Owners have filed 252 complaints
about the 2008 Cadillac CTS with NHTSA between 2008 and 2026.
The largest single group is the electrical system.
Across this model's run it ranks 9 of 17 worst.
The letter says how bad. This says what kind — whether this year drew
an unusual number of complaints, unusually dangerous
ones, or failures that arrived unusually early.
The dashed ring is 50 — the national norm. Further out is worse.
Complaint volume — 69
Against the median year of the Cadillac CTS. 50 means typical for this
model; 100 means roughly double.
Severity — 61
11.9% of these complaints
involved a crash, fire, injury or death, against a national rate of
9.7%.
Early failure — 53
31% of failures with a mileage on record happened under
36,000 miles, against a national rate of
29%.
NHTSA files every complaint against a named sub-assembly, not just a
system. This is the difference between knowing it was "the engine" and
knowing which part of it — the list to hand a mechanic.
Body
942.9%
Engine
314.3%
Automatic Transmission
314.3%
Headlights
29.5%
Adaptive Cruise Control
14.8%
Driveline
14.8%
Accelerator Pedal
14.8%
Rearview Mirrors/Devices
14.8%
When it fails
Odometer readings owners gave when they filed. About half of all
complaints include one.
Under 1,000 miles
73.9%
1,000 – 9,999 miles
2413.4%
10,000 – 24,999 miles
116.1%
25,000 – 49,999 miles
2916.2%
50,000 – 74,999 miles
3720.7%
75,000 – 99,999 miles
2815.6%
100,000 – 149,999 miles
3318.4%
150,000+ miles
105.6%
NHTSA crash tests
The agency crash-tested this model year itself. These are its own
photographs and star ratings.
These stars come from the pre-2011 crash test programme. NHTSA
rebuilt the programme for the 2011 model year and states that
ratings either side of that change are not comparable — so do
not read these against a 2011-or-newer car's stars.
Frontal crash test
Side barrier crash test
Photographs taken by NHTSA during its own New Car Assessment Program crash
tests of this model year. Public domain.
Configuration
Overall
Front
Side
Rollover
2008 Cadillac CTS 4-DR. w/SAB
—
—
—
10.3% risk
When owners complained
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing
out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single
owner can see from inside their own car.
Mar 2008peak 9Jun 2026
Recalls on the 2008 Cadillac CTS
A complaint is one owner's allegation. A recall is the point at which
the manufacturer or a regulator agreed the defect is real and dangerous
enough to fix for free — however old the car is.
Canada — Transport Canada
Canada runs its own recall programme, and its campaigns do not
always mirror the American ones.
Recall 201427330,927 units in Canada
Electrical
On certain vehicles, there is a risk that some drivers may bump the ignition key with their knee and unintentionally move the key from out of the "run" position. If this were to occur, engine power, power braking and power steering would be affected, which would unexpectedly increase steering and brake pedal effort, potentially increasing stopping distances and the risk of a crash causing injury and/or damage to property. The timing of the key movement out of the "run" position, relative to the activation of the sensing algorithm of the crash event, may also result in the airbags not deploying in a subsequent collision, increasing the risk of injury. Correction: Dealers are to remove the key blade from the original flip key/transmitter assemblies provided with the vehicle, and provide two new keys and two key rings for every original key. Important note: Until the correction is performed, drivers should adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.
Recall 201018999,000 units in Canada
Accessories
On certain vehicles equipped with a Heated Washer Fluid System (HWFS), a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. A repair was implemented in a recall in 2008, however, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on heated washer fluid system modules after this improvement was installed. This situation may cause some minor distortion, but also could lead to melting of the plastic around the heated washer fluid system, or cause a fire. Correction: Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page will be provided and inserted in the Owner Manual to document the removal of the feature.
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
Columbus, OHFire
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Columbus, OHFire
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Columbus, OHFire
ENGINE
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Key Largo, FLCrash2 injured
AIR BAGS
Airbags did not deploy in a massive front end collision. That failure caused me physical injury which possibly would not have occurred had the airbags deployed. I don’t know how many 2008 Cadillac CTS are on the road at this time but feel it is an important enough matter that should be investígated. This was never recalled. Thank you, [XXX] , [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11610287 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 123,000 milesOlive Branch, MSCrash1 injured
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle from the sunroof causing mold to develop inside the vehicle which caused a respiratory illness to the owner. Also while driving approximately 20 mph the front headlights suddenly shut off causing a visibility problem to the driver who lost control of the vehicle to crashed into a curb. During the crash the driver sustained a neck injury. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 123,000.
