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?
CadillacSaturnAll makes
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.
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
- SRX
Cadillac SRX
4,128 complaints
- Deville
Cadillac Deville
3,658 complaints
- CTS
Cadillac CTS
3,088 complaints
- Escalade
Cadillac Escalade
2,117 complaints
- Seville 1,049
Cadillac Seville
1,049 complaints
- Catera 826
Cadillac Catera
826 complaints
- DTS 725
Cadillac DTS
725 complaints
- Escalade ESV 631
Cadillac Escalade ESV
631 complaints
- STS 609
Cadillac STS
609 complaints
- ATS 542
Cadillac ATS
542 complaints
- XT5 398
Cadillac XT5
398 complaints
- XTS 304
Cadillac XTS
304 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.
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
Electronic Brake Module Component Failure
Rear-View Camera Failure
Roof Skin Separation While Driving
IEE Passenger Sensing System Mats
REAR DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT FAILURE
FAILURE OF THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL
SUNROOF GLASS FAILURE
FAILING SEAT BELT BUCKLES
CADILLAC COOLANT COOLED ALTERNATOR FIRES
INADVERTENT AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints has Cadillac received?▼
Is Cadillac reliable?▼
How do I check for Cadillac recalls?▼
Where does Cadillac complaint data come from?▼
What do Cadillac complaints cover?▼
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.