2013 Cadillac Cts Problems and Recalls (72 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 2013 Cadillac Cts is Electrical (26% of 72 owner reports). There are 2 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Electrical — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 72 complaints · 2 recalls

What problems show up on the 2013 Cadillac Cts?

19 of 72 filings named Electrical (26% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Transmission / driveline (10 reports).

There are 2 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Electrical. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The 2012 has 65 reports on file; this year has 72. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 2013 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 2 campaigns on file below.
  2. Electrical. Have a shop scan for stored codes and check battery, charging and any warning lights that stay on.
  3. Transmission / driveline. Have a shop drive it and check the transmission: hard or delayed shifts, burnt-smelling fluid, and 4WD engagement if equipped.
  4. Airbags. Confirm the airbag light behaves normally and that open airbag recalls are closed.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Electrical. 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: Electrical 19 complaints · 26.4% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 10
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 8
  • 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 Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) appears in 19 of 72 owner complaints (26.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 19 complaints, 26.4% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 2 crash reports 19 · 26.4% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 10 complaints, 13.9% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 10 · 13.9% Airbags (AIR BAGS): 7 complaints, 9.7% of reports Airbags (AIR BAGS) 3 crash reports 7 · 9.7% Steering (STEERING): 7 complaints, 9.7% of reports Steering (STEERING) 1 crash reports 7 · 9.7% Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING): 5 complaints, 6.9% of reports Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 5 · 6.9% Suspension (SUSPENSION): 4 complaints, 5.6% of reports Suspension (SUSPENSION) 4 · 5.6% Engine (ENGINE): 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 3 · 4.2% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 crash reports 3 · 4.2% Body / frame (STRUCTURE): 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 2 · 2.8% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 13 complaints, 18.1% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 2 crash reports 13 · 18.1% 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)
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 19 26.4% 2 crashes · 0 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 10 13.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Airbags (AIR BAGS) 7 9.7% 3 crashes · 0 fires
Steering (STEERING) 7 9.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Lights (EXTERIOR LIGHTING) 5 6.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Suspension (SUSPENSION) 4 5.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Engine (ENGINE) 3 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 3 4.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
Body / frame (STRUCTURE) 2 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 13 18.1% 2 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 Jan 2013; the first recall shown was reported in Jul 2014. 2013-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2014-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2015-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2018-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2019-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2019-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2020-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2022-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2024-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2024-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2025-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 Owner reports Jan 2013 Jan 2025 Recall campaign 14V394000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V394000 Recall campaign 14V614000 ◆ Recall campaign 14V614000
  • Campaign 14V394000 was reported 115 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2013-Q1 Owner reports 4
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 10
2014-Q4 Owner reports 6
2015-Q1 Owner reports 3
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 3
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 2
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 2
2017-Q3 Owner reports 3
2017-Q4 Owner reports 2
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q2 Owner reports 2
2018-Q4 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 2
2019-Q2 Owner reports 3
2019-Q4 Owner reports 3
2020-Q2 Owner reports 2
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
2021-Q2 Owner reports 1
2022-Q1 Owner reports 1
2022-Q4 Owner reports 1
2024-Q1 Owner reports 2
2024-Q2 Owner reports 1
2024-Q4 Owner reports 1
2025-Q1 Owner reports 2
Recall campaign 1 14V394000
Recall campaign 1 14V614000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (2)

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

In short, these campaigns were filed about Electrical.

