Your vehicle report
2008 Cadillac CTS
The problems owners report. The recalls to check. The evidence behind each.
Your vehicle at a glance
Complaint patterns and official recall records, kept distinct.
- Owner complaints
- 175
- Received Mar 2008 to Jun 2026
Owner reports
Most reported problems
- 1Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline14 complaints · 8.0% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 2Unintended acceleration despite braking13 complaints · 7.4% of this vehicle’s complaints
- 3Rear door latch fails to open or close11 complaints · 6.3% of this vehicle’s complaints
Official NHTSA records
Recalls to check
- Recall #14V394000This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 2, 2014 that they are recalling 554,328 model year 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS vehicles manufactured August 16, 2001, to April 28, 2014, and 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured March 20, 2003, to August 11, 2006. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
- Recall #10V240000Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer H2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
BrakeNews signals
Flagged complaint patterns
Unusual complaint patterns with no matched recall yet. A flag does not mean a recall will happen.
No problems currently meet BrakeNews’s flagging criteria. This is not a safety rating.
How flags are identifiedComplaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA, not failure rates or a reliability ranking. Reported in these complaints: 12 crashes, 3 fires, 7 people injured, 0 deaths.
Explore by system
Where do owners report problems?
Choose an area on the car or a system below to explore the reported problems.
Illustrative only; not this vehicle’s exact design. Areas represent complaint categories, not confirmed defective parts.
Showing all 18 listed problems by system.
Engine & powertrain
Brakes
Electrical & lights
- Ignition key sticks or will not turn
- Headlights dim or fail at night
- Battery drains and dies when parked
1 more problem
Airbags, belts & seats
Steering, suspension & tires
Body, doors & glass
Driver assistance
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Other
No problems in this category meet this page’s listing criteria. This does not establish that the system is free of problems.
Complaint history
When NHTSA received these reports. Changes in reporting alone do not establish a change in failure rates.
Show as a table
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 14 |
| 2009 | 14 |
| 2010 | 10 |
| 2011 | 4 |
| 2012 | 10 |
| 2013 | 8 |
| 2014 | 28 |
| 2015 | 16 |
| 2016 | 11 |
| 2017 | 17 |
| 2018 | 15 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 3 |
| 2026 (to Oct 2026) | 1 |
| Total | 175 |
Problems owners report
Listed groups have at least 3 complaints. The page includes the 20 largest groups plus any additional flagged groups; some complaints are not assigned to a group.
| Problem | Complaints | Share | Share ratio | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuel tank or line leaks gasoline | 14 | 8.0% | – | |
| Unintended acceleration despite braking | 13 | 7.4% | – | |
| Rear door latch fails to open or close | 11 | 6.3% | – | |
| Water leaks into cabin during rain | 8 | 4.6% | – | |
| Check engine light comes on repeatedly | 7 | 4.0% | – | |
| Brakes make grinding or squealing noise | 5 | 2.9% | – | |
| Glass shatters or cracks without impact | 4 | 2.3% | – | |
| Airbag warning light stays on | 4 | 2.3% | – | |
| Ignition key sticks or will not turn | 4 | 2.3% | – | NHTSA recall #14V394000 |
| Headlights dim or fail at night | 4 | 2.3% | – | |
| Steering wheel seizes or locks suddenly | 4 | 2.3% | – | |
| Seat belt fails to latch or retract | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Airbags fail to deploy in crashes | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Timing chain fails and destroys engine | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Steering wheel shakes violently at highway speed | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Engine suddenly shuts off while driving | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Battery drains and dies when parked | 3 | 1.7% | – | |
| Engine won't start or cranks intermittently | 3 | 1.7% | – |
AI groups complaints by meaning; the groups are approximate. Share ratio compares the problem’s share of this vehicle’s complaints with its share on other vehicles over the last 24 months (shown from 3 recent complaints). A 2× ratio means twice the complaint share, not twice the failure risk. Flags mark unusual shares or recent surges after an AI review of the complaint content. “First signal” does not mean the pattern has persisted continuously.How recall estimates are calculated.
Recalls
NHTSA recall #14V394000July 2, 2014554,328 vehicles affected
electrical system: ignition
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 2, 2014 that they are recalling 554,328 model year 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS vehicles manufactured August 16, 2001, to April 28, 2014, and 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured March 20, 2003, to August 11, 2006. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 15, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14172.
NHTSA recall #10V240000June 4, 20101,365,070 vehicles affected
electrical system
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 Buick, lucerne; Cadillac dts; Hummer H2; model year 2008-2009 Buick enclave; Cadillac Cts; model year 2007-2009 Cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; Chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; Gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 Chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Remedy
Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact Buick at 1-866-608-8080, Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339, Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, saturn at 1-800-972-8876, Gmc at 1-866-996-9463 and Hummer at 1-800-732-5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Other model years
About this data
NHTSA complaints and recalls through October 2026. Complaints are counted once each, however many components they name. Original complaints are on NHTSA's page for the 2008 Cadillac CTS.
Problem groups are formed by AI and may be approximate. BrakeNews flags unusual complaint patterns; they are not official defect findings. Investigation reports are written and checked by AI, with no human review. Owner reports do not establish that a defect exists.
Read the methodology and track record · Check current recalls by VIN