2015 Cadillac CTS

Typical pattern

3% of complaints about the 2015 Cadillac CTS came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2015 vehicle — around the middle of the 195 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 6.7 yr in service. The most-reported system is power train (19 complaints), typically at 6.9 yr or about 78,000 miles.

Complaints: 67
Median age at failure: 6.7 yr
Median mileage: 42,200 n=32
Crash / fire / tow: 10.4% of reports
Safety recalls: 3

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

26V329000 2026-05-21

Air bags:frontal:driver side:inflator module

General 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.

An inflator rupture may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.

18V595000 2018-09-07

Seats:front assembly:seat heater/cooler

General 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.

In cold ambient temperatures, the seat heaters in these vehicles can turn on automatically when the vehicle is remotely started. If a damaged seat heater is turned on while no one is inside the vehicle, the damaged seat heater can overheat, increasing the risk of a fire.

15V358000 2015-06-09

Service brakes, hydraulic:pedals and linkages

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2015 Cadillac ATS and CTS vehicles. The affected vehicles have a bracket between the brake pedal assembly and the rod that actuates the brakes that may fracture during normal brake pedal operation.

If the bracket fractures, the driver would not be able to apply the brakes, increasing the risk of a crash.

In owners’ own words

Power train 15,100 mi 2.3 yr in service

THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED ON ITS OWN WHEN IT WAS IN PARK, WITH THE EMERGENCY BRAKE ENGAGED, AND THE ENGINE WAS TURNED OFF. HOME SECURITY CAMERA CAPTURED THE ENTIRE INCIDENT ON FILM. WOULD BE HAPPY TO PROVIDE THE NHTSA WITH THE FOOTAGE.

Power train 38,000 mi 4.9 yr in service

WHEN IDLING OR WHEN YOU COLD START THE CAR IT TENDS TO HAVE A SLIGHT SHAKE/TREMBLE FEEL ALL THROUGHOUT THE CAR EVEN PASSENGERS FELT IT ALSO WHEN ACCELERATING SLOWLY AND YOU HIT 15 MPH CAR TENDS TO SHIFT HARD INTO 2ND GEAR

Power train mileage not reported 5.6 yr in service

ENGINE SOUNDS LIKE A TRUCK, WHILE DRIVING. JUST PURCHASED THE VEHICLE. 30,000 MILES ON ODOMETER.

Other CTS model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2015 Cadillac CTS

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

Safety recalls — NHTSA campaigns

In owners’ own words

Other CTS model years

How to read this