CSR

Cadillac · NHTSA safety record

2020 Cadillac CT5

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

38

Complaints

2

Crashes

0

Fires

2

Injuries

0

Deaths

Owners of the 2020 Cadillac CT5 have filed 38 safety complaints with NHTSA between June 2020 and August 2026. The most complained-about system is the power train, named in 14 of them (37%). The typical failure was reported at 12,000 miles, the median across the 11 complaints that gave an odometer reading.

NHTSA has issued 4 recalls covering this vehicle.

Recalls (4)

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

25V148000 · March 6, 2025

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, 2020-2021 CT4, CT5, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro vehicles equipped with a 10-speed transmission. The transmission may become damaged internally and cause the wheels to lock-up.
The risk
Wheel lock-up while driving increases the risk of a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will install transmission control module monitoring software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 7, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242480630.

General Motors, LLC · up to 90,081 vehicles across all model years covered

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:LIGHTING CONTROL MODULE:SOFTWARE

22V903000 · December 8, 2022

The defect
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Cadillac CT4 and CT5; 2021-2023 Buick Envision; and 2022-2023 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The daytime running lights (DRLs) may not deactivate when the headlights are on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
The risk
DRLs that do not deactivate as intended may result in a glare, reducing visibility, and increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
The body control module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2023. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N222386380. This recall expands previous recall number 22V-827.

General Motors, LLC · up to 740,108 vehicles across all model years covered · fixed by software update

AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN

21V611000 · August 5, 2021

The defect
General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Cadillac CT4 and CT5 vehicles. The roof rail side-curtain air bags may not have been installed correctly, which could result in an improper air bag deployment during a crash.
The risk
Air bags that do not deploy properly can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
The remedy
Dealers will inspect both left and right-side roof rail air bags and reinstall the air bags, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 30, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212342780.

General Motors, LLC · up to 34,157 vehicles across all model years covered

SERVICE BRAKES

20V588000 · September 24, 2020

The defect
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac CT4, CT5 and XT4, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020-2021 Buick Encore GX vehicles. Sensor connection contamination in the electronic brake boost system may cause an interruption of communication between the sensor and the brake boost system.
The risk
If communication with the sensor is interrupted, the electronic brake boost assist could be lost. Extra pedal force will be required to slow and stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
The remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electronic brake boost module, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is A202307260.

General Motors LLC · up to 3,677 vehicles across all model years covered

Defect investigations (1)

An investigation means NHTSA has decided a pattern is worth examining. A preliminary evaluation is often closed with no action; an engineering analysis is the stage that usually precedes a recall.

Air Bag Malfunction

PE21010

Closed preliminary evaluation · opened April 9, 2021 · closed August 24, 2023

the air bags

On April 9, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE21-010 to investigate instances of air bag malfunction indicator light (MIL) illumination and potential for frontal air bag non-deployment in several vehicles manufactured by General Motors (GM). The vehicles included model year (MY) 2020 through 2021 CT4 and CT5 passenger cars, Sierra and Silverado trucks (1500/2500/3500 models), XT4 and MY 2021 Escalade, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon SUVs.Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 21-NA-005, issued in March 2021, addresses air bag MIL illumination with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) B0001-1B or B0012-0D. It cites rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver air bag inflator housing as the cause of the air bag MIL illumination. Illumination of the air bag MIL under these circumstances may result in a non-deployment of the frontal driver air bag during a frontal collision and increased risk of injury to the driver.GM stated a correlation exists between production delays due to the pandemic shutdown and premature corrosion initiation on the surface of the air bag inflator housing, which, in some cases, caused rust development during a seven (7) month period of vehicle production. In the rare instance when a rust particle dislodges from the driver air bag inflator housing and enters the air bag connector prior to assembly, an intermittent resistance spike at the air bag connector may result. The condition generates excessive resistance in the air bag electrical system when the steering wheel horn cover is manipulated or the steering wheel is turned. This excessive resistance is momentary. A crash commanding air bag deployment would need to occur exactly when the momentary excessive resistance occurs. Thus, there is a very low likelihood the hazard will present a risk during a crash of sufficient severity to warrant a commanded deployment. This failure mechanism occurs early in life and results in an air bag MIL illumination that corresponds to a DTC warning the driver that the vehicle requires service. The vehicle's air bag remains functional while the MIL is illuminated, and the DTC is present.Once the connection of the driver air bag module to the clockspring is made at the plant, or at the dealership for service, there is no longer an opportunity for rust migration into the connection point. The connector is sealed and has gold terminals, eliminating the expectation of fretting corrosion. All subject vehicles passed standard corrosion validation testing for extensive corrosion with no issue of air bag non-deployment.There is a low rate of occurrence: 1.41 incidents per thousand vehicles (IPTV) for all related occurrences, and 0.04 IPTV for occurrences with a mention of visible rust and/or corrosion on the air bag inflator housing. The average occurrence mileage for the subject vehicles is approximately 2,100. Every occurrence related to the alleged defect experienced an air bag MIL illumination and there are no verified allegations of air bag non-deployment within all data sources.To date, there have been no reported fires, crashes, injuries, or fatalities related to this issue. In view of the low rate, and the nature of early-life failure, the high detectability of failures, and low potential hazard to drivers, this Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by new circumstances.Review the ODI reports cited above at nhtsa.gov under the following identification numbers: 11537927, 11528888, 11525020, 11521401, 11506057, 11493107, 11486767, 11441525, 11433146, 11425658, 11423440, 11385267, 11376429, 11373466, 11366995.

