Dodge RAM VAN vs Cadillac Escalade ESV

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Dodge RAM VAN	Cadillac Escalade ESV
Complaints on file	304	752
Model years covered	1989–2003	2003–2026
Worst model year	1999	2007
Best model year	1995	2026
Crashes reported	24	47
Fires reported	34	13
Injuries reported	26	47
Deaths reported	0	3
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Engine & Cooling
Share of complaints involving harm	27.6%	14.6%

Dodge RAM VAN by year

1 1 3 4 9 17 36 26 38 56 35 40 16 22

89 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 40 13.2%

Brakes 37 12.2%

Transmission & Drivetrain 28 9.2%

Body & Structure 27 8.9%

Steering 25 8.2%

Suspension 23 7.6%

Engine & Cooling 21 6.9%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 18 5.9%

Cadillac Escalade ESV by year

13 28 19 5 83 19 10 6 18 5 3 13 20 50 22 50 33 95 80 122 29 18 11

03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Engine & Cooling 261 34.7%

Transmission & Drivetrain 88 11.7%

Electrical System 78 10.4%

Airbags 53 7.0%

Fuel & Propulsion 42 5.6%

Brakes 40 5.3%

Other & Unspecified 32 4.3%

Driver Assist & Collision Avoidance 21 2.8%