Cadillac Escalade Mileage

[Dan Marinola]

Can anyone out there give me an idea of what kind of mileage I could expect to get around town on a 2005 Escalade with a 6.0 vortech engine. Also what I might be specifically asking about on one that is for sale. Thanks,Dan Marinola

[Dave Shepherd]

Dan my business partner has that engine in his 2500HD pick up, about 12 short trips. 5 miles or less, around 17 hway.

[Andrew Armitage]

Can anyone out there give me an idea of what kind of mileage I could expect to get around town on a 2005 Escalade with a 6.0 vortech engine. Also what I might be specifically asking about on one that is for sale. Thanks,Dan Marinola

My '08 Escalade with AWD gets around 16 mpg combined highway and city driving but I have the 6.2 Vortec.

Expect a lot of electrical problems. From power window motors and power lock actuators to engine and emission sensors. All suspension parts are at the age where they will need to be replaced if they haven't already. Power steering will probably be leaking somewhere. Engine pulleys will most likely all need to be replaced as their bearings are reaching the end of their life cycle. Headlight bulbs will be going out soon too if they haven't been replaced. If you don't work on your own cars, forget you even saw this truck. It will easily cost you hundreds of dollars a month in parts alone to keep it on the road, if not thousands, depending on what hidden issues it has.

In my opinion, you are better off buying a newer, more expensive Escalade still under warranty if an Escalade is what you want. It will be cheaper in the long run.

I'll be selling my '08 soon to move up to a newer model year as the CPO warranty is running out. I've easily saved thousands of dollars this past year alone by having a vehicle still under factory warranty. Nothing major I might add, but lots of little fixes. All done at the Cadillac dealer and all done for free.

I'm meticulous with my cars, in their appearance and their maintenance. My cars are treated well and are garage kept. My "newer" Cadillacs, even though I love them, the potential car repair bills scare me. They are constantly at the dealer with various issues. Keep in mind that my Escalade is 3 years newer and the next generation.

Expect the value of that '05 to take a big hit once the '15 model year hits the streets in a few months, making the second generation Escalades look even more dated.

Another issue to keep in mind is that even if you buy one of these vehicles for what seems to be a steal, you will still be buying parts for a $60-$70k vehicle.

I love, love, love my Escalade. But I'd never own one of these without a Cadillac factory warranty.

[C.R. Patton II]

Hello Andrew

That was a very kind informative analysis. Thank you.

[Dan Marinola]

Thanks Andrew, I didn't buy the Escalade. The car had 160k on it though it looked brand new. It was extremely clean,but looks can be deceiving,right? Any way thanks for your honesty. Perhaps some day....... Dan Marinola

[Jason Edge]

I own an '02 Escalade EXT with the 6.0 Liter LQ9 VortecMAX and it just turned over 100K miles. I bought it in 2004 with 22K miles and with the 6-year /70,000 mile  Certified Pre-Owned Bumper to-Bumper Warranty and have to agree it was a great to have that as a safety net and did use it several times for mostly minor things such as loose front park light (they replaced the entire light assembly),  lower sun roof slide cover not aligned quite right, etc, but never had major issues to speak of.  What was nice was they provided a loaner car when the vehicle was in service.  I never had any electrical issues, or power window or lock issues, or anything else major other than the A/C compressor to go out after warranty had expired about a year ago.

This has been a very dependable vehicle and can at least recommend the truck version.  With 2013 being the last year of the EXT and the fact mine just turned over 100K,  I recently looked at a 2011 with 29K  miles but could not justify $50,000+ on a 29K mile vehicle especially considering that my Escalade is still in excellent condition with no issues, and the fact I found a few brand new 2013 EXT's for just $15K more and with no miles! 

I do a lot of city driving with my EXT and it just ekes out just over 13 mpg, but as you see I only average about 9K miles a year with mine.  I get the third degree about my gas mileage, ironically from people that driver their little efficient vehicles 2 to 3 times as much as I do a year! LOL

Of course the EXT and Escalade and Ecalade ESV's are quite different body style but most of your engine and drivetrain and electronics will be similar for similar year.

[Andrew Armitage]

Jason, you are very lucky!

I have found many issues just occurred without warning and was not attributed to anything I could think of. Things, expensive things to fix, just stopped working. Truck was perfect, and then one day the power door lock actuator goes out. Get it fixed. A month later, a different one went out. Get that fixed. A month after that, the power window motor on a rear window died after the window was rolled down. Sunroof motor was replaced as it was so weak it almost got stuck open (I've probably actually used it maybe 5 times total). Power folding mirror stopped working. Back up camera stopped working one day. Radio stopped working. Tensioner pulley was screaming at 75k miles. Various suspension parts have been replaced while at the dealer for other service and the tech took note. Check engine light was on a couple times and various sensors and emission control parts were replaced.

Headlight bulbs on some models can be as much as $140. For one bulb, without labor! And to change it, you have to pull off the front bumper / grill if I remember correctly. So having the dealer change your headlights (done in pairs) could run you close to $1k!

And if you let that stuff go, your truck will be a nightmare in no time as it's hard to feel good about riding around in a truck with the sunroof stuck open in the rain with an outside mirror stuck in the closed position, you have one headlight and the radio doesn't work, your pulleys are screeching and you're looking at a $3,500 bill to fix all that.

On the other hand, when the truck is washed up and sunlight is reflecting off the chrome and everything works as it should, it can make a bad day turn good in an instant.

[Jason Edge]

I replaced both of my headlight assemblies including bulbs for about $250 a year or so ago because the lenses had glazed to the point the polisers didn't work well and wanted it to look new. I changed mine out in a matter of minutes on the '02 EXT.  You remove the small push in grommets on top radiator shroud and remove the top shroud to get acess to two push in pins that you twist and pull up and out and the entire assembly pulls out. I am more familiar with the older car nut and bolt method but those retainer pins are pretty ingenious. I've not had any of the other issues you mentioned after warranty went out other then already mentioned compressor which of course was expensive, and a Check Engine light once, and when it occurred I pulled into Autozone, and they read the code for free and indicated it was a left rear oxygen sensor which I bought for $21 and changed out on the spot.   Compared to the 1996 Fleetwood Brougham which I was constantly chasing broken window regulators and other issues, the 2002 Escalade has been a dream vehicle for me.

[Thule]

i.m.o they are not as thirsty as many would think, not if you look at how big they are,

my family car is mmc montero of similar age, and i would not be surprised if it gets around the same milage, much smaller car. with much smaller engine

[Andrew Armitage]

I just got my '08 Escalade back from the dealership. Both left and right exhaust manifolds had broken bolts. One side was cracked and had an exhaust leak the other side had rust issues that prevented a good seal to the head and caused a leak. Both manifolds had to be replaced along with the bolts (some had to be drilled / tapped out) and gaskets. Covered under warranty in my case. Dealer price for the job was $2,800.00.

I find now that this is a common issue going back to at least 2002.

They also replaced a wheel hub assembly with a wheel bearing going bad. Estimated cost was $700.

And a broken motor mount with an estimated cost of around $800.

Plus a bunch of other "little" things.

My most recent bill would have been in the neighborhood of $5,000.00 + worth of repairs without a warranty!

This is why the resale value is so low on these vehicles. Nothing more expensive than a cheap Cadillac!

[The Tassie Devil(le)]

Boy, am I glad that I don't ever buy a vehicle less than 10 years old.   What bugs are there are usually sorted out by then.

Bruce.