News

Service Update Issued For 2021 Cadillac Escalade OnStar Volume Issue

Cadillac’s parent company, General Motors, has issued a service bulletin for some examples of the 2021 Cadillac Escalade and Cadillac Escalade ESV full-size luxury SUVs over an issue relating to the volume calibration of the OnStar in-vehicle telematics (safety and security) system.

The problem: affected vehicles equipped with the Cadillac User Experience infotainment system may have a condition which would make it difficult for customers to hear the OnStar advisor during a secondary or backup emergency call. This is because a volume boost calibration for emergency calls was incorrectly set to 0 instead of +16, as intended. This results in the secondary call being 10 dB (decibels) below requirement.

We should note here that decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, not a linear one. For example, an increase of 3 dB represents almost exactly a doubling in volume. A 70 dB sound is therefore twice as loud as a 67 dB sound, as opposed to a 35 dB sound. A reduction of 10dB results in a sound precisely one tenth of the original volume, no matter what that original volume was.

The hazards: this is not a harmful issue in itself, but having difficulty in hearing an emergency call is clearly undesirable.

The fix: dealers will reprogram the system with the appropriate volume calibration.

Affected component:

  • Cadillac User Experience infotainment system
  • OnStar telematics system

Affected vehicles:

  • 2021 Cadillac Escalade
  • 2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV

Next steps: dealers will check all Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV vehicles in their inventories, and customer vehicles which return to the dealership for any reason, such as service. The updated service bulletin will expire at the end of the involved vehicle’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty period.

Contacts:

  • General Motors / Cadillac bulletin number: N202316130
  • Cadillac U.S. vehicle help number: 1-800-333-4223 (8 am to 9 pm EST every day except Sundays)

Want to stay up to date on all things Cadillac? Then be sure to subscribe to Cadillac Society for Cadillac recall news, Cadillac Escalade news and around-the-clock Cadillac news coverage. We also invite you to join the latest discussions in our Cadillac forums.

2021 Cadillac Escalade Photos

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”21″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]

2021 Cadillac Escalade ESV Photos

[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”26″ display=”basic_thumbnail” thumbnail_crop=”0″]
Share
Published by

Recent Posts

2026 Cadillac CT5-V Finally Ditches Weird Half-Chrome, Half-Black Grille

A classy chrome trim piece has been replaced by a more modern and athletic glossy…

22 hours ago

Cadillac Dealer Inventory, Transaction Prices Up During May 2025

Driven by the gasoline-powered Escalade.

23 hours ago

Cadillac XT5 Could Remain In Marque’s U.S. Portfolio Longer Than Expected

The question now is which XT5 we'll get - the first-generation, or the new second-gen.

2 days ago

2026 Cadillac Optiq Gets New Rear-Wheel Drive Setup With 315 Horsepower

Broadening the luxury EV crossover's bandwidth for the 2026 model year.

4 days ago

2026 Cadillac Lyriq-V Deliveries Now Underway

The marque's first all-electric high-performance V-Series model has landed.

6 days ago