Owners have filed 84 complaints on the Cadillac CT5, covering 2020–2026. The system named most often is Power Train (20 reports). Worst years by volume: 2020, 2021, 2023; cleanest: 2024, 2026, 2025. 9 reports describe a crash, 1 a death. On average the car was 2.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Cadillac CT5
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 84 CT5 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 20 Read
While slowing down vehicle felt as if it was put into park momentarily, which cause car to slide on ice. After reading the recall, I am certain that the transmission failed. Car was towed to Ray Skillman cheverolet on south post road in Indianapolis, to which they already ran the vin and agreed to perform the recall.…
Catastrophic engine failure within 700 miles Requires full engine replacement Problems began around 150 miles on odometer Message: Reduced accelerated speed Check engine light Service transmission system Service variable valve timing system
At 22,000 miles, driving along at approximately 40mph, vehicle felt like it surged - check engine light went on and message of "limited acceleration - drive with care" appeared. Key cycled the car, CEL and message remained. Car would then not drive higher than 3rd or 4th gear and at limited speed as I tried to get it…
Electrical System 16 Read
When approaching a stopping vehicle the brake pedal became extremely hard to press and I could not brake enough to stop and had a collision. Come to find out that the ABS computer and the main ECU weren't communicating correctly which turned off the assisted braking, assisted steering and the AWD
Adaptive Cruise control acts like it’s going to maintain a gap (user selectable gap distance is able to be manipulated and displayed on drivers information center) but will rush right onto a preceding cars bumper. I’m told that even though manual transmission cars have the components and illusion that adaptive cruise…
This new 2025 Cadillac CT5 displays incorrect posted speed limits on Rte. 114 Flanders Rd, Gulf Rd, Bear hill Rd , .Ryan Rd, in Henniker NH. Speed of 55mph which is incorrect to legal posted speed limits being much slower. This vehicle also shows roads that have no posted speed limit sign of 55 mph, which should be…
Structure 11 Read
Issue with all doors and trunk moldings - after heavy rain or after washing the car, the frames inside all doors and trunk have water. This will cause rust and body rot over time. Spoke with the dealer yesterday regarding this issue and was told that all cars have issues and I am not alone complaining about this issue
Driver Door continue to not open. You must remove key cover off handle and manually open door with key or roll down all windows with Keyfob to reach in to open doors
Front driver side door unable to open from the outside. Faulty door handle pad. Initially randomly wouldn’t work, would have to press the pressure pad multiple times or press on specific part of the pad. Eventually, stopped working all together. It’s a safety issue if unable to open the door during an emergency.…
Air Bags 6 Read
Air bags did not deploy in bad car accident. Safety issue
The lane departure didn’t work as expected to avoid a crash. I was hurt and bruised due to the air bags never deployed after hit on right wheel number flew off causing my to go into 5 guard rails . The whole front end was destroyed into pieces “no airbags” I’m lucky to be alive. It was inspected by police and my…
My 2025 Cadillac CT5 was stationary at a red light behind a red truck when a black truck traveling in the opposite direction struck the truck head-on. The red truck was pushed backward into the front of my CT5 with enough force to cause major front-end damage. Despite this, no airbags deployed. I believe the airbag…
Steering 5 Read
The contact owned a 2023 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while exiting the highway on the far right lane on a 2-lane exit at 45 MPH, a message appeared on the instrument panel that read "Steering assistance reduced, drive with care" and "Service Power Steering". The contact stated that he was driving the vehicle…
I have had many issues with Onstar failing. I bought the 2020 Cadillac CT5 AWD 10/2020. It took Onstar over a month to connect to my car to provide AT&T internet plan (via Onstar). On 4/22/21 I was hit in my driver front & wheel, Onstar failed- never contacted us & the airbags did not deploy. I noticed my Onstar light…
2022 cadillac ct5. Consumer writes in regard to shortage of computer chips for vehicles heated steering wheel
Tires 4 Read
Incident Overview: A Continental Control Contact Sport SRS+ tire (DOT 5323) experienced a catastrophic internal structural failure during normal driving on a wet roadway. The tire had approximately 50% tread remaining and was 1–1.5 years old. Failure Description: Inspection indicates internal belt/carcass separation…
The contact owns a 2023 Cadillac CT5 equipped with Michelin Tires, Tire Line: Run Flat, Tire Size: 245/40/R19, DOT Number: (Unavailable). The contact stated that after he purchased the vehicle, he noticed that each of the tire pressure monitoring sensors indicated the incorrect tire pressure. The contact stated that…
See attached document for complaint
Engine 3 Read
I just bought a new car 5 days ago, and after running 378 miles, it started to pull the cylinder. The after-sales service is still delaying the time. I don't know what to do, and Cadillac still doesn't give me a mobility scooter
Rough idle, reduced acceleration, engine failure requires engine/motor to be replaced. Only 4300 miles on car. Purchase date 6/21/2025. Failure10/25/2025
The contact’s son owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the engine oil was abnormally low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine.…
Service Brakes 2 Read
I put up a rubber stop to test the emergency stop feature the car is equipped with. With car moving either forward in drive or backwards in reverse the car would not automatically stop before hitting this two foot high aid. A warning vibration is felt just before the car struck the device but the way I understand it…
I purchased vehicle on 7/28/22 from Bayview Cadillac in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. On August 2, 2022, I noticed that my brakes were making a loud, harsh, scraping noise when coming to a full stop. Brakes also felt like they were going to lock up or stutter. On August 3, 2022, I brought the car back to the dealership to…
CT5 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Electrical System,forward Collision Avoidance | — | — | |
| 2025 | Electrical System,vehicle Speed Control,forward Collision Avoidance | — | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags,lane Departure,forward Collision Avoidance | 3 | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2021 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2020 | Electrical System | 2 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 72 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 2.9 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the CT5?
By complaint volume, 2020, 2021, 2023 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which CT5 years are the cleanest?
2024, 2026, 2025 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Cadillac CT5 have?
84 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2020–2026. Of those, 9 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.