Cadillac XT5 Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data
Comparing used Cadillac XT5 options? We analyzed 10 model years (2017–2026) using real NHTSA complaint and recall data so you can spot stronger years, avoid riskier ones, and know what to inspect before buying.
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- Accident & damage history
- Odometer rollback records
- Open recalls & title brands
Based on NHTSA complaint data, the Cadillac XT5 has 292 owner complaints and 19 safety recalls across model years 2017–2026. The most reported issue area is POWER TRAIN. 2017 drew the most complaints; 2022 drew the fewest.
- Make
- Cadillac
- Model
- XT5
- Model years analyzed
- 2017–2026 (10 years)
- Total NHTSA complaints
- 292
- Safety recall campaigns
- 19
- Crash-related complaints
- 17
- Fire-related complaints
- 3
- Worst model year (by complaints)
- 2017 (121 complaints)
- Best model year (fewest complaints)
- 2022 (9 complaints)
- Top reported issue area
- POWER TRAIN
- Reliability signal
- Poor
By model year
Cadillac XT5: which years to avoid & which to buy
Based on total NHTSA owner complaints per model year. Higher complaint counts indicate a riskier year to buy used — lower counts suggest a cleaner reliability record.
These years have the most owner complaints. Inspect carefully and always run a VIN check.
These years have the fewest owner complaints on record — lower risk starting points.
Crash test ratings
NHTSA NCAP crash test ratings
New Car Assessment ProgramNCAP crash tests measure how well a vehicle protects occupants in controlled frontal crash, side crash, and rollover scenarios. Stars are awarded per category (5 = safest). These laboratory results are independent of owner complaints and are performed by NHTSA engineers on new production vehicles.
Source: nhtsa.gov/ratings
What the complaint data suggests
PoorThe CADILLAC XT5 has 292 NHTSA complaints and 19 recalls on record. 17 complaints involve crash-related incidents. This data reflects owner-reported issues submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- 292 total complaints filed with NHTSA
- 19 federal recall campaigns
- 17 crash-related complaints on record
- Review NHTSA complaint history for the most-reported components
- Check recall completion status at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Verify service records for frequently complained components
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with elevated complaint rates.
Consult the by-year breakdown to identify model years with fewer reported issues.
- Run a VIN check on the specific vehicle you are considering
- Verify all open recalls are completed at nhtsa.gov/recalls
- Request service records for the most-reported complaint components
- Have a certified mechanic inspect the vehicle before purchase
Problems by model year (best vs. worst)
Source: NHTSA public complaints database. Updated: Jul 2026
Safety recalls
NHTSA safety recalls
19 recalls foundSafety recalls are mandatory repair campaigns ordered by NHTSA when a vehicle defect poses an unreasonable risk to safety. Manufacturers are required to fix recalled vehicles free of charge. Always verify open recalls before buying a used car.
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DRIVESHAFT
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS
TIRES
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
SUSPENSION:REAR
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
TIRES
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
AIR BAGS:SIDE/WINDOW:CURTAIN:INFLATOR
BACK OVER PREVENTION: SENSING SYSTEM: CAMERA
EQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
Source: NHTSA Recalls Database. Data covers model years 2017–2026. Always run a VIN-specific check below for the most up-to-date open recall status.
Common problems
What goes wrong most often
The vehicle systems owners complain about most, ranked from all 292 NHTSA complaints — these are the areas to inspect first on a used car.
Owner complaints
NHTSA complaint reports
292 totalThese are consumer-submitted safety complaints filed directly with NHTSA. Each complaint describes a real owner's experience. Complaints flagged as crash-related or fire-related are highlighted.
The contact’s father-in-law owns a 2026 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while the owner was driving at an undisclosed speed going uphill, he was blinded by the sunlight and started driving onto the grass. The driver released the accelerator pedal, and within a second, the vehicle started rolling backwards. The accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle rolled down a steep hill and crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the START/STOP was activated during the failure, and it was a programming failure where the vehicle automatically went into neutral with no lights indicating the vehicle was shut off. The contact stated the vehicle was rolling backwards at 35 MPH. The rear floorboard of the back seat was crushed against the rear frame rail, panel, and suspension. The vehicle stopped after crashing into the tree. The contact stated that no air bags had deployed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 700.
