Cadillac CT5 Complaints (2020)

39 consumer complaints on file.

#11765794September 21, 2026
POWER TRAIN
I am filing an urgent consumer safety complaint against Bert Ogden Cadillac in [XXX] for a severe federal safety recall violation. My 2020 Cadillac CT5 is experiencing catastrophic transmission failure, including severe slipping and violent pulling during acceleration. This creates an immediate risk of sudden highway drive-wheel lock-up as warned under active GM Recall N242480630.On XXX, I brought the vehicle to Bert Ogden Cadillac and explicitly raised the transmission recall. The service agent, Patty, dismissed the recall, illegally charged me a $252.71 diagnostic fee for an active safety campaign, and turned me away with an out-of-pocket repair estimate of $12,138.80, which I could not afford. The dealer's own written service notes explicitly state: "customer will come back for recall," proving no work was performed.However, the online GM portal shows that the dealership subsequently went into the national database behind my back and fraudulently reported this identical safety recall as "Completed" on XXX.I contacted Cadillac Corporate on XXX, and they opened an internal investigation under GM Case Number XXX. However, corporate management was hostile, questioned the safety defect connection despite the matching codes (12CDZSERTA and 98CDZXOLK), and actively refused to dispatch a corporate flatbed tow for this disabled safety hazard. I have already filed a deceptive trade practices case with the XXX Attorney General under case XXX. I require immediate federal intervention to compel General Motors to tow and repair this hazardous vehicle at zero cost as mandated by federal law. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11754827August 4, 2026
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and using the key fob to open the door, the door on the driver’s side failed to open. The failure was a recurring failure. The dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with an exterior door handle failure on the driver’s side. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 46,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11752920July 26, 2026
STRUCTURE:BODY
Electronic door hand on the drivers side completely stopped working, with little warning. This includes the proximity unlock feature and unlocking the car with the fob. If this were to have happened to all four doors at once, it would have been impossible to enter the car without breaking the glass. This is not safe.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750891July 16, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The left passenger door will not open manually nor with key fob. It has caused me to not allow back seat passengers including grand children for fear if necessary to get out in an emergency and I am left to wonder if the driver door will go into lock position during a collision and that would be life threatening. I tried holding the lock and unlock at the same time for 3sec and that didn’t work. The dealership said it would cost around $800 or more to take the door off and try to find the problem and I would probably have to get a new door and try to match the paint. I really need help with this issue because I have less than 20,000 miles on my car. I have seen online that there’re many people dealing with this problem being it the back doors and some the front. These cars cost the customers a lot of money when purchasing them. I would greatly appreciate the issue being reviewed for recall repairs. Thanks
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750953July 16, 2026
POWER TRAIN
Lockhart Cadillac Service Department committed warranty fraud by charging me on multiple occasions for repairs that should have been covered under GM/Cadillac 2025 Transmission Recall & Special Extended Warranties. The transmission has continued to deteriorate. I took the vehicle in on July 1, 2026 for recall service and was told it needed a valve body replacement. However, they are demanding again that I pay for it and refusing to submit it as a recall repair. They have had my vehicle 15 days and refuse to provide written documentation of actual diagnosis, TAC has not been submitted, they have not provided GM/Cadillac or myself with any written documentation as to why it wouldn’t be covered under warranty. They have not submitted the service history of the last 6 service repairs to GM/Cadillac as requested, nor have they offered me a courtesy vehicle or rental car compensation and virtually have left me stranded for 2 weeks.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11750954July 16, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
There is some type of mechanical or electrical malfunction with the door locking system. I can not unlock or enter the car using the fan or by any mechanism from outside the car. This has left my fiance & infant trapped in the car. My fiance has to reach over and manually open the driver side door from inside the vehicle. However, I can no longer drive with only my infant in the car for fear she will be trapped inside.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11740017May 26, 2026
POWER TRAIN
