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What 49 owners told NHTSA about the 2014 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 (49)Crash / fire / injury (5)Electrical system (16)Suspension (10)Brakes (6)Steering (4)Airbags (3)Body & structure (3)Engine & cooling (3)Electronic Stability Control (esc) (2)Engine (2)Wheels (2)

2 of 49 complaints match · Brakes · crash/fire/injury only · clear filters

Aug 22, 2014BrakesFire

SHORT VERSION: WHILE DRIVING APPROX. 55MPH, REAR BRAKES LOCKED UP. WE PULLED OVER INTO A PARKING LOT AND THE BRAKES WERE SMOKING AND A SMALL FIRE APPEARED ON EACH REAR BRAKE. A PERSON WHO SAW US PULL INTO THE PARKING LOT RAN OVER AND PUT OUT THE FIRE ON EACH BRAKE. LONG VERSION: APPROX. 2-WEEKS PRIOR TO THE ABOVE INCIDENT, THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH BOARD. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT. WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR, THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ILLUMINATED. AFTER THE APPOINTMENT, THE DEALER STATED THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. APPROX. 1-WEEK LATER, I WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. I STARTED MY CAR, RELEASED THE PARKING BRAKE, PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. IT APPEARED THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED. I CALLED THE ONSTAR SYSTEM, THE RAN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND FOUND NO ISSUES. I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARED. A FEW DAYS LATER, MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING IN UP STATE NEW YORK WHEN THE INCIDENT ABOVE OCCURRED. AFTER RETURNING TO OHIO, WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER WE PURCHASED THE CAR FROM. THEY CALLED YESTERDAY AND SAID THEY REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS BUT FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. AT THIS POINT, WE ASSUME THERE IS A DEEPER PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE ELECTRONIC BRAKING SYSTEM AND CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING THE CAR BACK. WE HAVE CONTACTED GM AND OUR CASE NUMBER IS [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

NHTSA ODI 10627565

Jun 30, 2014BrakesEngine & coolingFire

LETTER FROM CONGRESSMAN KING ON BEHALF OF CONSTITUENT RE XTS CADILLAC ENGINE FIRE. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN RECALLED ON APRIL 7, 2014, FOR A DEFECTIVE BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP, WHICH COULD START AN ENGINE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DECLARED TOTALED.

NHTSA ODI 10606311

Working with the data? Download all 49 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 2014 Cadillac XTS verdict →