Failed transmission--April 16, 2026 I was backing out of my garage when I heard a very loud bang noise and it stopped my car instantly. I thought I had hit something but I did not. On may 22, 2026. I stopped at a red light a few cars back but when the light changed the car would not go as it hesitated a few seconds (maybe 15) like it was not going to drive off but it did. On May 23, 2026, I was going up the driveway from my sisters house and again the very very loud bang noise and it stopped instantly. This time it pushed me toward the steering wheel, if I had been going a little faster I think the air bag would have popped out. This time the flasher come on like someone pulled out or I was going to hit something. I was told by the Cadillac service person that they would drive it cold today(May 26, 2026) and see if anything happens. Well I am not driving this car 55 miles per hour and it stops instantly maybe killing me and others on the road. I think this is a safety problem. I love my Cadillac but I do not want to die in it.
Rearview camera has perfect image when I put in reverse inside my garage but as soom as I exit the garage into sunlight, the image on the screen goes so dark you don't have a rear view for 18 to 20 seconds and by that time I am in the street. The dealer and Cadillac say this is normal. I have owned may GM vehicles and know this is not correct and dangerous
purchased 2024 XT5 brand new less than 6,000 miles SES light on..dealer states part failure w/transmission snap ring-traded vehicle for 2025 XT5. At 5,464 miles SES light comes on-another internal transmission part failure this time control valve body needed to be replaced. The control valve body is currently being recalled in the Cadillac CT5 but GM has not acknowledged issues with the control valve body on the XT5. After leaving the dealership after being serviced for a control valve body replacement I was involved in an accident 79 miles later/none of the safety features on this $60,000 vehicle engaged… no emergency braking… no vibration of seat…. no audible or visual alert stating approaching the vehicle to closely-NOTHING!
The contact owns a 2024 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 10 - 15 MPH and depressing the accelerator pedal, the vehicle failed to respond. There was an abnormal vibrating sound coming from the engine. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed, and determined that the transmission needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, and informed the contact to return the vehicle to the dealer for more diagnostic testing, and a case was opened. The failure mileage was 23,000.
On 1/13/2026 while driving on the 91 freeway near Long Beach California we heard a load Pop sound and then felt some air and outside notice in the car . Pulled over shortly and saw a large hole in the rear sun window with cracked glass everywhere. . Made an appointment at Penske Cadillac and a few days later they are checking to see if it’s covered under warranty. Also filled a claim with AAA . There was absolutely no rock or debris involved.
Read 14 more owner reports
The contact owns a 2024 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving approximately 55 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power with the RPM at 5,000. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had slowed down for traffic and was able to stop the vehicle. The vehicle was turned off and restarted, and the vehicle operated normally. The contact stated that the failure reoccurred and became an intermittent failure. Additionally, the vehicle was jerking into gear. The contact had taken the vehicle to a local dealer, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission needed to be rebuilt. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 2,500.
The vehicle made a loud racing noise like a truck and won’t move forward. I was driving on a busy street. I pulled over and turned the vehicle off, then restarted several times The check transmission light finally came on. I called for a tow and it was taken to the dealership after several days, I was advised that some of the components to the transmission were put in the the vehicle incorrectly.
Engine problem loss of power intermittently no reverse. They replaced clutch parts seals, piston, rings, plates, and plates. Had Vehicle for about 22 days. Driving home after repairs completed. Cluster display- instrument panel went out. Called Dealer and Cadillac assistance. Says there nothing they can do until Cadillac releases a fix. I believe vehicle is a safety risk for the second time with no remedy for instrument panel not functioning. Thank you Greg
Vehicle was shifting erratically and drastically delayed in the lower gears. Additionally, the vehicle was lurching and bucking. I was advised it may be the ring gear. The vehicle has 1034 miles.
Driver seat airbag randomly deployed. There was no warning in the car after it had gone off, and there was no warning before it went off. Could have resulted in a terrible accident.
Brand new 2024 XT5, 9 speed transmission, loss of power. Had to be towed to Cadillac dealership. I had vehicle for two weeks and as of this day almost three weeks latter no parts to fix. GM has been notified with no answer. It seems the recall needs to be extended to 2024 GM vehicles.