While driving my 2020 Cadillac CT5 at highway speeds, the vehicle suffered a sudden and dangerous total loss of motive power. The transmission completely failed without warning, creating an immediate, severe safety hazard as I was forced to navigate across multiple active lanes of high-speed highway traffic without acceleration.The vehicle was towed to an authorized Cadillac dealership. The technician's diagnostic inspection confirmed that the internal transmission pump drive gear completely shattered, sending catastrophic metal debris throughout the entire transmission system. The dealership has recommended a total transmission system replacement.This internal pump gear failure is a documented cascade consequence of a manufacturing defect in the Transmission Control Valve Body, which causes severe internal fluid pressure drops. This specific transmission defect is subject to GM Special Coverage Bulletin N242480631 and NHTSA Campaign Number 25V148 / GM Recall N242480630. The defective valve body starved the transmission of pressure, directly destroying the pump gear at highway speeds and putting my life in danger.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11737209May 12, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The rear passenger driver side outside door handle stopped working about 3 days ago. I have three small grandchildren and if there is an accident or any other emergency I cannot open the back door to get them or anyone out of the vehicle to safety, which can lead to bodily harm or worse. I have already had the driver outside door handle replaced on March 18 2025 for the same problem. There should be a recall on the door handles to prevent the chance of bodily harm upon anyone. Also, to prevent this from happening again, the door handles could possibly be replaced with regular door handles. Thank you
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11732916April 22, 2026
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the front passenger's side and the front driver's side door latches failed to unlock from the outside. In addition, the front passenger's side door latch failed to unlatch from the inside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed front driver's side door handle, a failed passenger's side door handle, and the front passenger's side door latch. The contact was informed that the front driver's side door handle, the passenger's front door handle, and the front passenger's side door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the door indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed front passenger's side door latch and driver's front door latches. The contact was informed that the front driver's side door latch and the front passenger's side door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised by an online forum to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11722816March 8, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
My front door latch doesn't work often leaving me locked out of the car. If the car is off I can use the auto roll down feature, but if the car is on i can't. This is a safety issue if I am in danger or my child is in the car.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11721714March 3, 2026
POWER TRAIN
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered and experienced hard shifts intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure progressively worsened, and the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound while driving. The check engine warning light and the traction control warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that after taking the transmission apart, the contact became aware that cheaply made transmission parts had disintegrated, and there were metal shavings in the transmission. The contact determined that the transmission needed to be replaced; however, it was an extensive repair. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V148000 (Power Train); however, the recall repair only involved the transmission control module monitoring software installation. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission repair was not covered under the recall. The contact stated that the recall remedy was inadequate to correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the recall repair could not be performed on the vehicle due to the vehicle having a branded title. The failure mileage was approximately 578.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11712001January 20, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
The electronic exterior door handle on my CT5 has failed and raises a concern of what if there was an accident and nobody was able to open the door if I was unconscious. I believe that having a key access is not enough and there should be a mechanical exterior door handle instead of an electronic handle that fails and is costly to repair.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11710542January 12, 2026
POWER TRAIN
While slowing down vehicle felt as if it was put into park momentarily, which cause car to slide on ice. After reading the recall, I am certain that the transmission failed. Car was towed to Ray Skillman cheverolet on south post road in Indianapolis, to which they already ran the vin and agreed to perform the recall. After they realized it was a more serious problem than software, they refused to work on the vehicle. So they worked on it long enough to find out they would have to cover it, then denied that they would do any work. They stated that the title is branded. The BMV has no brands listed on title. The service guy Ryan laughed at me today when I stated that it was dangerous, and told me good luck getting some one to help if I filed a complaint. Regardless they won’t touch the car
Crash:
Yes
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11708590January 3, 2026
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
