AutoUtility currently tracks 31 official NHTSA owner defect complaints for the 2016 Cadillac CTS. Electrical System issues are the most frequently reported category, appearing in 10 complaints (32.3% of submitted records). Among these NHTSA complaint records, 1 cites a fire, 1 reports one or more injuries.
- • Total NHTSA Complaints: 31 reports
- • #1 Reported Problem Area: Electrical System (10 reports • 32.3% of submitted complaints)
- • Secondary Problem Areas: Powertrain & Transmission (9), Steering System (4)
- • Crash-Citing Complaints: 0 filings
- • Fire-Citing Complaints: 1 filings
- • Complaints Reporting Injuries / Fatalities: 1 injury filings • 0 fatality filings
Most Reported Problems for 2016 Cadillac CTS
Top automotive subsystem defect categories ranked by unique owner complaint volume in federal records
Electrical System
Powertrain & Transmission
Steering System
NHTSA records list 2 official safety recall campaigns for this model year involving the same broad component area:
- Campaign #25V175000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
- Campaign #19V086000 STEERING:ELECTRIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
Suspension
Engine & Cooling
Recent NHTSA Owner Reports for 2016 Cadillac CTS
Representative defect filings submitted by owners to the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
"The contact owns 2016 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, the vehicle lost power steering functionality. A dealer was contacted. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the steering rack and pinion needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not..."
"Message "Shift to Park" even though the car is already in Park, preventing shutting down the car."
"The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the carbon fiber-optic piece on the rear passenger door was fractured. The contact stated the occupant was exiting the rear passenger's door when the occupant was stabbed by the carbon fiber-optic piece. The..."
"The passenger side airbag stays illuminated after the vehicle is started and continues to stay on as the vehicle is driven, never going off. General Motors have not issued a recall on this safety problem with the 2016 Cadillac CTS. My [XXX] address [XXX] . My phone number is [XXX] . INFORMATION..."
"The contact's relative owns a 2016 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 40 MPH, the passenger's side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the front passenger's side air bag inflator needed to be replaced...."
Complaint History for Cadillac CTS
Reported defect complaint volume across sibling model years (2015–2019)
| Model Year | NHTSA Complaints | Crash Reports | Safety Recalls | Detailed Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 Cadillac CTS | 47 | 2 | 4 | View 2015 Problems → |
| 2016 Cadillac CTS Current Page | 31 | 0 | 4 | Current |
| 2017 Cadillac CTS | 27 | 1 | 2 | View 2017 Problems → |
| 2018 Cadillac CTS | 8 | 1 | 2 | View 2018 Problems → |
| 2019 Cadillac CTS | 10 | 0 | 0 | View 2019 Problems → |
Detailed NHTSA Component Breakdown for 2016 Cadillac CTS
Complete distribution of consumer defect reports across all 18 granular NHTSA system and subsystem classifications
| Vehicle Component / System | Total Complaints | Crash Reports | Fire Reports | Reported Injury Entries | Reported Fatality Entries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain NHTSA category: POWER TRAIN | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical System NHTSA category: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Other / Uncategorized NHTSA category: UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Air Bags NHTSA category: AIR BAGS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Engine NHTSA category: ENGINE | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension NHTSA category: SUSPENSION | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,LANE DEPARTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,SERVICE BRAKES,FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| POWER TRAIN,FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering NHTSA category: STEERING | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,ENGINE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM,STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| STEERING,SUSPENSION,ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Structure & Body NHTSA category: STRUCTURE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| SUSPENSION,POWER TRAIN | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels & Hubs NHTSA category: WHEELS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| WHEELS,UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The complaint records on this page are retrieved directly from the NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) public database.
Local Production Store Compiled: August 2026 • Deterministic Audited Dataset • Zero Dynamic External API Runtime Latency.