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Cadillac · NHTSA safety record

2017 Cadillac XT5

Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.

Owners have filed 124 safety complaints about the 2017 Cadillac XT5 with the US government. Of those, 6 describe a crash, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. One recall campaign is open against it, covering the hydraulic brakes.

The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 26 complaints, 21% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 14,000 miles, the median across the 68 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers June 2016 to September 2026 · How this is counted

What is on file

124 complaints on file

124

Complaints

6

Describe a crash

0

Mention fire

2

People injured

0

Deaths

A complaint is an unverified account by the person who filed it, not a finding of fault. One complaint is one ODI number, which is how NHTSA counts them.

Complaints halved year on year: 9 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 18 in the twelve before.

A recall is the manufacturer conceding a defect, and the repair is free. Whether one covers your particular car is a question only its VIN can answer, because a campaign covers a production range rather than a model year.

Which system owners named

Complaints naming each system
POWER TRAIN 26 · 21%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 26 · 21%
ENGINE 24 · 19%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 21 · 17%
STEERING 15 · 12%
SERVICE BRAKES 14 · 11%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 9 · 7%
WHEELS 8 · 6%
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 · 4%
SUSPENSION 5 · 4%
AIR BAGS 4 · 3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 4 · 3%
0 12 23

Red marks a system with a recall campaign against it. One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 124.

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2017 at 21.

24 18 12 6
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2016 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.

Crash test ratings

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program

NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2017 Cadillac XT5, and it is a separate question from what owners report going wrong later.

Test SUV AWD SUV FWD
Overall
Frontal crash
Frontal, driver
Frontal, passenger
Side crash
Side barrier
Side pole
Rollover
Chance of rollover 15.1% 16.9%
Stability control standard Forward collision warning standard Lane departure warning standard

A rating belongs to a tested body style and drivetrain, not to the model as a whole, which is why more than one is listed. A dash means NHTSA did not rate that test for this vehicle.

Recall campaigns

1 on file

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER

16V802000 · November 4, 2016

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2017 Cadillac XT5 vehicles manufactured April 16, 2016, to May 9, 2016, and 2017 GMC Acadia vehicles manufactured April 19, 2016, to April 22, 2016. The front brake calipers may have a torn or misaligned caliper piston seal which may allow brake fluid to leak.
The risk
If there is a brake fluid leak, braking performance may be reduced, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the front brake calipers, replacing the brake caliper assemblies, as necessary, free of charge. The recall began on December 12, 2016. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 16096.

General Motors LLC · up to 1,844 vehicles across all model years covered

In owners’ own words

Quoted from the complaint file

Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.

POWER TRAIN

1 injured · crash · towed · 33,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CADILLAC XT5. WHILE THE CONTACT'S WIFE WAS DRIVING AT A LOW RATE OF SPEED, THE VEHICLE SHUT OFF WITHOUT WARNING. AFTER RESTARTING THE VEHICLE, IT SHUT OFF YET AGAIN. AFTER THE SECOND RESTART, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT'S WIFE ATTEMPTED MULTIPLE TIMES TO DEPRESS THE BRAKE PEDAL AND SHUT OFF THE VEHICLE USING THE PUSH START FEATURE, BUT WAS UNSUCCESFUL. AS A RESULT, THE CONTACT'S WIFE CRASHED INTO AN EMBANKMENT AT AN UNKNOWN RATE OF SPEED. THE AIR BAGS DEPLOYED UPON IMPACT. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES, DUE TO THE AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT, TO HER MOUTH AND LEFT ARM. MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT

NHTSA complaint 11290839, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SEAT BELTS

1 injured · crash · towed

i was involved in a front end collision with a car that pulled out in front of me without looking. I ended up T-boning the car at approx. 20-25 MPH. Both myself and my wife were wearing our seat belts. Mine held but the passenger one held only the lap belt part. The shoulder part of the SB allowed her face to go crashing into the dashboard. She ended up with abdominal injuries and head trauma. I took it to the dealer and they say the seat belt will need to be replaced as it is defective. (You think). I can pull on the shoulder strap rapidly and it will not 'catch'.

NHTSA complaint 11622149. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS

crash · towed · 7,000 miles

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2017 CADILLAC XT5. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE PARKED, THE VEHICLE ACCELERATED RAPIDLY WITHOUT WARNING AND CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SUSTAINED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A REPAIR SHOP. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 7,000.

