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What 103 owners told NHTSA about the 2013 Cadillac XTS

These are the actual owner complaints behind this car’s reliability verdict, filed with the federal government, unedited. They’re unverified reports, not confirmed defects: read them as leads for your pre-purchase inspection, not a diagnosis.

All (103)Crash / fire / injury (2)Electrical system (41)Suspension (25)Engine (12)Brakes (9)Lights (9)Speed control (6)Wheels (6)Seats (4)Airbags (3)Driver assistance (3)

9 of 103 complaints match · Lights · clear filters

May 1, 2026BrakesElectrical systemLights

The contact owns a 2013 Cadillac XTS. The contact stated that several codes will intermittently illuminate on the vehicle, such as code 813, which refers to a transmission communication failure; a malfunction with the Instrument or Cluster (IPC); and code 62, which refers to the Body Control Module (recalls 13 and 158). The Power Steering, Drive Carefully, and Suspension warning lights would illuminate. The instrument panel would suddenly black out, or certain monitoring systems, such as the speedometer, would fail. All failures would occur intermittently. The vehicle was taken to a certified mechanic, who informed them that water intrusion into a bulk cluster behind the bumper of the front passenger's wheel, where several wires for different systems of the vehicle are interconnected. The vehicle was drained, dried, and sealed with silicone. The failures persisted. The contact completed some research and learned of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14v116000 (Service Brakes, Hydraulic) online, which they believed could be related to their failure. The dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the VIN was not included in any open recalls at the time. The vehicle was not repaired again. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 156,000.

NHTSA ODI 11735040

Dec 8, 2025Lights

Automatic Headlamp Leveling System malfunction causing safety issues with nighttime driving.

NHTSA ODI 11703855

Nov 17, 2020Electrical systemLights

VEHICLE RADIO AND DASHBOARD IS COMPLETELY BLACKOUT, STARTED FLASHING AND LATER WENT BLACK IN A MONTH TIME.

NHTSA ODI 11374974

Jan 4, 2018LightsElectronic Stability Control (esc)

I PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE OCTOBER 20TH 2017 AND WITHIN 2 WEEKS THE SERVICE DRIVER ASSISTANCE SYSTEM LIGHT CAME ON. TOOK IT TO DEALER WAS TOLD WAS OLD CODE AND ERASED A FEW DAYS LATER SAME MESSAGE CAME ON WAS TOLD DASH WAS CLEARED AND GM CASE FILED. A FEW DAYS LATER LIGHT CAME ON FOR 3RD TIME. DEALER TOYED US AROUND ABOUT FIXING IT BUT FINALLY SUPPOSEDLY DID WITH NEW SENSORS IN SEAT. SINCE THEN I HAVE BEEN HAVING MAJOR ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH MY ABS SYSTEM AND KEY FOB. KEY FOB BECOMES UNRESPONSIVE AND ABS LIGHT COMES ON AND OFF. TOOK CAR TO DEALERSHIP WAS TOLD ABS SENSOR WAS SUPPOSEDLY BROKE AND NOT COVERED UNDER WARRENTEE AND THEY REFUSED TO FIX THE ISSUE FOR ME. I AM VERY AFFRAID TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE IT SITS PARKED IN MY YARD AND I PAID OVER 20K FOR IT. I FEEL I HAVE BEEN TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF BECAUSE I HAVE A DISABILITY WITH MY SPEECH. I HAVE DOCUMENTATION ABOUT KEY FOB AND ABS I CAN SEND IF NEEDED. THE CAR WAS DRIVING WHEN THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON WENT OFF AND TRACTION CONTROL CAME ON THEN OFF THEN BACK ON. THE KEY FOB WOULDNT WORK WHEN TRYING TO TURN CAR OFF BECAUSE IT HAS PUSH BUTTON THE FOB CONTROLLS STARTING IT AND TURNING IT OFF.