While key FOB is operational, next to car door and under moderate temperature conditions, the exterior door handle(s) wont open the car door. The doors freeze, remain latched in place from the outside. The interior door handle on the same door remains operational. This makes it difficult to get into the vehicle to remove people from inside the car should dangerous conditions be present while they are unable to operate the interior handle themselves and/or its difficult to enter the vehicle for safety should dangerous conditions be present outside the vehicle. The doors are jammed, we cant get to you!! There are reports of this happening to all four doors. The dealership says the exterior door handle must be replaced for the door to open from the outside again and it is uncertain if the replacement handle has the defect corrected or not. The latch freeze could occur again, anytime unless the replacement is improved. My vehicle had only 8500 miles on it and the exterior handle failed on the front drivers side. How many times will this condition repeat itself without warning during the lifetime of the car. CadillacForum has discussion on the matter including how some with the problem are disassembling the part and “repairing” the handle defect from the inside. This unnecessary risk could develop into an event that contributed to injuries. A reliable part must be installed asap though many cannot afford the $480 expense to replace it at the dealership. I had a 2000 Cadillac CTS for 20 years and didn’t have a problem with doors locking up from the outside - door handles not responding to efforts to open the door with a correct and operational key fob present. Link to discussion on failing door handles on Cadillacs below [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11705360December 16, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING, STRUCTURE:INTERIOR PANELS:DASHBOARD
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that the check engine warning light was illuminated. The contact had noticed an oil leak and that the battery charge was abnormally low. The contact received an alert from OnStar pertaining to the critically low battery. Additionally, the contact noticed that there was an abnormal squishing sound coming from the dashboard, and the contact believed that the sound was coming from an animal that had intruded into the vehicle. The local dealer was contacted, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The vehicle was taken to a tire center where all four TPMS sensors were replaced. The failure mileage was approximately 75,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11701649November 26, 2025
STRUCTURE:BODY
Door handle opening mechanism has not been working correctly for over a year. Multiple attempts to open the door will finally work and the door will open. This is a life safety issue that I have taken up with GM multiple times now and they refused to cover the vehicle. When looking online, dozens of other individuals have also complained about this exact issue.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11700097November 18, 2025
ENGINE
The contact’s son owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated. After a visual inspection, the contact observed that the engine oil was abnormally low. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed a failure with the engine. The contact was informed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer or an independent mechanic. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA Hotline for assistance. The failure mileage was 14,466.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11697874November 6, 2025
POWER TRAIN, ENGINE
The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly stopped without the brake pedal being depressed. The contact stated that the message "Reduced Power" was displayed on the instrument cluster. The contact was able to continue driving; however, the vehicle failed to accelerate above 10 MPH. The contact was able to drive the vehicle off the highway and then to the residence. The contact was able to restart the vehicle and saw several warning lights illuminated on the instrument cluster. The contact was able to clear the codes, and then the vehicle was driven to a dealer. The dealer checked and saw that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V148000 (Power Train) and proceeded to reflash the Power Control Module and install the transmission monitoring software. The vehicle was repaired. The contact informed the dealer that the rear wheels had locked up and which indicated transmission damage. The dealer performed the recall repair and informed the contact that the vehicle was repaired. Additionally, the contact was advised that the engine was leaking engine oil. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired for the oil leak failure. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and advised the contact that there was no assistance that could be provided. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11694212October 17, 2025
POWER TRAIN, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
For no apparent reason my vehicle is shifting itself into Neutral while driving. The car will suddenly completely slow down to a stop and in order to restart the car, I have to put it in park. It doesn't matter what speed or the road condition, it simply comes to a slow stop because it is no longer in driving mode, it has shifted itself into Neutral. The recall has been serviced and after more than 10 days of being in 2 different Cadillac service centers, I am advised they are unable to simulate the issue, thus the issue is not resolved. It is most definitely a safety issue because the vehicle will just stop moving with the flow of traffic. My concern is being rear-ended or having any type of accident since the car abruptly stops without warning.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11683415August 27, 2025
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
CT5 2020 Doors will not unlock.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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