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: 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: Apr 1, 2022
The component that failed was the rear differential. I had to pull over on a grassy area on the merrit parkway which put my safety at risk. The component has been inspected by the dealer. No warning lamps appeared. I heard a whining sound and a grinding noise.
Incident date: Apr 21, 2022
The contact's wife owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the adjustable rear toe link of the vehicle was previously replaced with a non-adjustable toe link under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The contact later noticed that the interior of the brand new rear tires he had purchased were worn. Upon taking the vehicle to an independent mechanic for an alignment, the contac... Read more
Incident date: Jan 8, 2022
The contact owns a 2004 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the vehicle would not restart. The contact stated that the ignition failure required her to contact roadside assistance to jump start the battery. The contact stated no warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the failure recurred. The contact had an independent mechanic diagnose the vehicle and ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 20, 2022
The contact owns a 2018 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's and passenger's rear wheels locked up, causing the driver's and passenger's rear tires to roll backwards. The contact stated that the ABS failed to operate as intended. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an independent mechanic or dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 11, 2022
There have been ongoing complaints about the headlights on this car. I avoid driving my car at night due to the fact that visibility is compromised. I had a SERIOUS near miss while driving at night. I was driving on a residential street and did not see a bicyclist going the same direction. The bicyclist veered slightly into my lane and I literally DID NOT see them. Causing me to clip their re... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: May 30, 2019
Headlight goes out after rain. Fogging and condensation can be seen, when headlight doesn't work. Takes several days to dry out and come on again. Headlight will cut off will driving if raining.
Incident date: Feb 7, 2022
I have been told my car needs a front and rear differential. I have heard a low rumbling in the car for some time which I have now been told that sound was the differential breaking down. My car has been at dealership for 2 months now
Incident date: Apr 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2004 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the check engine warning light would remain illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the fuel system was faulty, a yaw sensor was faulty, and a battery sensor was faulty. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The manufacturer and local dealer were not notified of the failur... Read more
Incident date: Feb 14, 2022
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while starting the vehicle, the stability service and service tracking control lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed the vehicle and determined that the passenger’s side wheel sensor was faulty. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate fai... Read more
Incident date: Apr 18, 2022
2014 CADILLAC ESCALADE. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD TO FRONTAL AIRBAG INFLATOR SAFETY RECALL. THE CONSUMER STATED THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME COMPLETING THE RECALL REPAIR. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THE PARTS WERE UNAVAILABLE.
Incident date: Feb 21, 2022
My 2009 CTS has 67k miles; however, on 02/24/2022 it was serviced at Les Stanford Cadillac for "Timing Chain Failure" which cost me $3,371,27. GM published service bulletin #11340C: Special Coverage Adjustment-Timing Chain Wear on 11/5/2012 that was sent to the dealerships explaining that the timing chain could wear prematurely but the document was not shared with the car owners. The make and mod... Read more
Incident date: Mar 28, 2022
Low beam lights very dim driving at night, safety hazard. Unknown to be when I purchased this vehicle. Research uncovered issues with SRX models 2010-2016..
Incident date: Apr 25, 2019
There is a shudder at around 1500 to 2k rpms and appears there have been thousands of complaints about this. Also the touch screen has been replaced 7 times in my car which is another issue with the ATS LEMON.
Incident date: Dec 1, 2021
Very poor visibility. Head lights turn on but the lens is so cloudy it has severely reduced visibility for night driving. I have been calling GM/Cadillac routinely for at least a month but I feel like I’m getting a run around. On 4/4/22 I was told the problem has been resolved and I would be getting a call to set up an appointment to have the lenses replaced. But I still haven’t heard back. Th... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
The contact's friend owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at night, he was unable to see the road clearly and had to use the high beam headlights to continue driving to his destination. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer had not been informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 63,500.
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
Master brake cylinder/ABS Hydraulic unit failed. I noticed that while driving my vehicle at 35mph coming to a stop I had to press or pump my brakes to come to a complete stop. One one instance I had to brake abruptly and the brakes failed (pressed to the floor) so I swerved onto the shoulder to not cause a rear end collision. There was no warning or anything, I took the car to the dealer and was t... Read more
Incident date: Mar 8, 2022
Master brake cylinder/ABS Hydraulic unit failed. I noticed that while driving my vehicle at 35mph coming to a stop I had to press or pump my brakes to come to a complete stop. One one instance I had to brake abruptly and the brakes failed (pressed to the floor) so I swerved onto the shoulder to not cause a rear end collision. There was no warning or anything, I took the car to the dealer and was t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
2016 CADILLAC SRX CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD THE RECALL NOTICE ON THE TOE LINK ADJUSTERS AND TIRE WEAR IN THE REAR TIRES, THEY WERE BALD, AND BOTH REAR TIRES HAD CORDS SHOWING.AFTER REPLACING THE TIRES, IT WAS DETERMINED THE LEFT REAR SHOCK WAS LEAKING, AND THEY WERE REPLACED.
