2021 CADILLAC ESCALADE Engine Problems

General Motors issued a recall on various 2021-2024 Tahoes and Escalades with 6.2L V8 engines. Since issuing the recall, they have given no information and my Escalade has been sitting at the dealership for months with not ETA of the engine and parts needed ti fix the vehicle. GM is dragging this out slow and methodically!

Complete engine failure with vehicle only having 79615 miles on the vehicle. Vehicle was inspected by authorized Cadillac dealership and it was determined that the crank shaft/connecting rod had failed causing the engine to be replaced. Dealership communicated that issue was consistent with issue with known GM recall however vehicle was not covered under current recalled vin numbers at the time of engine failure.

I have been waiting for GM to send authorization for the dealer to inspect and remedy the engine, as per the open recall, but have heard nothing since May 2025, when GM stated parts were not available.

Engine failure Driver side seat belt light on dashboard.

A major recall has been issued due to possible engine failure. It sounds like a ticking time bomb and the dealer and GM currently refuse to do anything about it because “remedy not available yet.” I’m stuck driving a vehicle where the engine could fail randomly at any minute putting my family in danger and there’s no fix being offered right now despite the massive recall. Replace my engine!

The contact owns a 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving at 35 mph on the highway, a knocking noise emanated from the engine compartment, and the vehicle suddenly stopped and stalled. The contact head struck the steering wheel, and he sustained a head injury. The vehicle failed to restart. The safety restraint light was illuminated. The contact was going in and out of the vehicle to direct traffic around his disabled vehicle. A 2018 Ford Escape crashed into his vehicle, which was stranded on the side of the highway. The contact sustained a broken leg, and medical attention was provided at the hospital. There was no reported fire or airbag deployment. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the body shop. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer, who determined there was no recall coverage. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, who suspected the dealer was being misleading but no further assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 82,000.

Mileage: 82,000

While driving my 2021 Cadillac Escalade to Utah, the engine completely locked up and failed without warning. The vehicle had to be towed to a GM-authorized dealership. Upon inspection, the dealership confirmed the failure was directly related to an active safety recall on the vehicle. Prior to the failure, there were no check engine lights or no other warning lamps, messages, or symptoms. The failure occurred suddenly and without additional notice. The dealership stated the needed part is currently on national backorder and that the vehicle cannot be repaired or safely driven until the part arrives. It has now been over four months since the vehicle was brought in, and there is still no estimated repair date from GM. This has left me without a functioning vehicle due to a known safety defect. The vehicle remains inoperable at the dealership.

I own a 2021 Cadillac Escalade that falls under the manufacturer recall issued by GM/Cadillac for engine problems associated with this specific make, model, and year. I received an official recall notice via both email and U.S. Postal Service, instructing me to take my vehicle to my local dealership to have the recall addressed. I promptly complied and took my vehicle to the dealership. However, I was informed by both the dealership and the manufacturer that my VIN number “excludes” my vehicle from the recall, despite it matching the same year, make, and model. Approximately one month later, my engine failed due to the exact same defect that is the subject of the recall. Nevertheless, GM/Cadillac continues to refuse to cover my engine replacement under the recall, solely on the basis that my VIN number is not included in the recall list. As a result, the dealership has ordered an entirely new engine for my vehicle. I am now expected to be without a vehicle for two to three months while waiting for the new engine to arrive and be installed. I believe GM/Cadillac is misrepresenting to consumers which vehicles are covered under the recall to avoid financial responsibility for defective engines. My situation demonstrates that vehicles outside the listed VIN range are experiencing the exact same defect, yet GM/Cadillac is refusing to extend the recall coverage. I respectfully request that NHTSA investigate whether GM/Cadillac is improperly limiting recall coverage and failing to include all affected vehicles, leaving consumers with significant expenses and lengthy repair times for a defect the manufacturer already acknowledged. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

I was sitting in a drive through when the car just stopped running. I could not get it to restart. Engine light had come on and gone off a few times. I had it towed to a Firestone next door , they advised it needed to go to dealership for engine recall. Dealership did not look at it for 3 days so I had it towed to Cadillac- waiting for them to call.

engine noise loud knocking feels like engine is going to stall, had in service 6-9-25 for 3 days technician heard noise stated could be related to recall but no fix available at this time electrical glitch radio navigation shuts off during while driving screen dash goes dark

Due to issues identified in - Safety Recall N252494001 L87 Engine Loss of Propulsion We have had to get our Escalade [XXX] ) repaired with a cost of circa $9500. We are due to pick this up tomorrow. There was an issue with the lifters which caused damage to the engine and the crankshaft, the engine made a very louder noise so we pulled over . From that point on the vehicle would not start consistently, when it did it would not go into gear and would not go into neutral. My issue here is that although the issues that caused the repair to be neeed directly correlate to the recall my VIN is not included and thus we need to pay for this recall fix ourselves. Ideally my VIN and other like vehicles. Ours is a 2021 CADILLAC ESCALADE 4D SPT PLAT Should be included. Per the recall notice 2021 Escalades are included hovwever my VIN is not. I’m trying to understand why even though the make and model is indicated in the recall. I have reached out to GM, Cadillac and the dealership and they all point to each other with no one assisting at all INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

The contact owns a 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving 65 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer who informed the contact that the engine and transmission might need to be replaced. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 45,000.

Mileage: 45,000

This vehicle experienced a sudden engine failure while traveling on the highway which caused an immediate loss of power. The safety of myself and my family was at risk as we exited the roadway to the shoulder without power and the vehicle shaking violently. Vehicle was towed to a dealership where upon inspection they found the rocker arm for the intake valve on cylinder 6 not moving, a bent pushrod, and a lifter that had come apart. It is unknown if an inspection was performed by the dealer beyond the initial diagnostic. The check engine light had come on within the last 12 hours. We called onstar and they said the code indicated we should bring the car to the dealer within the next 24 hours. There was no indication that it was unsafe to drive with the light on.

