Owners have filed 19 complaints on the Cadillac ELR, covering 2014–2016. The system named most often is Electrical System (5 reports). Worst years by volume: 2014, 2016; cleanest: 2016, 2014. 1 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 5.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Cadillac ELR
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 19 ELR complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 5 Read
The vehicle lost all power while driving; this has occurred four times between August 2024 and November 2024. Without warning, the vehicle loses power, including brakes, steering, lights, warning flashers, doors, etc., all power goes away. This has occurred three times during the day and once at night, creating a…
Loss of power and control: Twice over the past two months, the vehicle has died and lost all power and control functions while in motion. The first episode was while my spouse was driving during the day at about 30 MPH. She reports the vehicle made a loud "pop," and then all power to the vehicle, including steering…
Cadillac cue system screen has developed dead spots without warning. Unable to find work around to turn on parts of ventilation system, stereo, navigation, and charging systems
Air Bags 4 Read
The passenger occupancy sensor has failed on my 2016 ELR after 14k miles. The part is no longer available (23504893). I've inquired with General Motors and they said they could not help me. This seems to be a 1year only part used only on the Cadillac ELR. I believe this is an integral part of the Air Bag safety system…
Initial repair of the vehicle was initiated on 9/12/25 due to a dashboard warning message indicating an air bag system fault. The Cadillac dealership was unable to complete the repair during the initial service visit. The vehicle was returned to the dealership in October 2025 and has remained there since that time.…
Vehicle is producing a "Service Airbag" warning message and red airbag light on the instrument cluster at each start. The problem code 'U0170' is found which correlates to 'Lost Communication With Passenger Presence Module'. The dealer advised that the part is discontinued and no longer available. The needed Part…
Service Brakes 2 Read
The contact owns a 2014 cadillac elr. The contact stated that while parked on a slight hill, the vehicle was shifted out of park and started to drift down the hil in reversel. The contact stated that brakes failed to stop and the vehicle crashed into a telephone pole. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle was taken…
When using the brakes; small bumps can trigger the ABS system to intervene unnecessarily, causing the car to lose significant ground when braking, this can be catastrophic even at low speeds. This is an issue I have experienced first hand in both the cadillac elr, and the sister car the chevy volt. This happens at all…
Power Train 2 Read
Shifting the vehicle into park and attempting to turn it off by hitting the power button, yields a warning on the dic saying "action required: shift to park", despite the shift selector already being in park. This prevents the vehicle from being turned off. Requires multiple attempts of turning the vehicle on and off,…
The contact owns a 2014 cadillac elr. While driving at 70 mph, the vehicle decelerated independently without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 3,500
Wheels 1 Read
All four original wheels and one gm replacement wheel have all cracked randomly over the course of my ownership of the car. Gm hasn't offered any help and dealership personnel just shrug and say yeah those wheels had problems
Steering 1 Read
Similar to my 2014 chevrolet volt, the steering column sticks on highways at high speeds, it feels like it catches on something, when turning the wheel to the right. Behavior seems to happen when steering wheel is straight for a time, then when turning the wheel, it catches. There was a recall for that exact behavior…
ELR 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 1 | — |
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 | 16 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 2 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.6 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 2. 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.
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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 ELR?
By complaint volume, 2014, 2016 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 ELR years are the cleanest?
2016, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Cadillac ELR have?
19 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2014–2016. Of those, 1 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.