Four full-size SUVs, two platforms, and four different bad years. The Ford Expedition is AVOID for 2019 and 2020, at 42 and 41 on 481 and 397 owner complaints led by Power Train. The Chevrolet Tahoe is AVOID for 2021, at 39 on 443 complaints with twelve recall campaigns of which ten are safety-critical. The Cadillac Escalade is AVOID for 2023, at 42 on 133 complaints, 103 of them for the Engine. The GMC Yukon never falls to AVOID but never escapes its engine either. The years to buy are the 2015 and 2023 to 2025 Expedition, the 2022, 2024 and 2025 Tahoe, the 2022 and 2025 Yukon, and the 2018 to 2020 Escalade, which at 93, 95 and 91 are the best-scoring years here.
Ford Expedition: the 2018 redesign and its transmission
The 2015 Expedition, from the previous body, scores 89 on 164 complaints and 14.9 per year on the road, with three recall campaigns and none safety-critical. The 2016 has nothing on file. The 2017 scores 74 on 356, with Electrical System 92 and Service Brakes 77; the brake count matches 22V150000 (11 March 2022, safety-critical), for a master cylinder that can leak fluid into the booster.
The redesigned truck arrived for 2018 and Power Train took over: 145 in 2018, 211 in 2019, 252 in 2020, the largest Power Train count on any of the four pages, then 108 in 2021. Scores went 55, 42, 41, 63. The campaigns speak to the ten-speed automatic: 18V213000 (4 April 2018) for a roll pin that may not have been installed, 20V263000 (8 May 2020) for a "not in Park" warning that is too short on the 2019, and 26V402000 (24 June 2026) for a park pawl that may engage while the vehicle is moving on 2018 to 2021 trucks. Seat Belts is third on the 2019 at 90, and three campaigns match: 24V099000 (9 February 2024), 25V197000 (23 May 2025) and 26V344000 (27 May 2026), all for a front pretensioner that can deploy or lock on its own. The 2018, 2019 and 2020 each carry eleven or twelve campaigns, four or five safety-critical.
The 2021 is CAUTION at 63 on 230, and its campaign of note is 22V346000 (17 May 2022), for an engine compartment fire that may occur even with the ignition off. The 2022 scores 65 on 111. From 2023 the record is BUY: 79 on 64 complaints, then 73 on 71 for 2024 and 73 on 30 for 2025, with Power Train down to 11 by 2023.
Ford Expedition: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 73 | BUY | 30 | 5 |
| 2024 | 73 | BUY | 71 | 7 |
| 2023 | 79 | BUY | 64 | 8 |
| 2022 | 65 | CAUTION | 111 | 12 |
| 2021 | 64 | CAUTION | 230 | 12 |
| 2020 | 41 | AVOID | 397 | 12 |
| 2019 | 42 | AVOID | 481 | 11 |
| 2018 | 55 | CAUTION | 372 | 12 |
| 2017 | 74 | BUY | 356 | 4 |
| 2016 | — | DATA PENDING | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 89 | BUY | 164 | 3 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Ford Expedition model page.
Chevrolet Tahoe: one bad year, then a good one
The current Tahoe began in 2021, and that year is the lowest score in this guide: 39 on 443 complaints and 88.6 per year, with Engine 162, Fuel/Propulsion System 93, Power Train 86 and Electrical System 56. Ten of its twelve campaigns are safety-critical. 21V064000 (11 February 2021) is for a fuel tank missing adhesive between its layers, and 21V739000 (23 September 2021) is for a fuel pump control module that can stop the pump, which is what the Fuel/Propulsion System category describes. 21V455000 (17 June 2021) is for software that can cut power steering assist while driving, 21V579000 (29 July 2021) is for brake systems calibrated incorrectly by dealers, and 22V036000 (27 January 2022) is for rear driveshafts not heat-treated properly. Four seat belt campaigns cover the 2021 truck.
The 2022 scores 77 on 182 complaints and 45.5 per year, with four campaigns, one safety-critical. The 2023 slips to 61 on 209, and Engine rises to 111; 25V274000 (24 April 2025) is the campaign for the 6.2-litre eight-cylinder engine on 2021 to 2024 trucks, whose connecting rod or crankshaft may fail, and 23V642000 (20 September 2023) is for rear control arm bolts not properly heat-treated. The 2024 scores 82 on 62 complaints with medium evidence, and the 2025 scores 82 on 46.
Chevrolet Tahoe: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | BUY | 46 | 1 |
| 2024 | 82 | BUY | 62 | 3 |
| 2023 | 61 | CAUTION | 209 | 5 |
| 2022 | 77 | BUY | 182 | 4 |
| 2021 | 39 | AVOID | 443 | 12 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Chevrolet Tahoe model page.
