2016 Cadillac Ats problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (8) · Air Bags (5) · Wheels (4)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Cadillac Ats model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (3)
Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module 2026-05-21 · campaign 26V329000 · 5,014 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2015 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade ESV, XTS, 2015-2016 Cadillac ATS, CTS, and SRX vehicles. The front-driver air bag inflator may rupture during deployment.
Risk: An inflator rupture may result in sharp metal fragments striking the driver or other occupants, resulting in serious injury or death.
Fix: Dealers will replace the front-driver air bag module, free of charge. Interim letters notifying owners of the safety risk were mailed June 19, 2026. Additional letters will be mailed once the remedy is available. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. The manufacturer's number for this recall is N262555870. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on May 21, 2026.
Visibility:defroster/Defogger/Hvac System 2015-09-03 · campaign 15V558000 · 96,145 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Cadillac ATS sedan vehicles manufactured April 23, 2012, to September 2, 2015. In the affected vehicles, the coil antenna module that powers the rear defogger system may generate excessive heat due to excessive cycling or continuous operation.
Risk: If the coil antenna generates excessive heat, there is an increased risk of a fire.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the Electronic Climate Control module to remove the automatic rear defogger "on" function, free of charge. The recall began on October 16, 2015. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 15299.
Visibility:sun/Moon Roof Assembly 2015-07-24 · campaign 15V463000 · 63,665 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2016 Cadillac ATS vehicles manufactured April 25, 2012, to June 25, 2015. The affected vehicles may experience the roof panel closing automatically when the non-recessed switches are pressed and the roof panel is open. These vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 118, "Power-Operated Window, Partition, and Roof Panel Systems."
Risk: Because the switch is not recessed, the roof panel switch may inadvertently be pressed resulting in unintended auto-closure of the roof panel, increasing the risk of personal injury.
Fix: GM will notify owners and dealers will replace the roof console accessory switch trim plate, free of charge. The recall began on August 19, 2015. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 15568. Note this recall supersedes 15V-106.
Service bulletins (1,540)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-26 · PIT5698F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi provides diagnostics tips on how the lin bus works and how to diagnosis it.
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-21 · PIP5700H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the proper part numbers for transmission connectors and internal harness to prevent confusion when ordering
Unknown Or Other 2026-09-04 · PIP4902W · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information advises a dealer on how to email gds2 session logs into technical assistance.
Unknown Or Other 2026-07-21 · PIT5099J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
pi to help diagnose a/c concern
Unknown Or Other 2026-04-01 · PIT3271Q · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates information about how to determine if a wheel and tires size change is available.
Unknown Or Other 2026-03-09 · PIP6104 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates the steps on how to save a gds2 session log and upload to a technical assistance case in cx connect.
Showing the 6 most recent of 1,540 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-06-17 · Unknown Or Other“nhtsa campaign number: 15v558000 rear defogger coil antenna module may overheat if the coil antenna generates excessive heat, not sure what is happening but car does seem to overheat off and on especially when radio is turned on…”
2026-05-03 · Power Train“on 3rd differential in 2 years. dealer won’t fix without us paying another $4,700. there is no way a differential goes 3 times in 2 years. something is wrong. help!!…”
2025-11-24 · Wheels“my 2016 cadillac ats coupe has a serious repeating safety defect. the vehicle violently shakes, vibrates, and becomes unstable while driving. this happened twice. both times the rear bolts came out except one. both mechanics who inspected it said they have never seen this before. the first time, i paid $4,000 out of pocket at another shop. the pro…”
2025-01-24 · Air Bags“the contact owns a 2016 cadillac ats. the contact stated that the message "service air bag" was displayed, and the passenger's side seat belt warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. the dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was unknown. …”
2025-01-03 · Power Train“when driving at around 40-50mph you can feel that the car has a shudder vibration. took the car into cadillac where they are informing me that it is the torque converter that needs replacement. no warning lights. if not fixed can lead to transmission failure.…”
2024-11-23 · Power Train“i’ve only had this vehicle for about 2 years now. i purchased it off of carvana and had 30 days i could’ve returned the vehicle if there was issues. when i first got it, i noticed the vehicles gas pedal would shutter a tad while going up a hill or at a higher speed like on the highway. it would also jolt a little while taking off but when i took it…”
2024-03-28 · Air Bags · 61,000 mi · 💥 crash“the contact owned a 2016 cadillac ats. the contact stated while driving 40-50 mph and entering the expressway, she engaged the turn signal and verified that the road was cleared. the contact stated that while she was making the turn, an 18-wheeler truck suddenly hit the vehicle, causing the vehicle to crash into another vehicle. the contact stated …”
2024-03-05 · Power Train“transmission drags. when stopping the car jerks bad and sometimes proceeds to accelerate. when at a stop auto start has a hard jerk i reported this problem to cadillac dealership when i first got the car. they claim they couldn't find an issue. the touch pad goes out frequently. …”
2023-11-03 · Steering“reporting a case for gm recall n182161890. i bought my vehicle in 2022. i was informed that my car had all the recalls completed on that vehicle. my vehicle had exactly what this recall was for happen to it on 10/20/23. after contacting cadillac, they informed me that this recall was never completed on my vehicle. cadillac then told me that this re…”
2023-03-13 · Visibility/Wiper“my back glass on my 2016 cadillac ats shattered on 3-10-2023. it looks like it got hot from the defroster lines as it shattered every inch of the back glass and separated from the seals. i contacted cadillac and they started case #9-9552142107. i had the car inspected at my dealership on 3-11-23. they filled out the report on this case number to su…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.