Incident date: Apr 13, 2022
2016 CADILLAC SRX CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARD THE RECALL NOTICE ON THE TOE LINK ADJUSTERS AND TIRE WEAR IN THE REAR TIRES, THEY WERE BALD, AND BOTH REAR TIRES HAD CORDS SHOWING.AFTER REPLACING THE TIRES, IT WAS DETERMINED THE LEFT REAR SHOCK WAS LEAKING, AND THEY WERE REPLACED.
Incident date: Mar 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the headlights were significantly dim. There were no warning lights illuminated. Upon inspecting the headlights, the contact noticed that water had leaked inside the headlight housing. The dealer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that the headlight replacement would be at his own expen... Read more
Incident date: Jan 15, 2022
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac ATS. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH on the highway the transmission was shifting irregularly and the vehicle started to decelerate. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure was intermittent. The contact was able to pull off to the side of the roadway and waited 10-15 minutes before restarting the vehicle. The contact was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 19, 2022
Recaro seat sensor failure, causing passenger air bag system inoperable for the passenger side, it appears this a very common problem, the dealer states that they have replaced a lot of these in the past, but GM no longer has any available, cannot find one anywhere in the country (USA), the safety concern is if involved in an accident the passenger is not protected, the dealer has confirmed this i... Read more
Incident date: Dec 4, 2020
I was hit by a truck while parked with the car on and the airbags weren’t deployed the truck hit me going at least 45-60
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
Burning smell, traction control, rear axle service along with suspension lights all came on the odometer. Shakes at low idle and wont stay running. Happened this weekend after pulling into the driveway after driving. We scanned code for cylinder 4 misfire. On scanner we had multiple other cylinder misfires but cylinder 4 is a dead misfire. We removed spark plug and found wore. We initially though... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
Burning smell, traction control, rear axle service along with suspension lights all came on the odometer. Shakes at low idle and wont stay running. Happened this weekend after pulling into the driveway after driving. We scanned code for cylinder 4 misfire. On scanner we had multiple other cylinder misfires but cylinder 4 is a dead misfire. We removed spark plug and found wore. We initially though... Read more
Incident date: Apr 2, 2022
Burning smell, traction control, rear axle service along with suspension lights all came on the odometer. Shakes at low idle and wont stay running. Happened this weekend after pulling into the driveway after driving. We scanned code for cylinder 4 misfire. On scanner we had multiple other cylinder misfires but cylinder 4 is a dead misfire. We removed spark plug and found wore. We initially though... Read more
Incident date: Jul 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the engine made a grinding sound, and the vehicle accelerated while the foot was on the brake pedal. The contact did not recall any warning lights on the instrument panel. The contact also had an incident where he accidentally ran into the garage, and the air bags did not deploy; however, the front passe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the engine made a grinding sound, and the vehicle accelerated while the foot was on the brake pedal. The contact did not recall any warning lights on the instrument panel. The contact also had an incident where he accidentally ran into the garage, and the air bags did not deploy; however, the front passe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 21, 2021
The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the engine made a grinding sound, and the vehicle accelerated while the foot was on the brake pedal. The contact did not recall any warning lights on the instrument panel. The contact also had an incident where he accidentally ran into the garage, and the air bags did not deploy; however, the front passe... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Nov 3, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated there was a default of service axle notification warning light on the instrument panel while starting the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed at a local dealer with an external rear axle leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 73,000
Incident date: Mar 15, 2021
Cadillac ATS is sold with a faulty driver console. The console is known as the Cadillac User Experience (CUE). Faulty-console is a serious safety issue for the following reasons: 1. Driver distractions: loss of navigation and unexpected changes in radio and air-conditioning are constant distractions. These distractions take the driver's attention away from the roadway. They also force driver's to... Read more
Incident date: Mar 29, 2022
The liftgate on my vehicle has stopped working. After researching this online I see that Cadillac/GM was sued concerning this issue. Please look into this for me. This repair would be very costly and it is unthinkable for a car that is less than 7 years old has this kind of body failure.
