Cadillac · CTS · 2008
2
Recalls
174
Complaints
-
Not Rated
The 2008 Cadillac CTS has 2 recalls and 174 owner-reported complaints on file with NHTSA. Most reported issue: electrical system (19 reports).
Source: NHTSA Public Records · Updated Apr 22, 2026
This page combines three types of NHTSA data: recall campaigns (official manufacturer or government actions), owner complaints (unverified consumer reports), and crash test ratings (where available). A vehicle with many complaints is not necessarily less reliable — complaint volume correlates with sales volume and vehicle age. Recalls indicate identified defects, not overall quality. To compare this model year with others, use the year navigation in the sidebar or return to the model overview page.
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 2, 2014 that they are recalling 554,328 model year 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS vehicles manufactured August 16, 2001, to April 28, 2014, and 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured March 20, 2003, to August 11, 2006. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Remedy Status
GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 15, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14172.
GM IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2006-2009 BUICK, LUCERNE; CADILLAC DTS; HUMMER H2; MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 BUICK ENCLAVE; CADILLAC CTS; MODEL YEAR 2007-2009 CADILLAC ESCALADE, ESCALADE ESV, ESCALADE EXT; CHEVROLET AVALANCHE, SILVERADO, SUBURBAN, TAHOE; GMC ACADIA, SIERRA, YUKON, YUKON XL; SATURN OUTLOOK; AND MODEL YEAR 2009 CHEVROLET TRAVERSE VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A HEATED WASHER FLUID SYSTEM (HWFS). A RECALL WAS IMPLEMENTED IN 2008 TO ADD A FUSE TO THE CONTROL CIRCUIT HARNESS TO ADDRESS THE POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES OF A PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (PCB) ELECTRICAL SHORT. HOWEVER, THERE HAVE BEEN NEW REPORTS OF THERMAL INCIDENTS ON HWFS MODULES AFTER THIS IMPROVEMENT WAS INSTALLED. THESE INCIDENTS RESULTED FROM A NEW FAILURE MODE ATTRIBUTED TO THE DEVICE'S THERMAL PROTECTION FEATURE. THE SIGNIFICANCE VARIES FROM MINOR DISTORTION TO CONSIDERABLE MELTING OF THE PLASTIC AROUND THE HWFS FLUID CHAMBER.
Remedy Status
DEALERS WILL PERMANENTLY DISABLE AND REMOVE THE HEATED WASHER FLUID MODULE. AN UPDATED PAGE FOR THE OWNER MANUAL WILL BE PROVIDED AND INSERTED IN THE OWNER MANUAL TO DOCUMENT THAT THE FEATURE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY DISABLED AND REMOVED FROM THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON JUNE 11, 2010. OWNERS MAY CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, SATURN AT 1-800-972-8876, GMC AT 1-866-996-9463 AND HUMMER AT 1-800-732-5493 OR AT THE OWNER CENTER AT WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
I haven't had a problem with my car and my truck. But my main concern is the LED and laser headlights almost every new car and truck that comes equipped with them. Even the aftermarket replacement bulbs and light assemblies, they are way too bright at night. Blindly bright. I have to put my hand in front of my eyes and face to reduce the amount of glare. I feel like these headlights can be a safety hazard to drivers at night.
