IllustrationHEADLINER IN REAR OF CAR FALLEN DOWN
2013 Cadillac Xts
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
More warning signs than most Xts years
Owner complaints for the 2013 Cadillac Xts are substantially higher than the model-year median of 22.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Xts years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
180–25K
1625–50K
2350–75K
875–100K
7100–150K
3150K+
75 reports with mileage · 28 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 41 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 25 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Engine. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
0 crash reports2 fire reports0 injury reports
What owners actually said
103 reportsTHE NAVIGATION SYSTEM IN MY 2013 CADILLAC XTS IS INOPERATIVE. CADILLAC HAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS ISSUES SINCE 2013. THE SCREEN CRACKS AND THE NAVIGATION AND HEATER CONTROLS DO NOT FUNCTION. YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE COMPLAINTS ON THIS WEBSITE - WWW.FRESHCADILLAC.COM/-CUE-TOUCH-SCREEN-NOT-WORKING
REAR SUSPENSION COMPLETELY LOWERED TO THE GROUND WHILE RUNNING. DEALERSHIP STARTED THIS WAS DUE TO A BURNT LEVELING SYSTEM. AT THE SAME TIME, THE CUE SYSTEM DISCONNECTED TO WORK AS IT SHOULD. VEHICLE HAS 68K MILES. AFTER FIXED, NOW THE GETS STUCK IN THE UP POSITION OFTEN. DEALER THEN REPLACE THE FRONT STRUT SINCE THEY CLAIMED TH…
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REAR SUSPENSION COMPLETELY LOWERED TO THE GROUND WHILE RUNNING. DEALERSHIP STARTED THIS WAS DUE TO A BURNT LEVELING SYSTEM. AT THE SAME TIME, THE CUE SYSTEM DISCONNECTED TO WORK AS IT SHOULD. VEHICLE HAS 68K MILES. AFTER FIXED, NOW THE GETS STUCK IN THE UP POSITION OFTEN. DEALER THEN REPLACE THE FRONT STRUT SINCE THEY CLAIMED THIS WAS CAUSING THE ISSUE. VEHICLE STILL WITH THE SAME ISSUES EVENT AFTER SEVERAL VISITS TO THE DEALER TO RE-LEVEL THE VEHICLE.
IN THE LAST TWO YEARS THE CAR RANDOMLY HAS A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE AND LOSS OF POWER AND ELECTRICAL WHILE DRIVING. WITHOUT WARNING THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AND ALL LIGHTS, DASH PANEL, POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, ETC COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN REQUIRING THE CAR TO COAST TO A STOP AND PUT INTO PARK AT WHICH TIME THE CAR WILL RESTART. …
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IN THE LAST TWO YEARS THE CAR RANDOMLY HAS A COMPLETE POWER FAILURE AND LOSS OF POWER AND ELECTRICAL WHILE DRIVING. WITHOUT WARNING THE ENGINE SHUTS DOWN AND ALL LIGHTS, DASH PANEL, POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, ETC COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN REQUIRING THE CAR TO COAST TO A STOP AND PUT INTO PARK AT WHICH TIME THE CAR WILL RESTART. THIS HAS HAPPENED APPROXIMATELY 10 TIMES IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME IT WAS AN ISSUE WITH THE BATTERY AND REPLACED BUT OCCURRED AGAIN A MONTH LATER AND THEY HAD NO CODES TO INDICATE WHAT WAS HAPPENING. ON TWO OCCASIONS THE CAR LOST POWER IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND WOULDN'T START FOR 10 MINUTES AT WHICH TIME IT SUDDENLY HAD POWER WITH THE RADIO AND LIGHTS TURNING ON AGAIN. LOOKING ONLINE I'VE FOUND NUMEROUS ISSUES SIMILAR TO MINE WITH 2013 MODELS BUT NO FIXES HAVE BEEN FOUND. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO HAVE HAPPEN DRIVING IN HEAVY TRAFFIC AND SUDDENLY HAVE NO POWER, ESPECIALLY WITHOUT POWER STEERING OR BRAKES REQUIRING LONGER STOPPING DISTANCES, AND TIME TO ATTEMPT TO STEER TO THE SHOULDER.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 CADILLAC XTS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TOUCH PAD ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED TO OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO FITZGERALD CADILLAC ANNAPOLIS (34 HUDSON ST, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401, (301) 261-8246) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TOUCH SCREEN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPA…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2013 CADILLAC XTS. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TOUCH PAD ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED TO OPERATE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO FITZGERALD CADILLAC ANNAPOLIS (34 HUDSON ST, ANNAPOLIS, MD 21401, (301) 261-8246) WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE TOUCH SCREEN NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 19,000. *TT*JB
BATTERY ISSUES. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY STATED VEHICLE NEEDED NEW BATTERY SINCE I DONT DRIVE IT LONG DISTANCE. BATTERY REPLACED AT NO CHARGE. 6 MONTHS LATER SAME ISSUE. CAR WONT START BATTERY DEAD. TOOK VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER WHO STATED THAT SINCE I ONLY DRIVE IT ABOUT 10 MILES A DAY THE VEHICLE DRAINS THE BATTERY BECAUS…
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BATTERY ISSUES. TOOK VEHICLE TO DEALER AND THEY STATED VEHICLE NEEDED NEW BATTERY SINCE I DONT DRIVE IT LONG DISTANCE. BATTERY REPLACED AT NO CHARGE. 6 MONTHS LATER SAME ISSUE. CAR WONT START BATTERY DEAD. TOOK VEHICLE BACK TO DEALER WHO STATED THAT SINCE I ONLY DRIVE IT ABOUT 10 MILES A DAY THE VEHICLE DRAINS THE BATTERY BECAUSE OF ALL THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS. THIS IS A ISSUE I BELIEVE CADILLAC IS AWATE OF AND NNEDS TO FIX. OR WHEN SELLING THE VEHICLE SHOULD OF TOLD ME IF I DONT DRIVE LONG DISTANCE THEN I SHOULD BE THE CAR OR THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WONT WORK. MY OTHER ISSUE IS THAT ONCE THE CAR IS OFF IF SOMETHING IS DRAININGBTHE BATTERY IT CAN CAUSE A FIRE.
RADIO, NAVIGATION, CD, ANY MEDIA CONNECTION: CANNOT ACCESS ANYTHING EXCEPT THE 5 SAVED STATIONS CAN BE ACCESSED BY THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL. POWER WINDOWS: ON TWO OCCASIONS WE FOUND ALL FOUR WINDOWS DOWN AND THE CAR WAS LOCKED. FIRST TIME, WHEN WE RETURNED TO OUR VEHICLE IN A WALMART PARKING LOT. SECOND TIME, THE VE…
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RADIO, NAVIGATION, CD, ANY MEDIA CONNECTION: CANNOT ACCESS ANYTHING EXCEPT THE 5 SAVED STATIONS CAN BE ACCESSED BY THE CONTROLS ON THE STEERING WHEEL. POWER WINDOWS: ON TWO OCCASIONS WE FOUND ALL FOUR WINDOWS DOWN AND THE CAR WAS LOCKED. FIRST TIME, WHEN WE RETURNED TO OUR VEHICLE IN A WALMART PARKING LOT. SECOND TIME, THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED AND LOCKED IN OUR CARPORT.
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HWY, MY REAR SUSPENSION LOST ALL AIR AND DROPPED FULLY CAUSING A VERY BUMPY RIDE AND UNSAFE HANDLING. VEHICLE SHOWED A LEVELING FAULT ON THE DASH. LATER THAT DAY IT WAS WORKING NORMALLY AGAIN. WHILE IT IS UNKOWN WHAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN I BELIEVE THE AIR COMPRESSOR THAT INFLATES THE REAR SUSPENSION FAILED.
