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2008 Cadillac Escalade Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 136 complaints with NHTSA about the 2008 Cadillac Escalade, most often about the air bags (54% of complaints, typically around 92,500 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Escalade model year since 2000 and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2008 Cadillac Escalade problems
Air bags
74 complaints · 54%Half of these problems showed up before 92,500 miles.
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v383000 (air bags) however, the part for the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The contact stated the…
Takata recall. The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 16v381000 (air bags). The part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was contacted (bob bell…
Electrical
23 complaints · 17%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles. Parts named most often: alternator/generator/regulator.
When I turn on the A/C this smells like oil burning, and I have check engine light on as well. This is because oil is leaking in to the exhaust system. I read that this is a typical issue in these cars. I thought this is a particular car's defect, but I read that is very common issue in the 2008 escalades.
My truck normal driving and a few miles loose power meters go up and down looose power train conection this trucks on particular has electric problems ground problems I need to stop turn off the key and turn on again check engine light go on and you can see tons of videos on you tube very dangerous if you driving on a…
Engine
15 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 160,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine.
While driving down the road, the engine started making a tapping noise.I took it to a shop for eval and got no help bc they couldnt replicate the noise??! Went to a gmc dealer-same!!on way home ck engine light and traction control lights flashed 3 seconds. Went back to gmc- the noise was louder. They just told me I…
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that since purchasing the vehicle, the "service traction control" and "service stabili-trak" message appeared on the instrument panel. The contact was informed by the auction that the failure was due to the low air pressure on the driverâs side rear tire.…
Lights
13 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 103,500 miles. Parts named most often: headlights.
My truck normal driving and a few miles loose power meters go up and down looose power train conection this trucks on particular has electric problems ground problems I need to stop turn off the key and turn on again check engine light go on and you can see tons of videos on you tube very dangerous if you driving on a…
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that the driver side headlight blew out and the passenger side headlight assembly contained a lot of condensation in rainy conditions. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that nothing…
Seats
7 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 79,000 miles. Parts named most often: mid/rear assembly, front assembly.
The front seat heaters failed. Prior to failure I noted a medium-strong burning smell, but couldn't identify the source. When I took the vehicle to the dealer they reported that the climate control seat module (ccsm) had melted due to too much current passing through it. They quoted me $1092.00 to replace the part…
The ground wire on the seat heater control box, (located under the passenger seat), becomes so hot that it melts the insulation on the wire and eventually burns loose from the plug connection. It is a known problem with this car but gm refuses to fix it unless the owner pays for it, (nearly $1,000). I have repaired…
Wheels and tires
7 complaints · 5%Parts named most often: pressure monitoring and regulating systems, sidewall, tread/belt.
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade equipped with nexen roadian hp tires, size: 285/45r22. While installing tires on the vehicle and inflating them, the tire sidewalls exploded. The contact stated that the tires were replacement tires. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate vehicle…
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade equipped with duraturn mozzo tires, size: 295/35r24 (na). While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle began to shake and wobble. The contact noticed metal sticking out of one of the tires and that the tires expanded and flattened. The tires were taken to an independent mechanic who…
Other or unspecified
6 complaints · 4%The dashboard has cracked and researching the problem, I found that this is a common problem with gm vehicles my year model and after. The vehicle is garage kept and is not exposed to direct sunlight or extreme cold temperatures.
We are concerned about a safety issue with a cracked dashboard and deployment of the takata airbags. On january 8, 2019, two, long, wide cracks appeared in the passenger dashboard from the windshield vent toward the glove compartment. They were about 6' long. Beneath the cracks one could see a light tan, soft looking…
Transmission
6 complaints · 4%Half of these problems showed up before 100,000 miles.
My truck normal driving and a few miles loose power meters go up and down looose power train conection this trucks on particular has electric problems ground problems I need to stop turn off the key and turn on again check engine light go on and you can see tons of videos on you tube very dangerous if you driving on a…
I was driving along at about 45 MPH and the RPM s revved up the car wouldn't shift into third .I had to pull over switch the car off and restart it after that it drove fine . Since then at times it shifts hard into first and second and it will get stuck in second sometimes . After I pull over and restart the car it…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2008 Cadillac Escalade recalls
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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 23, 2021. Second notification letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owner notification letters were mailed on september 20, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328780.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, silverado 2500, silverado 3500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, sierra 2500, sierra 3500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missouri, nebraska, nevada, new jersey, new mexico, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, pennsylvania, tennessee, virginia, and west virginia or "zone b." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, and escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, and yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alaska, colorado, connecticut, idaho, iowa, maine, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, mo
Air bags: inflator module
Risk: An inflator explosion may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: 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 mailed on march 1, 2021. Owners may contact chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; and gmc customer service at 1-800-462-8782. Gm's number for this recall is n212328760.
Full defect summary
General motors, llc (gm) is recalling certain 2007-2011 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl, and 2009-2011 chevrolet silverado 2500, silverado 3500, gmc sierra 2500 and sierra 3500 vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of alabama, california, florida, georgia, hawaii, louisiana, mississippi, south carolina, texas, puerto rico, american samoa, guam, the northern mariana islands (saipan), and the u.s. Virgin islands or "zone a." additionally, gm is recalling certain 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext, chevrolet avalanche, silverado 1500, suburban, tahoe, gmc sierra 1500, yukon, yukon xl vehicles originally sold, or ever registered, in the states of arizona, arkansas, delaware, district of columbia, illinois, indiana, kansas, kentucky, maryland, missou
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Fix: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamb
Electrical: electrical system
Risk: This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
Fix: Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080; cadillac at 1-800-982-2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438; saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1-866-996-9436; or hummer at 1-800-732-5493; or through their website at <a href=http://www.gmownercenter.com>http://www.gmownercenter.com</a> .
Full defect summary
Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Desiccated air bag inflator rupture
Summary
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 to burn too quickly when ignited. The rapid burning can cause the inflator to rupture during deployment, potentially causing serious or even fatal injury to vehicle occupants. See 2016 blomquist report at www.NHTSA.gov/sites/NHTSA.gov/files/documents/expert_report-hrblomquist.pdf.consequently, all frontal inflators using propellant 2004 that do not contain a "desiccant" (a substa
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified NHTSA that it will conduct a safety recall (NHTSA recall number 08v-441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke and in rare cases it may cause a fire.as a remedy, gm
Non-crash engine compartment fires
Summary
In response to an information request letter sent by the office of defects investigation(odi) during preliminary evaluation pe08-010, gm provided odi with 41 allegations of non-crash engine compartment fires including 16 allegations of fires originating with the ignition in the off position.one of the fires was determined to be caused by an arson event.odi has also received 5 reports, 4 of which are of duplicative of reports provided by gm, alleging non-crash engine compartment fires in the subject vehicles.in total, odi is aware of 41 non-crashengine compartment fires in the subject vehicles that are unrelated to arson.eight of the 41 fire allegations also allege property damage as a result
Questions about the 2008 Cadillac Escalade
- What are the most common problems with the 2008 Cadillac Escalade?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: air bags (74 complaints, typically around 92,500 miles); electrical (23 complaints, typically around 100,000 miles); engine (15 complaints, typically around 160,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2008 Cadillac Escalade have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from February 5, 2021 (air bags). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2008 a bad year for the Cadillac Escalade?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Escalade model year since 2000, with 136 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.