Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 21,483 complaints for CADILLAC
Incident date: Nov 15, 2022
2010 CADILLAC SRX. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO LEAKING SUNROOF.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
Dim headlamps that are non fixable by installing new lights.. headlamp assemblies in the 2016 Cadillac SRX suffer from defective seals that allow moisture to accumulate and condense, therefore damaging and dimming the headlight bulbs.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
Dim headlamps that are non fixable by installing new lights.. headlamp assemblies in the 2016 Cadillac SRX suffer from defective seals that allow moisture to accumulate and condense, therefore damaging and dimming the headlight bulbs.
Incident date: Nov 14, 2022
Dim headlamps that are non fixable by installing new lights.. headlamp assemblies in the 2016 Cadillac SRX suffer from defective seals that allow moisture to accumulate and condense, therefore damaging and dimming the headlight bulbs.
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
Low beam headlights to dim to drive...very dangerous and gm is aware of the defective headlights
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
Low beam headlights to dim to drive...very dangerous and gm is aware of the defective headlights
Incident date: Nov 11, 2022
Low beam headlights to dim to drive...very dangerous and gm is aware of the defective headlights
Incident date: Oct 5, 2022
Rear Carrier Assembly is making grinding noise. Mechanic says that driving car could be life threatening. GM and Cadillac dealership has no parts. So car is useless. The car has 56,000 miles. There should be a recall and remedy for this Model, 2014 Cadillac 3.6L CTS. Especially when the V version of this car already has a recall. GM should be held accountable for this design flaw.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2022
Rear Carrier Assembly is making grinding noise. Mechanic says that driving car could be life threatening. GM and Cadillac dealership has no parts. So car is useless. The car has 56,000 miles. There should be a recall and remedy for this Model, 2014 Cadillac 3.6L CTS. Especially when the V version of this car already has a recall. GM should be held accountable for this design flaw.
Incident date: Oct 5, 2022
Rear Carrier Assembly is making grinding noise. Mechanic says that driving car could be life threatening. GM and Cadillac dealership has no parts. So car is useless. The car has 56,000 miles. There should be a recall and remedy for this Model, 2014 Cadillac 3.6L CTS. Especially when the V version of this car already has a recall. GM should be held accountable for this design flaw.
Incident date: Jun 5, 2021
The headlights are very dim. i cannot see at night without using my bright lights. This a safety issues because I cannot see and other cars cannot see me. On 12-28-21 I took the car to Jim Hudson dealership. The diagnose was both headlights are very dim. Reflective silver coating within headlamp assemblies has faded. Will require 2 new assemblies. This is my second 2016 SRX and I had the exact s... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
•available for inspection. Unknown exact system failure •issue regularly occurs •dealership service. Transmission had to be replaced at around 10k miles and covered by warranty. •no lights indicating any problems. Forward collision alert activated. Vehicle has a lag between the time pressure is applied to the gas pedal and it causes a delay in acceleration resulting in the vehicle sort... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
•available for inspection. Unknown exact system failure •issue regularly occurs •dealership service. Transmission had to be replaced at around 10k miles and covered by warranty. •no lights indicating any problems. Forward collision alert activated. Vehicle has a lag between the time pressure is applied to the gas pedal and it causes a delay in acceleration resulting in the vehicle sort... Read more
Incident date: Nov 7, 2022
•available for inspection. Unknown exact system failure •issue regularly occurs •dealership service. Transmission had to be replaced at around 10k miles and covered by warranty. •no lights indicating any problems. Forward collision alert activated. Vehicle has a lag between the time pressure is applied to the gas pedal and it causes a delay in acceleration resulting in the vehicle sort... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she could not see out of the rear window. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that condensation had accumulated on the inside of the rear window. The contact also discovered that he was unable to open the rear hatch from the outside and had to use a screwdriver to open the hatch. O... Read more
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while his wife was driving at an undisclosed speed, she could not see out of the rear window. Upon inspection, the contact discovered that condensation had accumulated on the inside of the rear window. The contact also discovered that he was unable to open the rear hatch from the outside and had to use a screwdriver to open the hatch. O... Read more
Incident date: Sep 29, 2022
The vehicle was driven into low water and the belief is tha vehicles near this vehicle created a wake which caused the engine to die. The dealer that has the vehicle advised that another vehicle same make and model need an engine replaced. For both vehicles there was no water intrustion into the passanger compartment. The water did not even come up to doors. The engine is being replaced.
