Cadillac Ct5 Reliability by Year

Based on 2M+ real complaints filed with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

118 NHTSA complaints (2020–2026).Complaint rate: 12.6 per 10,000 vehicles sold in the US.

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Should I buy a Cadillac Ct5?

Quick answer from 118 NHTSA complaints · 2020–2026

Cadillac Ct5 shows elevated crash or fire rates — buy with caution. 15.3% of reported complaints involved a crash — above the ~4% mainstream average. Most complaints relate to transmission / drivetrain. Inspect carefully or consider a different model in the same class.

Best years to buy
Years to avoid
Most common Cadillac Ct5 problem: Transmission / Drivetrain20 complaints (5.0% crash-involvement rate).

Keep scrolling for year-by-year complaint trends, recall campaigns, and component breakdowns — or click any year above for a full report.

Why these years are worse

The most common issues driving the complaint spikes:

  • transmission / drivetrain20 complaints (5.0% involved a crash)
  • electrical faults16 complaints (12.5% involved a crash)
  • engine problems11 complaints (0.0% involved a crash)
  • body structure8 complaints (0.0% involved a crash)
  • airbags7 complaints (71.4% involved a crash)
Severity Score
39.8
Complaints
118
US Units Sold
93,521
Crash Rate
15.3%
Fire Rate
0.0%
Injuries
15
Fatalities
1

Which Years to Buy & Avoid

Years auto-clustered by complaint volume relative to this model's median.

Rankings based on complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold — normalized for production volume so low-sales years aren't falsely rated "good".

Bottom line: The Cadillac Ct5 has consistently lower complaint volume in 2022–2023 compared to other years.

Avoid These Years

No years with significant complaint spikes.

Average

2020–2021
32.0 complaints per 10K sold
24,160 total units sold

Better Years

2022–2023
6.3 complaints per 10K sold
34,488 total units sold

Too New

2024–2026
17 complaints so far
34,873 total units sold

Need 3+ years on the road for reliable complaint data.

Looking at a specific Cadillac Ct5?

A model's reputation is just the start.

Even within the “good” years, individual cars can have hidden accidents, title issues, or odometer rollbacks. Check the actual VIN before you buy — full history report for $4.99 (vs. Carfax $44.99).

Complaint Rate per 10,000 Vehicles Sold

Normalized by US annual sales volume — higher = more complaints relative to sales

Show raw complaint counts

Common Cadillac Ct5 Problems

Most reported component complaints to NHTSA. Bar length = volume; color = crash-involvement rate.

Show full table
ComponentComplaintsCrash %
Transmission / Drivetrain205.0%
Electrical Faults1612.5%
Engine Problems110.0%
Body Structure80.0%
Airbags771.4%
Unintended Acceleration50.0%
Forward Collision Avoidance: Automatic Emergency Braking560.0%
Wheel Issues40.0%
Brakes333.3%
Steering Defects333.3%

When Each Problem Spiked

Year × component heatmap. Darker cells = more complaints that year. Reveals which model years a specific defect concentrated in — useful for spotting redesign-cycle quality dips.

Data Sources & Methodology

Complaints: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation consumer complaint database (118 records for this model). Public domain data, updated monthly.

Sales data: US annual vehicle sales from goodcarbadcar. Coverage: 100% of model years have sales data. Total US sales: 93,521.

Rate calculation: Complaints per 10,000 vehicles sold = (complaint count / US annual sales) x 10,000. This normalizes for sales volume so high-volume models like Civic or Camry aren't unfairly penalized.

Year classifications: AVOID = 1.5x+ the model's median complaint rate. GOOD = 0.6x or below. Years less than 3 years old are marked TOO NEW (insufficient data).

See also: Cadillac Ct5accident & safety statistics from our vehicle history database.

Buying a Cadillac Ct5?

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