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
The tow suspension recall was supposed to be fixed but auto gather Lori Chevrolet in commerce Georgia the first time they had vehicle for two weeks after replacing with new parts vehicle did not drive properly whatsoever so they put the old parts back on aligned and problem was better as of before the replacement parts but core Adolf all the river on rear tires in less than two weeks took it back ... Read more
Incident date: Jan 3, 2022
The tow suspension recall was supposed to be fixed but auto gather Lori Chevrolet in commerce Georgia the first time they had vehicle for two weeks after replacing with new parts vehicle did not drive properly whatsoever so they put the old parts back on aligned and problem was better as of before the replacement parts but core Adolf all the river on rear tires in less than two weeks took it back ... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
Vehicle Headlamps (dim beams). Yes, it is available for inspection. The Cadillac SRX SUV state inspection was rejected for defective headlamps on 4-1-2022( both low beam headlights not bright enough). Prior to purchase the state inspection was conducted by the dealership (Wells Auto Group in Mckinney, Texas). I was not aware of any problems with headlights (Dim). I notice while driving those dim b... Read more
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
Well driving, fuel indications went out and car started to do rough idling with poorer fuel economy. Upon inspection, wiring harness by driveshaft on the driver side got caught in the driveshaft and destroyed wiring.
Incident date: Mar 14, 2022
Well driving, fuel indications went out and car started to do rough idling with poorer fuel economy. Upon inspection, wiring harness by driveshaft on the driver side got caught in the driveshaft and destroyed wiring.
Incident date: Mar 31, 2022
I bought a 2012cadillac about a month agoand was told by the dealer that there was no recalls on this car,but when i personally ran the vin number,it says this car has been recalled and I need to stop driving it because it's dangerous for me to be driving it because it could cause me to crash.this dealer ship also,grossly overcharged me, charging me "several thousand dollars more than the actual l... Read more
Incident date: May 29, 2021
There is excessive moisture in both of my head lights due to this issue unfortunately while driving at night I have to leave my high beam lights on so I can see the road my low beam lights are entirely to dim to see to drive at night due to the water build up in my head lights! Due to this safety issue i am afraid to drive at night in fear of blinding on coming traffic or hurting myself while dri... Read more
Incident date: Sep 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that both adjustable rear toe links were previously replaced with non-adjustable toe links under NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V571000 (Suspension); however, while driving at various speeds, the rear end of the vehicle felt unsteady and was vibrating. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who informed the contact that they could not align the vehic... Read more
Incident date: Mar 25, 2022
My headlight assembly have been taking in water for about a year. Last year I had to replace the ballast on one side. Last week we had a lot of rain and while driving home both of my headlights went out. I’ve looked up the problem online and found out I’m not alone. Cadillac did send me a notice last year about a settlement they made for similar issue but the notice they sent me stated it was ... Read more
Incident date: Mar 17, 2017
This is a continuing concerning issue that I've experienced resulting in a major safety hazard, that intel the RWD differential/drivetrain, which is a common safety concern with the 2014 CTS Sedans. There are no recalls from the persistent complaints and concern about this issue. The wearing down of the pinion seal, causing leaks, that have been repaired several times, which constantly reappears... Read more
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
This information is addition to the accident, that I reported few days ago. NHTSA tracking number 11458264. I was involved in car accident on highway I90. My car drove in to concreate barrier and was struck from back by another car. Air bag in my car did not deploy. My head hit steering wheel. I have broken nose. I will need surgery.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
This information is addition to the accident, that I reported few days ago. NHTSA tracking number 11458264. I was involved in car accident on highway I90. My car drove in to concreate barrier and was struck from back by another car. Air bag in my car did not deploy. My head hit steering wheel. I have broken nose. I will need surgery.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
This information is addition to the accident, that I reported few days ago. NHTSA tracking number 11458264. I was involved in car accident on highway I90. My car drove in to concreate barrier and was struck from back by another car. Air bag in my car did not deploy. My head hit steering wheel. I have broken nose. I will need surgery.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Mar 24, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the headlamps were no longer properly illuminating the roadway while driving, causing the contact to use the hi-beam headlamps while driving. The local dealer was contacted and stated that the headlamps needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
Incident date: Mar 24, 2022
Load roaring in back of car sounds like going snap in half. Upon checking the rear differential loud noise
Incident date: Feb 22, 2022
UNITS ONE, TWO, AND THREE WERE TRAVELING ON I-90 W/B. AT APPROXIMATELY MILEPOST 62.0 UNIT ONE TRAVELING IN LANE #3 (LANE #3, BEING THE THIRD LANE FROM THE MEDIAN WALL) LOST CONTROL, SPUN, AND STRUCK THE REAR DRIVER QUARTER PANEL OF UNIT TWO TRAVELING IN LANE #3. THE IMPACT FORCED FORWARD UNIT TWO INTO THE REAR OF UNIT THREE TRAVELING IN LANE #1. THEN UNIT TWO SPUN, DROVE OFF THE ROADWAY ONTO THE R... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at night, the headlights were very dim, making it difficult to see the roadway. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the headlamps assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. In addition, the contact stated that while turning the steering wheel, there was a grinding noise coming... Read more