Incident date: Oct 11, 2022
I was driving south on I75 approximately one mile north of the University Exit at 2:30 PM at approximately 70 MPH when I heard a very loud bang (almost like a gunshot). I quickly surveyed the vehicle (and noted there were no other vehicles around me) while keeping it under control when I heard a second loud Bang, it was about 1-2 seconds after the first Bang. I heard a loud rushing noise after the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2022
Complete brake line failure due to corrosion as described in Recall Number 10V105000 / 09149B. Original equipment retained from rear brake line repair for future inspection / litigation. CADILLAC REFUSED TO REPAIR / REPLACE / REIMBURSE FOR BRAKE FAILURE UNDER RECALL BULLETIN 09149B.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
While reversing at a downward slope, sudden strong braking will occur. It does not always happen but when it does it is very alarming and loud. I’m guessing something is wrong with the Automatic Emergency Braking system. There is no warning prior to it happening. I fear these occurrences may cause an accident if I’m not wanting to brake at that moment. I have made Michael Hohl Dealership in Ca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
While reversing at a downward slope, sudden strong braking will occur. It does not always happen but when it does it is very alarming and loud. I’m guessing something is wrong with the Automatic Emergency Braking system. There is no warning prior to it happening. I fear these occurrences may cause an accident if I’m not wanting to brake at that moment. I have made Michael Hohl Dealership in Ca... Read more
Incident date: Nov 5, 2022
Rear trunk/hatch lid: I had pressed the switch on the hatch lid to cause closing. At this point my wife walked too close to the closing hatch and it hit her, and continued to close, causing a gash on her forehead. I am of the belief that any contact made by the hatch and a foreign object will cause the hatch to reverse its closing action.
1 injured
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2023) - POWER TRAIN
Nov 4, 2022
Incident date: Nov 2, 2022
Engine light is on solid. Veichile did stall while driving at Highway and vehicle will shake stop at red light. Noise when vehicle moving.
Incident date: Nov 3, 2022
Head light on my 2016 SRX is getting water inside the lens and dimming and burning out the bulbs the temporary fix is to replace the whole light unit at a cost of 3000.00 with the same defective part that will re-create the issue at a later date. There needs to be a recall on this defected it is not the fault of the consumer and the consumer should not bear the expense of an factory default PP
Incident date: Sep 26, 2022
The backup camera has no guidelines. GM has a bulletin but no fix and has not issues a recall. Document ID is 6153943. My dealer has told me they cannot do anything. This is a brand new car! Here is link to forum where frustrated owners have discussed the issue: https://www.cadillacforums.com/threads/backup-camera-grid-lines.1124433/ Here is link to youtube video to illustrate the issue: http... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, a squeaking noise was present coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the front brake pads and rotors, but the failure continued. Additionally, while driving at night with the low beam headlights activated, the headlights were extremely dim, making vi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while depressing the brake pedal, a squeaking noise was present coming from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who replaced the front brake pads and rotors, but the failure continued. Additionally, while driving at night with the low beam headlights activated, the headlights were extremely dim, making vi... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2022
General Motor's design oversights irreversibly damaged the rear differential carrier of my 2014 Cadillac CTS4 around 75,000 to 80,000 miles. Unfortunately, there is no prior indication of the rear differential carrier assembly leaking fluid or damaging the bearing. Only after the problem occurs, the rear differential assembly starts to make a whining sound that can be heard in the cabin of the veh... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2022
The contact owned a 2015 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving approximately 30 MPH, the contact fell asleep and rear-ended another vehicle causing a three-car chain reaction. The contact stated that the front end hit the other vehicle squarely on the rear bumper. The front bumper and hood were crushed back to both front tire wheel wells. The front passenger side tire had sheared off... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Nov 1, 2022
The Sub frame has a crack where it connects with the control arm I posted a picture in the forum group for Cadillac owners of the same vehicle and over 20 owners I’ve counted have the same crack in the same location it has unfortunately failed for some members already. I fear that this was an engineering flaw that needs to be taken care of or examined before some one can get seriously hurt or l... Read more
Incident date: Oct 31, 2019
My suv has a noticeable sometimes unsafe lag in the transmission Sometimes 3-4 sec lag Had in dealership shop 2-3 times they cannot reproduce they say. There was a recall for this very issue in 2014. Says recall was performed but obviously did not fix it. It is now out of Warrenty and still lagging
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle made knocking sounds and hesitated while accelerating. Additionally, there was smoke coming from the exhaust pipe. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
Since I purchased this car secondhand, the headlights are very dim at night, and it is unable to see in the dark, unless if I have my highbeams on which is a big safety hazard. The class action act expired by the time I purchase a vehicle, and I was unaware of this at the purchase of the vehicle. I have been in contact with two different aftermarket warranty companies, and they are refusing to cov... Read more
Incident date: Jul 29, 2022
Since I purchased this car secondhand, the headlights are very dim at night, and it is unable to see in the dark, unless if I have my highbeams on which is a big safety hazard. The class action act expired by the time I purchase a vehicle, and I was unaware of this at the purchase of the vehicle. I have been in contact with two different aftermarket warranty companies, and they are refusing to cov... Read more
Incident date: Oct 24, 2022
Vehicle's brakes stopped working. Could push the brake pedal to the floor without almost no effect. I removed the driver's side front wheel and discovered the brake line was almost completely severed and fluid had sprayed out all over the wheel well. Not sure if this was a defect in design or someone had intentionally cut the line.