NHTSA complaint #11457140 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 123,000 milesOlive Branch, MSCrash1 injured
VISIBILITY
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle from the sunroof causing mold to develop inside the vehicle which caused a respiratory illness to the owner. Also while driving approximately 20 mph the front headlights suddenly shut off causing a visibility problem to the driver who lost control of the vehicle to crashed into a curb. During the crash the driver sustained a neck injury. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 123,000.
NHTSA complaint #11457140 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
The most recent complaints
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
Frederica, DE
AIR BAGS
Me and my husband were visiting my brother in Vienna, Maryland and we were packing up to leave to go visit my mom and the surrounding area where we live and then go home. After my husband got everything in the car as well as the kids and my dog we were both getting in the car he had gotten in prior to me and shut the door and all of the SRS airbags went off while the car was in park. There were no warning messages on the dashboard. There is no damage to the outside of the car. I had put my claim through my insurance company, and they deemed it mechanical failure.
NHTSA complaint #11742002 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Franklin, VA
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I haven't had a problem with my car and my truck. But my main concern is the LED and laser headlights almost every new car and truck that comes equipped with them. Even the aftermarket replacement bulbs and light assemblies, they are way too bright at night. Blindly bright. I have to put my hand in front of my eyes and face to reduce the amount of glare. I feel like these headlights can be a safety hazard to drivers at night.
NHTSA complaint #11669877 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Cleveland, OH
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The recall performed on this vehicle were not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get aThe recall performed on this vehicle we’re not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get a timing chain for Morris Cadillac. I have several receipts from the vehicle being serviced because of the faulty windshield washer heater system that was supposed to be disabled caused an electrical short in the vehicle because it was not properly sealed water got in the wires and caused the computer to be fried this happened before the car still only has 67,000 miles and they won’t even take it in. The car stopped in the middle of the road almost killing everybody. I’ve had several technicians explain that it’s because of the faulty. Recall that they did not fix that is still exposed. Maybe they had a worker that was fired in 2017. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11663826 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Columbus, OHFire
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Columbus, OHFire
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Columbus, OHFire
ENGINE
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11639210 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Key Largo, FLCrash2 injured
AIR BAGS
Airbags did not deploy in a massive front end collision. That failure caused me physical injury which possibly would not have occurred had the airbags deployed. I don’t know how many 2008 Cadillac CTS are on the road at this time but feel it is an important enough matter that should be investígated. This was never recalled. Thank you, [XXX] , [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
NHTSA complaint #11610287 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Oceanside, CA
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Ever since I purchased this 2008 CTS vehicle, I have dumped thousands of dollars to repair the vehicle even after the "recall repairs". Problems persist and the car has become more dangerous than ever. The vehicle had inspected by the dealership a number of times the first 5 years of ownership the first 3, listed below, were the replaced recalls from dealership, the rest are known safety issues that gm denies to admit to faults and recalls. *Ignition starter replacement (still have starter failure issues after 2 repairs from gm) *washer fluid warmer removal (they just snipped the wires and removed the component but left hot wires exposed in vehicle) *motherboard ecm replacement recall(ecm is still faulty and has caused dozens of electrical issues. **************** battery drains over night. On my 6th battery (just bought new one 3 days ago) gauge cluster never recalibrated and is completely disabled. Don't know how fast im going how much gas or any other info related to. sunroof constantly leaking, flooding vehicle and destroying the electrical components which fried many relays including the door lock and power window components vehicle refuses to turn but cranks on fuel often will not allow a fill up ecm throwing irrelevant codes headlight failure due to seal defect that allows moisture into headlight casing frequent oil loss. 2018: vehicle engine failure whilst driving on freeway with zero warning nearly causing a fatal crash. Purchased new alternator (Shade tree auto in san Clemente) and had to pay 2000 for tow and alternator transmission failure and near miss collision into another vehicle on a steep incline road I have taken this vehicle to a multitude of repair shops and auto supply to get a diagnosis. Even the dealership didn't have any answers. Now I am out of a car. and money. These issues had been confirmed by Rorick Cadillac, Shade tree auto, oreily, s and s auto, auto zone.
