Cadillac Escalade Brake Pads May Wear Prematurely

Brake pads that are subject to excessive wear may be found on certain units of the 2021 through 2024 Cadillac Escalade luxury SUV and the 2021 through 2024 Cadillac Escalade ESV, according to a recent GM preliminary service bulletin, with owners reporting the issue.

The useful life of affected brake pads may be limited to only several thousand miles in all, unlike the 30,000 to 70,000 miles normally expected from pads, though an exact figure is not provided by Bulletin number PIT6134E.

Certain types of driving, such as “mountainous driving or heavy city/stop and go traffic,” will produce the fastest wear on the brake pads of affected Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV units. Those situations that cause the brakes and/or pads to heat more than normal will shorten the pads’ lifespan the most, though durability is less than normal in all circumstances.

The specific formulation of material used in the brake pads is the cause of the accelerated wear. General Motors developed the new pad material to cut down on the noise of braking, with the fast wear being an unforeseen result of the quieter pads.

Currently, GM does not have a permanent fix for the issue for the Cadillac Escalade or any other model affected by the problem. The only current solution is to replace the pads with similar, fast-wearing pads once the accelerated wear begins to affect their performance, and to continue doing this each time the pads wear out. A new pad is under development that will have normal wear characteristics.

After GM has developed the new brake pads for the Escalade and other affected models, the preliminary service bulletin will be updated to reflect this. A fix will be made available at that time and further instructions on how to proceed added to the document for the information of owners and dealerships.

Only vehicles in the North American market region are affected by the issue. This includes the countries of Canada, the U.S.A. and Mexico. The only models affected are SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade or pickup trucks, with involvement of nameplates from GMC and Chevy too.

Rhian Hunt

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