What owners report

Complaints naming each system. One complaint can name several, so these add up to more than 38.

POWER TRAIN 14 37%
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 11 29%
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 21%
ENGINE 7 18%
STRUCTURE 5 13%
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES 2 5%
STEERING 2 5%
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 5%
WHEELS 2 5%
AIR BAGS 1 3%
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC) 1 3%
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 1 3%

When the complaints arrived

By the year NHTSA received them, which is not the year the failures happened. They peaked in 2025 at 15.

2020 2025 2026
2020 to 2026, the last of them a part year

In owners' own words

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

AIR BAGS

2 injured · crash · towed

I have had many issues with Onstar failing. I bought the 2020 Cadillac CT5 AWD 10/2020. It took Onstar over a month to connect to my car to provide AT&T internet plan (via Onstar). On 4/22/21 I was hit in my driver front & wheel, Onstar failed- never contacted us & the airbags did not deploy. I noticed my Onstar light was red. Onstar was repaired during the body shop repair. Soon after I picked up the car (approximately 1 month) the SRS light came on & Onstar turned red again on 7/31/21. Dropped off the car to be repaired 8/13/21. After repair, SRS light came on again on 8/29/21. Then 10/4/21 the entire CUE system malfunctioned, could not use Carplay, Car Internet would not work, &

NHTSA complaint 11439475, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN

crash

While slowing down vehicle felt as if it was put into park momentarily, which cause car to slide on ice. After reading the recall, I am certain that the transmission failed. Car was towed to Ray Skillman cheverolet on south post road in Indianapolis, to which they already ran the vin and agreed to perform the recall. After they realized it was a more serious problem than software, they refused to work on the vehicle. So they worked on it long enough to find out they would have to cover it, then denied that they would do any work. They stated that the title is branded. The BMV has no brands listed on title. The service guy Ryan laughed at me today when I stated that it was dangerous, and

NHTSA complaint 11710542, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES

46,000 miles

The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and using the key fob to open the door, the door on the driver’s side failed to open. The failure was a recurring failure. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with an exterior door handle failure on the driver’s side. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.

NHTSA complaint 11754827. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

STRUCTURE:BODY
Electronic door hand on the drivers side completely stopped working, with little warning. This includes the proximity unlock feature and unlocking the car with the fob. If this were to have happened to all four doors at once, it would have been impossible to enter the car without breaking the glass. This is not safe.

NHTSA complaint 11752920. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The left passenger door will not open manually nor with key fob. It has caused me to not allow back seat passengers including grand children for fear if necessary to get out in an emergency and I am left to wonder if the driver door will go into lock position during a collision and that would be life threatening. I tried holding the lock and unlock at the same time for 3sec and that didn’t work. The dealership said it would cost around $800 or more to take the door off and try to find the problem and I would probably have to get a new door and try to match the paint. I really need help with this issue because I have less than 20,000 miles on my car. I have seen online that there’re many

NHTSA complaint 11750891, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
Lockhart Cadillac Service Department committed warranty fraud by charging me on multiple occasions for repairs that should have been covered under GM/Cadillac 2025 Transmission Recall & Special Extended Warranties. The transmission has continued to deteriorate. I took the vehicle in on July 1, 2026 for recall service and was told it needed a valve body replacement. However, they are demanding again that I pay for it and refusing to submit it as a recall repair. They have had my vehicle 15 days and refuse to provide written documentation of actual diagnosis, TAC has not been submitted, they have not provided GM/Cadillac or myself with any written documentation as to why it wouldn’t be

NHTSA complaint 11750953, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is some type of mechanical or electrical malfunction with the door locking system. I can not unlock or enter the car using the fan or by any mechanism from outside the car. This has left my fiance & infant trapped in the car. My fiance has to reach over and manually open the driver side door from inside the vehicle. However, I can no longer drive with only my infant in the car for fear she will be trapped inside.

NHTSA complaint 11750954. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

POWER TRAIN
While driving my 2020 Cadillac CT5 at highway speeds, the vehicle suffered a sudden and dangerous total loss of motive power. The transmission completely failed without warning, creating an immediate, severe safety hazard as I was forced to navigate across multiple active lanes of high-speed highway traffic without acceleration.The vehicle was towed to an authorized Cadillac dealership. The technician's diagnostic inspection confirmed that the internal transmission pump drive gear completely shattered, sending catastrophic metal debris throughout the entire transmission system. The dealership has recommended a total transmission system replacement.This internal pump gear failure is a

NHTSA complaint 11740017, quoted in part. Filed by an owner and not verified by NHTSA or by us.

Compare

Other years of the Cadillac CT5

Model year Complaints Recalls Deaths
2023 11 1
2022 10 2
2021 21 4

Other 2020 Cadillac models

Every Cadillac on this site — 91 vehicles, 198 recall campaigns and 4 open investigation s.

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. What each state asks for , read from the statutes.

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