NHTSA complaint #11573886 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Oceanside, CA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Ever since I purchased this 2008 CTS vehicle, I have dumped thousands of dollars to repair the vehicle even after the "recall repairs". Problems persist and the car has become more dangerous than ever. The vehicle had inspected by the dealership a number of times the first 5 years of ownership the first 3, listed below, were the replaced recalls from dealership, the rest are known safety issues that gm denies to admit to faults and recalls. *Ignition starter replacement (still have starter failure issues after 2 repairs from gm) *washer fluid warmer removal (they just snipped the wires and removed the component but left hot wires exposed in vehicle) *motherboard ecm replacement recall(ecm is still faulty and has caused dozens of electrical issues. **************** battery drains over night. On my 6th battery (just bought new one 3 days ago) gauge cluster never recalibrated and is completely disabled. Don't know how fast im going how much gas or any other info related to. sunroof constantly leaking, flooding vehicle and destroying the electrical components which fried many relays including the door lock and power window components vehicle refuses to turn but cranks on fuel often will not allow a fill up ecm throwing irrelevant codes headlight failure due to seal defect that allows moisture into headlight casing frequent oil loss. 2018: vehicle engine failure whilst driving on freeway with zero warning nearly causing a fatal crash. Purchased new alternator (Shade tree auto in san Clemente) and had to pay 2000 for tow and alternator transmission failure and near miss collision into another vehicle on a steep incline road I have taken this vehicle to a multitude of repair shops and auto supply to get a diagnosis. Even the dealership didn't have any answers. Now I am out of a car. and money. These issues had been confirmed by Rorick Cadillac, Shade tree auto, oreily, s and s auto, auto zone.
NHTSA complaint #11573886 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Oceanside, CA
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Ever since I purchased this 2008 CTS vehicle, I have dumped thousands of dollars to repair the vehicle even after the "recall repairs". Problems persist and the car has become more dangerous than ever. The vehicle had inspected by the dealership a number of times the first 5 years of ownership the first 3, listed below, were the replaced recalls from dealership, the rest are known safety issues that gm denies to admit to faults and recalls. *Ignition starter replacement (still have starter failure issues after 2 repairs from gm) *washer fluid warmer removal (they just snipped the wires and removed the component but left hot wires exposed in vehicle) *motherboard ecm replacement recall(ecm is still faulty and has caused dozens of electrical issues. **************** battery drains over night. On my 6th battery (just bought new one 3 days ago) gauge cluster never recalibrated and is completely disabled. Don't know how fast im going how much gas or any other info related to. sunroof constantly leaking, flooding vehicle and destroying the electrical components which fried many relays including the door lock and power window components vehicle refuses to turn but cranks on fuel often will not allow a fill up ecm throwing irrelevant codes headlight failure due to seal defect that allows moisture into headlight casing frequent oil loss. 2018: vehicle engine failure whilst driving on freeway with zero warning nearly causing a fatal crash. Purchased new alternator (Shade tree auto in san Clemente) and had to pay 2000 for tow and alternator transmission failure and near miss collision into another vehicle on a steep incline road I have taken this vehicle to a multitude of repair shops and auto supply to get a diagnosis. Even the dealership didn't have any answers. Now I am out of a car. and money. These issues had been confirmed by Rorick Cadillac, Shade tree auto, oreily, s and s auto, auto zone.
NHTSA complaint #11573886 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lamar, CO
POWER TRAIN
I was driving down the road going Bout 29 miles per hour when I heard a big boom. It sounded ND felt like I had hit something . So I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road put the car in park looked underneath nothing was there . I then preceeded to my at. Which thank God was only another block away .I started going only going maybe 5 miles per hour at this point because it sounds like I'm dragging like metals on the ground . When I got to my apt. I went to park the car when I went to put it into park it would not go when I went to reverse it would nit go it still went into drive and thTs it and even getting it into driveyou really had to push it and it felt like the tires were going to wobble off , I mean bye this time it just felt like the car was gonna fall apart shaking abd wobbling all over because I kept trying g to go from drive to neutral to get it to go into park but it didn't budge I had to leave it in neutral and put on the emergency break and shut the car off leaving my key I side cause it wS stuck due to the car not going into park. When I came out of my apt. I wS just frazzled I didn't understand whT wS going on she hD been running beautifully. But I did remember when I first test drove her I had told the sales man she had felt like I wS pulling something she wS kinda hesitant to excelerate . He assured me she's had a 5 star inspection and the whole cars under warranty ND he works on cadillacs himself . Yada Yada Yada. I had called. Friend to come help me tow her home . He tried to get her to manually go into drive but it still wouldn't budge he thought maybe the shift link u til we got her home it was the drive shaft it had sheered off all the bolt one half was on the one part the other part of the bolt were broke off where it connected to the tyranny. He said you can't replace this with out trying to back our the bolts but there metric bolts and would be hard to find . And I would just be better off with a new driveshaft.
