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: May 6, 2022
Driving down the road and my 2018 Cadillac XT5 started on fire for no reason and no engine lights came on. I loss all driving control power steering in the matter of seconds and was trapped in the car waiting for cars to clear so I can run out. The car is with my insurance company the car is now a total loss and I don't think they will investigate. I called GM to make a complaint. The fireman s... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 6, 2022
Driving down the road and my 2018 Cadillac XT5 started on fire for no reason and no engine lights came on. I loss all driving control power steering in the matter of seconds and was trapped in the car waiting for cars to clear so I can run out. The car is with my insurance company the car is now a total loss and I don't think they will investigate. I called GM to make a complaint. The fireman s... Read more
Fire
Incident date: May 6, 2022
Driving down the road and my 2018 Cadillac XT5 started on fire for no reason and no engine lights came on. I loss all driving control power steering in the matter of seconds and was trapped in the car waiting for cars to clear so I can run out. The car is with my insurance company the car is now a total loss and I don't think they will investigate. I called GM to make a complaint. The fireman s... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Apr 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac Escalade. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the electric magnetic shock was inoperable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 90,000.
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The vehicle's park brake system failed to actuate resulting in unsafe parking of vehicle on hills/slopes. The service park brake light activated on the dash. Vehicle was taken to dealership to investigate. They confirmed park brake system was not working. This vehicle has electronic actuators for the park brake function on each rear wheel. The dealership did not find any defective components ... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The vehicle's park brake system failed to actuate resulting in unsafe parking of vehicle on hills/slopes. The service park brake light activated on the dash. Vehicle was taken to dealership to investigate. They confirmed park brake system was not working. This vehicle has electronic actuators for the park brake function on each rear wheel. The dealership did not find any defective components ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 26, 2022
THE HEADLIGHT HAVE BECOME SO DIM I CANNOT SAFELY DRIVE AT NIGHT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS ARTICLES/LAWSUITS REGARDING THIS ISSUE BUT NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED.
Incident date: May 16, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac ATS. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while attempting to accelerate. There was a howling sound coming from the driver’s side of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rear differential failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle not been repaired due to the part being on backorder. The m... Read more
Incident date: May 23, 2022
I've had my 2014 Cadillac SRX for a little over a year and had a dealership run the VIN to ensure this particular vehicle had no issues. A couple of months ago, I was returning from a late night assignment and after leaving the city limits realized I couldn't see. I was on a 4 lane mountainous road. At a traffic signal I pulled into the turn of road and flashed the lights to make sure they we... Read more
Incident date: Apr 21, 2022
Rear differential has given out this is the second one so far there should be a recall on these models. 4 door base model sedan. 2.0
Incident date: May 20, 2022
2015 CADILLAC CTS. CONSUMER STATED THAT THE EXHAUST WAS DAMAGED WHILE HAVING A SAFETY RECALL N192279370 REPAIRED.
Incident date: May 9, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated while driving approximately 45 MPH, the SRS warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V394000 (Electrical System). The approximate failure mileage was 118,000.
Incident date: May 13, 2022
The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac ATS. The contact stated that while driving approximately 75 MPH and attempting to stop the vehicle, the brake pedal was very stiff and hard to depress causing the braking distance to be extended. The contact drove off the roadway to avoid a collision and activated the parking brake and shifted to park(P) causing the vehicle to come to an abrupt stop. During the fai... Read more
Incident date: May 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2007 Cadillac DTS equipped with General Tires, Tire Line: Exclaim HPX A/S (Alpha Sierra), Tire Size: 235/55/R17, DOT Number: A37AWBXP3317. The tire was a replacement tire. The contact stated that while driving 40 MPH, the front passenger’s side tire experienced a blowout as a result the vehicle landed in a ditch. The contact stated that the sidewall was separated; however, the... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2015
Continuous Struggle with the performance of my vehicle’s headlights. I feel like I am driving blind at night unless I turn my Brights on. I have a 2015 SRX and my low headlights are really dim. My 2015 SRX HEADLIGHTS are pretty useless, I got the lens cleaned up and they are not clouded but the light is so dim making it unsafe for me to drive at night. I did some research and found there has b... Read more
Incident date: May 6, 2015
Continuous Struggle with the performance of my vehicle’s headlights. I feel like I am driving blind at night unless I turn my Brights on. I have a 2015 SRX and my low headlights are really dim. My 2015 SRX HEADLIGHTS are pretty useless, I got the lens cleaned up and they are not clouded but the light is so dim making it unsafe for me to drive at night. I did some research and found there has b... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2022
Complaint: pertaining to 2007 Cadillac DTS as mentioned above.i purchased this used car with 70,000 miles in 2018.when purchased the first problem was stabiltrack light came on so took it back to dealer to be fixed under dealers 90 day warranty plus brake lights weren't functioning properly.perhaps a year later I had a yaw replaced that controls the stabiltrack.ive been having this stabiltrack si... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2022
Reference: to a previous report.Photo's of problem messages.
