2010 Cadillac Cts Problems and Recalls (66 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2010 Cadillac Cts is Airbags (14% of 66 owner reports). There are 3 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Airbags — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 66 complaints · 3 recalls

What problems show up on the 2010 Cadillac Cts?

9 of 66 filings named Airbags (14% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Engine (9 reports).

There are 3 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Suspension and Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2009 has 165 reports on file; this year has 66. A smaller lifetime total is not a clean bill of health. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2010 Cadillac Cts

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 3 campaigns on file below.
  2. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  3. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  4. Electrical. Have a shop scan for stored codes and check battery, charging and any warning lights that stay on.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Airbags. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Airbags 9 complaints · 13.6% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 5
  • Deaths 0
All Cadillac Cts years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Airbags (AIR BAGS) appears in 9 of 66 owner complaints (13.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. Airbags (AIR BAGS): 9 complaints, 13.6% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 9 · 13.6% Engine (ENGINE): 9 complaints, 13.6% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 9 · 13.6% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 8 complaints, 12.1% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 crash reports 8 · 12.1% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 8 complaints, 12.1% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 8 · 12.1% Body / frame (STRUCTURE): 6 complaints, 9.1% of reports Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 6 · 9.1% Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING): 5 complaints, 7.6% of reports Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 1 fire reports 5 · 7.6% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 4 complaints, 6.1% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 4 · 6.1% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 2 complaints, 3.0% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 · 3.0% Steering (STEERING): 2 complaints, 3.0% of reports Steering (STEERING) 2 · 3.0% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 18 complaints, 27.3% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 1 crash reports 18 · 27.3% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 9 13.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 9 13.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 8 12.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 8 12.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 6 9.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 5 7.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 4 6.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 2 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING) 2 3.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 18 27.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Oct 2010; the first recall shown was reported in Sep 2010. 2010-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2014-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2015-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2023-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2023-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Sep 2010 Jan 2025 Recall campaign 10V414000 ◆ Recall campaign 10V414000 Recall campaign 11V089000 ◆ Recall campaign 11V089000 Recall campaign 14V394000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V394000
  • Campaign 14V394000 was reported 104 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2010-Q4 Owner reports 3
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q4 Owner reports 2
2014-Q1 Owner reports 2
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 6
2014-Q4 Owner reports 8
2015-Q1 Owner reports 2
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 2
2018-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 4
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q2 Owner reports 2
2019-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q4 Owner reports 2
2020-Q1 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2023-Q1 Owner reports 1
2023-Q2 Owner reports 4
2023-Q4 Owner reports 2
2024-Q1 Owner reports 1
2024-Q3 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 10V414000
Recall campaign 1 11V089000
Recall campaign 1 14V394000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (3)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Suspension and Electrical.

  1. Recall campaign 10V414000

    Safety recall 10V414000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THE FRONT PASSENGER MAY BE AT AN INCREASED RISK OF LEG INJURY.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE GLOVE COMPARTMENT ASSEMBLY AND, IN SOME VEHICLES MODIFY THE INSTRUMENT PANEL STRUCTURE. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 20, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 11V089000

    Suspension

    Report date
    Component:
    Suspension (SUSPENSION)
    Consequence:
    THE DRIVER MAY EXPERIENCE SUDDEN CHANGES WITH VEHICLE HANDLING AND MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE INCREASING THE RISK OF A CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL CLEAN ALL WAX RESIDUE FROM THE REAR SUSPENSION TOE LINK AND INSTALL TWO NEW JAM NUTS. IF NECESSARY THE REAR SUSPENSION TOE LINK MAY BE REPLACED. THIS SERVICE WILL BE PERFORMED FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE MARCH 24, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339 AND AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Recall campaign 14V394000