RADIO TOUCH SCREEN NOT WORKING,(NAVIGATION, CLOCK, HARD TO GET RADIO TO WORK, CAN'T GET TO NAVIGATION, CAN'T SET CLOCK, OR USE EITHER ICON ON TOUCH SCREEN)
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
Official recalls
514V541000 · Parking Brake
Sep 9, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2015 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, to August 22, 2014, and 2014-2015 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured November 5, 2012, to September 2, 2014. In the affected vehicles, the electronic parking brake piston actuation arm may not fully retract causing the brake pads to stay partially engaged.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: Brake pads that remain partially engaged with the rotors may cause excessive brake heat that may result in a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will update the electronic parking brake software, free of charge. The recall began on October 28, 2014. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14471.
14V518000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE
Aug 28, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured April 11, 2013, to June 27, 2013, and 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles manufactured May 13, 2013, to November 5, 2013. The affected vehicles may have left the factory with the sensing and diagnostic module (SDM) set to "manufacturing mode."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In manufacturing mode, the vehicle's air bags will not deploy in the event of a crash, increasing the risk of occupant injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers are to reprogram the SDM to the correct mode, free of charge. The recall is expected to begin in September 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is 14532.
14V116000 · Service Brakes, Hydraulic:power Assist:vacuum:hoses, Lines/piping, And Fittings
Mar 17, 2014
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013-2014 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured February 14, 2012, through March 7, 2014. In the affected vehicles, a cavity plug on the brake booster pump connector may dislodge allowing corrosion of the brake booster pump relay connector.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: The corrosion of the brake booster pump relay connector may cause a resistive short and melt the connector, increasing the risk of a fire.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will apply sealant to the connector cavity plugs, re-route the vacuum pump vent hose and replace the front body wiring harnesses as needed, free of charge. The recall began on April 7, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's number for this recall is 14062.
13V220000 · Electrical System; Exterior Lighting:brake Lights
May 24, 2013
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala; and 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. Originally, in May 2013, GM recalled 1,627 model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; and model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. In October 2013, GM informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to this campaign , representing an additional 8,050 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. On the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Exterior Lighting:brake Lights
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala; and 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. Originally, in May 2013, GM recalled 1,627 model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; and model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. In October 2013, GM informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to this campaign , representing an additional 8,050 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. On the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Consequence: If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.
Electrical System
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala; and 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles. Originally, in May 2013, GM recalled 1,627 model year 2013 Cadillac ATS and model year 2013 Cadillac XTS; and model year 2014 Chevrolet Impala vehicles. In October 2013, GM informed the agency that it was adding model year 2013 Chevrolet Sonic vehicles to this campaign , representing an additional 8,050 units. The total number of vehicles being recalled is now 9,677. On the affected vehicles, the brake lamps may intermittently flash without the brakes being applied and the cruise control may disengage. Thus, these vehicles fail to conform to the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) No. 108, "Lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment."
Consequence: If the brake lamps flash when the vehicle is not slowing, a following driver may not adjust vehicle speed when the vehicle is in fact braking, and the brake lamps are illuminating as intended, increasing the risk of a crash.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the body control module. The recall began on June 13, 2013. Owner's may contact Chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or Cadillac at 1-866-982-2339. GM's recall number is 13158.
12V525000 · Seats:mid/rear Assembly
Oct 31, 2012
General Motors is recalling certain model year 2013 Cadillac XTS vehicles manufactured from October 12, 2011, through August 30, 2012, for failing to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 202, "Head Restraints." The rear seat head restraints may not lock in the upright position after being folded forward. If the head restriant is at its lowest position and it falls forward, it will not meet the height required by the standard.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: In the event of a vehicle crash, the lowered head restraint may increase the occupant's risk of neck injury.
Remedy: General Motors will notify owners, and dealers will replace the head restraints, free of charge. The recall began on December 4, 2012. Owners may contact General Motors at 1-800-458-8006.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.