Cadillac · NHTSA safety record
Every safety complaint, recall and defect investigation the US government holds on this vehicle.
Owners have filed 66 safety complaints about the 2018 Cadillac XT5 with the US government. Of those, 2 describe a crash, 1 mentions a fire, 2 people were injured and no death is recorded. No recall campaign has been matched to this year, make and model.
The most complained-about system is the engine, named in 15 complaints, 23% of the total. The typical failure was reported at 31,640 miles, the median across the 22 complaints that gave an odometer reading.
Compiled from NHTSA's complaint, recall and investigation files · Covers May 2018 to May 2026 · How this is counted
66
Complaints
2
Describe a crash
1
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 more than doubled year on year: 14 in the twelve months to 2026-Q2, against 7 in the twelve before.
No recall campaign was matched to this year, make and model. That is not the same as a clean vehicle: recalls are issued against production ranges, and the only reliable check is your own VIN.
One complaint can name several systems, so these add up to more than 66.
By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 11.
This is the year the complaint was filed, not the year the failure happened. The range runs from 2018 to 2026, the last of them a part year, which is why its column is drawn faint.
NHTSA crashes a car into a barrier and a pole and measures what happens to the dummies inside. This is what it awarded the 2018 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% |
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.
Quoted from NHTSA's complaint file. These are unverified accounts by the people who filed them, not findings of fault.
2 injured · 10,000 miles
IF EITHER TRACKS OF THE FRONT SEATS ARE NOT PERFECTLY ALIGNED WITH THE BASE, SOME VERY SHARP METAL IS EXPOSED. IT HAS CUT TWO TOES SO FAR WHEN EXITING THE CAR. IF IT CUTS MY FATHER MAJOR PROBLEM, HE IS A HEMOPHILIAC. CADILLAC SAYS FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED. FUNNY.
NHTSA complaint 11130711. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
fire
Driving down the road and my 2018 Cadillac XT5 started on fire for no reason and no engine lights came on. I loss all driving control power steering in the matter of seconds and was trapped in the car waiting for cars to clear so I can run out. The car is with my insurance company the car is now a total loss and I don't think they will investigate. I called GM to make a complaint. The fireman said he had just put a fire out on the same car a week ago. I found out that we have 2 more cars in the Macomb county MI area that caught on fire in the last 3 months same type of car.
NHTSA complaint 11466228. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
crash · towed
After exiting a car wash (automated)on Monday-7/3/23, I was attempting to stop my vehicle so I could dry the exterior with towels. I was on the car wash property and as I approached an area that was open, I attempted to stop the vehicle, the engine revved very high and the vehicle took off at a very high speed in fractions of a second. The vehicle then climbed over a flower embankment and hit the wall of the Car wash. The impact was so great that it put a large hole in the wall and ruptured a main water line creating a huge water leak. The fire department and police officer arrived at the scene to make a report. My initial thought was that my sandal may have got trapped but after returning
NHTSA complaint 11530753, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
crash · 45,000 miles
I WAS STOPPED BY A ROAD CREW. THERE WERE 3 CARS IN FRONT OF ME AND AS I WAITED FOR THEM TO LET US THROUGH ABOUT 10 CARS WERE STOPPED BEHIND ME. I WAS LISTENING TO THE RADIO WHEN I HAD THE WEIRD SENSATION THAT I WAS GOING BACKWARDS INSTEAD OF BEING STOPPED. I LOOKED AROUND, REALIZED I WAS GOING BACKWARDS AND WENT TO HIT THE BREAK BUT MY CAR HAD ALREADY HIT THE CAR BEHIND ME. THE MAN IN THE CAR BEHIND ME TOLD THE POLICE OFFICER THAT RESPONDED THAT HE DID NOT SEE BACK UP LIGHTS OR ANY INDICATOR THAT THE CAR WAS IN REVERSE. I DIDN'T TOUCH THE GEAR SHIFT. THERE IS NO REASON FOR THE CAR TO GO IN REVERSE. THE PHOTO BELOW SHOWS THE DAMAGE DONE TO THE CAR MY VEHICLE HIT.
NHTSA complaint 11337124. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
Check engine light sensor came on in mid-May which is the result of a faulty thermostat, also triggering a "Steering Assist is Reduced" message on the dashboard which I consider to be a safety issue. This is a known and common problem for this make, year and model and the cost to fix the problem is very expensive. This issue has been reported by many Cadillac owners on their forum. My mechanic confirmed the problem with the thermostat caused the steering assist is reduced message, along with the air conditioning malfunctioning.
NHTSA complaint 11740245. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
Thermostat failure causes steering assist to be reduced. This leaves more difficult steering especially in an emergency situation, thus a safety concern. The vehicle displays a warning: "Steering Assist Is Reduced, Drive with care". An internet search shows this is a well-known problem across all General Motor vehicles. This is also indicated by the technician notes on my repair invoice that a bulletin from the manufacturer has been issued. After restart the warning clears leaving the driver to believe all is well. After a number of miles it reappears.
NHTSA complaint 11737788. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
My windshield has a lot of spider and has never been hit with anything. They spread from the bottom up
NHTSA complaint 11729876. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
While driving at highway speeds, I needed to accelerate hard in order to pass another vehicle and while accelerating there was a downshift and increase in RPM. After passing, the RPM remained high even after I took foot off accelerator and it seemed the transmission did not shift back out of lower gear, keeping the car traveling at a high rate of speed, endangering myself and other traffic. Applying the brakes would not cause the engine to slow down and the engine kept working hard and traveling fast, causing strain on the brakes to slow down. I pulled over and initially shifted to neutral, but the engine was still revving high (4000 rpm observed). Then I placed the car in park which did
NHTSA complaint 11727656, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
towed · 2,000 miles
The contact owns a 2018 Cadillac XT5. The vehicle was recently purchased, and while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to accelerate as intended while depressing the accelerator pedal. In addition, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 5 MPH with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The dealer was notified and sent a mobile mechanic to the residence to diagnose the vehicle; however, no cause for the failure was found. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, and it was diagnosed that the emission starter module had failed. The dealer reprogrammed the emission starter module. The contact stated that a week after the repairs were performed, while driving at an undisclosed
NHTSA complaint 11725505, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
To Whom It May Concern,I am writing to formally report a safety concern involving my 2018 Cadillac XT5, VIN [XXX] . Recently, my vehicle displayed a “Steering Assist Reduced” message on the dashboard while driving. This warning significantly increases the physical effort required to steer the vehicle, especially at low speeds, and I believe it presents a genuine safety hazard.Upon taking the vehicle to an authorized Cadillac dealership, I was informed that the vehicle had stored diagnostic trouble code P0128 (Engine Coolant Temperature Below Thermostat Regulating Temperature). The dealer explained that a malfunctioning thermostat caused the steering assist reduction message to appear.
NHTSA complaint 11712970, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.
| 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 | — |
| 2017 | 124 | 1 | — |
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.
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 guarledes
Independent developer and analyst