2020 Cadillac Ct5 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Power Train (11) · Electrical System (4) · Structure:body (3)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Cadillac Ct5 model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
Safety recalls (4)
Power Train:automatic Transmission 2025-03-06 · campaign 25V148000 · 90,081 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, 2020-2021 CT4, CT5, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro vehicles equipped with a 10-speed transmission. The transmission may become damaged internally and cause the wheels to lock-up.
Risk: Wheel lock-up while driving increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install transmission control module monitoring software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 7, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242480630.
Exterior Lighting:lighting Control Module:software 2022-12-08 · campaign 22V903000 · 740,108 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Cadillac CT4 and CT5; 2021-2023 Buick Envision; and 2022-2023 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The daytime running lights (DRLs) may not deactivate when the headlights are on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: DRLs that do not deactivate as intended may result in a glare, reducing visibility, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The body control module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2023. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N222386380. This recall expands previous recall number 22V-827.
Air Bags:side/Window:curtain 2021-08-05 · campaign 21V611000 · 34,157 vehicles
Defect: General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Cadillac CT4 and CT5 vehicles. The roof rail side-curtain air bags may not have been installed correctly, which could result in an improper air bag deployment during a crash.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy properly can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both left and right-side roof rail air bags and reinstall the air bags, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 30, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212342780.
Service Brakes 2020-09-24 · campaign 20V588000 · 3,677 vehicles
Defect: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020 Chevrolet Corvette and Cadillac CT4, CT5 and XT4, 2021 Chevrolet Trailblazer, and 2020-2021 Buick Encore GX vehicles. Sensor connection contamination in the electronic brake boost system may cause an interruption of communication between the sensor and the brake boost system.
Risk: If communication with the sensor is interrupted, the electronic brake boost assist could be lost. Extra pedal force will be required to slow and stop the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the electronic brake boost module, free of charge. The recall began December 9, 2020. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-630-2438, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223, or Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300. GM's number for this recall is A202307260.
Service bulletins (898)
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 2026-09-08 · PIC6555A · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi advises of a procedure for a service door latch system message with no related dtcs
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 2026-04-25 · PIT6511 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates an issue with a replace or low fob battery message
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.
Showing the 6 most recent of 898 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2026-09-21 · Power Train“i am filing an urgent consumer safety complaint against bert ogden cadillac in [xxx] for a severe federal safety recall violation. my 2020 cadillac ct5 is experiencing catastrophic transmission failure, including severe slipping and violent pulling during acceleration. this creates an immediate risk of sudden highway drive-wheel lock-up as warned u…”
2026-08-04 · Latches/Locks/Linkages · 46,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 cadillac ct5. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked and using the key fob to open the door, the door on the driver’s side failed to open. the failure was a recurring failure. the dealer was contacted and diagnosed the vehicle with an exterior door handle failure on the driver’s side. the manufacturer was not …”
2026-07-26 · Structure:body“electronic door hand on the drivers side completely stopped working, with little warning. this includes the proximity unlock feature and unlocking the car with the fob. if this were to have happened to all four doors at once, it would have been impossible to enter the car without breaking the glass. this is not safe. …”
2026-07-16 · Unknown Or Other“there is some type of mechanical or electrical malfunction with the door locking system. i can not unlock or enter the car using the fan or by any mechanism from outside the car. this has left my fiance & infant trapped in the car. my fiance has to reach over and manually open the driver side door from inside the vehicle. however, i can no longer d…”
2026-07-16 · Unknown Or Other“the left passenger door will not open manually nor with key fob. it has caused me to not allow back seat passengers including grand children for fear if necessary to get out in an emergency and i am left to wonder if the driver door will go into lock position during a collision and that would be life threatening. i tried holding the lock and unlock…”
2026-07-16 · Power Train“lockhart cadillac service department committed warranty fraud by charging me on multiple occasions for repairs that should have been covered under gm/cadillac 2025 transmission recall & special extended warranties. the transmission has continued to deteriorate. i took the vehicle in on july 1, 2026 for recall service and was told it needed a valve …”
2026-05-26 · Power Train“while driving my 2020 cadillac ct5 at highway speeds, the vehicle suffered a sudden and dangerous total loss of motive power. the transmission completely failed without warning, creating an immediate, severe safety hazard as i was forced to navigate across multiple active lanes of high-speed highway traffic without acceleration.the vehicle was towe…”
2026-05-12 · Unknown Or Other“the rear passenger driver side outside door handle stopped working about 3 days ago. i have three small grandchildren and if there is an accident or any other emergency i cannot open the back door to get them or anyone out of the vehicle to safety, which can lead to bodily harm or worse. i have already had the driver outside door handle replaced on…”
2026-04-22 · Latches/Locks/Linkages:doors:latch · 70,000 mi“the contact owns a 2020 cadillac ct5. the contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the front passenger's side and the front driver's side door latches failed to unlock from the outside. in addition, the front passenger's side door latch failed to unlatch from the inside. the vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a fai…”
2026-03-08 · Electrical System“my front door latch doesn't work often leaving me locked out of the car. if the car is off i can use the auto roll down feature, but if the car is on i can't. this is a safety issue if i am in danger or my child is in the car. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.