There are 1 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2026 Cadillac Escaladein NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
ON FEBRUARY 16, 2026, AROUND 4:30 P.M. WE WERE DRIVING OUR NEW CADILLAC ESCALADE SPORT V-SERIES WITH ONLY 900 MILES ON THE ODOMETER AT AROUND 50 MILES PER HOUR ON HIGHWAY T IN FRANKLIN COUNTY TO OUR HOME FROM THE DOG GROOMER WITH OUR 2 LARGE BREED NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS WHO WEIGH 130 POUNDS EACH NAMED [XXX] AND SQUIGGY WHO WERE LAYING DOWN IN THE REAR CARGO AREA WITH THE 3RD ROW SEAT FOLDED DOWN WHEN I NOTICED THE VEHICLE WAS SLOWING DOWN EVEN THOUGH I HAD MY RIGHT FOOT ON THE ACCELERATOR AND THAT'S WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD UNEXPECTEDLY AND WITHOUT WARNING SHIFTED FROM DRIVE TO NEUTRAL WITHOUT ANY ALERTS OR WARNING MESSAGES. THEN, SUDDENLY AGAIN WITHOUT ANY ALERTS OR WARNING THE BRAKES LOCKED UP ON THE HIGHWAY THROWING US FORWARD INCLUDING [XXX] AND [XXX] INTO THE BACK SIDES OF OUR DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE SEATBACKS. IF ANY OTHER MOTORISTS HAD BEEN FOLLOWING US CLOSELY THEY WOULD HAVE RISK COLLIDING WITH THE REAR BUMPER AREAS OF OUR VEHICLE. I IMMEDIATELY SHUT THE VEHICLE OFF CHECKED TO MAKE SURE NO OTHER MOTORISTS WERE APPROACHING US WHILE STOPPED ON THE HIGHWAY AND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND DROVE LESS THAN 1 MILE TO OUR HOME. WE UNLOADED [XXX] AND SQUIGGY WHO WERE LUCKILY NOT INJURED AFTER BEING THOWN FORWARD WHEN THE BRAKES UNEXPECTLY LOCKED UP AND CALLED ELCO CADILLAC SERVICE DEPARTMENT AND NOTIFIED THEM OF THE SAFETY CONCERNS WE HAD ABOUT THE ENGINE SHIFTING INTO NEUTRAL AND THE SUDDEN UNEXPECTED HARD BRAKING EVENT WE JUST EXPERIENCED AND THAT WE'D BE DRIVING TO THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT 10 MILES FROM OUR HOME TO DROP OFF THE ESCALADE TO DETRERMINE IF THERE WERE ANY CODES IN THE COMPUTER IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES WE ENCOUNTERED. WHEN WE ARRIVED ABOUT 5:45 THE TRANSMISSION WAS NOT SHIFTING PROPERLY AND THE ENGINE WAS MAKING A RATTLING NOISE. AS WE PULLED UP TO THE AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR SERVICE ENTRY THE TRANSMISSION AGAIN SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL AND THE ENGINE SHUT OFF COMPLETELY AS WE ROLLED INSIDE SERVICE ENTRANCE. NOTED ON LINE 2 OF ELCO ESTIMATE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026