There are 4 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2013 Cadillac ATSin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
Breaks are not working properly, once the car sits for a few hours, then once I start it and put it into gear (reverse/drive) as I press the breaks(new break pads) the car continues to roll. This could be the abs module or the calipers but these should be good for the life of the vehicle. No dealer has the abs module. So now I'm stuck putting myself and others in danger.
ON FEBRUARY 22ND AND 27TH 2014, WHILE TRAVELING AT 75MPH THE ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL SLAMMED THE BRAKES ON THEN RELEASED. I THOUGHT THE SYSTEM HAD MISS-READ THE SHADOW OF AN OVERPASS AS A VEHICLE IN FRONT OF ME BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONLY THING IN SIGHT WHEN THE BRAKES LOCKED, THERE WERE NO VEHICLES PRESENT. ROADS WERE DRY. IT WAS REPORTED TO CADILLAC VIA THEIR 800 NUMBER AND THEN BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP 4 MARCH 2014,FOR ANALYSIS. THE DEALER IMPLEMENTED AN UPDATE TO THE ACTIVE SAFETY CONTROL MODULE. CADILLAC STATED THEY WOULD SEND AN E-MAIL TO MY DEALER ABOUT THE PROBLEM, BUT DEALER STATED THEY NEVER RECEIVED THE E-MAIL. NO FURTHER PROBLEM NOTED UNTIL 1 APRIL 2014, FOUR WEEKS LATER, DURING A TRIP THE SAME ACTION HAPPENED TWICE WITHIN A MILE OF TRAVEL. BRAKES WERE ABRUPTLY APPLIED, RED SCREEN ON DASH WITH CRASH IMMANENT. AGAIN AT 70MPH AND NO BRIDGES OR OTHER VEHICLES IN PATH. THE ROAD CONDITION WAS WET. THIS IS A LARGE SAFETY CONCERN FOR ME IF THE BREAKS SHOULD LOCK AT 70+ MPH AND NOT RELEASE AND I HAVE TRAFFIC BEHIND ME. *TR
THE AUTOMATIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE BRAKING SYSTEM ACTIVATED AT FREEWAY SPEEDS WITH NOTHING IN FRONT OF THE CAR FOR OVER A MILE AND FULLY SLAMMED THE BRAKES AND FLASHED THE HEADS UP DISPLAY COLLISION WARNING. THIS SYSTEM FAILED MULTIPLE WAYS, ONE IT THOUGHT THERE WAS AN EMINENT COLLISION WHEN THERE WASN'T AND TWO IT ISN'T SUPPOSED TO APPLY BRAKES AT THOSE SPEEDS. THIS HAS HAPPENED MULTIPLE TIMES AND THE MOST RECENT WAS AFTER A "FIX" BY THE DEALER. IF THERE HAD BEEN AN 18 WHEELER BEHIND ME WHEN THE CAR SLAMMED ON THE BRAKES THAT COULDN'T STOP AS FAST AS MY CAR THERE WOULD'VE BEEN AN ACCIDENT WITH POSSIBLE FATALITY. *TR
THE BRAKE AND GAS PEDAL ARE SO CLOSE TOGETHER THAT WHEN BRAKING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC IT IS POSSIBLE TO DEPRESS THE GAS PEDAL WHILE BRAKING RESULTING IN AN ENGINE SURGE CONDITION. THIS ONLY HAPPENS IN BUMPER TO BUMPER TRAFFIC OR WHEN STOPPING AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026