NHTSA complaint #11543065 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lamar, CO
STEERING
I was driving down the road going Bout 29 miles per hour when I heard a big boom. It sounded ND felt like I had hit something . So I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road put the car in park looked underneath nothing was there . I then preceeded to my at. Which thank God was only another block away .I started going only going maybe 5 miles per hour at this point because it sounds like I'm dragging like metals on the ground . When I got to my apt. I went to park the car when I went to put it into park it would not go when I went to reverse it would nit go it still went into drive and thTs it and even getting it into driveyou really had to push it and it felt like the tires were going to wobble off , I mean bye this time it just felt like the car was gonna fall apart shaking abd wobbling all over because I kept trying g to go from drive to neutral to get it to go into park but it didn't budge I had to leave it in neutral and put on the emergency break and shut the car off leaving my key I side cause it wS stuck due to the car not going into park. When I came out of my apt. I wS just frazzled I didn't understand whT wS going on she hD been running beautifully. But I did remember when I first test drove her I had told the sales man she had felt like I wS pulling something she wS kinda hesitant to excelerate . He assured me she's had a 5 star inspection and the whole cars under warranty ND he works on cadillacs himself . Yada Yada Yada. I had called. Friend to come help me tow her home . He tried to get her to manually go into drive but it still wouldn't budge he thought maybe the shift link u til we got her home it was the drive shaft it had sheered off all the bolt one half was on the one part the other part of the bolt were broke off where it connected to the tyranny. He said you can't replace this with out trying to back our the bolts but there metric bolts and would be hard to find . And I would just be better off with a new driveshaft.
NHTSA complaint #11543065 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Lamar, CO
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
I was driving down the road going Bout 29 miles per hour when I heard a big boom. It sounded ND felt like I had hit something . So I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road put the car in park looked underneath nothing was there . I then preceeded to my at. Which thank God was only another block away .I started going only going maybe 5 miles per hour at this point because it sounds like I'm dragging like metals on the ground . When I got to my apt. I went to park the car when I went to put it into park it would not go when I went to reverse it would nit go it still went into drive and thTs it and even getting it into driveyou really had to push it and it felt like the tires were going to wobble off , I mean bye this time it just felt like the car was gonna fall apart shaking abd wobbling all over because I kept trying g to go from drive to neutral to get it to go into park but it didn't budge I had to leave it in neutral and put on the emergency break and shut the car off leaving my key I side cause it wS stuck due to the car not going into park. When I came out of my apt. I wS just frazzled I didn't understand whT wS going on she hD been running beautifully. But I did remember when I first test drove her I had told the sales man she had felt like I wS pulling something she wS kinda hesitant to excelerate . He assured me she's had a 5 star inspection and the whole cars under warranty ND he works on cadillacs himself . Yada Yada Yada. I had called. Friend to come help me tow her home . He tried to get her to manually go into drive but it still wouldn't budge he thought maybe the shift link u til we got her home it was the drive shaft it had sheered off all the bolt one half was on the one part the other part of the bolt were broke off where it connected to the tyranny. He said you can't replace this with out trying to back our the bolts but there metric bolts and would be hard to find . And I would just be better off with a new driveshaft.
NHTSA complaint #11543065 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fresno, CA
POWER TRAIN
Car went crazy one day while behind the wheel everything malfunctioned then car shut off and won't start again. I could of easily got into an accident had there been any other vehicles around. Kids were scared. Codes come up as U0100,U0140,U0101,C0242,B0081-0F,B0081-71,B1370-01,B1370-06,U0155-00,U0170-00,P0856-00.
NHTSA complaint #11533125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fresno, CA
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Car went crazy one day while behind the wheel everything malfunctioned then car shut off and won't start again. I could of easily got into an accident had there been any other vehicles around. Kids were scared. Codes come up as U0100,U0140,U0101,C0242,B0081-0F,B0081-71,B1370-01,B1370-06,U0155-00,U0170-00,P0856-00.