NHTSA ODI 11058513

Jun 12, 2017Electrical systemLightsBrakes

INTERMITTENTLY MY ELECTRONIC PANEL WILL SHUT DOWN AND NO ELECTRONIC FUNCTIONS WILL OPERATE. TYPICALLY THEY WILL RETURN POWER IN ABOUT AN HOUR OR LESS. THERE HAS BEEN A TIME IN THE LAST 15 DAYS THAT THE POWER DID NOT RETURN AND I HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP. TURNS OUT THAT RESULTED IN A FUSE REPLACEMENT FOR $125. THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS WILL RANDOMLY COME ON AND THE DEALER WOULD NOT COVER IT UNTIL I CALLED GM HEADQUARTERS AND THEY GOT THE DEALER TO COVER IT UNDER A NOTICE ISSUED FOR THE VEHICLES OF MY TYPE BUT NOT MY VIN NUMBER. MY BRAKES SQUEAK FREQUENTLY BUT THE DEALER TELLS ME THAT IS NORMAL BUT WILL NOT TELL ME IF THE RECALL HAD BEEN FIXED FOR THAT ITEM. MY BRAKE LIGHTS AND FLASHERS WILL COME ON WHEN I AM DRIVING, STARTING THE CAR OR PARK THE CARE AND LEAVE IT FOR SOME TIME. THIS HAPPENS LIKE THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM SHUTDOWN, WITHOUT ANY WARNING, IN ALL SEASONS, DURING ALL TIMES OF THE DAY OR NIGHT, AFTER EXTENDED OR SHORT DURATION TRIPS. THERE IS NOTING I HAVE FOUND TO HELP ME PREDICT THE OCCURRENCES AND LATELY I DON'T DRIVE IT FOR FEAR OF BEING STRANDED UNLESS I AM ALONE. SINCE THE DEALER CAN NOT DUPLICATE THE ISSUE THEY ARE NOT WILLING TO REPAIR IT AND WANT ME TO PAY $600 TO HAVE THE BODY CONTROL MODULE REPLACED IN HOPES THAT WILL CLEAR UP THE PROBLEMS.

NHTSA ODI 10994445

Mar 11, 2015Lights

RIGHT TURN SIGNAL FAILURE.. ALL OF MY RIGHT TURN SIGNAL MARKS GO OUT. FRONT, MIRROR, AND REAR. THE DEALER WHERE I TOOK THE MY VEHICLE TO SAID THAT THEY COULD NOT GET IT TO REPRODUCE THE PROBLEM. I WAS TOLD THAT IN THEIR DIAGNOSTIC THAT IT WAS SHOWING THE FRONT TURN SIGNAL FAILURE AND I HAD A PICTURE OF THE REAR TURN SIGNAL FAILURE. THEY TOLD ME I NEEDED TO VIDEO TAPE IT WHEN IT HAPPENS. WHILE I'M DRIVING??? I CONTACTED GM AND OPENED A CASE ON IT WHICH GOT THE DEALER TO TAKE IT IN. I GOT THE VEHICLE BACK AND IT STILL DID THE SAME THING. I CALLED GM BACK UP AND TOLD THEM IS WASN'T FIXED AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THE DISTRICT MANAGER SAID TO CLOSE THE CASE AND TO GO GET IT FIXED SOMEWHERE ELSE. AS OF 2/16 I AM STILL AWAITING TO GET THE VEHICLE FIXED. THE DISTRICT MANAGER OF GM TOLD THE DEALER NOT TO FIX IT. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10693640

Aug 12, 2014LightsBrakes

WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES, THE BRAKE LIGHTS DO NOT COME ON. I WAS TOLD BY MANY PEOPLE THAT THE BRAKE LIGHTS DOES NOT WORK. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10621827

May 5, 2014BrakesElectrical systemLights

2013 CADILLAC XTS4. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO RECEIVING PROFESSIONAL AND SATISFACTORY CUSTOMER SERVICE WHEN CONSUMER DROPPED OFF VEHICLE AT DEALERSHIP FOR RECALL. *SMD

NHTSA ODI 10585920

Mar 19, 2014LightsVisibility & wipers

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS 2013 CADILLAC XTS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE LOW BEAMS FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALER WHERE IT WAS FOUND THAT THE BULBS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT THE SUN ROOF SUDDENLY EXPLODED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 9,000.

NHTSA ODI 10573402

Working with the data? Download all 103 complaints as CSV · fetched from NHTSA July 23, 2026

How to use these: a complaint is one owner’s report, filed voluntarily and published unverified. Patterns matter more than any single story. If several owners describe the same failure at similar mileage, put that system at the top of your pre-purchase inspection list. Back to the full 2013 Cadillac XTS verdict →