Incident date: May 15, 2022
Reference: to a previous report.Photo's of problem messages.
Incident date: May 15, 2022
Reference: to a previous report.Photo's of problem messages.
Incident date: Jan 1, 2020
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that there was water inside the headlamp housing. While driving at night, the headlights failed to produce adequate lighting; the hi-beam headlights was needed for safe nighttime driving. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed; however, the diagnostic result was unknown. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Feb 10, 2022
Pulled over by police stating that my lights looked like I was driving around with just my running lights on and that I needed to get them looked at and fixed, gave me a warning to take to dealership to have corrected.
Incident date: May 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that after refueling, the vehicle was not able to start immediately. The accelerator pedal was pumped to start the vehicle. Additionally, there was an abnormal sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact related the failure to a faulty purge solenoid; however, the vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic o... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the rear axle, suspension, park assist, and stability tract control warning indictor lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle fishtailed. The contact called the local dealer. A multi-point inspection was provided by the dealer, who informed contact that the power steering and transmission lines were l... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the rear axle, suspension, park assist, and stability tract control warning indictor lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle fishtailed. The contact called the local dealer. A multi-point inspection was provided by the dealer, who informed contact that the power steering and transmission lines were l... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the rear axle, suspension, park assist, and stability tract control warning indictor lights were illuminated. The contact stated that while driving, the vehicle fishtailed. The contact called the local dealer. A multi-point inspection was provided by the dealer, who informed contact that the power steering and transmission lines were l... Read more
Incident date: Feb 1, 2022
There appears to be a known issue with 2010-2016 Cadillac SRX models related to defective seals on the headlights that allow moisture to accumulate and condense, therefore damaging and dimming the headlight bulbs. My vehicle is a 2014 model and has recently been afflicted with this problem. The light quality has degraded so completely that I cannot drive the vehicle at night. In my research, ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 19, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated while driving 20-30 MPH, he heard an abnormal loud roaring sound coming from the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the rear differential had failed and needed to be replaced. However, the parts were not available. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact t... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
The headlights are very, very dim when driving the vehicle at night. They are getting progressively worse. Before I took ownership of the vehicle, it was owned by my elderly parents, (82 and 88), both recently deceased. In the years prior to their deaths, they drove much less and hardly ever at night. It wasn't until I took ownership that my wife and I began to notice just how dim the lights were ... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
The headlights are very, very dim when driving the vehicle at night. They are getting progressively worse. Before I took ownership of the vehicle, it was owned by my elderly parents, (82 and 88), both recently deceased. In the years prior to their deaths, they drove much less and hardly ever at night. It wasn't until I took ownership that my wife and I began to notice just how dim the lights were ... Read more
Incident date: May 7, 2022
The headlights are very, very dim when driving the vehicle at night. They are getting progressively worse. Before I took ownership of the vehicle, it was owned by my elderly parents, (82 and 88), both recently deceased. In the years prior to their deaths, they drove much less and hardly ever at night. It wasn't until I took ownership that my wife and I began to notice just how dim the lights were ... Read more
CADILLAC
CTS
(2005) - AIR BAGS:SENSOR:OCCUPANT CLASSIFICATION:STATUS INDICATOR LAMP/LIGHT
May 6, 2022
Incident date: May 6, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that an unknown module under the passenger's side front seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 10V644000 (Ai... Read more
Incident date: Nov 30, 2021
Shift to park error message unable to turn off or exit vehicle. This is a hybrid vehicle
Incident date: Mar 16, 2022
On 03/16/2022 I was pulling away from my driveway on flat even pavement. As I accelerated the side curtain airbags malfunctioned and inflated.. there is no damage to the vehicle, and the report sent from onstage immediately following shows all information modules show no issues. We sent the vehicle to the dealership they have given us the run around for over a month and now say their finding does... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2022
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated and the horn became inoperable. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
Incident date: Nov 4, 2014
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60-65 MPH, the vehicle swayed. The battery and navigation system became inoperable. The TPMS warning indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed the battery and the toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. Th... Read more
Incident date: Nov 4, 2014
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 60-65 MPH, the vehicle swayed. The battery and navigation system became inoperable. The TPMS warning indicator light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where it was diagnosed the battery and the toe link needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. Th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
Rear view camera malfunction. In reverse, camera will not turn on.
