2002 Cadillac Escalade: recalls and complaints

NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign for the 2002 Cadillac Escalade. The campaign is 02V253000. NHTSA received the report on 17 Sep 2002. The NHTSA record gives the component Seats / Front Assembly / Head Restraint. NHTSA has 79 complaints on file for this model year. 3 NHTSA investigations name this model year.

The NHTSA recall file shows no do-not-drive advisory and no park-outside advisory on this campaign.

This page cannot show if a recall applies to one vehicle. The NHTSA VIN lookup shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle.

Remedy of campaign 02V253000, in the NHTSA record

Dealers will install protective covers over the pinch points. Owner notification began november 8, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, GMC at 1-800-462-8782, or cadillac at 1-800-458-8006.

NHTSA VIN lookup

Complaint information entered into NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigation vehicle owner's complaint database is used with other data sources to identify safety issues that warrant investigation and to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.
NHTSA publishes these words. Source: NHTSA Datasets and APIs, section Complaints, read on 1 Oct 2026. Complaint file through 29 Mar 2018. Recall file through 29 Sep 2026.

Since the last update

No tracked figure of this page changed in a data update. What the log tracks

All updates to the register

Recall campaigns

1 campaign. 558,904 units in total.

02V253000Received 17 Sep 2002. 558,904 units.
Seats / Front Assembly / Head Restraint
Defect, in the NHTSA record
On certain sport utility vehicles equipped with rearward folding head restraints on the second row seats, two potential pinch points exist on each of the folding head restraints when the restraints are folded rearward as the seatback is folded down.
Consequence, in the NHTSA record
If a person were to insert their finger(s) into the pinch point when the head restraint folds, it could trap and pinch the finger(s) causing injury.
Remedy, in the NHTSA record
Dealers will install protective covers over the pinch points. Owner notification began november 8, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1-800-222-1020, GMC at 1-800-462-8782, or cadillac at 1-800-458-8006.
Report filed by GENERAL MOTORS CORP.. Manufacturer campaign number 02039. Owner notification date in the NHTSA record: 8 Nov 2002.

The campaign number opens the NHTSA record. Each quotation is the text of the NHTSA recall file.

Recall campaign: One recall in the NHTSA recall file, with one campaign number. A campaign can name many makes, models and model years.

Units: The number of vehicles or products that a recall can include. The manufacturer or the firm reports the number to the agency.

Complaints by component

79 complaints, 112 component mentions.

A complaint can name more than one component. Each component that a complaint names is one component mention. The figure per 1,000 component mentions shows how many of each 1,000 mentions name the component.

2002 Cadillac Escalade
All 2002 vehicles

2002 Cadillac Escalade: complaints by component, per 1,000 component mentions
Component	2002 Escalade	All 2002 vehicles	Escalade, all years	Mentions
Service Brakes, Hydraulic	241.1	96.7	150.4	27
Power Train	62.5	135.9	55.1	7
Seats	62.5	12.9	57.6	7
Structure	53.6	52.7	50.1	6
Steering	53.6	37.1	45.1	6
Electrical System	53.6	88.7	110.3	6
Visibility	44.6	50.4	30.1	5
Vehicle Speed Control	44.6	39.3	32.6	5
Parking Brake	44.6	7.1	12.5	5
Suspension	44.6	85.6	45.1	5

The table shows the 10 components with the most mentions, of 22.

Complaints that report a crash: 9
Complaints that report a fire: 3
Injuries in the complaints: 6
Deaths in the complaints: 0
Date of the newest complaint: 19 Oct 2010

These figures are the entries of the persons who sent the complaints.

Complaint: A report about a possible safety problem that a person sends to NHTSA. This site shows the number of complaints and not their text.

Complaints about the 2002 Cadillac Escalade, by the year NHTSA received them. The largest year is 2003, with 16 complaints.

Investigations

NHTSA investigations that name the 2002 Cadillac Escalade
Number	Type	Subject	Component	Opened	Closed	Campaign
EA11001	Engineering analysis	Brake line corrosion failure	Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Foundation Components / Hoses, Lines/Piping, and Fittings	5 Jan 2011	8 Apr 2015
PE05020	Preliminary evaluation	UNWANTED LOW-SPEED ABS ACTIVATION	Service Brakes, Hydraulic / Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip / Control Unit/Module	28 Apr 2005	13 Sep 2005	05V379000
EA02015	Engineering analysis	THROTTLE STICKING CLOSED	Vehicle Speed Control / Linkages	1 Aug 2002	12 Jan 2004

Investigation: A study of a possible safety defect by the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. An investigation with no closing date in the NHTSA file is open.

Other model years

The number under each year is the number of recall campaigns.

A year without a link has fewer than 2 campaigns and fewer than 25 complaints. It has no page.

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Official channels

NHTSA VIN lookupNHTSA shows the unrepaired recalls of one vehicle from its VIN or its license plate.
NHTSA: report a safety problemThe NHTSA form for a complaint about a vehicle, a tire, a child seat or equipment.
NHTSA page of the 2002 Cadillac EscaladeThe recalls, the complaints and the investigations that NHTSA shows for this model year.

Cite this page

Recall Register. 2002 Cadillac Escalade: recalls and complaints. https://recallregister.com/vehicle/cadillac/escalade/2002/. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation, recall, complaint and investigation files. Data through 29 Sep 2026.

Sources

Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Licence: US government work, public domain
Recall file through: 29 Sep 2026
Complaint file through: 29 Mar 2018
First complaint in the file: 1 Jan 1995
Manufacturer in the recall file: GENERAL MOTORS CORP.

The NHTSA record is the authority. A complaint count is the number of different complaint numbers for the make, the model and the model year. How the register is made. Report an error.

Questions

How many units are in the recall campaigns for the 2002 Cadillac Escalade?: 558,904 units in 1 campaign. A campaign can name other models and model years, and its units include them.
How many recall campaigns does the Cadillac Escalade have for all model years?: NHTSA lists 52 recall campaigns for the Cadillac Escalade, model years 1999 to 2026. 1 of them names the 2002 model year.
Which component do the complaints about the 2002 Cadillac Escalade name most often?: Service Brakes, Hydraulic: 27 of 112 component mentions, or 241.1 per 1,000. For all 2002 vehicles the figure is 96.7 per 1,000.
Is an NHTSA investigation of the 2002 Cadillac Escalade open?: No. Each of the 3 investigations that name this model year has a closing date in the NHTSA file.