Incident date: Feb 24, 2020
on Feb 24, 2020 Cadillac sent letters notifying owners of Cadilla 2010-2015 SRX that they will replace the headlamps or reimburse any out of pocket payments for headlamp replacement or service. I had headlamp bulb replaced and sent the invoice to GM for reimbursement I had to resubmit my claim with the proper invoice and information from the repair shop who tried replacing my head lamp bulbs. I di... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2022
the headlights on this vehicle are so dim that i ran over a large deer carcass in the middle of the highway at night. by the time i saw the carcass in the middle of the road, i was already on top of it!!!!!!!!!!! i couldn't use my brights because i was meeting another vehicle. anyway, the headlights on this vehicle are pure garbage and there needs to be a recall on these lights. this is a major... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Oct 8, 2022
With no warning and only 45000 miles on car rear air suspension motor failed on expressway! I quickly noticed my steering anti red seemed out of control! I quickly pulled over not knowing what was wrong. My husband came to meet me and immediately asked what was in my trunk! I told him nothing he said my back tires were 1/4 inch from hitting wheel well. The rear end was so low if I did not pull ove... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2023 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the backup camera malfunctioned, and only a black screen was displayed. The contact indicated that the failure was intermittent. Additionally, the contact indicated that while the camera was working, the image was very dim, making it difficult to view the image being displayed. The cause of the failure was n... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
My 2009 has 112,000 miles on it. Over a period of time we started to smell gasoline . Thought it may be simply from putting gas in the car. The smell got stronger. Fortunately we had to have a tire replaced. The tire service owner advised we had a major gas leak and advised us not to drive it far. End result was we had a fuel feed pipe that was leaking. Please know we had been driving our 4 year ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
My 2009 has 112,000 miles on it. Over a period of time we started to smell gasoline . Thought it may be simply from putting gas in the car. The smell got stronger. Fortunately we had to have a tire replaced. The tire service owner advised we had a major gas leak and advised us not to drive it far. End result was we had a fuel feed pipe that was leaking. Please know we had been driving our 4 year ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 28, 2022
My 2009 has 112,000 miles on it. Over a period of time we started to smell gasoline . Thought it may be simply from putting gas in the car. The smell got stronger. Fortunately we had to have a tire replaced. The tire service owner advised we had a major gas leak and advised us not to drive it far. End result was we had a fuel feed pipe that was leaking. Please know we had been driving our 4 year ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 1, 2020
The headlights are bad. Water gets in. A class action suit dismissed this defect that was also in previous years. This should be a recall. We are going to have to replace the headlights on our car because we can barely see at night.
Incident date: Sep 27, 2022
brought car to shop and after 3 months trying to figure out problem gave up. I towed it to dealership and after another month finally said car proved to be a mystery but extensive damage due to water leakin the rear shorting out entertainment module.
Incident date: Oct 1, 2021
Headlights The normal beam headlights are extremely dim, unable to operate the vehicle on the roadway at night. I had the bulbs replaced at an expense of $300 for parts and labor, which did not rectify the issue. The beams remain extremely dim, which is due to the faulty headlight assembly. GM has never acknowledge this issue after 1000's of complaints. GM did refund some owners of SRX 2010-2... Read more
Incident date: Oct 19, 2022
• Rear Differential is malfunctioning and is making a loud roaring,grinding noise. Is available for inspection. • Safety concern is no warning lamps notify you of malfunction and if differential goes out while driving wheels can lock up and increase the chance of a crash, And is a danger to passengers as well. • Called Dealer and was told part was discontinued probably because they know it ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2022 Cadillac XT6. The contact stated that while parking in a parking space with her great nephew in a booster seat on the rear passenger seat, she depressed the brake pedal and shifted into park. However, upon releasing the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated unintendedly, hit a pole, and crashed into an unoccupied vehicle located on the other side of the pole. The contact sta... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Oct 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at night with the headlights activated, the illumination from the headlights were very dim causing a difficulty with seeing the roadway. The contact also stated that she was unable to view objects unless they were within 10 to 20 feet of the vehicle. The failure almost caused the contact to crash into an outdoor trash can ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 1, 2022
The low beams have gotten so dim that driving at night has become hazardous. Both the passenger and driver side lights are dim but the passenger side is the worst. The problem is internal to the headlamp assembly. Cleaning the outer lens has no effect. The high beams function fine but we can't drive with the high beams all of the time because they blind oncoming drivers. When the lights switc... Read more
Incident date: Feb 17, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 Cadillac DTS. The contact stated the vehicle failed to start as needed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic however, no failure was found. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and no failure was found. An independent mechanic diagnosed the vehicle and stated there was a button on the radio that was stuck, causing the battery power to be drained. The vehicle was ... Read more