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
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2017) - SERVICE BRAKES
Oct 27, 2021
Incident date: Oct 19, 2021
The brake assist function has been very sketchy and coming on unexpectedly and the emergency braking when reversing is malfunctioning and coming on unexpectedly with no need in error in a very hard/ fast stop. Yes its available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? This puts my saftey as well as others at risk because the brake system is malfunctioning and at ... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE ESV
(2017) - FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
Oct 27, 2021
Incident date: Oct 19, 2021
The brake assist function has been very sketchy and coming on unexpectedly and the emergency braking when reversing is malfunctioning and coming on unexpectedly with no need in error in a very hard/ fast stop. Yes its available for inspection. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? This puts my saftey as well as others at risk because the brake system is malfunctioning and at ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 4, 2021
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving with the panoramic sunroof visor opened, the contact attempted to close the sunroof visor and the material ripped on the driver's side. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who referred the contact to the local dealer. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer where the contact was informed that the mechanic was una... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE NA
(2021) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Oct 26, 2021
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
5/19/2021, Engine Vibrating, vehicle stall, 3 days repair. Ignition wiring bad/ replaced 5/28/2021, Engine Vibrating, Vehicle stop running, 3 day repair/electric module burn/temporary repair by Georgia car dealer. 6/3/2021 taken to NY dealer to repair 5/28/2021 problems, 15 Day to repair. 10/12/2021 Engine vibrating, passenger compartment filled with smoke, valve lifter crack, vehicle parked on de... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE NA
(2021) - ENGINE
Oct 26, 2021
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
5/19/2021, Engine Vibrating, vehicle stall, 3 days repair. Ignition wiring bad/ replaced 5/28/2021, Engine Vibrating, Vehicle stop running, 3 day repair/electric module burn/temporary repair by Georgia car dealer. 6/3/2021 taken to NY dealer to repair 5/28/2021 problems, 15 Day to repair. 10/12/2021 Engine vibrating, passenger compartment filled with smoke, valve lifter crack, vehicle parked on de... Read more
CADILLAC
ESCALADE NA
(2021) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Oct 26, 2021
Incident date: Oct 26, 2021
5/19/2021, Engine Vibrating, vehicle stall, 3 days repair. Ignition wiring bad/ replaced 5/28/2021, Engine Vibrating, Vehicle stop running, 3 day repair/electric module burn/temporary repair by Georgia car dealer. 6/3/2021 taken to NY dealer to repair 5/28/2021 problems, 15 Day to repair. 10/12/2021 Engine vibrating, passenger compartment filled with smoke, valve lifter crack, vehicle parked on de... Read more
Incident date: Oct 16, 2021
Both Headlights went out within a week of each other while driving at night
Incident date: Oct 6, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving approximately 15 MPH, there was an abnormal sound coming from the engine compartment. Upon inspection, the contact noticed a piece from the engine had fallen out of the vehicle. The contact stated that the battery warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer where it was diagnosed with needing the idle... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
Thank these things i feel cadilac should consider fixing due to milage before and after i purchased the cadilac due to the miles before and after purchase. Due to being 100% disabled since 2009, Air bag & safety belt system light comes on when i have onstar diagnose the problem they said it has something to do with my seat belt system on passenger side which mind you isnt used often at all and cad... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
Thank these things i feel cadilac should consider fixing due to milage before and after i purchased the cadilac due to the miles before and after purchase. Due to being 100% disabled since 2009, Air bag & safety belt system light comes on when i have onstar diagnose the problem they said it has something to do with my seat belt system on passenger side which mind you isnt used often at all and cad... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
Thank these things i feel cadilac should consider fixing due to milage before and after i purchased the cadilac due to the miles before and after purchase. Due to being 100% disabled since 2009, Air bag & safety belt system light comes on when i have onstar diagnose the problem they said it has something to do with my seat belt system on passenger side which mind you isnt used often at all and cad... Read more
Incident date: Aug 25, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the manufacturer informed the contact that the parts for the recall repair were not yet available. The contact stated while driving 20 MPH on a curved road, the rear end of the vehicle slightly drifted. The contact stated she was able to continue to drive the vehicle. T... Read more
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
The exterior housing units prematurely wear out and allow moisture to cause failures of the lights. The makes driving at night hard, because you can barely see. GM tried to give some customers a rebate, but this required owners to pay out of pocket at first for repairs, and this causes me an undue burden because I don't have that kind of money. This is very dangerous and GM should recall this.
