"How reliable is the 2003 Cadillac Cts?"

"Based on 450 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Cadillac Cts has a median complaint mileage of 72150 miles. The most common issue is Electrical System."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Cadillac Cts?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Cadillac Cts is Electrical System, accounting for a significant portion of the 450 total complaints filed."

2003 Cadillac Cts: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 450 complaints

450

Total Complaints

72,150mi

Median Mileage

Electrical System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

35,750 25th Percentile

72,150 Median Mileage

105,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System

Air Bags

Engine

Steering

Service Brakes

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)

Vehicle Speed Control

Exterior Lighting

Engine And Engine Cooling

Headlights

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TRANSMISSION 5TH GEAR KEEPS GOING OUT, ORIGIONAL AND NEW TRANS. HAVE BOTH GONE OUT, ALL WITHIN 200 MILES. GM WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TOLD ME THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT. THEY WANTED ME TO CONTINUE DRIVING IT, BUT I REFUSED AND AFTER COMPLAINING FOR A WEEK I WAS GIVEN A LOANER..."

"THE ORIGINAL TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED AT 600 MILES DUE TO A RATTLING NOISE IN 2ND AND 5TH GEAR. AT 800 MILES THE NOISE REOCCURRED IN THE NEW TRANSMISSION. CADILLAC CLAIMS TO BE WORKING ON A FIX, HOWEVER NO ONE IN THE CADILLAC ORGANIZATION CAN COMMENT ON WHEN THE FIX WILL TAKE PLACE. THE NOISE CO..."

"COMPONENT IN STEERING COLUMN FAILED....LEAVING A LOT OF PLAY IN STEERING WHEEL AT HIGH SPEEDS. CENSORS DID NOT PICK UP FAILURE. MECHANIC AT DEALER ACTUALLY HEARD IT MAKING A NOISE. DEALERSHIP DECLARED IT UNSAFE TO DRIVE. GM ANTICIPATES 2 TO 3 WEEKS TO GET PART OFF ASSEMBLY FLOOR.*AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Electrical System 48 complaints

25th: 52,000 mi Median: 74,000 mi 75th: 120,000 mi

Air Bags 30 complaints

25th: 37,200 mi Median: 104,500 mi 75th: 115,750 mi

Engine 29 complaints

25th: 72,000 mi Median: 83,397 mi 75th: 121,000 mi

Steering 22 complaints

25th: 33,500 mi Median: 83,000 mi 75th: 109,996 mi

Service Brakes 21 complaints

25th: 78,000 mi Median: 108,000 mi 75th: 120,954 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 70 FL: 46 MI: 35 NY: 28 TX: 23 NJ: 19 VA: 18 OH: 18 IL: 17 NC: 13

Who Files Complaints?

22%

Original Owners

78%

Second+ Owners

Cadillac Cts — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2004	294	53,751	Electrical System	33
2005	396	63,100	Air Bags	45
2006	366	64,000	Air Bags	39
2007	311	78,000	Air Bags	44
2008	251	65,000	Electrical System	15
2009	222	61,000	Engine	18
2010	101	55,500	Air Bags	3
2011	148	37,960	Air Bags	14
2012	81	32,650	Electrical System	10
2013	106	25,000	Electrical System	20
2014	192	55,000	Power Train	8
2015	65	42,200	Power Train	4
2016	47	17,000	Electrical System	0
2017	32	26,050	Power Train	1

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28