The recall performed on this vehicle were not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get aThe recall performed on this vehicle we’re not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get a timing chain for Morris Cadillac. I have several receipts from the vehicle being serviced because of the faulty windshield washer heater system that was supposed to be disabled caused an electrical short in the vehicle because it was not properly sealed water got in the wires and caused the computer to be fried this happened before the car still only has 67,000 miles and they won’t even take it in. The car stopped in the middle of the road almost killing everybody. I’ve had several technicians explain that it’s because of the faulty. Recall that they did not fix that is still exposed. Maybe they had a worker that was fired in 2017. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Airbags did not deploy in a massive front end collision. That failure caused me physical injury which possibly would not have occurred had the airbags deployed. I don’t know how many 2008 Cadillac CTS are on the road at this time but feel it is an important enough matter that should be investígated. This was never recalled. Thank you, [XXX] , [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Ever since I purchased this 2008 CTS vehicle, I have dumped thousands of dollars to repair the vehicle even after the "recall repairs". Problems persist and the car has become more dangerous than ever. The vehicle had inspected by the dealership a number of times the first 5 years of ownership the first 3, listed below, were the replaced recalls from dealership, the rest are known safety issues that gm denies to admit to faults and recalls. *Ignition starter replacement (still have starter failure issues after 2 repairs from gm) *washer fluid warmer removal (they just snipped the wires and removed the component but left hot wires exposed in vehicle) *motherboard ecm replacement recall(ecm is still faulty and has caused dozens of electrical issues. **************** battery drains over night. On my 6th battery (just bought new one 3 days ago) gauge cluster never recalibrated and is completely disabled. Don't know how fast im going how much gas or any other info related to. sunroof constantly leaking, flooding vehicle and destroying the electrical components which fried many relays including the door lock and power window components vehicle refuses to turn but cranks on fuel often will not allow a fill up ecm throwing irrelevant codes headlight failure due to seal defect that allows moisture into headlight casing frequent oil loss. 2018: vehicle engine failure whilst driving on freeway with zero warning nearly causing a fatal crash. Purchased new alternator (Shade tree auto in san Clemente) and had to pay 2000 for tow and alternator transmission failure and near miss collision into another vehicle on a steep incline road I have taken this vehicle to a multitude of repair shops and auto supply to get a diagnosis. Even the dealership didn't have any answers. Now I am out of a car. and money. These issues had been confirmed by Rorick Cadillac, Shade tree auto, oreily, s and s auto, auto zone.
Car went crazy one day while behind the wheel everything malfunctioned then car shut off and won't start again. I could of easily got into an accident had there been any other vehicles around. Kids were scared. Codes come up as U0100,U0140,U0101,C0242,B0081-0F,B0081-71,B1370-01,B1370-06,U0155-00,U0170-00,P0856-00.
I was pulled over by the Police because my 2008 Cadillac CTS license plate lights were not working and my rear brake lights were not working. These light failures were caused by a known design flaw with the wiring harness in the trunk lid near the right trunk lid hinge in where the wires inside the harness that go to the brake lights break in half after repeated opening and closing of the trunk lid because of the poor design of the wiring harness and it’s mounting brackets. There should have been a safety recall from GM as I could have been killed if a car in back of me did not stop because my brake lights were not going on when I would step on my cars brake peddle! Now the car dealership service center wants to charge me $335.00 to replace the broken wires that were caused by GM/Cadillac’s poor and unsafe design of this wiring harness. Regards [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
I was driving down the road going Bout 29 miles per hour when I heard a big boom. It sounded ND felt like I had hit something . So I slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road put the car in park looked underneath nothing was there . I then preceeded to my at. Which thank God was only another block away .I started going only going maybe 5 miles per hour at this point because it sounds like I'm dragging like metals on the ground . When I got to my apt. I went to park the car when I went to put it into park it would not go when I went to reverse it would nit go it still went into drive and thTs it and even getting it into driveyou really had to push it and it felt like the tires were going to wobble off , I mean bye this time it just felt like the car was gonna fall apart shaking abd wobbling all over because I kept trying g to go from drive to neutral to get it to go into park but it didn't budge I had to leave it in neutral and put on the emergency break and shut the car off leaving my key I side cause it wS stuck due to the car not going into park. When I came out of my apt. I wS just frazzled I didn't understand whT wS going on she hD been running beautifully. But I did remember when I first test drove her I had told the sales man she had felt like I wS pulling something she wS kinda hesitant to excelerate . He assured me she's had a 5 star inspection and the whole cars under warranty ND he works on cadillacs himself . Yada Yada Yada. I had called. Friend to come help me tow her home . He tried to get her to manually go into drive but it still wouldn't budge he thought maybe the shift link u til we got her home it was the drive shaft it had sheered off all the bolt one half was on the one part the other part of the bolt were broke off where it connected to the tyranny. He said you can't replace this with out trying to back our the bolts but there metric bolts and would be hard to find . And I would just be better off with a new driveshaft.
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, he noticed there was a puddle of fuel on the ground coming from the passenger's side fuel line. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with corrosion on the fuel line causing the fuel leak. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 34,000.
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac CTS. The contact stated that water leaks into the vehicle from the sunroof causing mold to develop inside the vehicle which caused a respiratory illness to the owner. Also while driving approximately 20 mph the front headlights suddenly shut off causing a visibility problem to the driver who lost control of the vehicle to crashed into a curb. During the crash the driver sustained a neck injury. No medical attention was required. No police report was filed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer and local dealer was not notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 123,000.