  1. 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 →

  2. Recall campaign 14V614000

    Safety recall 14V614000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    If the module experiences an electrical short, the vehicle could stall, increasing the risk of a crash.
    Remedy:
    GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the chassis electronic module, free of charge. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), and 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM’s number for this recall is 14515.
    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 10 of 72 complaints · page 1 of 3
2025-03-11Suspension (SUSPENSION)
NHTSA ODI 11647538
CrashFireInjuryDeath
My 2013 has only 75k miles on it and all the dash lights flash and the car fails every couple of days. It has a brand new battery but the gauges on the dash continue to dance. I’m not sure what the problem is but it’s a huge safety factor in drivability.
2025-02-28Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11645666
CrashFireInjuryDeath
driving to work on very busy highway. The engine light and Service Battery charging system came on, then went to battery saver almost instantly. Radio cut off, heat cutt off and the Car cut off in the middle of the highway before I could safely get over. this caused me to fear for my life as the cars behind me barely had time to stop. a hair probably could not have fit between us. I did eventually safely get off the highway, had the car towed to a service center. There was 14 different codes.(low voltage, engine running lean, low voltage and more. battery was checked and was 95 %, Alternator fine. was told it was the ECM. After looking on google some sites say there is a recall for 2013 cts some say there is not. there are multiple complaints on this issue and it is not safe. I called Cadillac gave my vin number and was told there was not a recall. Cadillac/GMC really need to issue a recall before something tragic happens, as it almost was me. Thank God that it wasn't.
2024-12-29Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11632917
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I noticed that on the dash a message that service is needed on one of the airbags. I then scheduled appointment to have the problem corrected. I was informed by the dealership’ service department that I need a passenger airbag replacement on the passenger side of the car, and they also informed me that GM no longer manufactures the airbag that I need. I was not given any assistance on how to replace this safety feature in the car, nor was I notified by the manufacturer that airbag was discontinued.
2024-04-22Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN)
NHTSA ODI 11584526
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that the transmission fluid was leaking, and the vehicle stalled while driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission fluid was significantly low. The transmission was topped off. The contact stated that the vehicle was driven to the residence; however, on arrival the transmission fluid level was abnormally low. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 31,000.
2024-03-23Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11579082
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Found a crack along the tab of my subframe along the rear control arm pocket. Searching for solutions and repairs, I found several hundred people who broke the tab while driving on CTSVowners, ctsvforum and various Facebook groups This seems to impact both the base model and V series CTS.
2024-01-05Body / frame (STRUCTURE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11563838
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Cracked subframe. The CTS-V is known for this. Many of the guys on the news groups have the same issue. I had mine welded and replaced the lower control arms as a result.
2022-12-01Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11495714
CrashFireInjuryDeath
Air bags didn’t come out
2022-01-19Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 11448072
CrashFireInjuryDeath
The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the electronic stability control and an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, but the dealer could not duplicate the failure. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic and the mechanic cleaned the transmission; however, the failure recurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure but informed the contact that there was no recall associated with the VIN. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
2021-05-03Airbags (AIR BAGS)
NHTSA ODI 11415011
CrashFireInjuryDeath
TL* THE CONTACT OWNED A 2013 CADILLAC CTS. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT 55 MPH, THE CONTACT CRASHED INTO A DEER WHICH CAUSED AN AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT MESSAGE; THE AIR BAGS WERE NOT DEPLOYED. THE CONTACT STATED ONLY AN ODD SMELLING POWDER EMITTED FROM THE AIR BAG LOCATION. THE CONTACT SUSTAINED BRUISING IN TORSO, AND SWELLING IN EYES DUE TO POWDER; MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NOT SOUGHT. A POLICE REPORT WAS NOT FILED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO LOCAL TOW LOT WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH BEING DESTROYED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT INFORMED OF FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 120,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
2021-01-08FUEL SYSTEM
NHTSA ODI 11387263
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE NIPPENDENSO FUEL PUMP NECK IS CRACKED AND IS LEAKING FUEL. $3200 BUCKS FOR THE DEALER TO REPLACE. BOUGHT ON LINE AND REPLACED FOR $1256 BUCKS. EVERY CTS V HAS THIS ISSUE. I CANNOT IMAGINE THAT THIS IS NOT A RECALL. PUMPING ON THE GROUND IS A SAFETY ISSUE. CHECK THE FORUMS AND YOU WILL SEE ALL OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE A FUEL LEAK PROBLEM.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 2013 Cadillac Cts?

Owners named Electrical most often — 19 of 72 reports (26%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 2013 Cadillac Cts?

NHTSA lists 2 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about 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 2013 Cadillac Cts?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop scan for stored codes and check battery, charging and any warning lights that stay on. 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