2016 Cadillac CTS: owner complaints and recalls

Owners have filed 31 complaints about the 2016 Cadillac CTS and NHTSA has issued 4 recall campaigns. The most-reported system is electrical system, named in 10 of them.

31
Complaints
4
Recalls
0
Crash reports
1
Fire reports
1
Injuries
45.2
Severity index

Severity index 45.2 - Medium. It weights crashes, fires, injuries and fatalities per 100 complaints, so a vehicle attracting serious reports scores above one attracting many trivial ones (how this is calculated).

Middle half of all tracked vehiclesThis vehicle: 45.2p25 35p75 96cleanestworst
Where the 2016 Cadillac CTS sits against the quartiles of every vehicle we track.

What actually fails

Electrical SystemElectrical System: 10 complaints (32.3%)10 32%Power TrainPower Train: 9 complaints (29.0%)9 29%SteeringSteering: 4 complaints (12.9%)4 13%Unknown Or OtherUnknown Or Other: 4 complaints (12.9%)4 13%SuspensionSuspension: 4 complaints (12.9%)4 13%EngineEngine: 4 complaints (12.9%)4 13%StructureStructure: 3 complaints (9.7%)3 10%Air BagsAir Bags: 2 complaints (6.5%)2 6%
Systems named in complaints. One complaint can name several, so shares overlap.
ComponentComplaintsShare of complaints citing it
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM1032.3%
POWER TRAIN929.0%
STEERING412.9%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER412.9%
SUSPENSION412.9%
ENGINE412.9%
STRUCTURE39.7%
AIR BAGS26.5%

Complaints filed per year

0362016: 12017: 62019: 22020: 62021: 42022: 42023: 12024: 22025: 51617619202122232425
Complaints filed per calendar year, not model year. The hatched bar is the current year and is still incomplete.
YearComplaints
20161
20176
20192
20206
20214
20224
20231
20242
20255
Complaint volume is declining, consistent with a defect that was addressed by recall or that affected early builds.

Recall campaigns

CampaignReportedComponentSummary
18V59500007/09/2018SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:SEAT HEATER/COOLERGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2014-2016 Cadillac CTS vehicles, equipped with heated front seats. The flexible heating mats in the front seats may be damaged over time, resulting in the seat heaters producing excessive heat.
19V08600007/02/2019STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEMGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Cadillac CTS, and 2017 Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Camaro, and Chevrolet Corvette vehicles. The electric power steering (EPS) assist system may fail.
25V17500020/03/2025STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEMGeneral Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2016-2018 Cadillac CTS, 2017-2018 Cadillac ATS, Chevrolet Camaro, and Chevrolet Corvette vehicles. The electric power steering (EPS) assist may fail.
26V32900021/05/2026AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:DRIVER SIDE:INFLATOR MODULEGeneral Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, XTS, 2015-2016 Cadillac ATS, CTS, and SRX vehicles. The front-driver air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.
Source. US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration public complaint and recall APIs (api.nhtsa.gov), retrieved 2026-07-25. Complaints are unverified consumer reports; volume is influenced by how many units were sold and how long the vehicle has been on the road. Not affiliated with NHTSA or any manufacturer.