NHTSA complaint #11533125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fresno, CA
ENGINE
Car went crazy one day while behind the wheel everything malfunctioned then car shut off and won't start again. I could of easily got into an accident had there been any other vehicles around. Kids were scared. Codes come up as U0100,U0140,U0101,C0242,B0081-0F,B0081-71,B1370-01,B1370-06,U0155-00,U0170-00,P0856-00.
NHTSA complaint #11533125 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Elk Grove Village, IL
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
I was pulled over by the Police because my 2008 Cadillac CTS license plate lights were not working and my rear brake lights were not working. These light failures were caused by a known design flaw with the wiring harness in the trunk lid near the right trunk lid hinge in where the wires inside the harness that go to the brake lights break in half after repeated opening and closing of the trunk lid because of the poor design of the wiring harness and it’s mounting brackets. There should have been a safety recall from GM as I could have been killed if a car in back of me did not stop because my brake lights were not going on when I would step on my cars brake peddle! Now the car dealership service center wants to charge me $335.00 to replace the broken wires that were caused by GM/Cadillac’s poor and unsafe design of this wiring harness. Regards [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11507416 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Elk Grove Village, IL
SERVICE BRAKES
I was pulled over by the Police because my 2008 Cadillac CTS license plate lights were not working and my rear brake lights were not working. These light failures were caused by a known design flaw with the wiring harness in the trunk lid near the right trunk lid hinge in where the wires inside the harness that go to the brake lights break in half after repeated opening and closing of the trunk lid because of the poor design of the wiring harness and it’s mounting brackets. There should have been a safety recall from GM as I could have been killed if a car in back of me did not stop because my brake lights were not going on when I would step on my cars brake peddle! Now the car dealership service center wants to charge me $335.00 to replace the broken wires that were caused by GM/Cadillac’s poor and unsafe design of this wiring harness. Regards [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
NHTSA complaint #11507416 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 34,000 milesSchuyler, NE
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, he noticed there was a puddle of fuel on the ground coming from the passenger's side fuel line. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with corrosion on the fuel line causing the fuel leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
NHTSA complaint #11486687 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 123,000 milesOlive Branch, MSCrash1 injured
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle from the sunroof causing mold to develop inside the vehicle which caused a respiratory illness to the owner. Also while driving approximately 20 mph the front headlights suddenly shut off causing a visibility problem to the driver who lost control of the vehicle to crashed into a curb. During the crash the driver sustained a neck injury. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 123,000.
NHTSA complaint #11457140 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 123,000 milesOlive Branch, MSCrash1 injured
VISIBILITY
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle from the sunroof causing mold to develop inside the vehicle which caused a respiratory illness to the owner. Also while driving approximately 20 mph the front headlights suddenly shut off causing a visibility problem to the driver who lost control of the vehicle to crashed into a curb. During the crash the driver sustained a neck injury. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 123,000.
NHTSA complaint #11457140 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Hawley, PA
FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
Fuel supply stops and engine stalls when I get near or below 1/4 tank. I can restart the engine and it will run for anywhere from a few seconds to sometimes a minute, but mostly only a few seconds. Limp my car this way to a gas station, fill the tank, problem solved. I know it had fuel in the tank as it only took 11 gallons with my 16 gallon tank. Installed a new fuel pump, problem continues. This can put someone in a life threatening situation. The first time it happened I was passing a semi truck on a 2 lane Interstate with cars and trucks behind me. Just as I got half way on the semi's left, I'm doing about 70 mph, the engine stalls. Luckily, I kept a cool head and turned on my blinker as the car slowed down. The semi behind me took a hint and backed off so I could coast to the right shoulder. This could very easily have caused a fatal accident. It has since happened 3 or 4 other times.
NHTSA complaint #11452330 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fort Bragg, NC
ENGINE
Cruise control will randomly turn off and will be unavailable for a few days then come back. Engine seized up out of nowhere while driving down the road and nearly caused an accident due to it locking up while moving.
NHTSA complaint #11423409 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
Fort Bragg, NC
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Cruise control will randomly turn off and will be unavailable for a few days then come back. Engine seized up out of nowhere while driving down the road and nearly caused an accident due to it locking up while moving.
NHTSA complaint #11423409 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
at 150,000 milesMckeesport, PA
STRUCTURE:BODY
VEHICLE WATER LEAKS THAT POOL ON FLOORBOARD, CAUSING MOLD
NHTSA complaint #11416252 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
