Vehicle make

Cadillac

20,232 NHTSA complaints and 184 safety recalls across 43 models, every figure pulled straight from federal records.

Complaints
20,232
Recalls
184
Models
43

The verdict

Cadillac pairs above-average complaint volume with an above-average recall count.

33rd pctile
complaint volume, US makes
31st pctile
recall volume, US makes

How does Cadillac compare?

Cadillac Saturn All makes

Average NHTSA crash rating (higher is safer) Beats Saturn
Cadillac 4.7 ★
Saturn 0 ★
All makes 4.67 ★
Complaints per model (lower is better) Beats Saturn
Cadillac 471
Saturn 629
All makes 507
Recalls per model (lower is better) Behind Saturn
Cadillac 4.3
Saturn 1.9
All makes 3.6

Lab-measured rollover risk vs. real-world deaths

Cadillac's average NHTSA rollover_risk score (0.164) against its total recorded deaths (4) across all model-years, plotted against 28 other makes. A low lab risk score does not guarantee a low real-world death total, the two metrics diverge across several makes in this dataset.

NHTSA rollover_risk score vs. recorded deaths, Cadillac vs. 28 other makes. 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 29 entities by Avg. lab rollover risk score (X) and Total recorded deaths (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High risk, high deathsLow risk, high deathsHigh risk, low deathsLow risk, low deaths 0.10.10.10.20.3 020406080100 Avg. lab rollover risk score Total recorded deaths
NHTSA rollover_risk score vs. recorded deaths, Cadillac vs. 28 other makes.

Rollover risk vs deaths table: FORD, 0.154 avg risk, 77 deaths. CHEVROLET, 0.157 avg risk, 60 deaths. HONDA, 0.131 avg risk, 33 deaths. JEEP, 0.209 avg risk, 22 deaths. HYUNDAI, 0.126 avg risk, 27 deaths. KIA, 0.13 avg risk, 79 deaths. TOYOTA, 0.149 avg risk, 45 deaths. NISSAN, 0.157 avg risk, 33 deaths. DODGE, 0.15 avg risk, 6 deaths. SUBARU, 0.135 avg risk, 5 deaths. GMC, 0.196 avg risk, 9 deaths. RAM, 0.217 avg risk, 17 deaths. VOLKSWAGEN, 0.136 avg risk, 10 deaths. CHRYSLER, 0.123 avg risk, 5 deaths. TESLA, 0.071 avg risk, 79 deaths. MAZDA, 0.136 avg risk, 4 deaths. ACURA, 0.122 avg risk, 4 deaths. BMW, 0.129 avg risk, 2 deaths. CADILLAC, 0.164 avg risk, 4 deaths. BUICK, 0.146 avg risk, 4 deaths. AUDI, 0.127 avg risk, 0 deaths. LINCOLN, 0.151 avg risk, 65 deaths. INFINITI, 0.137 avg risk, 6 deaths. MITSUBISHI, 0.162 avg risk, 1 deaths. FIAT, 0.147 avg risk, 0 deaths. LEXUS, 0.137 avg risk, 5 deaths. VOLVO, 0.144 avg risk, 0 deaths. GENESIS, 0.121 avg risk, 0 deaths. POLESTAR, 0.083 avg risk, 0 deaths.

Cadillac models by complaint volume

Top nameplates, all model-years combined

complaints

What this shows Within Cadillac's lineup, the SRX carries the most NHTSA complaints. High-volume nameplates accumulate more filings simply because more of them are on the road, drill into a model for its per-year and per-component breakdown.

Source NHTSA consumer complaint database As of 2026

Cadillac is registered with NHTSA as a vehicle manufacturer and carries 20,232 consumer safety complaints across 43 nameplates in the Office of Defects Investigation public database. The brand has been the subject of 184 safety recalls and is currently tied to 10 active or historical federal investigations, of which 1 remain open and under review. Every one of those figures is pulled directly from NHTSA's published datasets, not from owner forums, manufacturer marketing, or third-party reliability surveys, so the numbers you see reflect the same data federal regulators use when they decide whether to escalate a preliminary evaluation into an engineering analysis or a formal defect order.

Model-level volume varies widely inside any automaker's portfolio: best-sellers accumulate complaints simply because more vehicles are on the road, while limited-run trims and discontinued nameplates often carry disproportionately high complaint rates per unit sold. Inside Cadillac's lineup, the single highest complaint count sits with the SRX (4,128 filings, model years 2004–2019), followed by Deville and CTS. Use the table below to compare nameplate-by-nameplate counts, then drill into a specific model to see which components dominate and which model years concentrate the crash, fire, and fatality reports.

Active NHTSA investigations involving Cadillac are the most forward-looking signal on this page, they precede recalls and typically focus on a specific component family or model-year cohort. Recall status, by contrast, is backward-looking: it tells you what the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy, not what they are being asked to remedy next. Together, complaints, investigations, and recalls form the three-layer early-warning system federal safety regulators have relied on since the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966.

Which Cadillac models get the most complaints?

Model Complaints
SRX 4,128
Deville 3,658
CTS 3,088
Escalade 2,117
Seville 1,049
Catera 826
DTS 725
Escalade ESV 631
STS 609
ATS 542
XT5 398
XTS 304
Fleetwood 265
Eldorado 234
Lyriq 233
Allante 232
XT4 130
XT6 130
Escalade EXT 126
Cadillac 121
CT5 113
XLR 108
CT6 86
Brougham 69
CT4 45
CTS-V 39
Escalade Hybrid 34
SLS 30
Cimarron 27
ELR 26
Escalade NA 24
CT6 Plug-IN Hybrid 16
Optiq 13
Limousine 11
Escalade EXT 1500 11
V-Series 8
Vistiq 8
ATS-V 6
Sixty Special 4
Cadillac Truck 3
Escalade IQ 3
Fleetwood Brougham 1
K Series 1

NHTSA Investigations 1 Open

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints has Cadillac received?▼
Cadillac has received 20,232 NHTSA complaints across 43 models and 184 safety recalls.
Is Cadillac reliable?▼
Cadillac has 20,232 total NHTSA complaints across all models. Compare complaint counts per model and model year to identify which Cadillac vehicles have the fewest reported issues.
How do I check for Cadillac recalls?▼
Browse Cadillac models on PlainCars to see recall history by model and year, or visit NHTSA.gov and enter your VIN for official recall status. All recall data on PlainCars comes directly from NHTSA.
Where does Cadillac complaint data come from?▼
All complaint and recall data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of Defects Investigation. Complaints are filed by vehicle owners and NHTSA publishes them publicly.
What do Cadillac complaints cover?▼
NHTSA complaints include consumer-reported issues with brakes, engines, airbags, steering, electrical systems, and other safety-related components. Each complaint may note crashes, fires, injuries, or deaths associated with the defect.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Top Cadillac Models

Nationwide makes with similar ODI profiles

Two cross-make peer sets for Cadillac. Same-make model lists stay above; these neighborhoods are nearest other makes by published NHTSA totals (complaint floor ≥100, recall floor ≥10).

Similar complaint volume

Nearest makes by total ODI complaints (20,232 here).

Similar recall volume

Nearest makes by recall campaigns (184 here), excluding the complaint-volume set.

Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.

Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. Cadillac counts on this page are computed from the NHTSA rows shown in the linked model records; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.