1st incident - Car stalled at a red light and had to be towed for repair. It was determined to be the fuel injector pump. No lights came on and there was no indication of an issue prior to it stalling. 2nd incident - On the intestate it started making a rattling noise and felt like it was losing power. No lights came on to indicate any issue. Luckily we were able to exit the interstate but it stalled on the middle of the exit ramp. We were 5 hours away from home and it was towed to the nearest Cadillac dealership. They had the car for approximately 2 months and replaced the engine. 3rd incident - the car was back 2 weeks from the engine replacement. For 1 of these weeks it sat in the airport garage. When it was turned back on after sitting for a week the check engine light came on. I was able to make it home from the airport but it stalled out in our driveway and had to be towed again. It was determined it was the fuel injector pump and it was replaced again. The pump was only about a year old.

Engine Shut off, misfires, put me on side of road twice. Dealer replaced engine with remanufactured engine, took car home, next day same thing happen, misfired, and put me on side of road again! Car been at dealer for 2 months Cadillac refuses to acknowledge.

I purchased my Vehicle a little over a year ago and have had multiple engine repairs. The first issue started with the lifters going out. Shortly after the lifters were repaired, the engine seized, causing us to get an engine replacement. A few days after having the new engine, we had the same knocking/ticking noise coming from the engine which was also repaired once again. Then yesterday, 3/13/25, the engine started to knock/tick once again, but this time more aggressively. (New engine had only 15,000 miles.)

I was driving home on the evening of Monday [XXX] in my 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The car began to shake, the yellow engine warning light began flashing, black smoke began pouring out of the exhaust pipes and there was a strong smell of fuel. I was 1/2 mile from my home. I limped the car home, left it in the driveway overnight, and called Cadillac Roadside assistance to have the car towed to the Cadillac dealership in Boulder, CO the next morning. The dealership's initial diagnosis it a failed lifter and cam. This is a known issue across all GM's 6.2L engines and is caused by their AFM/DFM management system. I am at 69,000 miles, with only 1,000 miles to go on the powertrain warranty (70k). GM needs to step up and recall these motors. They are saying that they might offer extended component coverage to someone that has had at least 2 failed lifter repairs. This does me no good with only 1,000 miles to go under my 70k powertrain warranty. There are many reports of completely failed engines from this problem on super low mileage vehicles. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Driving home going 60-70 miles an hour I lost power in the middle of the highway and cruised off to the emergency lane. Engine completely shut off out of nowhere. Spedeometer went down even though i was pressing the accelerator . Starter burned out as well. Dealership says there was metal in the engine. Ordered a new engine and that engine was also defected. Now going into my third engine. In less than 2 months. If traffic would have been worse the possibility of safely maneuvering to a emergency lane could be fatal. Also one of the day running lights on multiple 2021 escalades go off.

The contact owns a 2021 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal sound coming from under the hood. The contact stated that his wife was able to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway and shut off the vehicle. The contact arrived on the scene with a local independent mechanic and became aware of the abnormal sound coming from the engine. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with a collapsed lifter, 2 bent push rods, and that a rotor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired out of pocket. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Mileage: 80,000

We were driving our 2021 Escalade Cadillac on the highway and the check engine light came on and then 10 seconds later the engine completely stopped without any further warning. If we had not been right by a highway exit, we would have stopped right on the highway. When the engine stopped completely, everything was useless. We couldn't use the windows or locks or even put the car into neutral to roll it off the highway. It took 5 hours for a tow truck to get to us and we had to wait with the car the entire time because a window was rolled halfway down and we could not lock the car. Our car was towed back to Midland, TX and now requires a brand new engine. The engine is on back order and there is no expected date. We may not get our car back for months.

Under normal driving the engine seized with no warning and vehicle would not operate leaving me stranded on the street for several hours. This occured April 2024 with approximately 58000 miles. The Engine had to be replaced.

I bought this car used and within a couple hundred miles the car would just shut off and the dash lights came on. I took it in and they diagnosed it and replaced the camshaft actuator. Within a few hundred more miles the same symptoms appeared as I was driving on a 70mph freeway. I had to pull over to the shoulder and this time noticed a metallic smell. Car would not turn on. Had to get it towed back to the dealer. After a month there they informed me the engine seized and needs to be replaced. Approximately 6 weeks and still no estimate to when I will get my car back.

1) The car suddenly brakes as to avoid a collision when there are no cars in the proximity of the vehicle (think about driving on an open road on a sunny day and the vehicle suddenly brakes without warning). 2) We have received notice of low oil shortly after oil changes which have been performed at the dealership. It has been communicated to us by the dealership that it is common for these vehicles to burn approximately four (4) quarts of oil over the course of 2,500 – 3,000 miles leaving approximately two (2) quarts of oil remaining. Required tow to the dealership. 3) We have received rear axle warning messages and heard beeping noises alerting of such on at least thirty (30) occasions. The dealer has not been able to diagnose what the issue is and says that the computer is not storing any codes. They have not attempted any repair after being taken in for service on three (3) separate occasions. 4) In the past few days, the vehicle has thrown many error codes on the dashboard display including the rear axle service, service transmission unable to shift, service driver assist system. 5) On Tuesday, October 15th, 2024 the vehicle again began throwing error codes. The engine failed to start and was towed to the dealer via GM Roadside. Required tow to the dealership. 6) A fuel pump part required replacement as fuel was not properly being delivered to the engine. Required tow to the dealership. Safey is at risk. We have three (3) children who regularly ride in the vehicle with us along with the safety of others on the road (especially sudden braking).