GMC Yukon: the same truck, a different record
The Yukon shares the Tahoe's body, engines and recall campaigns, and its 2021 has twelve campaigns, eight safety-critical, but the complaint count is 312 rather than 443 and the score is 60, CAUTION rather than AVOID. Engine is the top category in every Yukon year: 169 in 2021, 104 in 2022, 144 in 2023, 118 in 2024, 34 in 2025. The 2022 and 2023 are BUY at 81 and 72, but the 2023's rate of 74.3 complaints per year is higher than the 2021's 62.4, and the 2024 is CAUTION at 68 on 166 complaints and 83.0 per year, the highest rate of any 2024 here. The 2025 scores 83 on 52 complaints.
Cadillac Escalade: the best years and the worst, on the same page
The Escalade has the longest record here, fifteen years, in three chapters. The 2011 to 2014 trucks score 81, 88, 85 and 91 on 65, 26, 18 and 20 complaints; Air Bags is 42 of the 2011's 65, and the four inflator campaigns dated 5 February 2021, 21V050000, 21V051000, 21V053000 and 21V054000, are why. Evidence for 2012 to 2014 is low. The 2015 redesign is CAUTION at 67 on 103 complaints, with nine campaigns and seven safety-critical, among them 19V645000 (6 September 2019) for a brake vacuum pump whose output falls over time on 2015 to 2017 trucks. The 2016 and 2017 recover to 74 and 80, and then the 2018, 2019 and 2020 score 93, 95 and 91 on 21, 25 and 14 complaints, on low evidence; the 2019 has no recall campaign at all.
The current generation began in 2021 and Engine leads every year since: 46 in 2021, 63 in 2022, 103 in 2023, 32 in 2024. The 2021 is CAUTION at 52 with nine campaigns, five safety-critical, most shared with the Tahoe and Yukon. The 2022 is CAUTION at 58. The 2023 is AVOID at 42 on 133 complaints and 44.3 per year, with 25V274000 the campaign that matches its leading category. The 2024 is CAUTION at 60 and the 2025 is BUY at 76 on 18 complaints, both on low evidence. The Escalade's complaints per year of exposure are the lowest of the four in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025; its scores are lower than that rate alone would suggest, and its evidence is medium or low throughout.
Cadillac Escalade: the record, year by year
| Year | Score | Verdict | NHTSA complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 76 | BUY | 18 | 1 |
| 2024 | 60 | CAUTION | 45 | 2 |
| 2023 | 42 | AVOID | 133 | 4 |
| 2022 | 58 | CAUTION | 80 | 4 |
| 2021 | 52 | CAUTION | 83 | 9 |
| 2020 | 91 | BUY | 14 | 2 |
| 2019 | 95 | BUY | 25 | 0 |
| 2018 | 93 | BUY | 21 | 1 |
| 2017 | 80 | BUY | 88 | 2 |
| 2016 | 74 | BUY | 104 | 4 |
| 2015 | 67 | CAUTION | 103 | 9 |
| 2014 | 91 | BUY | 20 | 2 |
| 2013 | 85 | BUY | 18 | 4 |
| 2012 | 88 | BUY | 26 | 3 |
| 2011 | 81 | BUY | 65 | 6 |
Live from the federal record as of 2026-10-04; linked years have their own page. Full table and repair costs on the Cadillac Escalade model page.
Ranking the four
For a truck from 2021 onward, the order is Expedition, Yukon, Tahoe, Escalade. The Expedition has three BUY years and a lowest score of 63 in that window; the Yukon has three BUY years and a lowest of 60 but an engine complaint load in every year; the Tahoe has three BUY years and the 39 of 2021; the Escalade has one BUY year and the 42 of 2023. For an older truck the order reverses: the 2018 to 2020 Escalade is the best record here, with the 2015 Expedition at 89 behind it.
What to check before you buy
- On a 2018 to 2021 Expedition, confirm by VIN that 18V213000, 26V402000 and, on a 2019, 20V263000 are complete, then shift it to Park on a slope.
- On a 2018 to 2022 Expedition, ask for the pretensioner campaigns (24V099000, 25V197000, 26V344000) and check that both front belts retract freely.
- On a 2016 or 2017 Expedition, ask for 22V150000 and look at the brake fluid level.
- On a 2021 Tahoe, Yukon or Escalade, check 21V064000, 21V739000, 21V455000 and 21V579000 individually.
- On any 2021 to 2024 Tahoe, Yukon or Escalade with the 6.2-litre engine, ask for 25V274000 and the oil service history; Engine is the leading complaint category on all three.
- On a 2023 of any of the three General Motors trucks, ask for 23V642000 (rear control arm bolts).
- On a 2015 to 2017 Escalade, ask for 19V645000 (vacuum pump) and test brake pedal effort from cold.
Summary
Avoid the 2019 and 2020 Expedition (42 and 41, Power Train leading), the 2021 Tahoe (39, ten safety-critical campaigns) and the 2023 Escalade (42, Engine 103). Buy a 2015 or 2023 to 2025 Expedition, a 2022, 2024 or 2025 Tahoe, a 2022, 2023 or 2025 Yukon, or a 2018 to 2020 Escalade, whose scores of 93, 95 and 91 are the best here; the 2025 Escalade is BUY at 76 on low evidence. The remaining scored years from 2018 onward are CAUTION, and 25V274000 should be checked on any General Motors truck from 2021 to 2024.