2024 Cadillac Lyriq Exterior lighting Problems

My 2024 Cadillac EV is only 9900 miles. I was driving the car on Sunday Jan 11, 2026 with my family when we noticed smoke filled inside the cabin. My 3 children (a [XXX] , a [XXX] old, and a new-born who is [XXX] old) were in the car; they inhaled the smoke. We evacuated the car and called onstar for assistance - who towed the car. The smoke originated from the tailgate of the car. Alarmingly, just 3 days before this incident (Jan 8, 2026), I took the car to the local Cadillac dealership to complain about water intrusion in the left taillight that is in the liftgate. The service advisor created a repair order and sent me back saying it would take 10 days to arrive. Upon my specific inquiry, the advisor stated the car was safe to drive and assured me that I would not get a ticket. Since the event (5 days later) it was confirmed by the service advisor that the same water intrusion event lead to the electrical fire that burned a connector, a module, and multiple wiring components causing the fire. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11714212

Incident

Jan 11, 2026

The back up lights when in reverse at night are inadequate to safely back the vehicle up. This is true whether one is using the rear window and rearview mirrors or one is using the back up camera. No more than 10 feet of area behind the vehicle can be seen by using these lights.

NHTSA ID

11643607

Incident

May 28, 2024

Inside display dims inappropriately, even in daylight making it impossible to see navigation. Hazard when trying to drive on road. Could cause accident. Needs option to manually brighten/dim. Auto dim feature in this vehicle is terrible.

NHTSA ID

11632846

Incident

Dec 28, 2024

The bigger issue is the car will prematurely dim the display and dusk/dawn - making it very hard to see at those times - even with max dimmer setting. Took it to the dealer multiple times they say it’s working as expected but it’s a known issue for all lyriq owners that GM ignores

NHTSA ID

11632321

Incident

Oct 22, 2024

The instrument cluster display is too dim to see, making it unsafe to drive

NHTSA ID

11632042

Incident

Nov 1, 2023

Lyriq display not bright enough prematurely dim the display and dusk/dawn - making it very hard to see at those times - even with max dimmer setting

NHTSA ID

11629598

Incident

Oct 21, 2024

Unable to get display lighting bright enough to adequately read instrumentation when coming out of garage into low atmospheric lighting. Have instrument display lighting rheostat turned up to maximum but sensors don't allow the display to brighten. The vehicle lighting sensor is not blocked. The rheostat should be able to turn the display to full bright, but isn't designed that way. Definitely a safety issue. Cadillac dealership says there is nothing they can do about this situation, but acknowledge it's a widely reported complaint. The manual rheostat should be able to turn the display to full bright by selecting the maximum setting. Unfortunately it's not designed that way.

NHTSA ID

11629137

Incident

Dec 5, 2024

During dusk/dawn exterior lighting conditions, the informant screen is too dim to use. i.e. can't change drive mode to snow/ice, or locate any other controls.

NHTSA ID

11628576

Incident

Dec 3, 2024

Rear right light not working, then works, then it randomly stops working, complained to Cadillac but they keep saying nothing is wrong. I feel unsafe so to my light constantly going off especially dangerous driving at night or changing lanes on the road.

NHTSA ID

11624384

Incident

Nov 9, 2024

Right rear taillight and brake light fail to light intermittently. This is a known defect on many other Lyriqs. When this failure occurs, the vehicle is not compliant with state laws regarding having working taillights and brake lights, and could result in a moving violation ticket. Cadillac should be required to recall and repair/replace these lights.

NHTSA ID

11610219

Incident

Aug 20, 2024

We encountered consistent loss of or erratic headlight operation. The behavior was that lighting would simply fail on one or both sides of the car, often along two-lane roads with curves in the road where it is critical to judge distance to oncoming traffic. Other times the lights would dim and wash out the ability to clearly see the road ahead. The dealer has replaced the headlights three times already. An associated lighting module was also replaced more than once. Note that this issue is still present so we are unable to use the vehicle now after dark.

