2017 Cadillac XT5 Electrical Problems

I purchased the car on XXX. The car has been returned to the service department within the first 3 days. Sold to me without getting fully inspected. Service department did put new brakes and rotors on and I was told (no paperwork given to me) an oil change was done. On XXX in traffic on a dangerous highway, the car cut off. The car was not able to be jumped with AAA, was towed to [XXX]/GMC Service department. I was told by the Asst Svc Manager, on XXX the Tech told him My car was the starter. The part would have to be ordered and would not be ready to the following week. On July 7th I received a call from the SVC Mgr that the engine blew. I had to pull teeth to get the Mgr to pay for the engine of $8500 and yet he wants me to pay $1500.00. With having a car less than 21 days regardless if I went over the 3k miles and as -is, there was a 90 day warranty when everything should be covered. He has now rescinded because I reported this to BBB, Atty Gen office, NHTSA. This car was never inspected. I requested the On-star reports, Inspection reports for the last year and the Tech's findings and nothing has been provided except one. I requested several times the service report and the General Manager/owner is so upset, he submitted nothing.I have felt intimidation throughout this entire process. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11751756

Incident

Jul 1, 2026

I purchased this used car in the end of July 2025. Within the last month the service transmission light came on. Within a 24-hour period, the message changed to, "service transmission unable to shift Soon". Also alarm bells go off when I first start the car and sometimes during driving. The car feels like it drives correctly and smoothly with no shifting issues. Sometimes when that second message and check engine light icon being comes on, there seems to be a third message that is trying to pop up behind it but it does not. It seems like there is a glitch in the system. This was very concerning and scary for me. My research shows me that this has been a chronic problem for my make and model and year of car. I've also heard it can be even time to check and or change the transmission fluid. That needs to be a different message all together without causing alarm that the transmission itself is not functioning properly. I have not driven this for 10 days because many repair shops in dealerships are telling me not to risk it and of course want me to bring this in for a diagnosis. It is costly and hard to discern and trust who to go to for the correct information. The dealership should be responsible for a recall and replacing this sensor or modular so people do not have a cause for alarm if it is something as simple as needing to change the transmission fluid. There is also no dipstick on this vehicle so no local fluid fill station can check this. Many people have complained and are at a loss. I see there is a bulletin on this subject but no recall. Please take action and turn this situation into a recall once and for all to help. The little folks like me stay more safe and better informed about the health and longevity of our vehicles. Thank you for your time in reading this.

NHTSA ID

11720102

Incident

Feb 9, 2026

There is an open service bulletin on my car - 17128 Potential Loss of HVAC Control. This loss of control affects the defrost on the vehicle making it very dangerous to drive when it is raining out as it severally reduces visibility.

NHTSA ID

11668812

Incident

Jun 23, 2025

Steering reduced assist drive with care on the dash board . It states drive with caution not sure if this is dangerous or even driveable I am 8 months pregnant and now I don’t have a car I am scared to drive it. Thermostat stopped working & fan is running and won’t stop

NHTSA ID

11662143

Incident

May 19, 2025

In 2021, I took my car into a GM facility to be repaired bc the A/C kept going in and out. Car was under warranty, however, GM mechanic just did a “bandaid” fix and replaced the thermostat, when there was a service bulletin put out in 2017 for this very issue. 3 years later, my car is having the exact same problem, and since car isn’t under warranty, GM will not fix it, even though I have proof they didn’t fix it correctly the first time. The service bulletin is titled, “17128: Service Update - Potential Loss of HVAC Control- (March 30, 2017) This issue started in October 2021 the first time, was temporarily fixed. It started again in October 2024 and is ongoing.

NHTSA ID

11649092

Incident

Oct 1, 2024

The tire air pressure gage on the dash is steadily illuminated but there is nothing wrong w the air in the tire.