Incident date: Apr 30, 2022
While driving at low speed lost all power steering . Was able to get it back home . When checked again later power steering was working . While driving later that day brakes engaged to a sudden slamming stop , red abs engaged light flashed then went away . Both incidents could’ve caused accidents. I’m scared to drive this car anymore. A week prior I thought the gears weren’t engaging / t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2022
While driving at low speed lost all power steering . Was able to get it back home . When checked again later power steering was working . While driving later that day brakes engaged to a sudden slamming stop , red abs engaged light flashed then went away . Both incidents could’ve caused accidents. I’m scared to drive this car anymore. A week prior I thought the gears weren’t engaging / t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 30, 2022
While driving at low speed lost all power steering . Was able to get it back home . When checked again later power steering was working . While driving later that day brakes engaged to a sudden slamming stop , red abs engaged light flashed then went away . Both incidents could’ve caused accidents. I’m scared to drive this car anymore. A week prior I thought the gears weren’t engaging / t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 29, 2022
My headlights are so dim i cannot use my car at night. It started a while ago I have replaced the lights but they become dim and the moisture in the headlights is terrible it is so dangerous to drive my car at night i cannot move it once it is dark. I have searched and found that this is an ongoing issue not only in my 2011 model but all Cadillac and is a known issue that Cadillac refuses to tak... Read more
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
https://www.700r4transmissionhq.com/service-stabilitrak-cadillac-srx/ While driving to Chicago the car lost acceleration in the midst of expressway driving at the same time the StabilityTrac sensor came one, the speedometer started acting wonky. This happen going and coming from Chicago.
Incident date: Apr 7, 2022
https://www.700r4transmissionhq.com/service-stabilitrak-cadillac-srx/ While driving to Chicago the car lost acceleration in the midst of expressway driving at the same time the StabilityTrac sensor came one, the speedometer started acting wonky. This happen going and coming from Chicago.
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
Under previous GM Safety Recall Bulletin 14233, loss of grease from the center constant velocity (CV) joint over time results in vibrations of the propeller shaft that are transferred to the roll over sensor located on the floor above it. The condition was repaired under this recall in 2014, three years after the vehicle was manufactured. It is now 2022, and the same issue has happened again. Now,... Read more
Incident date: Apr 25, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the headlights suddenly stopped illuminating. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer who diagnosed that the headlamps were damaged due to condensation and moisture inside the headlight assemblies and the headlight assemblies need to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was notifi... Read more
Incident date: Apr 28, 2022
I started to notice pulsation upon braking and replaced my pads and rotors, at the same time switching from winter wheels to summer wheels. The pulsation continued, and then I noticed a rumbling sound from the rear end that has grown increasingly loud over the past three days, and now it is accompanied by wobbling upon braking at speed. An independent shop today diagnosed it as a rapidly failing... Read more
Incident date: Mar 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving approximately 10 MPH at night, the visibility was reduced due to the headlamps not properly illuminating the roadway. There was no warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the reflector inside the headlamps were faulty. The vehicle was not repaire... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
I called OnStar because my car would not start and they sent someone from GM. The guy looked at my car, could not identify the problem, so I got it towed to a repair shop. Ends up, I had to replace the transmission. The repair shop ran electric test on the vehicle and no codes or issues. My dash is now reading service power steering and this is a safety issue that needs to be fixed by the manufact... Read more
Incident date: Mar 2, 2022
I called OnStar because my car would not start and they sent someone from GM. The guy looked at my car, could not identify the problem, so I got it towed to a repair shop. Ends up, I had to replace the transmission. The repair shop ran electric test on the vehicle and no codes or issues. My dash is now reading service power steering and this is a safety issue that needs to be fixed by the manufact... Read more