Anyone towing with a Cadillac Escalde?

[CraigAR]

My dodge ram is finally done and there is a great deal on an 07 Cadillac Escalade awd at my local dealer. This vehicle will strictly be used for towing to the ramp (5 miles away) and possible letting my son drive it to school. It has 58,000 miles on it and looks to be in excellent shape. 6.2l 403hp 417 ft-lbs and 7800 towing capacity. Not too worried about the fuel millage and liking the fact that it seats 7. Anyone tow with this or just a daily driver and can give me their input.

 

[McMark]

There were issues I think with excessive oil consumption where partial or total rebuilds were necessary. This was on the 8/6/4 engines. A friend went through a bunch of crap dealing with it and ended up trading the truck away. Just double check it’s not on of those engines.

 

[CraigAR]

I believe the active fuel management cylinder deactivation was added to the 2010 and later models.

 

[Bruce]

I tow with a 2007 Sierra Denali. My truck has the same driveline but is longer. Other than the loss of length the Escalade should tow well.

The 6.2 from 2007 does not deactivate cylinders.

 

[Ronnie]

If it has an allison transmission like its chevy counterparts with that size engine it should be an excellent tow vehicle on short or long runs. Expect about 15 mpg average less when towing.

 

[Markk]

I've owned a 2009 Denali XL and now a 2017 Denali XL. These are equal to Escalades in respect to drive train and towing. I've always owned Sierra 1500 pickups concurrently. For long distance towing I always prefer the denali. It's air ride suspension combined with a little more weight makes it a very stable and comfortable tow vehicle pulling a 24' Yamaha. The 6.2l 400+ hp engine has ample power for pulling up hill and passing lanes. For short towing I prefer my pickups. Backing the trailer and close quarter maneauvers are easier with pickup due to better rear viewing. The SUVs are harder to see out to the rear despite having better rear vis cameras and sensors. One warning, all escalades and Denali must have air suspension replaced around 100k miles. They become unstable for towing when rear bags won't hold air and when front magnetic shocks lose performance. Expect $500 in parts for front and $1500-$2000 for rear depending if compressor is bad.

 

[Markk]

Also watch for worn engine mounts. There will be three for 6.2l. I had at least two, maybe three fail. Could have been from the towing, but I'd more likely attribute it to my wife's heavy foot. I'd hate to see what she could do with that 400hp if it weren't tethered to a 6000lb vehicle.

 

[Crlos16]

I owned a 2010 Escalade EXT before my Tundra, towed great no issues loved the self leveling rear shocks when towing. Best part about Cadillac is there service department best experience.

 

[Earfixr]

Our Caddy was the best tow vehicle I've ever owned. Massive torque curve made towing a breeze. The ESV never knew the boat was back there. Wife wanted something smaller and now her Lexus GX has a little 4.6 that screams when the boat is on and only gets 9mpg towing. I miss the Escalade bad. Nothing else rides that nice on the planet.

 

[Vandyman]

I have a 2010 Escalade and pulled a horse trailer for 2 years (about 8k lbs loaded) with no issues at all. I now pull my Chap 223 with no issues... can hardly tell I'm towing anything except when I stop (hyd trailer brakes are only fair). My 2010 has about 100k miles but is stock. I am pretty good about preventive maintenance and use all quality oils/parts. The auto load leveling works great too.... this thing will tow anything.

 

[sysinu]

I have a '10 Escalade.. it pulls fine until you hit 74MPH. Above that, good luck, you'll be going through fuel like crazy. We only ever use it when we have too many people for my truck.

 

[ToddW850]

I too have a 2010 Escalade. Actually it's the wife's. Tows our boat without any issue at all. Daily driver for her. She loves it.