The contact owns a 2024 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed and approaching a vehicle ahead, the Forward Collision Avoidance system failed to activate, causing the contact to swerve to avoid a collision. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the sensors, informing the contact that the sensors needed to be reprogrammed. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The contact also stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed with manual mode activated, upon reaching 9th gear, the vehicle lost motive power and was unable to continue to accelerate. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but provided no assistance. The failure mileage was 9,200.
On 10/18/24 I was making a left turn out of my development when a vehicle crashed into the front driver portion of my vehicle. The vehicle was going approximately 40+mph. I was driving approximately 5-10 mph making the turn. I was wearing a seatbelt, hit my head on the drivers door jam/window and immediately complained of neck and head pain. No airbags deployed. I sustained a severely herniated disc at C5-6 causing severe spinal cord compression and cervical myelopathy requiring urgent surgery. It was found that I not only had the severely herniated disc but ligament and cartilage that was severely compressing my spinal cord due to the trauma of the accident. I had a seat belt sign (bruising from the seatbelt) and sustained a concussion from the head strike. If the airbags would have deployed likely I would have not had as severe of a cervical spine injury. The vehicle only had 663 miles and only 3 weeks old. The car has at least 21K of damages. The vehicle is still being repair and not in my possession. My collision shop towed by vehicle to GMC/Cadillac dealership for computer/electrical malfunctions. They have been working on these electrical issues for over 2 weeks. The dealership verbalized that they could not differentiate if these electrical issues occurred before or after my accident. Given my serious injuries and high rate of speed that I was hit I have concerns that my airbags should have deployed. Combine with the new electrical/computer issues raises my concerns.
I was driving using turn by turn directions and it told me to turn and I turned too soon and hit a telephone pole, front center. The airbags did not deploy and onstar did not recognize crash. I heard nothing from anyone. I called 911 to get the police to come and a wrecker driver. Even though I was wearing my seatbelt, my chest struck the steering wheel and my left hand was badly bruised. This is a serious safety concern. There is police report. Pictures were taken by the policeman.No one has touched the box that records things. It is at Newell Colkision Center, Fitzgerald, GA Owner- Harris Newell. I am waiting to get it repaired . I want someone to retrieve information on box. I want to make sure air bags and safety systems work before driving it. I was the only one in the car.
THE VECHICE TRANSMISSION JERKS WHEN STARTS TO MOVE. SQEAKING NOISE IN THE CV JOINTS BOOTS, the shifts gears module stays in sports mode, will not stay on in regular mode. Defective sensors to send signal to OnStar alarm theft .
The contact owns a 2022 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that the back-over prevention camera lines were very faint. The contact was unable to see the guidelines or the markings. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to fix the vehicle. The vehicle was diagnosed, and the contact was informed that the rearview camera was operating as designed. The mechanic was unable to duplicate the failure. The mechanic informed the contact that the dimming of the camera was normal operation while reversing. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact sent an email to the manufacturer, but no response was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
I was backing out of a parking space in reverse as I have done multiple times and the second I took my foot off the brake pedal to go into reverse, my car shot out at a high speed and hit a parked car on the other side of the street. Not realizing that there was an auto malfunction, I attempted to turn around my car to see the damage to the other car and when I went into reverse again to turn around, the car sped up again at high speed, did a 180 degree turn in reverse and hit two additional parked cars. Luckily, no one was hurt. I am 100% certain that I did not depress the accelerator pedal to cause the car to go at that speed in reverse twice! We contacted General Motors which supposedly had their engineers look at the mechanicals of the car but the only information we received from them is that the car did accelerate both times at 99% of capacity. The air bags did not deploy so the crash computer did not activiate. GM either did not examine the soft ware on the car, or, if they did, that information was not shared with us. If I had been in a crowded parking lot, the consequences could have been catastophic.
[XXX] Our 2022 Cadillac XT5 400 shudders when driving. It happens at any speed. The technician thought it was the V6 changing over to run on 4 cylinders. The only thing about this is it shudders under load as well as slight acceleration.. please advise… Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
The driving mode don't stay in the correct control for example the SUV has three components Tour, Sports, Snow and ice...while driving in Tour mode the vehicle goes to sports on it owns. The electrical dash board cuts off and resets its self while in driving. Scary
Showing 20 of 292 total NHTSA complaints. Source: NHTSA Complaints Database
Check the exact car
Before you buy, check the exact Cadillac XT5
These pages show model-year patterns across 10 years. Enter a VIN to verify the exact vehicle's accident history, title brands, odometer records, and open recall status before purchase.
