying the Escalade take it out for a test drive for a day or two! We traded in our 2018 Traverse and bought our 2016 Escalade used. We thought we needed something bigger because we have four girls and one of them is one and a half year old. Needed luggage room so we purchased it. A week later we heard a ticking sound in the engine so we went back to the dealer and they told us that it was normal and they went ahead and change the oil and we didn't hear it anymore. The next morning my wife called me on her way to work and she that said she hears the ticking noise again and I told her well just keep driving it will probably go away. The next day the ticking noise gotten louder to a clunking noise. We took it back to the dealership then they told us that we needed a new engine and it's covered under warranty. We were shocked because the vehicle had ouly 38,000 miles on it. They went ahead and fixed it and replace the engine and they also went ahead and fix the recall that it had. Drove it for a couple weeks and had more power than it had before and then transmission started slipping it seems like. Brought it back they said that it's normal the computer is probably trying to interact with the new engine. We took it again for the 2nd time for the transmission and they cannot find anything. Sometime it will jump back or skip! To make a long story start I went ahead and bought a Mercedes GLC for my wife so she can go to work with and yes we still have the Escalade but it's sits because I travel for work so it really doesn't drive that often unless I'm home. That was the biggest investment we ever made in our life and we are trying to figure out what to do with it. Its is a beautiful truck don't get me wrong that's why I am so upset it's a shame!! 😠Cadillac need to get their stuff together and treat their customers right and build a good quality vehicle.

2016 ESV JUNK! now transm problem

Here is my update on the second 2016 ESV. The one that replaced the first lemon, the second is still a lemon pile of junk. At just over 40K in miles highway at that, the transmission gave up the ghost. In shop now to replace and guess what the 2019 loaner is the same pile. You can hear the transmission starting to whine at 2800 miles. If you need to spend your money, go with something else non GM. You want to just spend money?? then hide it in savings or a cd until something else comes along. This POS is the biggest waste of my money ever in my life.

$91,000.00 dollar boat anchor

Leased a brand new 2016 Escalade and fast realized that GM is 10 years behind the competition. The info system the Que might be the worst piece of tech ever put in a vehicle. The transmission starting piping out of gear after 20k miles and the engine idle feels as if the engine wants to stall out as it shakes the car. Service techs laugh and say welcome to the Escalade problems. For the money I would suggest any luxury car but the Cadillac brand.

The Cadillac of Escalades.

I love this thing! It is beautiful and fast! Its v8 is awesome!! However, the CUE system is awful. Sometimes it won't come on until a few streets down from our house. No radio, no climate control, the only thing that works is the speedometer. CUE IS BAD. The rest of the car is incredible. I LOVE IT. HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Defective products not covered?!*

We have owned our 2016 Caddi Escalade ESV for about 8 months. It was used w/less than 20k miles on it and still has less than 30k miles. Within the short time frame we've owned it, the info/CUE screen/system blanked out several times, had to take in twice and seems to be fixed now but? When it goes out, of course so does your air. More importantly however the brake pads (on the front end) are defective. Not just worn/general use issues, but pretty much disintegrating and need to be replaced. Since this is considered a 'maintenance' issue, it is not covered under warranty. So a 2 year old vehicle w/less than 30k miles and paying for new brake pads OOP. Other issues like shifting when taking off or stepping on it to get going after slowing down are regular occurrences. The ride itself is noticeably better than the 2017 Tahoe we had before and so far the rest of the bells and whistles are functioning nicely. Just wish Cadillac would stand by it's product better.

What were they thinking?

8 speed transmission is a nightmare. Window D-Md door trim plastic breaks repeatedly

Rented one for crossing America twice.

This doesn't handle like your old Escalde. It handles mountain curves like never before. The well-sorted suspension and commanding view out make the vehicle seem to shrink when pressed hard. The magnetic shocks do a remarkable job of calming all but the worst rhythmic undulations. Fast, quiet, and comfortable. What more could you want out of a Cadillac?

what am suv

For a big size family, a perfect suv. I traded infiniti qx56.. because I don't like car based platform on suv . I am happy with look, comfort, MPG, and over all value.

Excellent and appreciated

They should experience the luxury and comfort of this vehicle for themselves

Escalade esv fan

This is my 5th Escalade. Hands down my favorite SUV. All aspects are why I own this. If they could just figure out a way for me to talk control AC/Heat I'll buy these every 3 years without fail.

Don't buy it

severe transmission problems.

Escalade ESV

Awesome truck it has everything you could imagine, we just love it!!!!

The best

Go prezowned certified!

Loving and Living in My Cad

I bought this pre-owned car about 3 years ago and love it. I have hauled massive amounts of things in it to donate to non-profit organizations. When I get tired, I just find a safe place for a brief but comfortable nap!!! It is the easiest vehicle to drive that I have ever owned, and I've had a Lexus, Buick, Honda, and Chrysler.

EXCELLENT PURCHASE

I've always been very happy owning a Cadillac Escalade. This is my 3rd pre-owned Escalade. Lots of gadgets, gee-whiz buttons and extras. My prior Escalades we 2004 & 2005. This one being within the same decade is very new to me. Many changes, extras and more that can go wrong. But in very happy with my purchase. I really would have liked the Plantinum, but very happy with the Premium Luxury. But no way am I paying a house note for a pre-owned vehicle. EVER!! So I'm happy with my purchase. I hope it lasts like my other two that I still own. 😊 Happy Holidays🎄

My new Caddy

I was very pleased with my purchase. I also enjoy all the toys that came with my vehicle.

Perfect for a large family.

We very much enjoy our Escalade, for a family of 6 it has more than enough room for us and our gear. If you enjoy a more spirited ride, its a disappointment. I traded in a Dodge Durango RT that was too small of us for road trips but was brilliant in the drive and handling department. The Escalade has more than adequate power, and is as stable as a tank. When it comes to going around corners, even with magnetic ride control, it doesn't handle like said durango. Our platinum trim is extremely well appointed and easily the quietest vehicle I've ever driven, its such a serene place to just let the miles drift by. The ride over rough pavement is not as plush as it could be, the 22" wheels feel every bump. A set of Michelin tires is said to improve ride quality.

What a ride

I upgraded to a 18 Escalade ESV Platinum Beautiful crystal white I was in a Yukon I drove the Lexus and BMW nice but the Escalade blew them out of the water Very quit very nice ride for a big truck Dependable Trang shifts smoothly and a very strong V8 engine. Anyone who says a Escalade is a Suburban with a badge obviously never drove one the Escalade is far better than the Suburban or Yukon I had in the past

My new Escalade ESV Platinum 4x4