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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)

6 of 103 complaints match · Speed control · clear filters

Oct 18, 2023Electrical systemSpeed controlEngine

Message”stalbility track needs service” while driving, speedometer and rpm hands become unstable with lights for traction coming on. Then car shuts down with no acceleration. Have brought to GM service several times and they can’t find the problem.

NHTSA ODI 11550621

Aug 19, 2021Electrical systemSpeed controlEngine

The car shut off while I was driving mid speed. This has happened multiple times luckily I wasnt on the highway. But this has happened many times so glad no other cars hit me, or I didnt crash with my kids in the car. This is so scary and I need Cadillac to look into this issue.

NHTSA ODI 11429696

Aug 7, 2021Electrical systemSpeed controlDriver assistance

DIC(Digital information cluster) fails to come on when I start the car. This is an electronic dashboard and also affects all the steering wheel Controls including cruise control, turning signals and heads up display.Without the system you are essentially driving blind. I notified Cadillac customer service A few months ago and they said they would replace the part but I would have to pay for the labor but they have not done so thus far. This instrument failure apparently happens often and through 2015 they had a service call to replace the part but I was not notified and it did not happen in my car until recently.

NHTSA ODI 11428139

Feb 27, 2018Speed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)Engine

ABS, TRACTION CONTROL LIGHT COME ON WHEN DRIVING. FRONT CAMERA ERROR, SIDE DETECTION OFF COMES ON SEEMS TO REALLY BE AFFECTED BY COLD TEMPS. GLASS OVER CONTROL STATION ALSO HAS HAIRLINE CRACKS ALL THE WAY AROUND THAT OCCURRED DURING OR -DEGREE WEATHER THIS WINTER UNSURE OF DATE

NHTSA ODI 11075189

Feb 6, 2018Electrical systemSpeed controlElectronic Stability Control (esc)

I PURCHASED THIS CAR USED IN 2/2017, GREAT CAR, UNTIL IT STARTS ACTING UP, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT SPEED OR DISTANCE YOU ARE GOING, ALL THE LIGHTS START FLASHING AND LOSES SPEED TILL IT COMPLETELY STOPS AND WILL NOT TURN BACK ON. YOU UNPLUG THE BATTERY AND TAKE ALL THE FUSES OUT, PLUG BATTERY BACK IN AND INSERT ALL FUSES AND IT WILL RESTART. IT WILL LEAVE YOU STRANDED ANYWHERE, AFTER A WEEK OF PURCHASE, TOOK IT BACK TO DEALERSHIP, THEY SUPPOSEDLY WORKED ON IT, ONLY HAD 30 DAYS OF WARRANTY, A FEW MONTHS LATER STARTED AGAIN AND WILL RANDOMLY DO IT. IT IS NOT A RELIABLE CAR AND DANGEROUS, I HAVE DROVE IT HERE IN CITY LIMITS ONLY, I DO NOT TRUST IT TO LEAVE TOWN.

NHTSA ODI 11067283

Aug 6, 2014Speed controlEngine

WHILE TRAVELING IN PARKING LOT, ANOTHER CAR PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME. AS I TRIED TO BRAKE TO AVOID A COLLISION, I NOTICED IT WAS TAKING AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF BRAKE PRESSURE TO SLOW DOWN VEHICLE. LOOKED AT TACHOMETER AND RPM'S WERE OVER 4000 IN DRIVE AND NOT LOSING SPEED. APPLIED BRAKE PRESSURE WITH BOTH FEET ATTEMPTING TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. HAD TO SLAM VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL AND TAP ON ACCELERATOR PEDAL NUMEROUS TIMES TO RETURN ENGINE TO IDLE RPM'S. TOOK VEHICLE TO CADILLAC DEALER WHO ADVISED COMPUTER SAID NOTHING OCCURRED. THIS SAFETY DEFECT OCCURRED AGAIN IN APRIL 2014 WITH SAME RESULTS. THE DEALERSHIP INSTALLED A COMPUTER MONITOR ON VEHICLE AFTER SECOND INCIDENT, WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN REMOVED. CADILLAC HAS BEEN SENT TWO LETTERS REGARDING THIS INCIDENT AND HAS TAKEN NO ACTION EXCEPT TO ADVISE THEM IF IT HAPPENS AGAIN. I REALLY AM NOT LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS SERIOUS MALFUNCTION OCCURRING AGAIN AS IT MAY RESULT IN UNFORTUNATE RESULTS. *TR

NHTSA ODI 10619306

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 →