The basics
How to read this data
Complaints, recalls, investigations — here’s what each number actually tells you about a used Cadillac XT5, in plain English.
What is an NHTSA Complaint?
An NHTSA safety complaint is a report filed directly by a vehicle owner or driver describing a safety-related issue. Anyone can submit a complaint at NHTSA.gov. The number of complaints is a signal of how common a problem is — but complaints per model-year matter more than raw totals, since popular vehicles naturally receive more reports. The Cadillac XT5 has 292 complaints on record across 10 model years.
What is a Safety Recall?
A safety recall is a mandatory campaign issued by NHTSA when a vehicle component poses an unreasonable risk to safety or does not comply with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Unlike complaints (which are owner-reported), recalls are formally investigated and confirmed by regulators. Manufacturers must fix recalled vehicles free of charge. The Cadillac XT5 has 19 recall campaigns in the NHTSA database.
What Are Crash Complaints?
Crash complaints are NHTSA filings where the owner indicates a crash occurred as part of the incident. 17 of the Cadillac XT5's 292 complaints involved a crash. This metric is particularly important because it indicates how often defects resulted in actual collisions — a key safety signal beyond general reliability.
How Is the Reliability Verdict Calculated?
The reliability verdict (Poor) is generated by analyzing the vehicle's total complaints, recall history, crash complaint ratio, fire complaint ratio, and top component failures relative to class averages. This verdict gives buyers a quick interpretation before they review year-level details and VIN-level history. It should be treated as one decision input, not a substitute for a VIN-specific report.
Why Do Newer Years Have Fewer Complaints?
Newer model years appear to have fewer complaints because there has been less time for owners to file them. Complaints accumulate over years of ownership. A 2020 model year vehicle will typically show fewer complaints than a 2015 model year even if it is less reliable — simply because fewer owners have had time to report issues. Focus on complaints per year of market presence when comparing across model years.
Fleet Data vs. Individual VIN
Everything on this page reflects aggregated data across all Cadillac XT5 vehicles on the road — not any specific car. Two Cadillac XT5 vehicles of the same year can have very different histories: one may have been in three accidents and have an open recall; another may be clean. A VIN check gives you the individual car's history: accidents, title brands, odometer records, service history, and real-time recall status.
What Are NHTSA Investigations?
When NHTSA receives a pattern of related safety complaints, it opens a formal investigation. A Preliminary Evaluation (PE) is the first stage — NHTSA determines if a safety defect may exist. If evidence is strong, it escalates to an Engineering Analysis (EA), which can result in a mandatory recall. The Cadillac XT5 has 0 investigations on record (0 active). Investigations listed above may have already led to the recalls shown on this page.
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By state
Check a Cadillac XT5 by state
Title-branding rules, flood-damage exposure, and salvage laws vary by state. Run a free VIN check or explore state-specific vehicle history guidance before buying a used Cadillac XT5.
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Cadillac XT5 reliability — frequently asked questions
Is the Cadillac XT5 reliable?
Poor. The Cadillac XT5 has 292 NHTSA owner complaints and 19 recall campaigns across model years. A commonly reported issue area is POWER TRAIN. Use year-level data as a pattern guide, then verify the exact car with a VIN check before purchase.
Which Cadillac XT5 years to avoid?
Years with the most NHTSA complaints: 2017 (121 complaints), 2018 (66 complaints), 2019 (32 complaints). Use these years as a shortlist for deeper inspection, and always run a VIN check on the exact vehicle before purchase.
What are the most common Cadillac XT5 problems?
Top reported issues: POWER TRAIN (58 complaints); UNKNOWN OR OTHER (58 complaints); ENGINE (57 complaints).
Does the Cadillac XT5 have recalls?
Yes — 19 NHTSA recall campaigns have been issued for the Cadillac XT5. Check nhtsa.gov/recalls or run a VIN check to see if your specific vehicle has open recalls.