10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
32,551 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

Get notified about new defects, investigations, recalls & lawsuits for the 2011 Cadillac CTS:

Unsubscribe any time. We don't sell/share your email.

problem #11

Aug 192020

CTS

  • 84,000 miles
While driving on a windy mountain road at approx 45 mph, going into a sharp left hand turn, the steering wheel would not turn any further. It felt as though the steering had gone out completely. This caused me to travel straight into an embankment and launch into the woods. No injuries. Air bags did not deploy. Radiator was bent into a U shape. No idea why none of the airbags didn't deploy

- Newville, PA, USA

problem #10

Feb 142019

CTS

  • 104,500 miles
Power steering will intermittently fail at all speeds causing the car to become very hard to steer at lower speeds and difficult to control at higher speeds. Warning is displayed in the dic that reads "service power steering" no visible cause can be found. Fluid levels are in spec. Tire pressure is in spec. When failure occurs at low speed, the steering becomes very stiff. When failure occurs at higher speed, steering becomes stiff effecting control.

- Battle Ground, WA, USA

problem #9

Mar 152016

CTS

  • miles
Car making cracking noise when driving and turning steering wheel. GM refuses to do anything, car is like brand new 37,000 original owner.

- Independence, KY, USA

problem #8

Mar 162015

CTS 6-cyl

  • 37,960 miles
Driving to work went to stop and vehicle pull to the side and would not stop normal. I drove the vehicle to the dealer and the reported right rear hub not sensing speed signal and needed to replace and not covered under my warranty. I see GM and Cadillac has had a lot of problems with this wheel hud and have recalled on other model years. These are $600 per wheel to replace and think that they should last longer than 39,000 miles. Would not want to have been driving at highway speeds when this fails.I contacted Cadillac and they would not repair without charge.

- Hull, MA, USA

problem #7

Feb 212015

CTS 6-cyl

  • 61,000 miles
On 21 Feb. While driving approximately 75 mph, a warning light came on indicating "service stability track control, engine power will be reduced. I suddenly lost power and luckily, the 18 wheeler that was behind me swerved to other lane to avoid rear end collision. I immediately put on my hazard indicator and was able to coast to the median. Luckily, I was not killed!. on searching, I have found this to be a common complaint that the manufacturer is well aware of but refuses to correct the issue...there are numerous complaints all over the internet regarding near death experiences because of this similar issue. What is it going to take, a death?

- W. Columbia, SC, USA

problem #6

Dec 132014

CTS

  • 32,200 miles
Driving down road and slowed down to veer into left turn lane and power steering failed. Steering became very stiff and very difficult to steer. Managed to get car into left lane and came to a stop. Lucky it was not my wife driving as she would of had great difficulty steering car. Put car in park and wiggled steering wheel back and fourth. Steering took several rotations of steering wheel but came back after 10 seconds or so. Decided to proceeded home. Did not drive again until day I took to dealer. Dealer says the seal is leaking and rack needs to be replaced at cost of almost $2000 car just went out of warranty about 4 months ago. Had major oil leak in may that required engine to be pulled. That was covered by warranty but dealer and Corp refusing to fix this issue. Car has been maintained in excellent condition, garaged and driven respectfully. No accident history.

- Tarpon Springs, FL, USA

problem #5

Apr 022014

CTS 6-cyl

  • miles
S10 appropriate handling- letter to the secretary from constituents re copy of letter to mary barra, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), General Motors expressing dissatisfaction with after service care. The consumer stated there was a loud ticking noise coming from the vehicle, when it was started. The dealer inspected the vehicle, and assured the consumer the vehicle was dependable. On May 27, 2014 the consumer felt a mild vibration through the steering wheel. The dealer stated the balance was off, but everything was fine. On June 15, 2014, while driving, the consumer heard a loud bang, then a rough ticking sound and felt a shudder through the steering wheel. He gently braked and pulled over to the shoulder, inspected the vehicle, but found nothing wrong. After the vehicle was inspected again, and being told there was nothing wrong. He continued to experience a vibration through the steering wheel, and the thumping became more pronounced. Also, the vehicle lurched and a loud bang and heavy vibration, was flt throughout the car. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer. The consumer explained to the dealer about the vibration tear in the cloth shield he discovered, the tow truck driver brought two of the four that held the drive shaft together to the service representative. The dealer informed the consumer the vibration tear was a cigarette burn, and the drive shaft bolts falling out of the vehicle and bearing failure were issues address several times before. After the vehicle was returned to the consumer, there was low pitched whistle during light to moderate acceleration, which he did not hear when he first purchased the vehicle. Also, there was a light weight oil/fluid leaking from under the engine area. He noticed the fuel consumption range had dropped from 17-18 mpg to 15 mpg. The rear end felt less stable and there was a slight shift when coming off driveways or over uneven pavement. (2011 Cadillac Cts).

- Saint Charles, MO, USA

problem #4

May 242014

CTS 6-cyl

  • 17,400 miles
Driving on a curvy country road the engine suddenly died, I lost power steering and almost ran off the road. I was able to coast to a stop. I put the car in park and it started immediately. The car does not have an ignition key, only a fob. The engine is 3.6 Cts 4. I drove 2 miles back home and parked the car and will not drive it again until a resolution is obtained for the problem.

- Manassas , VA, USA

problem #3

Dec 012011

CTS 6-cyl

  • 500 miles
When backing out of driveway and turning the steering wheel to the right we noticed a pronounced thump that was very noticeable and worrisome. We checked with the dealer and couldn't find the problem and the dealer checked with General Motors who said it was a design flaw and couldn't do anything about it. It has been doing the same thing up to this date. The thump is so great we wonder if it is not damaging the car.

- Woodbridge, VA, USA

problem #2

Nov 182013

CTS

  • 20,000 miles
My husband was driving in our community, about 15 mph. He made a right hand turn and the control arm snapped in half, the wheel broke off and the frame came crashing to the ground. We have owned the car for less than 3 weeks. Aaa towed the car to the nearest dealership. The dealership refuses to fix the car under the manufacturer's warranty claiming that the car had to have been in an accident. We have neighbors who heard the thud and came to see what happened. There was no accident/collision. We have driven the car a couple hundred miles. This shouldn't have happened. Cadillac told us we needed to file a claim with our insurance company. The dealership estimates $12,000 in damage.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #1

Oct 082010

CTS

  • 500 miles
While in reverse, front steering seams to skip. It feels like a 4WD. I took it to an authorized dealer and they told me it was normal. They even showed me a bulletin from GM that explained the problem was normal and to do no repairs. After driving 15,000 miles, it has steadily gotten worse. I took it in again. Again they told me it was normal. While there, they tried to sell me new tires because my rear tires are bald. They said it was from high speed starts. I explained that a 73 year old person(my wife) is not out drag racing and there for, they must be defective tires. They contacted Continental tires(the maker of the tires) whom replaced the tires, but stated 15 to 20 thousand miles are average for those tires. At $500 each, I would expect to get more miles out of the tires. Not happy at all.

- Goshen, IN, USA