    Electrical

    Report date
    Component:
    Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
    Consequence:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 5 of 66 complaints · page 1 of 3
2025-03-20Steering (STEERING)
NHTSA ODI 11649524
CrashFireInjuryDeath
All of a sudden when I started my car, the lights flickered constantly, the power steering failed, and it blew my starter and fairly new battery. I was so scared; I thought it was going to catch on fire because it smelled burnt. And I was on [XXX] in Hubbard Ohio, and I was trying to get to [XXX] and safety to which I did. THANK Goodness for AAA. I was told this happened because of a plug in wiring to heat or warm the washer fluid. It is available for inspection. My safety was impacted because, I had no power steering, flickering lights and smell of burnt stuff. My problem was fixed by an independent shop. My vehicle was not inspected by a GM dealer or my insurance. Was inspected by an independent shop that it was towed to. Warnings prior to incident: I would turn the ignition and nothing. But that would only happen several weeks apart. I thought maybe the starter was going, but it was odd because it was so many weeks far apart that it would happen. It might have been a total of 4 times since October of 2024. During the incident, power steering warning came on, charging system came on and the car sounded like it was barely running. Thank you INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2024-09-30Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)
NHTSA ODI 11617299
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Airbag warning light and Service Air Bag on dash. Code B0087-00 Left Rear SIS. Replaced sensor, still getting warning. Sensor is in LR door. Research revealed possible known issue with bending fatigue from routine door open/close motion and subpar wire size/material causing wire failure. Opened wire harness at pillar and green/black wire was completely separated at typical bending point. Light blue wire was not visibly broken (insulation still intact) but the wire within was broken upon removal of insulation. These are the two wires (light blue and green/black) to the impact sensor. Please investigate GM use of substandard or undersize wiring in entire SRS system especially at bending fatigue potential failure points. Three pictures attached - one picture showing initial finding of green/black broken wire but light blue still visibly intact (insulation only), one picture showing same in close up, one picture showing both wires are not intact (light blue wire was inspected further and determined insulation intact but wire within was not intact) and insulated separated with fingernail pressure only. Wires should not fail within typical lifetime of a vehicle. Uncertain on operation of system, but could short between two wires and/or grounding cause airbag to deploy without accident/at random causing personal injury to occupants and/or an accident because of random deployment? Date of incident is when wiring issue was discovered and pictures taken upon discovery.
2024-02-27Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11574212
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I took my car 1200 Moss St., bingo alignment, and two weeks after my alignment my steering wheel shipped and I bought it over to the shop and told them that they did not talk to the school down on my control arms and the lady told me to get off of her premises and get out and I think that’s not right she did not on her warranty and I called the police to get an incident report and she just was belligerent and pull guns on me and do all kind of crazy stuff. I would like to have someone investigate her please
2023-11-21Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 11556296
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Engine warning light on. Diagnosed by Mike Maroon Cadillac, Boulder Colorado as Po008 code Bank one engine timing off. Further diagnosed as faulty engine cam chain. Advised not to drive car. Car available for inspection. Not being driven. Safety put at risk by possible major engine failure during use. Problem confirmed by two other repair facilities. Engine warning light on for several months. Problem confirmed by Mike Maroon Cadillac, Boulder Colorado. Taken there at the request of Cadillac customer service phone [redacted]. Contact at Cadillac customer service Miguel ext 591 6218. Given case #[XXX] Vehicle inspected by Mike Maroon Cadillac at the request of Miguel at Cadillac customer service. Inspection done at owners expense. Cadillac customer service not returning calls. Owners contact # [XXX] Mike Maroon Cadillac contact, Dave [redacted] R/o #[XXX] Do not have capability to upload files. Will fax upon request. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
2023-11-20Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11556098
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Passenger presence module malfunction is intermittent. When the malfunction occurs there is a warning light plus "Service Airbag" on the instrument panel. Sometimes the light and warning go off after several minutes, sometimes stays on for days. In Virginia presence of this warning during an annual safety inspection is considered a failure. The vehicle in question is a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V with heated/cooled Recaro seats. Dealership has confirmed that the issue is the module but says the module is not available or on backorder (for years). Issue was first reported to dealer in 2018 and again in 2022 with no resolution. Estimated repair cost is in excess of $1500.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2010 Cadillac Cts?

Owners named Airbags most often — 9 of 66 reports (14%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2010 Cadillac Cts?

NHTSA lists 3 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Suspension and Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 2010 Cadillac Cts?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources