2015 Escalade - Major Defects
#1
06-25-2015, 11:35 PM
2015 Escalade - Major Defects
On July 15th, 2014, I bought a brand new 2015 Cadillac Escalade for my wife. This was our 3rd consecutive Escalade. Prior, we owned a 2007 Escalade and a 2003 Escalade, both of which had been very reliable. Unfortunately, the 2015 Escalade was quite the opposite experience.
Before describing my experience, I should also tell you that I'm an enthusiast of classic/vintage Cadillacs and active member of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club (CLC), an international organization with thousands of collectors and enthusiasts from all around the world. Over the past 20 years, I have owned 9 classic Cadillacs: 1967 Coupe DeVille, 1963 Convertible, three 1964 Convertibles, 1956 Sedan DeVille, 1949 Convertible, 1949 Sedanette, and a 1960 Series 62 Convertible.
The last 2 cars I still own today, regularly drive on the weekends, and occasionally display at car shows. I have always admired Cadillac's innovative technology and design, and taken great pride in ownership.
Well, all that changed with our 2015 Cadillac Escalade. In the few short months we've owned it, it has been ridden with problems. The biggest issue was a fuel injector failure at 7k miles!
All of this has added up to be a big, big headache and a major inconvenience. At this point, the car has spent 35 days in the shop! All service has been done by our local Cadillac dealership (Putnam), and covered by warranty. This is absolutely absurd for an $85,000 car!
According to the California Lemon Law, if the vehicle has been out of service for more than 30 days (not consecutive) while being repaired for any number of warranty problems, among other criteria, the buyer or is entitled to a replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price. This assumes the criteria are met within 18 months of delivery to the buyer/lessee or 18,000 miles on the vehicle's odometer, whichever comes first. (We've owned our car for ~12 months with 11,000 miles, so we qualify.)
We recently filed a complaint with GM. And guess what? The GM representative informed us that the issues "weren't severe enough." Simply amazing.
At this point, I am seeking legal advice. But in the meantime, I want to inform the public of my experience across various online media. This will be one of many posts. I am also working on a website/blog to tell my story where people can post similar experiences. Consumers should be aware of the potential risks of owning a 2015 Cadillac Escalade.
F.O.
San Mateo, CA
Before describing my experience, I should also tell you that I'm an enthusiast of classic/vintage Cadillacs and active member of the Cadillac & LaSalle Club (CLC), an international organization with thousands of collectors and enthusiasts from all around the world. Over the past 20 years, I have owned 9 classic Cadillacs: 1967 Coupe DeVille, 1963 Convertible, three 1964 Convertibles, 1956 Sedan DeVille, 1949 Convertible, 1949 Sedanette, and a 1960 Series 62 Convertible.
The last 2 cars I still own today, regularly drive on the weekends, and occasionally display at car shows. I have always admired Cadillac's innovative technology and design, and taken great pride in ownership.
Well, all that changed with our 2015 Cadillac Escalade. In the few short months we've owned it, it has been ridden with problems. The biggest issue was a fuel injector failure at 7k miles!
All of this has added up to be a big, big headache and a major inconvenience. At this point, the car has spent 35 days in the shop! All service has been done by our local Cadillac dealership (Putnam), and covered by warranty. This is absolutely absurd for an $85,000 car!
According to the California Lemon Law, if the vehicle has been out of service for more than 30 days (not consecutive) while being repaired for any number of warranty problems, among other criteria, the buyer or is entitled to a replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price. This assumes the criteria are met within 18 months of delivery to the buyer/lessee or 18,000 miles on the vehicle's odometer, whichever comes first. (We've owned our car for ~12 months with 11,000 miles, so we qualify.)
We recently filed a complaint with GM. And guess what? The GM representative informed us that the issues "weren't severe enough." Simply amazing.
At this point, I am seeking legal advice. But in the meantime, I want to inform the public of my experience across various online media. This will be one of many posts. I am also working on a website/blog to tell my story where people can post similar experiences. Consumers should be aware of the potential risks of owning a 2015 Cadillac Escalade.
F.O.
San Mateo, CA
#3
03-31-2016, 06:13 PM
FabCad,
I am not surprised by Cadillac's response as my most recent experience with them generated a response that they believed the warranty requirements were met and my case was closed. So take the first reply and get an attorney.
To the forum, think twice and compare an Escalade to other options before buying one. We will sell our Escalade and replace it with another brand with higher quality & significantly better customer service.
We have had a combination of issues, mechanical/electrical and vehicle features that don't work very well. Within a week of ownership ours started stalling upon acceleration at infrequent times. It took several instances before headquarters figured out it was a defective battery cable. Yes, a $95k vehicle with a defective battery cable.
A key feature that led us to a GM SUV, Heads Up Display (HUD). Unfortunately we test drove in the evening and didn't know that our HUD couldn't be seen during the day when wearing sunglasses. Something that isn't a problem in our 8 year old Corvette, or the 2015 & 2016 Corvettes that our friends own. Another friend recently told us they have the same problem in their GMC Yukon.
Another issue they said was OK, but I could go online to make an "engineering" recommendation: Power seat settings. In Corvettes, Acura'a, Audi's and other vehicles you can have your seats and steering wheel move back when you open the door, then they go back to your prior or key fob setting when you start the vehicle. At our Cadillac dealer a technician explained it was a setting option to either return to settings when you start the car or when you open the door. Imagine his surprise when he found out the only option was when you open the door. So your option is to either let everything move into place & squeeze in, or get in and hold the setting button until everything is in place.
Yes, our Corvette is key fob based and doesn't return to the key fob setting until you start the car. Yes, our friends have Corvettes that return to key fob or last setting after they get in and start the car. But we have to file an "engineering" recommendation online to have something basic in our Escalade. A problem that probably takes a minor programming update.
These are three of the six reasons we no longer want this vehicle, and why we are reconsidering our plan to order a 2017 Grand Sport with National Corvette Museum Delivery.
This is the first vehicle we have purchased out more 25 that is a complete disappointment and doesn't meet basic expectations for a vehicle in its class.
I am not surprised by Cadillac's response as my most recent experience with them generated a response that they believed the warranty requirements were met and my case was closed. So take the first reply and get an attorney.
To the forum, think twice and compare an Escalade to other options before buying one. We will sell our Escalade and replace it with another brand with higher quality & significantly better customer service.
We have had a combination of issues, mechanical/electrical and vehicle features that don't work very well. Within a week of ownership ours started stalling upon acceleration at infrequent times. It took several instances before headquarters figured out it was a defective battery cable. Yes, a $95k vehicle with a defective battery cable.
A key feature that led us to a GM SUV, Heads Up Display (HUD). Unfortunately we test drove in the evening and didn't know that our HUD couldn't be seen during the day when wearing sunglasses. Something that isn't a problem in our 8 year old Corvette, or the 2015 & 2016 Corvettes that our friends own. Another friend recently told us they have the same problem in their GMC Yukon.
Another issue they said was OK, but I could go online to make an "engineering" recommendation: Power seat settings. In Corvettes, Acura'a, Audi's and other vehicles you can have your seats and steering wheel move back when you open the door, then they go back to your prior or key fob setting when you start the vehicle. At our Cadillac dealer a technician explained it was a setting option to either return to settings when you start the car or when you open the door. Imagine his surprise when he found out the only option was when you open the door. So your option is to either let everything move into place & squeeze in, or get in and hold the setting button until everything is in place.
Yes, our Corvette is key fob based and doesn't return to the key fob setting until you start the car. Yes, our friends have Corvettes that return to key fob or last setting after they get in and start the car. But we have to file an "engineering" recommendation online to have something basic in our Escalade. A problem that probably takes a minor programming update.
These are three of the six reasons we no longer want this vehicle, and why we are reconsidering our plan to order a 2017 Grand Sport with National Corvette Museum Delivery.
This is the first vehicle we have purchased out more 25 that is a complete disappointment and doesn't meet basic expectations for a vehicle in its class.
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