NHTSA ID

11632059

Incident

Dec 20, 2024

My car has been in and out of the dealership since [XXX] All the lights come on ( check engine, ABS ,the message reads park assistance off all the lights The car goes crazy and stops running. This happened 3 times on the highway almost got rear ended. It is very scary I can not take this chance anymore. The dealership keeps changing one module after another and keeps telling me it is fixed. However it is not The car is in the dealership ship as of 10 days ago again. I will not pick it and drive it. Either me or someone else gets killed. I also opened a case with GM. However they just keep doing nothing. This matter needs to be addressed asap There is a serious problem, before someone gets killed. My name is [XXX] [XXX] [XXX] Can someone please get involved or I will go on TV or the newspaper if I have to. Thank you [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11591974

Incident

May 23, 2024

At approximately [XXX] on [XXX] ,2024 I was at the intersection of [XXX] when my vehicle stopped running completely. All lights on the dash went out and the doors were locked which prevented me from exiting the vehicle. No systems would operate at all. All I could do was sit there. Fortunately, I had a cell phone with me. I called my local Cadillac Dealer for advice, they had very little. finally a lady there told me she would call a tow company they recommended, which she did and the tow company, Shawnee Auto Body did respond about 20-30 minutes later. In the meantime, a gentleman from a local tree company arrived on the scene and helped me, by placing an orange traffic cone behind the vehicle to keep oncoming vehicles from rearending me. after a few minutes the doors did finally allow me to exit the vehicle, which I was unable to do earlier due to the doors still being locked. Upon exiting the vehicle we raised the hood and discovered the negative battery cable was loose causing all power to vehicle systems to be lost. was the cause of the problem. The replacement Intrstate Brand Battery that i have in the vehicle negative post is smaller than the automobile cable that comes on the car and apparently when the man installed the replacement battery he failed to notify me he was unable to tighten the cable as it should have been which allowed it to become loose and vibrate off the post over a period of time. This is a major problem that needs immediate attention. What if the vehicle would have been on fire or something? I would have been trapped in the vehicle and unable to escape due to the doors remaining locked when power was lost. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID

11590736

Incident

May 20, 2024

When you put the car in park, reverse, drive it jumps forward or back.

NHTSA ID

11536329

Incident

Aug 1, 2023

While driving the vehicle started to accelerate in its own. There was nothing obstructing the pedal. I could press down on brake with some resistance, but as soon as brake was released the, the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle did not level out with speed but continued to accelerate over 80 mph. This lasted about 8/9 mins, being controlled by riding on the break. It did it again for about 2/3 mins about 15 mins after first occurance. I took the car straight to get it looked at and the mechanic said that they could not find anything wrong with car

NHTSA ID

11506448

Incident

Feb 1, 2023

Since 6/2022 and again 7/2022, 10/25/22 1/31/23 Constantly stating service error codes for stabiltrak, antilock brakes, and brake assist not functioning and need service urgently. However when I take it to the dealership they find nothing wrong and further investigated at another Cadillac dealership they also state they found nothing. These errors continue to pop up intermittently and my Cadillac app reports them as needing service.

NHTSA ID

11504710

Incident

Jun 16, 2022

The contact owns a 2017 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated while driving 60-65 MPH with her granddaughter seated in the rear seat, the vehicle shut off inadvertently in the middle of the road. The message battery low was displayed. The vehicle failed to restart after several attempts. The vehicle was towed from the middle of the road to the side of the road. The vehicle was then towed to an independent mechanic and was diagnosed that the electrical system had failed. An unknown repair was completed. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 72,000.

NHTSA ID

11486794

Incident

Sep 21, 2022

Mileage

72,000 mi

XT5 bumper-to-bumper warranty expired on 6-1-21. Both key fobs suddenly quit working on 7-17-21. Took to dealer 7-21-21. Cost me $300. Got it back on 7-26-21. Drove vehicle for the first time after getting it back on 7-28-21. Key fob quit working again briefly then started after I kept trying for a few minutes. After driving for 5 miles, the car completely died on very busy road - no steering, no dash lights, break lights - then the car suddenly braked really hard and i almost got rear-ended. 4-way flashers wouldn't work so I had no way to warn other drivers coming up behind me. I also was a sitting duck as I couldn't exit the vehicle since the doors wouldn't unlock and windows wouldn't go down. The temperature was in the 80s and I quickly began to overheat. I tried to signal other drivers who were beeping their horns and swerving around me until several pulled over to help. After approx. 10-15 minutes, as I was calling 911, the doors unlocked and I got the 4-ways to come on though they were working erratically. I called the dealership and they came and picked up the car. They've had it for a week and don't know what's wrong with it. This is a potentially deadly safety issue; I could have died or caused someone else to be injured or die due to the car suddenly losing ALL power while driving in heavy traffic with no warning, then braking hard and very unexpectedly, along with the inability to warn other drivers due to the inoperable 4-ways I also could have succumbed to hyperthermia as there was no way to escape from an extremely hot car. It appears that after doing some basic research, that this is not an isolated problem with the 2013-2017 XT5s. There are numerous reports of incidents similar or identical to mine found on various Cadillac owners online forums. Additionally, a common complaint is that this problem has not yet been solved yet by General Motors and their dealerships are at a loss to resolve this issue (they haven't been able to fix mine yet!)