Fuel supply stops and engine stalls when I get near or below 1/4 tank. I can restart the engine and it will run for anywhere from a few seconds to sometimes a minute, but mostly only a few seconds. Limp my car this way to a gas station, fill the tank, problem solved. I know it had fuel in the tank as it only took 11 gallons with my 16 gallon tank. Installed a new fuel pump, problem continues. This can put someone in a life threatening situation. The first time it happened I was passing a semi truck on a 2 lane Interstate with cars and trucks behind me. Just as I got half way on the semi's left, I'm doing about 70 mph, the engine stalls. Luckily, I kept a cool head and turned on my blinker as the car slowed down. The semi behind me took a hint and backed off so I could coast to the right shoulder. This could very easily have caused a fatal accident. It has since happened 3 or 4 other times.
Cruise control will randomly turn off and will be unavailable for a few days then come back. Engine seized up out of nowhere while driving down the road and nearly caused an accident due to it locking up while moving.
VEHICLE WATER LEAKS THAT POOL ON FLOORBOARD, CAUSING MOLD
AFTER IT RAINS WATER LEAKS FROM SUNROOF (NOT SURE) DOWN ONTO FLOORBOARD NEAR THE PETAL.AND ALSO INTO TRUNK. ELECTRICAL DEVICE INSIDE CAR DOES NOT OPEN TRUNK EVEN AFTER HAVING IT REPAIRED.
DRIVING IN A 45 DEGREE MORNING ON SMOOTH ROAD, NO OVER HEAD ITEMS, THE SUN ROOF GLASS PANEL EXPLODED INTO PIECES, RAINING GLASS THROUGHOUT THE CAR. I WAS DRIVING STRAIGHT ON A TOWNSHIP ROAD, WEATHER WAS PRISTINE. THE SUNROOF WAS SOMETHING I RARELY USE, AND NOT ENGAGED IN MONTHS. THERE WAS NO BUMPS, NOTHING WAS STRUCK, NOTHING HIT THE CAR OR ROOF. THERE WAS NO EXPLANATION FOR WHY THIS OCCURRED, AND NO ANTECEDENT PROBLEMS WITH THE SUNROOF OR ITS PRIOR (ALBEIT REMOTE) FUNCTION. I HAVE PICTURES BUT UNABLE TO LOAD THEM ONTO THE FILE AT THIS TIME. .
THE AIR BAG LIGHT STAYS ON, BUT CADILLAC HAS NOT DONE A RECALL
ERROR CODE KEPT OCCURING, HAD TO SPEND $3000 RECENTLY AND HAVE HEARD FRM MECANICS THIS HAPPEN OFTEN ON 2008 CTS CARS. ALVE ITIMING CHAIN WAS STRETCHED CAUSING CAM FAULT, ACTUATOR WAS LEAKINGING OIL CODE AS OCCRED BEFORE, BUT MECHANIC SAID TO WAIT
THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN LEAKING WATER AND NOBODY KNOWS WHERE THE LEAK IS COMING FROM. WHENEVER IT RAINS, THERE IS A POOL OF WATER ON BOTH THE DRIVER'S FLOOR MAT AND THE PASSENGER'S FLOOR MAT ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. YOU CAN ALSO WITNESS WATER COMING DOWN FROM THE REARVIEW MIRROR. ALSO, THE DRIVER'S SEAT HAS SUNK IN AND IS NO LONGER OPERATIONAL. I HAVE CALLED CADILLAC MOTOR COMPANY REGARDING THESE DEFECTS AND ALL THAT I WAS TOLD IS THAT THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY. I TRIED TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT THIS PROBLEM IS A COMMON OCCURRENCE WITH CADILLAC VEHICLES BECAUSE I EXPERIENCED THE SAME ISSUE WITH MY CADILLAC ELDORADO. THE PROBLEM WITH MY CADILLAC ELDORADO WAS SO BAD THAT I HAD TO GET RID OF IT. I BOUGHT THE 2008 CADILLAC CTS AND AFTER MANY YEARS, I STARTED HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. THE WATER LEAKING ISSUE AND MALFUNCTION OF THE DRIVER'S SEAT CAN POSE A DEADLY RISK TO THE DRIVER. IF THE ISSUE THAT I AM HAVING NOW IS THE SAME ISSUE THAT I HAD WITH MY ELDORADO, THEN, THERE IS A PROBLEM WITH THE DESIGN OF THESE VEHICLES. CADILLAC MUST BE ASKED TO LOOK INTO THESE ISSUES AND HAVE THEM CORRECTED BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE FOR THE UNFORTUNATE DRIVERS LIKE ME.
