Cadillac Escalade IQ Complaints

7 consumer complaints on file.

#11768280October 1, 2026
STEERING
On October 1, 2026, the vehicle experienced a sudden and complete loss of steering control while I was driving. The steering wheel became mechanically disengaged from steering control and rotated freely. I was able to stop the vehicle narrowly avoiding a collision. The vehicle was not driveable and in the flow of traffic, and safety was of the most concern. Law enforcement was called via OnStar Roadside assistance to manage traffic while I awaited a tow truck. It was towed to the authorized Cadillac dealership. The vehicle is presently in the dealership's possession awaiting diagnosis and repair. There were no warnings, messages or other indicators that anything was wrong with the vehicle, it simply had a catastrophic steering failure while driving.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11763804September 12, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
An over-the-air software update installed on my 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQ on September 11, 2026 removed the side-view camera display that previously appeared on the center infotainment screen whenever the turn signal was activated. Before the update, activating the right turn signal displayed a live video feed of the right side of the vehicle, which I relied on because the passenger-side exterior mirror provides a poor, narrow field of view (flat mirror with a bad angle, and no auto-dimming at night). After the update, no camera view appears and the mirror alone is inadequate, leaving the right-side blind spot completely unchecked when changing lanes or merging right. This safety-relevant feature worked correctly before the manufacturer's update and was disabled by it. I have also filed a safety complaint with Cadillac/GM customer assistance on September 12, 2026. No crash, injury, or property damage has occurred yet, but the vehicle is now meaningfully less safe to drive, and I request that NHTSA investigate this software change.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11763834September 12, 2026
VISIBILITY/WIPER
This is a follow-up and correction to my NHTSA complaint XXX, filed XXX. Correction: the over-the-air software update installed on my 2026 Cadillac Escalade IQ on XXX did not remove the side-view camera display feature; it reset the 'side camera view on turn signal' setting to off. I re-enabled the setting myself on XXX and the feature works again. My concern remains that the manufacturer's update silently changed a safety-relevant driver-assistance setting without any notice to me, and I only discovered it while driving. More importantly, I want to raise the underlying issue: the passenger-side exterior mirror uses flat (non-convex) mirror glass with a poor viewing angle and no auto-dimming at night, which gives an inadequate field of view of the right-side blind spot. Nearly all vehicles sold in the [XXX] use convex passenger-side mirrors for a wider field of view — that is why they carry the 'objects in mirror are closer than they appear' warning — but this vehicle does not. I consider the non-convex passenger mirror design itself a visibility safety defect and request that NHTSA review both the silent settings reset caused by the OTA update and the non-convex passenger mirror design. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11755817August 10, 2026
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, STEERING
On April 7, 2026 I was driving my daughter to school when my 2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ Frunk (Front Trunk) opening while driving. This renders the EV completely inoperable and disables the vehicle. I pulled over and contacted Road Side assistance and had my vehicle towed to Cadillac of Beverly Hills. It was repaired over the course of 3 days and I was assured it was fixed. Today, on August 9, 2026 the exact same situation occurred. The frunk opened while I was driving the vehicle with my wife and daughter leaving us stranded for 2 hours while we waited for road side assistance to tow the car. This is a serious safety issue as then the front trunk (Frunk) opens, it cannot be closed and it blocks all visibility and the vehicle does into shut down mode and you cannot drive it. It is a serious safety concern for me, my family, and the drivers around me.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11739368May 21, 2026
WHEELS
While driving the vehicle it lifts from the back and lowers in the front and the car while in drive malfunctions leaning to the right applying pressure on the front tire and cause the tread on the tire to come off which was stated as a defect with no way to fix or resolve at this time, I was told by the dealership that the tires are not under warranty and my question was if the car is malfunctioning causing tread wear only on the front passenger tire wouldn’t that be covered by the dealer to replace the tire. I was then told that they are having the same problem with the new hummers and that if the tread was worn in the first 12,000 miles of Owership that it was due to lifting the vehicle above the default setting and hard driving that caused damage to the tires but they stated that it had damaged both front tires in the hummer, so they said the Escalade had the same problem but here’s the issue we don’t have a button to raise the vehicle up and this was caused by the computer sensor lowering the car while driving which I have no control over when it lifts or lowers and it’s only damaging the right front tire which proves that it’s a defect and GM said they were not responsible for the tires and would not escalate this situation so that my car could be addressed because of this issue and the text at the dealership gave me a copy of the document stating about the hummer issue and agreed with me that my car has a defect but could do nothing without gms ok so now I’m left to drive a car that leans on its own and may blow out my passenger tire at any time and that is beyond my control.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11730982April 13, 2026
SEATS
2025 Cadillac Escalade IQ GM issued a Customer Satisfaction Program (NHTSA ID 11017089, Manufacturer Communication N252492830-01) for 2nd and 3rd row outboard head restraints that may not lock in the upright position on 2025 Escalade IQ vehicles. My vehicle has this exact defect—both the 2nd and 3rd row head restraints were stuck in the down/forward position and could not lock upright. The safety consequence is serious: head restraints that cannot lock upright provide no head or neck support in a rear-end collision for any 2nd or 3rd row passenger. The defect was identified by Chevrolet Cadillac of Santa Fe, NM on Nov 12, 2025 (RO# 0081837). The dealer confirmed the recall applied and ordered replacement parts from GM. The parts were not available. No ETA was provided. I was forced to take the vehicle back with the recall incomplete because the wait was indefinite. The dealer's own notes state: "2nd and 3rd row headrest still malfunctioning." The replacement head restraints did not arrive until late March 2026. The recall was finally completed on March 30, 2026 (RO# 0086689)—over 4 months after the defect was identified and the parts were ordered. For those 4+ months, I had a vehicle with a known safety defect that GM had already acknowledged via a manufacturer communication, but GM could not supply the parts to fix it. Any passengers in the 2nd or 3rd row were at risk of serious head and neck injury in a collision. This is not an isolated parts delay. The same vehicle waited 3.5 months at a body shop (Apr-Jul 2025) for routine OEM bumper and sensor parts, and 2.5 months at a dealer (Nov 2025-Jan 2026) for a radar module. GM appears unable to support the Escalade IQ with replacement parts, leaving owners with vehicles that have known safety defects and no available remedy.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11660345May 12, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE, LANE DEPARTURE: BLIND SPOT DETECTION
Ball Bearings upon purchase, was not able to drive off the lot. Sensors malfunctioning creating horn honking each day at a specific time Module currently needs replacement on new vehicle. Entire vehicle shut down without power. Passenger side blind spot in side mirror. Unable to see cars and blindspot sensor does not register vehicle. Is this due to the vehicle load or height? or the fact that the side mirrors are placed incorrectly. Was not able to access vehicle. dead. Vehicle has been at the dealer for 15 days No warning messages. Just complete failure.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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