Incident date: Oct 25, 2021
The exterior housing units prematurely wear out and allow moisture to cause failures of the lights. The makes driving at night hard, because you can barely see. GM tried to give some customers a rebate, but this required owners to pay out of pocket at first for repairs, and this causes me an undue burden because I don't have that kind of money. This is very dangerous and GM should recall this.
Incident date: Sep 28, 2021
In Sep 2021 I purchased this car. During the first drive after dark I noticed the headlights were very dim and the high beam only extended to just go just past the front of the car. these are the up-level HID lights. I didn't do anything right away as I rarely drive at night and then in well-lit areas. There is also considerable condensation inside primarily the passenger side light. On Oct 23... Read more
Incident date: Apr 6, 2020
The Headlights for my car - Cadillac 2014 SRX At night the headlights are not bright enough to see and driving is dangerous. The car is available for inspection upon request. I was driving at night making a turn and I hit a small sign post on a back road because I could not see it! I put others at risk driving with my high beams on blinding the oncoming cars. If people are walking on the road ... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jul 15, 2021
I received a letter from Cadillac that they were aware of an issue with the moisture in the headlights on my vehicle, and were offering a credit towards replacement of the headlights. At the time, I did not have an issue, but a year later my lights became significantly dimmer making it unsafe to drive. I reported the issue to Cadillac in July of 2021 and was told to take it to a dealership for a d... Read more
Incident date: Jun 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at night at an undisclosed speed, the contact switched from the hi-beam headlights to the low-beam headlights and was unable to clearly see the roadway because of how dim the headlights were. The contact continued driving to the residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the fai... Read more
Incident date: Oct 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the service rear axle message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and repaired. Upon investigation, the contact associated the failure with NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The vehicle was repaired however, the failure persisted. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. Th... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the issue. The contact was unsure whether she ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 2, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the issue. The contact was unsure whether she ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2014
So we bought the car. In 2012 or 2013. And in 2014 we received a yellow letter in the mail saying that our car needed to be serviced for a recall. We set it up. Ended up taking it in To be serviced for the recalls. Not knowing in 2008 they recalled what is now going wrong in the car, I didn’t say anything at the time we repaired it. It they didn’t either I believe and even if we didn’t say ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2014
So we bought the car. In 2012 or 2013. And in 2014 we received a yellow letter in the mail saying that our car needed to be serviced for a recall. We set it up. Ended up taking it in To be serviced for the recalls. Not knowing in 2008 they recalled what is now going wrong in the car, I didn’t say anything at the time we repaired it. It they didn’t either I believe and even if we didn’t say ... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2014
So we bought the car. In 2012 or 2013. And in 2014 we received a yellow letter in the mail saying that our car needed to be serviced for a recall. We set it up. Ended up taking it in To be serviced for the recalls. Not knowing in 2008 they recalled what is now going wrong in the car, I didn’t say anything at the time we repaired it. It they didn’t either I believe and even if we didn’t say ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 5, 2021
Vehicle recall letter for recall N212340980 received stating service is needed but there are no parts. Check with the dealership. Called local dealership x3 and no call back. Went to dealership 10/5 and was told "there's nothing they can do". How do I know when I can get my car fixed???
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal noise detected. The electronic stability and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confi... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, there was an abnormal noise detected. The electronic stability and traction control warning lights were illuminated. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted and confi... Read more
Incident date: Jul 30, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that parts were on order but could not confirm when parts would be available. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue and informed the contact to call a local dealer as some dealers might have parts. The contact state... Read more
Incident date: Jul 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the check engine, traction control, StabiliTrak, and several other warning lights had illuminated the instrument panel. The contact also stated that an abnormal banging noise would emit from the vehicle while driving at various speeds. The contact then received a recall notice for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The deale... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2021
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the dealer informed the contact that the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the issue. The contact had ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2006 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, the airbag warning light illuminated. The contact called a local dealer who informed her that the cause could be an electrical failure or a defective airbag. The contact was informed to bring the vehicle to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not... Read more
Incident date: Oct 18, 2020
The contact owns a 2015 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the low-beam headlights were significantly dim and were affecting her visibility of the road. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact stated that the failure had caused her to drive with the high beam actuated at night. The contact also stated she had received an unknown recall notification related to the failure. The deal... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2021