NHTSA ID

11605929

Incident

Aug 17, 2023

There is a problem with the dashboard lighting. It is very dim and hard to read the dash to choose and view options and screen in general. I noticed this the day I picked up the new car. The dealer said there was nothing he could do. I contacted Cadillac and was told to go back to dealer and have him make a TAC call with GM for adjustment. They did this and said it met there specs. This is a very dangerous safety issue as when you are driving you spend to much time trying to see dashboard for adjustments and you can’t keep your eye on the road. I filed a complaint with Cadillac Customer Assistance, case # [XXX] and nothing is getting done about the problem. I’ve talked with several Lyric owners with the same problem and I see online a lot of customers complaining. I’m hoping you can get involved and get Cadillac to resolve this problem for myself and many other owners. Thank you, [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11584196

Incident

Jan 30, 2024

While driving at night, my headlights will randomly aim down. Can’t see the road ahead. When high beams are activated, they blast the front of the car. Cannot see anything down the road.

NHTSA ID

11579613

Incident

Mar 26, 2024

The auto leveling lights drift during driving. On staff up, the headlights will point up and down, then self level. However, for the past week, the right headlight drifts down towards the road and the left headlight will drift upwards after about 20-30 minutes of driving. The downward drifting headlight only illuminates about 1 car length ahead while the upward drifting headlight will point towards overhead street signs. This causes reduced visibility with increased flare and reduced headlight throw at the same time. It also is dangerous to incoming traffic since the left headlight ends up drifting upward to produce a throw similar to a high beam, even though the high beams are off. The only way to get the lights to re-level is to shut off the vehicle and restart. Even after this, the lights will only be at the correct level for about 20-30 minutes as they start to drift in opposite vertical directions while driving. There have been multiple reports of similar cases on forums discussing the Cadillac Lyriq. Since the problem only occurs noticeably after 20-30 of night driving, the dealer has stated they can not reproduce it while in their possession. There are no warning messages or codes displayed.

NHTSA ID

11574592

Incident

Feb 28, 2024

Unable to see behind the vehicle in the dark. There is no backup camera image at night, screen remains black.

NHTSA ID

11574475

Incident

Dec 10, 2023

Backup camera is black with lines when shifting in reverse. Unable to see to backup and almost hit someone walking behind me

NHTSA ID

11573498

Incident

Nov 18, 2023

The headlamps in the Cadillac Lyriq are supposed to be self leveling, maintaining a consistent throw throughout a drive. My left headlamp droops significantly after 10-15 minutes of driving, failing to throw its beam more than 15 feet ahead. This poses a a safety risk because it decreases my ability to see pedestrians or road hazards. This has not been reviewed by a Cadillac dealer yet because it is a known issue to which GM had no current solution. There are no warning signals that appears in the car’s screen. The two pictures below show the headlamps at start up and after 15 minutes of driving. The droop in the left lamp is noticeable. The pictures were taken from the same spot and at the same angle.

NHTSA ID

11547021

Incident

Sep 27, 2023

Headlights start dropping as car is driven. Every 10 to 15 miles must pull car over and restart as you can not see further than a car’s length in front of you. Cycle car off and then back on the headlights return to normal for another 10 miles. Also seems that some of the individual lamps start pointing upward blinding oncoming drives even with most of the lamps are pointing down in front of the less than a cars length. Seems the headlights are making adjustments be are not correct until you do a power cycle.

NHTSA ID

11546227

Incident

Sep 23, 2023

Headlights on vehicle “droop” after driving 20 minutes or more. They start off okay and then become non existent l, pointing directly down toward the pavement in front of the vehicle and you can’t see more than 1 car length in front of you. You must turn the vehicle off and then back on to reset the headlights to drive. This is a huge safety issue for driving at night.

NHTSA ID

11544985

Incident

Aug 25, 2023