FEBRUARY 14, 2020 IS JUST THE LAST DATE IT HAS HAPPENED ON. IT'S HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 30 TIMES. FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS IF YOU DON'T JUST EASE ON THE GAS THE REDUCED ENGINE LIGHT AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COMES ON AND THE CAR WILL NOT GO OVER 5 M.P.H. I HAVE READ SEVERAL HUNDRED ARTICLES ONLINE ON DIFFERENT WEBSITES WITH PEOPLE DESCRIBING THE EXACT SAME THING. IT ALMOST GOT ME HIT ON THE MS. RIVER BRIDGE THE OTHER DAY. IF U HAVE TO GO UP ANY TYPE OF INCLINE IT DOES IT ALSO. I WAS ACCELERATING SLOWLY AS I POSSIBLY COULD GOING UP THE SMALL INCLINE ON THE BRIDGE THAT CONNECTS LOUISIANA AND MISSISSIPPI. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE REDUCED ENGINE POWER LIGHT CAME ON AND I COULD NOT GET OUT OF TRAFFIC THAT WAS DOING APPROXIMATELY 55 M.P.H. AND MY TWO YEAR OLD GRANDSON WAS IN THE BACKSEAT. THE ONLY WAY TO FIX IT TEMPORARILY IS TO GET OFF THE BRIDGE BECAUSE THERE IS NO WHERE TO PULL TO THE SIDE OF THE BRIDGE. YOU HAVE TO KILL THE CAR FOR A FEW SECONDS AND RECRANK IT. I'VE HAD MECHANICS LOOK AT IT AND I'VE HAD IT HOOKED TO THE COMPUTER AT O'REILLYS. NO ONE CAN TELL ME ANYTHING. BUT IF IT WEREN'T A SAFETY RECALL WHY WOULD ALMOST 1,000 VEHICLES THAT I KNOW OF BE DOING THE SAME THING. YOU CAN GOOGLE IT AND SEE THAT I'M TELLING THE TRUTH. LOTS OF THESE CARS HAVE THE IDENTICAL PROBLEM. I'M CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR A NEWER MODEL BETWEEN 2014-2018, BUT I'M AFRAID OF HAVING THE SAME OR A SIMILAR PROBLEM. THIS IS DEFINITELY A RECALL. BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU ALL DO NOT WANT TO DO ANY RECALLS ON THESE CADILLACS. I'VE BEEN TO LOTS AND LOTS OF WEBSITES AND I HAVE NOT FOUND ANYONE WHO'S BEEN ABLE TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. EVEN THE ONES THAT HAVE HAD IT PUT IN THE DEALERSHIP HAVE STILL YET TO FIGURE OUT THE PROBLEM. IT HAS TO BE ELECTRICAL OR ONE OR MORE SENSORS MALFUNCTIONING. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 CADILLAC CTS. WHILE DRIVING 35 MPH, THE CONTACT SMELLED FUEL INSIDE THE VEHICLE. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO RITCHEY CADILLAC (LOCATED AT 932 N NOVA RD #101, DAYTONA BEACH, FL 32117, (386) 675-1019) WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE FUEL PUMP MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 73,271. *BF CONSUMER STATED GM MODELS 2006,2007 AND 2008 WERE RECALLED BUT CADILLAC SHOULD HAVE BEEN RECALLED.*JB
Showing 1–20 of 25 complaints
The 2008 Cadillac CTS has 2 recalls recorded by NHTSA.
NHTSA has received 174 owner-reported complaints for the 2008 Cadillac CTS.
NHTSA has not published a safety rating for the 2008 Cadillac CTS.
The most commonly reported complaint categories for the 2008 Cadillac CTS are electrical system (19 reports), fuel/propulsion system (16 reports), vehicle speed control (11 reports).
Yes. NHTSA has 2 recalls on record for the 2008 Cadillac CTS. Scroll up to review the published recall summaries, consequences, and remedies. To check for unrepaired recalls on your specific vehicle, use your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Look up recalls and complaints for any year, make, and model.
This page summarizes publicly available data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaint counts reflect reports submitted to NHTSA by vehicle owners and do not by themselves prove defect severity or vehicle safety. Safety ratings may not be available for all vehicle-years. This site is not affiliated with NHTSA or any vehicle manufacturer. For official information, visit the official NHTSA page for this vehicle.