Production of the Cadillac Escalade Duramax diesel with the 3.0L I6 engine (production code LM2) has resumed, Cadillac Society has learned.
According to our sources, assembly of the diesel engine was briefly halted on August 30th as a result of a supplier issue. Sources initially told us that production of the baby Duramax engine will not resume until early 2022, but production restarted sooner than expected, with the stoppage only lasting a few weeks.
It’s worth noting that production issues of the 3.0L Duramax engine did not stem from the microchip shortage, but were related to another set of components altogether.
The 3.0L turbo diesel Duramax engine is offered as an option on the Cadillac Escalade starting with the 2021 model year. The Cadillac Escalade Diesel is rated at 277 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque, with Cadillac’s 10-speed automatic transmission delivering power to either the rear two wheels or to all four wheels as an option.
Production of the Duramax diesel engine takes place at the Flint Engine Plant in Flint, Michigan while the Cadillac Escalade is built at the Arlington Assembly plant in Arlington, Texas. While the Duramax engine itself wasn’t affected by the semiconductor shortage, the Escalade is, resulting in the deletion of several features such as the Electronic Steering Column Lock and Engine Auto Stop-Start in certain 2021 model year vehicles.
The 2021 Escalade represents an all-new, fifth-generation of the iconic, full-size luxury SUV. The 2022 Cadillac Escalade – the second year of the new fifth-gen model – went into production in early October 2021. The semiconductor shortage will see the full-size luxury SUV ship without Cadillac’s semi-autonomous Super Cruise driver assist feature, at least at the start of production. Incidentally, Cadillac planned to make Super Cruise a standard feature on all 2022 Escalade models except for the base Luxury model. The feature will continue to remain not available on the Luxury trim, while remaining optional on Premium Luxury and Premium Luxury Platinum as well as Sport and Sport Platinum models.
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