Total Complaints
5 filings
CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV · model year
5 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report, and 1 recall campaign listed for this cohort. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 2006CADILLACESCALADE ESV carries 5 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 0 fires, 1 injury, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 2006 ESCALADE ESV is air bags with 1 filings, followed by power train:automatic transmission (1) and engine and engine cooling (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause. This cohort has 1 NHTSA recall campaign listed below. Enter a VIN in NHTSA's official recall lookup to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.
NHTSA currently has 10 investigation files overlapping the 2006 ESCALADE ESV, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.
Total Complaints
5 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| AIR BAGS | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| ENGINE | 1 |
| SERVICE BRAKES | 1 |
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
CERTAIN TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES FAIL TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 110, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS." THESE VEHICLES WERE SHIPPED WITH TIRE AND LOADING INFORMATION LABELS LISTING AN INACCCURATE VEHICLE CAPACITY WEIGHT.
THE BRAKE LINES WERE CORRODED AND LEAKING IN AT LEAST TWO LOCATIONS. THE DEALER MASSEY CADILLAC OF SOUTH ORLANDO HAD TO REPLACE FROM THE REAR AXLE TO THE MASTER CYLINDER. THIS HAPPENED WHILE WE WERE DRIVING ON INTERNATIONAL DRIVE ON OUR WAY HOME TO MC.
Mileage: 115,000
EXHAUST MANIFOLD MISSING BOLTS, TRANSMISSION LINES LEAKING AT QUICK CONNECT CONNECTION, INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAKING, HEATER HOSE LEAKING AT CONNECTION. MOST OF THESE ITEMS ARE COMMON CONCERNS AMONGST OTHER OWNERS OF SAME ENGINE SIZE. NO RECALL ON MANIFOLD BOLTS? COMPLETE SAFETY HAZARD.
Mileage: 118,000
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. WHILE DRIVING 30 MPH UP A VERY STEEP MOUNTAIN WITH VERY STEEP SWITCHBACKS, THE VEHICLE COMPLETELY SHUT OFF. THE POWER STEERING AND POWER BRAKES STOPPED OPERATING AS WELL. THE WARNING LIGHTS ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ILLUMINATED. FIVE TO TEN MINUTES LATER, THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO RESTART THE VEHICLE AFTER THE COMPUTER SEEMED TO RESET. ON JULY 8, 2008, WHILE DRIVING DOWN A 6,000 FOOT MOUNTAIN, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF AGAIN AND EXPERIENCED THE SAME FAILURES. HE WAS ABLE TO STOP THE VEHICLE WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE. THE CONTACT NOTICED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED AT ALL ALTITUDES, THE FIRST BEING APPROXIMATELY 5,000 FEET. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER, BUT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 12,034 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 11,000. UPDATED 07/29/08. *LJ UPDATED 08/05/08
Mileage: 11,000
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. WHILE THE CONTACT'S HUSBAND WAS DRIVING 65 MPH, A SMALL TRUCK MOVED INTO HIS LANE. HE ATTEMPTED TO MOVE INTO THE LEFT LANE AND TAPPED THE BRAKES TO SLOW DOWN. THE TRANSMISSION DROPPED INTO FIRST OR SECOND GEAR ON ITS OWN AND CAUSED THE VEHICLE TO SEVERELY SWERVE ACROSS THE FREEWAY AT 180 DEGREES. THE VEHICLE STOPPED AND WAS FACING ONCOMING TRAFFIC. TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT; THEREFORE, OTHER VEHICLES WERE ABLE TO STOP WITHOUT A CRASH OCCURRING. HER HUSBAND RESTARTED THE VEHICLE AND EXITED THE HIGHWAY. THE INSTRUMENT PANEL GAUGE INDICATED HOT TRANSMISSION FLUID AND THE FLUID SMELLED BURNT. HER HUSBAND CONTINUED DRIVING, BUT AN UNFAMILIAR NOISE WAS HEARD. THE FOLLOWING DAY, AFTER CALLING THE MANUFACTURER, A TECHNICIAN CAME OUT AND STATED THAT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS POSSIBLY THE TRANSMISSION. THE VEHICLE IS CURRENTLY AT THE DEALER. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 36,500. THE DEALER STATED IT APPEARED AS THOUG
Mileage: 36,500
TL* - THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV. WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH, THE CONTACT'S VEHICLE B WAS INVOLVED IN A CAR CRASH. THE CONTACT LOSS CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE, AND HIT A TREE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED DAMAGE TO THE FRONT END. THE CONTACT HAS A POLICE REPORT.
Mileage: 13,000
Electronic Brake Module Component Failure
Rear-View Camera Failure
Roof Skin Separation While Driving
IEE Passenger Sensing System Mats
REAR DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT FAILURE
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 2006 CADILLAC ESCALADE ESV; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.