Cadillac · vehicle model
Cadillac XLR
108 NHTSA complaints and 12 safety recalls across model years 2004–2009.
- Complaints
- 108
- Recalls
- 12
- Model years
- 6
The verdict
The Cadillac XLR pairs above-average complaint volume with 12 recalls (heavily recalled).
- 31st pctile
- complaint volume, US models
- 12
- recall campaigns
Cadillac XLR vs. all tracked models
Total NHTSA ODI complaints across models with substantive safety data
108 Around the middle lower than 31% of 3,088 models
tracked vehicle models, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more models. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · August 2026
The CadillacXLR appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 108 consumer safety complaints and 12 recall campaigns across 6 model years (2004–2009). That averages roughly 18 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 10 investigation files tied to this model, with 1 currently open. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Filings moved from 36 in 2017-2021 to 17 in 2022-2026, a fall of 52.8%. That is the 41th percentile of change across the 763 nameplates with enough filings in both windows to compare, where 0 is the steepest fall and 100 the steepest rise.
Filing volume, not a reliability verdict: counts also move with how many vehicles are on the road, how old they are, and whether a recall drew attention. Computed from this portal's NHTSA filing-year records over the same two windows the trend rankings use.
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare CadillacXLR to Similar Vehicles
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 reliable is the Cadillac XLR?▼
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What are the most common Cadillac XLR complaints?▼
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Data sources
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 XLR totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; 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.