So while driving the stabilizer light came on and it swerved when I went to hit my brakes to stop the car because I was heading across a bridge the brake somehow lost power and I pushed and it didn’t do anything by the time I got the pressure to come back I guess after pushing a few times it was too late and I rear ended another vehicle and completed pushed in the entire front on my truck. This ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 8, 2021
So while driving the stabilizer light came on and it swerved when I went to hit my brakes to stop the car because I was heading across a bridge the brake somehow lost power and I pushed and it didn’t do anything by the time I got the pressure to come back I guess after pushing a few times it was too late and I rear ended another vehicle and completed pushed in the entire front on my truck. This ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: Oct 14, 2019
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at night, the low-beam headlight did not provide adequate illumination for safe driving. The high-beam headlight was used to provide adequate illumination for safe driving. The contact had taken the vehicle to the dealer who informed him they could offer no assistance with the headlight failure. The manufacturer offered no assi... Read more
Incident date: May 15, 2021
The contact owns a 2011 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the service rear axle warning light illuminated. The contact took the vehicle to a local dealer who inspected the vehicle and informed the contact that the vehicle was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension). The mechanic stated that the warning light was illuminated because of the rec... Read more
Incident date: Jun 24, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconn... Read more
Incident date: Oct 14, 2021
Even after replacing bulbs in the headlights with the brightest bulbs available for the car, the headlights are too dim to see the road or anything while driving at night. This creates a safety hazard for the drivers and passengers in the car and other drivers on the road. Even the lines on roads are not clearly visible unless they are freshly painted. GM refuses to fix the problem and the replace... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
I was driving and it started rattling and getting very bumpy. I exited the freeway and came to a stop. The vehicle would no longer move. I had it towed to my mechanic. The right front axle broke. He replaced it and drove it around the block for a test drive. It was very loud and turning tight when the left axle broke. It has been diagnosed with a bad differential. Everyone I have spoke with at mul... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
I was driving and it started rattling and getting very bumpy. I exited the freeway and came to a stop. The vehicle would no longer move. I had it towed to my mechanic. The right front axle broke. He replaced it and drove it around the block for a test drive. It was very loud and turning tight when the left axle broke. It has been diagnosed with a bad differential. Everyone I have spoke with at mul... Read more
Incident date: Oct 10, 2021
I was driving and it started rattling and getting very bumpy. I exited the freeway and came to a stop. The vehicle would no longer move. I had it towed to my mechanic. The right front axle broke. He replaced it and drove it around the block for a test drive. It was very loud and turning tight when the left axle broke. It has been diagnosed with a bad differential. Everyone I have spoke with at mul... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (SUSPENSION) however, the part to the recall was unavailable. The contact called the local dealer along with a second dealer Lynch Chevrolet Cadillac of Auburn Parts (154 W Creek Pkwy, Auburn, AL 36830: (334) 246-0398) and was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated tha... Read more
Incident date: Oct 11, 2021
PROBLEM: LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS ON 2014 CADILLAC SRX: With age, the low beam headlights become too dim to drive at night even though there is nothing wrong with the actual headlight bulb. The problem is related to the materials and design of the Cadillac SRX headlight assemblies. The reflector of the low beam headlight is made of plastic with a chrome coating. The heat of the OEM bulb deteriorates ... Read more
Incident date: Oct 8, 2021
Headlights have excessive water and moisture internally causing extremely poor night visibility to the point you can't see the road without turning on your brights which is also extremely dangerous with oncoming traffic. So dangerous try not to drive at night.
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part was not available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made... Read more
Incident date: Oct 6, 2020
The contact owns a 2014 Cadillac SRX. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V473000 (Suspension) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle made ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that there were electrical shortages on the dashboard, the smoke odor was detected while starting the vehicle, water was getting into the liftgate, all the warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle would hydroplane when it rained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and another dealer, Herman Jenkins Motors Inc (2030 W Reelfoot Ave, ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that there were electrical shortages on the dashboard, the smoke odor was detected while starting the vehicle, water was getting into the liftgate, all the warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle would hydroplane when it rained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and another dealer, Herman Jenkins Motors Inc (2030 W Reelfoot Ave, ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 1, 2021
The contact owns a 2010 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that there were electrical shortages on the dashboard, the smoke odor was detected while starting the vehicle, water was getting into the liftgate, all the warning lights were illuminated, and the vehicle would hydroplane when it rained. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, and another dealer, Herman Jenkins Motors Inc (2030 W Reelfoot Ave, ... Read more
Incident date: Aug 24, 2021
During a service appointment, on my 2014 Cadillac CTS, the dealership pointed out that both axle seals on the differential appears to be leaking. On a subsequent inspection conducted on 8/24/2021, by the dealership, it was confirmed that both axle seals were leaking. At the time of the inspection the vehicle had 120,873 miles showing on the odometer. These two reports were the initial indication... Read more