NHTSA complaint 10917280. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

SERVICE BRAKES

crash · towed · 7,200 miles

BRAKES FAILED. COMING TO A STOP SIGN ON CR 13, BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. BRAKES DID NOT SLOW OR STOP THE CAR AT ALL. PUMPED THE BRAKES 3 OR 4 TIMES, NO BRAKING. WENT THRU STOP SIGN HITTING ANOTHER VEHICLE. AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. AUTOMATIC BRAKING SYSTEM DID NOT ACTIVATE. ESTIMATES I WAS 50 YARDS FROM THE STOP SIGN WHEN I FIRST APPLIED THE BRAKES, SPEED BETWEEN 20-30 MPH.

NHTSA complaint 11056044. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
The problem I am having with my car is a safety issue and their is not a safety recall on my model 2017 but their is one on model 2018 with same issue as mine, the issue I have is every time I fill my gas tank full or halft tank and when I live the gas station hit the road when I stop at a red light or stop sigh the car start shaking and turn off, I have to put the car on park and turn back on and start driving, car shakes while driving and at next red light it turns off again i wait until lights turns green and turn it back on. I replace many parts and nothing seeings to work I believe this comes from manufacturing issues. I am the second owner and I bought it with 21k miles used. But 2018

NHTSA complaint 11766813, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I bought this vehicle with 74k miles the car when cold starts well but when you start to drive and at 24 miles an hour it kicks then shutting till 30 mph then once warm the kick goes away but you feel a little kick when down shifting I contact GM about it was told no recall the previous owner said he took it when it had about 50k miles and they said the same thing so I took the vehicle to ammaco transmission shop they serviced it and the car still had the issue they told me it could be an issue with software.. I called once more to Cadillac and was told no recalls.. so I just feel like I have to give up and just drive it till it stops… I spoke to a retired mechanic and was told to leave you

NHTSA complaint 11765453, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
The thermostat quit working. I've researched this issue and have seen this is a very common issue usually occurring when the vehicle has somewhere between 45000 to 55000 miles.

NHTSA complaint 11760374. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
I purchased the car on XXX. The car has been returned to the service department within the first 3 days. Sold to me without getting fully inspected. Service department did put new brakes and rotors on and I was told (no paperwork given to me) an oil change was done. On XXX in traffic on a dangerous highway, the car cut off. The car was not able to be jumped with AAA, was towed to [XXX]/GMC Service department. I was told by the Asst Svc Manager, on XXX the Tech told him My car was the starter. The part would have to be ordered and would not be ready to the following week. On July 7th I received a call from the SVC Mgr that the engine blew. I had to pull teeth to get the Mgr to pay for the

NHTSA complaint 11751756, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

AIR BAGS
My passenger side, dashboard bowls up in the heat and doesn’t seat properly. My fear for safety is that if I’m in an accident that airbag will not come out due to the dash bubbling because of the defect.. It seems to be an only problem with the platinum editions of the Cadillac XT5’s. There’s no warning lamps and it has not been inspected.

NHTSA complaint 11751374. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

ENGINE
I had P0128 Code with a warning message " Steering assist is reduced, drive with care". My local mechanic told I need a new thermostat. I have replaced my thermostat and it cost me 700 dollars out of pocket.

NHTSA complaint 11749125. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Cadillac XT5

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2025 6 1 —
2024 10 3 —
2023 15 4 —
2022 10 3 —
2021 16 2 —
2020 23 5 —
2019 32 0 —
2018 66 0 —

Other 2017 Cadillac models

Escalade 51 Escalade ESV 38 ATS 32 CTS 27 XTS 24 CT6 17

Complaints on file, same model year.

Every Cadillac on this site — 97 vehicles.

If this is your car and a dealer keeps failing to fix it, your state's lemon law may require the manufacturer to replace it or buy it back. How many repair attempts it takes, and how long you have to file, is set by the state you bought in and by nothing on this page.

Where these numbers come from

A complaint is one owner's account and has not been verified by NHTSA or by us. A vehicle with more complaints is not necessarily worse: models that sold in larger numbers collect more of them. How this is counted.

Compiled and maintained by
Independent developer and analyst