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What 21 owners told NHTSA about the 2018 Cadillac Escalade
These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.
3 of 21 complaints match · Transmission & drivetrain · clear filters
Jul 22, 2025Transmission & drivetrain
I stopped to get gas and put the car in park. Turned the car off and when I started it back up the car thought it was in drive but was in park still. The gas pedal won’t not work and the car is now stuck in park. The Chevy Caddilac dealership said it is a failed TCM. Part is on back order and I was told there is no eta and could be 7 months to a year before I get my car back.
NHTSA ODI 11675316
Feb 1, 2025Transmission & drivetrain
Escalade would experience loss of acceleration 15-20mph under light/moderate throttle, appear to go in to neutral when going from 3rd to 4th (best I can tell,) and then slam in to gear. While doing 50-55mph Escalade would have a converter shudder or go in and out of neutral. This would leave me unable to accelerate if needed and would place me in a precarious position if I was turning out in traffic or needed change speeds. On a repeat trip to the dealer it was determined there was metal in the transmission pan and exact source of metal was not able to be identified. It never triggered a check engine light or any other visible warning. Transmission was replaced with partial cost assistance from Gm and is back to operating properly.
NHTSA ODI 11640025
Jan 21, 2025SuspensionTransmission & drivetrainEngine
I paid 8600 on my engine for lifters exc...in 2022 the now in 2025 I was told I need a new engine [XXX] The whole engine is messed up INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA ODI 11637223
Working with the data? Download all 21 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 10, 2026
How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your
pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the
full 2018 Cadillac Escalade verdict →