AI Damage2006 Cadillac CTS: common problems
Owners of the 2006 Cadillac CTS filed 269 complaints with NHTSA, most often about air bags and service brakes. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 269
- involving a crash
- 23
What fails most often
- 1 Air bags 32% of all complaints
- 2 Service brakes 21% of all complaints
- 3 Powertrain 17% of all complaints
- 4 Electrical system 16% of all complaints
- 5 Engine 10% of all complaints
- 6 Suspension 4% of all complaints
- 7 Vehicle speed control 4% of all complaints
- 8 Engine and cooling 3% of all complaints
- Air bags: 87 complaints (32% of all), 12 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Service brakes: 56 complaints (21% of all), 9 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 45 complaints (17% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Electrical system: 43 complaints (16% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine: 28 complaints (10% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Engines and transmissions
US-market versions per EPA. On the right: how many NHTSA complaints name this engine or transmission type.
- 2.8 L · petrol · 6 cyl
- 3.6 L · petrol · 6 cylnamed in 3 complaints
- 6 L · petrol · 8 cyl
- automatic, 5-speed
- manual, 6-speednamed in 2 complaints
Drive: RWD
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 269 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air bags | 87 | 12 | 0 |
| Service brakes | 56 | 9 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 45 | 2 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 43 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Suspension | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 10 | 4 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel/propulsion system | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Visibility | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Electronic stability control | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Steering | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| Structure | 4 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The contact stated that while driving in reverse and reversing out of the driveway, the vehicle suddenly experienced unintended acceleration and drove in reverse across a parking lot crashing into two parked vehicles, and hitting a tree before driving across a side road and into a ditch.
My airbags did not deploy and the car would not restart. The engine completely shut off. The car continue to have problems with the engine and smoking after it was repaired by a gm dealer. We had to turn the car in and file bankruptcy after it stopped working.
Every window, including sunroof was totally broken out. Both front seats were crushed into the floor and too hot to touch.. Since it occurred in the country, I was saved by the neighbors calling for help.onstar failed to notify anyone and the fire/emt man said car was 5 minutes away from going up in flames.
The air bags failed to deploy. The contact sustained spine injuries that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vin was included in nhtsa campaign number: 14v394000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was unknown.
History of service brakes hydraulic problem on the 2006 cadillac cts--pressing brake pedal and lunging or sudden abnormal acceleration with loss of steering.
The brakes fail often when the car is making turns at slow speeds. This has caused a few minor accidents in my parking garage. The problem is well documented on the below link, but it looks like gm has failed to do anything about it. Http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f0f480a/29.
Second, I had a cadillac dealership replace the rear differential under warranty due to a whining noise and leak present at 9,021 miles. At this time I had questioned a clank noise present in the driveline when engaging or disengaging the clutch. I was told this is normal, and no problem was present at this time.
The contact stated that while driving with the cruise control set to 75 MPH, the vehicle was shuddering, and the engine was misfiring. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who determined that the computer was not communicating with the vehicle.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 1,518 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 4% most complained about).
On average one model year of the CTS has 131 complaints (17 years in the data). This year has 269, above average.
What to check before buying
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
Other years of this model
- CTS 2003313 sources
- CTS 2004224 sources
- CTS 2005277 sources
- CTS 2007217 sources
- CTS 2008175 sources
- CTS 2009168 sources
- CTS 201067 sources
- CTS 2011101 sources
- CTS 201265 sources
- CTS 201373 sources
- CTS 2014146 sources
- CTS 201549 sources
- CTS 20161,161 sources
- CTS 2017968 sources
- CTS 2018719 sources
- CTS 2019675 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 2006 Cadillac CTS?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: air bags, service brakes, powertrain. Total complaints: 269. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: warning lights, check engine (17%), airbag warning light (15%), brake failure (5%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 2006 Cadillac CTS?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 2006 Cadillac CTS from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 2006 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.