"How reliable is the 2006 Cadillac Cts?"

"Based on 366 NHTSA complaints, the 2006 Cadillac Cts has a median complaint mileage of 64000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2006 Cadillac Cts?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2006 Cadillac Cts is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 366 total complaints filed."

2006 Cadillac Cts: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 366 complaints

366

Total Complaints

64,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

36,721 25th Percentile

64,000 Median Mileage

99,350 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

SERVICE BRAKES

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE

POWER TRAIN

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC

POWER TRAIN:DRIVELINE:DIFFERENTIAL UNIT

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL:SENSOR/CONTROL MODULE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"2006 CADILLAC CTS-V: 1. REAR END LEAKAGE @ 200 MILES 2. REAR END CLUNK WHEN SHIFTING @ 1000 MILES *JB"

"NEW CTS CADILLAC 2200 MILES. LEAKING OIL FROM THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL ON TO THE EXHAUST PIPE. NOISE (CLANKING) WHEN PUTTING THE CAR INTO GEAR. *JB"

"IN CASE YOU ARE NOT ALREADY AWARE OF THIS, THE TAIL LIGHTS OF SOME NEWER MODEL PASSENGER AUTOMOBILES ARE VISUALLY DISTRACTING BECAUSE THE LIGHT EMITTING DIODE (LED) ARRAY THAT IS USED FOR THE TAIL LIGHTS IS BEING STROBED ON AND OFF, INSTEAD OF BEING ON CONTINUOUSLY. I HAVE NOTICED THIS ON THE LATES..."

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.

AIR BAGS 73 complaints

25th: 46,750 mi Median: 66,000 mi 75th: 100,000 mi

SERVICE BRAKES 39 complaints

25th: 60,000 mi Median: 92,000 mi 75th: 120,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 38 complaints

25th: 57,539 mi Median: 93,151 mi 75th: 104,310 mi

ENGINE 27 complaints

25th: 64,500 mi Median: 95,000 mi 75th: 117,210 mi

POWER TRAIN 27 complaints

25th: 31,250 mi Median: 77,585 mi 75th: 116,893 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 48 FL: 39 TX: 38 NY: 17 GA: 16 NJ: 16 IL: 15 VA: 13 WI: 13 NC: 12

Who Files Complaints?

12%

Original Owners

88%

Second+ Owners

Cadillac Cts — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
2003	450	72,150	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	46
2004	294	53,751	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	33
2005	396	63,100	AIR BAGS	45
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