2012 Cadillac Escalade Esv Recalls

Recalls on record Updated July 2026

The 2012 Cadillac Escalade Esv has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 2,146,965 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 5 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the electrical system. Last updated July 5, 2026.

Recall campaigns

AIR BAGS 21V054000 2021-02-05 1,778,128 affected
Defect

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 2500, Silverado 3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 2500, Sierra 3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of AL, CA, FL, GA, HI, LA, MS, SC, TX, PR, AS, GU, the MP, and VI…

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 25, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were…

AIR BAGS 21V051000 2021-02-05 284,645 affected
Defect

General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado 1500, Silverado 2500/3500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Sierra 2500/3500, Yukon, and Yukon XL originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of Alabama, California, Florida,…

Consequence

An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the front passenger air bag inflator with an alternate one, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed on February 22, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were…

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14V827000 2014-12-30 84,192 affected
Defect

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, Escalade EXT, Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado HD, Silverado LD, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra LD, Sierra HD, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the ignition lock actuator may bind, making turning the…

Consequence

If stuck in the "Start" position, the ignition may suddenly snap back into the "Accessory" position, causing a loss of engine, steering, and braking power, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. If the vehicle is in a crash, the air bags may not deploy, increasing the risk of occupant injury.

Remedy

GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect and replace the ignition lock housing, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on February 12, 2015. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14696…

Complaints by component

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
2
AIR BAGS
1
ENGINE
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
Total complaints5

What owners report

Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal information removed.

“Tl* takata recall. The contact owns a 2012 cadillac escalade esv. The contact received notification of nhtsa campaign number: 21v054000 (air bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact called malouf cadillac (1975 us-1, north brunswick township, nj 08902) where it…”

AIR BAGS · reported 2021-04-29

“Driving normal on a city street for about one hour without any warning the vehicle started acting strange, the doors locked and unlocked, the ac& htg came on, htg&fan for the seats came on, clock blinked, navigation screen blinked on and off, the vehicle sounded as though it would accelerate and…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2018-12-17

“Driving normal on a city street for about one hour without any warning the vehicle started acting strange, the doors locked and unlocked, the ac& htg came on, htg&fan for the seats came on, clock blinked, navigation screen blinked on and off, the vehicle sounded as though it would accelerate and…”

ENGINE · reported 2018-12-17

“Driving normal on a city street for about one hour without any warning the vehicle started acting strange, the doors locked and unlocked, the ac& htg came on, htg&fan for the seats came on, clock blinked, navigation screen blinked on and off, the vehicle sounded as though it would accelerate and…”

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL · reported 2018-12-17

“Driving down the highway at 65 mph the dash lights started blinking, radio went on and off, door locks locked and unlocked, revved the engine, cooled seats automatically came on, all dash lights came on like vehicle died(but never died) then went back to normal for about 10 miles and same thing…”

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM · reported 2015-05-26

Defect investigations

Investigation EA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…

Investigation EA21002 Opened 2021-09-17 · open

Desiccated Air Bag Inflator Rupture

From 2000 through 2017, Takata produced millions of air bag inflators using two types of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate ("PSAN") propellant -- propellant 2004 and propellant 2004L. After prolonged exposure to high temperature cycles and humidity, inflators using propellant 2004 can degrade, causing the propellant…

Sources & methodology

Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL, FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2012 Cadillac Escalade Esv as of July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.