The 2002 Cadillac Escalade Ext has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 3,662,211 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 24 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STRUCTURE04V1290002004-03-173,662,211 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, THE GALVANIZED STEEL TAILGATE SUPPORT CABLES THAT RETAIN THE TAILGATE IN THE FULL OPEN (HORIZONTAL) POSITION MAY CORRODE, WEAKEN, AND EVENTUALLY FRACTURE. IF BOTH CABLES FRACTURED, THE TAILGATE WOULD SUDDENLY DROP AND STRIKE THE TOP SURFACE OF THE REAR BUMPER.
Consequence
ANYONE SITTING OR STANDING ON THE HORIZONTAL SURFACE OF THE TAILGATE WHEN BOTH CABLES FRACTURED COULD BE INJURED BY FALLING FROM THE TAILGATE. ON VEHICLES THAT HAVE HAD THE BUMPER REMOVED, THE TAILGATE MAY DROP EVEN LOWER. ADDITIONALLY, IF THERE IS CARGO ON THE TAILGATE THE CARGO MAY FALL OFF IF THE SUPPORT CABLES…
Remedy
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE CABLES. INTERIM OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON APRIL 7, 20004. THE RECALL BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2004, WHEN REPLACEMENT PARTS WERE AVAILABLE, AND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH OCTOBER 29, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 OR GMC AT 1-866-996-9463,…
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES
4
ENGINE
3
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC
2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
2
1crashes
TIRES
2
5injuries
AIR BAGS
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION
1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
1
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL:AUTOMATIC (ASC)
1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
1
Total complaints24
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Another vehicle ran stop sign, I had to step hard on brake pedal to avoid an accident. Shortly after I noticed the brake pedal getting closer to "bottoming out" each time I applied the brakes. Upon arriving home I found, on the left side undercarriage below the back seat, fluid dripping and…”
“I was driving home. Out of no where my drivers side - side airbag deployed spontaniously. I began losing control of the vehicle because the noise was so loud, and starteling that I thought someone struck my drivers side. I am left side - hearing impaired, my whole left side went numb and began to…”
“The exhaust manifold bolts are broken and the muffler repair shop said this could lead to a major repair bill if the other bolts break taking the manifold off, it could lead to the egr pipe braking and this is a substantial repair bill just replacing each exhaust manifold bolt as is, then, the…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 cadillac escalade ext. The brake line fractured in the driveway while he was driving. The contact took the broken brake line to the dealer where the mechanic diagnosed that the brake line had deteriorated due to rust and the brake line system had to be replaced. The…”
“I am another unhappy gm vehicle owner due to a very common safety issue on their engines, the bolts on my exhaust manifold have broken, 3 in just one week, and im sure the others will break too in just a matter of time.. I think gm should do a recall on this issue, bcus it will not only look good…”
“Slowing down for a red light, had my foot on the brake pedal. As the truck slowed down the abs system took over, causing the brake pedal to "pulsate". I didnt think the truck would stop so I swerved to the right in order to miss the vehicle in front of me that had already stopped. Luckily my truck…”
“Tl* the contact owns a 2002 cadillac escalade ext. The contact was driving 70 mph and applied the brakes however, the brake pedal was abnormally depressed into the floorboard. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic who noticed a design flaw with the inner brake pad, which was missing. The tripping…”
“While driving at 35 mph an emergency situation required a hard application of the brakes. The very next stop sign my brake pedal went all the way to the floor. The truck was leaking brake fluid at about a drop every second from one of the hard metal brake lines that are routed under the driver's…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationPE05020 Opened 2005-04-28 · closed 2005-09-13
UNWANTED LOW-SPEED ABS ACTIVATION
IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 29, 2005, GM NOTIFIED ODI THAT IT WAS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1999 THROUGH 2002 C/K PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES TO CORRECT A PROBLEM WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS) WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CORROSION THAT MAY RESULT IN UNWANTED ABS ACTIVATION AND EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCES…
InvestigationPE05020 Opened 2005-04-28 · closed 2005-09-13
UNWANTED LOW-SPEED ABS ACTIVATION
IN A LETTER DATED AUGUST 29, 2005, GM NOTIFIED ODI THAT IT WAS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 1999 THROUGH 2002 C/K PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES TO CORRECT A PROBLEM WITH ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM (ABS) WHEEL SPEED SENSOR CORROSION THAT MAY RESULT IN UNWANTED ABS ACTIVATION AND EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCES…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 2002 Cadillac Escalade Ext as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.