Owners have filed 342 complaints on the Cadillac STS, covering 2002–2011. The system named most often is Air Bags (81 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2005, 2007; cleanest: 2010, 2004, 2002. 38 reports describe a crash, 10 a fire. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Cadillac STS
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 342 STS complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 81 Read
My airbags did not deploy and my traction control failed. The airbag light remains on and there is a faulty code. The vehicle lost ability to control it to turn. I went straight into the fence. The airbags were not addressed by the body shop or repair shop
The contact owns a 2008 cadillac sts. While driving 35 mph, the contact was involved in a head-on crash and the air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they stated that only the front end was damaged. The vehicle was repaired. The contact informed the dealer that he…
Was involved in and accident with the front grill, radiator, hood, and driver door had been severely damaged. Airbags never ejected
Electrical System 53 Read
The contact owns a 2007 cadillac sts. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal are too close together. The accelerator pedal was inadvertently depressed instead of the brake pedal, causing the vehicle to crash into a tree. The crash occurred while driving 25 mph. The air bags failed to deploy.…
Traveling 81 north in northeast pennsylvania, rounding turn car stalled. I lost complete control of the vehicle which caused me to slam into a guard rail and the car went down an embankment and into a boulder. Air bags never deployed. Passenger and I were severely injured and had to be pulled out of the vehicle.…
4/14 - car was shutting off intermittently, pulled over in hotel parking lot and a gentlemen came up to car to tell me that it was smoking, got out and there was a fire at the rear of the car. Ran into hotel and got fire extinguisher to put it out, had towed to repair shop. There determined that the terminal on the…
Power Train 28 Read
My 2005 cadillac sts brakes locked up and caused my car to crash. After research I am showing that there was a recall regarding the brake system. In addition, when changing gears you can hear the gears changing from the outside of the car. I researched this as well and apparently there is a defect and recall on the…
Driving on the highway when there was a sudden loud bang, my car swerved, my rpms revved up, white smoke and I smelled burning. I pulled over and had it taken to the local certified cadillac dealership, my rear differential needs to be replaced related to a rear pinion seal leak. There's a recall for that exact…
Purchased as a "program car" 5/21/08 with 7017 miles on odometer, auto has been a constant source of trouble which selling dealer crest cadillac of venice, fl seems unable to correct. Myriad problems occur but fail to register on recorder which prevents corrective action. I do not fault dealer staff but blame overall…
Steering 20 Read
The car traction control failed and the vehicle had the service stability system come on. The ABS light was lit and the vehicle would not accelerate or turn easily. The vehicle went into the ditch. This vehicle had headlights prior to the incident with bulbs popping out inside and moisture. After the repairs were done…
The contact owns a 2006 cadillac sts. While driving approximately 50 mph, the steering wheel began to shake and felt loose. The contact attempted to pull the vehicle over, but lost control and drove into a ditch. The frontal air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to her nose and broke her right…
I bought a 2005 sts cadillac from oakland automall, two weeks later as I was entering the freeway, and I found myself without any steering, the steering mechanism (for no good reason broke) I skidded across two lanes of traffic (I'm really lucky to be alive) my car hit the guard rail on the other side of the freeway…
Engine And Engine Cooling 19 Read
Stopped the vehicle, placed into park position, shut off car and engaged emergency brake. Removed seat belt, driver and passenger opened doors to exit. Engine at that time went into a very high RPM making a horrible loud whining noise and auto accelerated in reverse with car in park and emergency brake on. Tried to…
The vehicle caught fire without cause at a walmart parking lot. When I came out of the store my car was on fire. The fire started in the door panel of the drivers side. I have no idea what caused the fire. Sterling heights fire dept was on the seen and put the fire out. My car was totaled
- the contact was driving when she lost consciousness for about 30 seconds. The contact believed that loss of consciousness was due to fumes in the passenger compartment. At the time of the incident the vehicle was traveling at 40 mph under dry conditions. As a result the contact's vehicle crashed into another…
Engine 18 Read
The known timing chain issue GM done a warranty for to fix it but won’t fix it now. My car is running sluggish because of it and had numerous times that it wouldn’t go up to the speed limit almost caused accidents because of it and I’m afraid to even drive it anymore knowing that it’s a time bomb waiting to happen…
The contact owns a 2008 cadillac sts. While driving approximately 45 mph, the engine stalled without warning. The vehicle restarted, but the failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number:…
Purchased vehicle 11- 2011 (65,498) 10-(2012) first ck engine light issue and every year since then I've taken it back to the dealership service for ck engine light last three years 2014-thry-16 now 17 the vehicle shuts off while I'm driving or sitting waiting for the traffic light to change this is a issue for me…
Service Brakes 17 Read
The contact owns a 2008 cadillac sts. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph attempting to pass another vehicle, and a sudden acceleration occurred without warning. The speed increased to 90 mph. The brake pedal stuck to the floor when pressure was applied. The vehicle began to decelerate to 30 mph. The…
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac sts. While driving 15 mph, the sybilla track light illuminated and the rear of the vehicle began sliding to the left. The contact depressed the brake pedal and the light illuminated again. The vehicle struck the guardrail and caused $7,014.75 worth of damage. The contact was injured.…
On june 9, 2016 I was driving on a wet road so when I tried to stop it took an extreme amount of distance to get the car to stop. I figured the brakes got a little wet causing the probable. The next day my wife was driving the car. Traffic stopped ahead of her stopped so she tried to stop. With both legs pushing on…
Fuel/propulsion System 13 Read
The same condition as listed in the: 2007 cadillac sts fuel system, gasoline:delivery:fuel pump NHTSA campaign #14V542000. I had to replace the fuel pump due to the exact same conditions in the 2007 model year recall
The contact owns a 2007 cadillac sts. The contact received a notice for NHTSA campaign number: 14V542000 (fuel system, gasoline) and stated that the parts were unavailable. The dealer was uncertain when the parts would become available to service the vehicle under the recall. The manufacturer was uncertain when they…
I went to the gas station to fill a gas. After I filled the car I saw big spot underneath of my car of gasoline. I went under the car I saw some gasoline color on the fuel tank. The dealer refused to fix it under the claimed recall
STS 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 2010 | Electrical System,structure | — | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 5 | — | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 14 | 5 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 10 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2003 | Electrical System,electronic Stability Control (esc),service Brakes | 1 | — | |
| 2002 | Electronic Stability Control (esc) | — | — |
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 | 129 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.7 |
| Worst single series | 11 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 2.7 hides a worst series at 11. 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
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 STS?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2005, 2007 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 STS years are the cleanest?
2010, 2004, 2002 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Cadillac STS have?
342 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2002–2011. Of those, 38 describe a crash and 10 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.