NHTSA ID

11427708

Incident

Jul 28, 2021

SITTING AT A STOP LIGHT AND CAR LOST ALL POWER. NO ABILITY TO TURN ON HAZARD LIGHTS OR CALL FOR HELP OR ANYTHING. IN MY OPINION THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE SINCE MY WIFE COULD HAVE BEEN REAR ENDED SINCE THERE WERE NO LIGHTS AT ALL ON THE CAR AND NO WAY TO TURN ON ANY WARNING LIGHTS. THANK GOODNESS THIS HAPPENED WHEN STOPPED AND NOT MOVING. I COULD NOT IMAGINE THE OUTCOME OF LOSING POWER AT SPEED WHEN EVERYTHING IS ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED.

NHTSA ID

11405296

Incident

Mar 29, 2021

Mileage

35,000 mi

VEHICLE IN MOTION ON HIGHWAY, VEHICLE SUDDENLY DIES, GOES DEAD, UNCONTROLLABLE. VEHICLE WILL NOT RESPOND TO ENGINE START BUTTON. WILL NOT RESPOND TO ATTEMPTS TO RESTART, UNABLE TO BRAKE, VEHICLE CONTINUES TO BE UNCONTROLLABLE, ROLLING INTO CROSS TRAFFIC. ALL ELECTRONICS DO NOT RESPOND, UNABLE TO OPEN DOORS TO GET OUT. CAN NOT UNLOCK DOORS ALL ELECTRONICS FLASHING, DOOR LOCKS RAPIDLY CYCLING LOCKED ALL ELECTRONICS UNCONTROLLABLE. UNABLE TO ACTIVATE HAZZARD LIGHTS. ONSTAR SYSTEM DEAD, UNABLE TO CALL FOR HELP. AFTER APPROX. 30 MIN. VEHICLE SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING RESTARTS ON IT'S OWN AND BEGINS TO FUNCTION.

NHTSA ID

11384565

Incident

Dec 15, 2020

Mileage

41,120 mi

I JUST GOT THIS CAR DELIVERED TO MY HOME ON 01/11/2019, THEN IT ID NOT WANT TO START AFTER JUMP STARTING IT WORKED THEN SHUT OFF SO I WAS GOING TO THE DEALESHIP WHILE DRIVING ONTHE EXPRESSWAY THE CAR JUST COMPLETELY SHUT OFF WOULD NOT START , SO HAD IT TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP THINKING IT WAS THE BATTERY NOW IT HAS TO BE THERE TILL MONDAY OR TUESDAY,

NHTSA ID

11166674

Incident

Jan 12, 2019

Mileage

26,453 mi

THE "CUE" SYSTEM HAS MALFUNCTIONED. I HAVE NO NAVIGATION OR RADIO AND AM UNABLE TO SEE HOW THE CONTROLS ARE SET FOR CLIMATE CONTROL. ALSO, THE 360 DEGREE CAMERAS FAIL INTERMITTENTLY INCLUDING THE BACKUP CAMERA LEAVING ME BLIND WHEN PARKING OR BACKING UP. I HAVE TAKEN THIS VEHICLE TO THE DEALERSHIP FIVE TIMES AND CADILLAC HAS NOW DECLARED MY VEHICLE A "LEMON" AND IS REPURCHASING IT. INTERESTINGLY, I'VE BEEN DRIVING TO CADILLAC DEALERSHIPS THROUGHOUT CENTRAL FLORIDA AND HAVE NOTICED A HIGH NUMBER OF XT5'S WITH THEIR DASHBOARDS COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLED IN THEIR SERVICE AREA. ONE SERVICE TECH ADMITTED HE'S ALSO SEEN THIS ISSUE IN OTHER XT5'S. THIS SOUNDS LIKE IT COULD BE A PATTERN AND CADILLAC IS DENYING TO ME THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM.

NHTSA ID

11118266

Incident

May 25, 2018

Mileage

19,000 mi

AFTER A HARD RAIN OR CAR WASH, THE DOOR LOCKS ARE RENDERED NON FUNCTIONAL BY USE OF THE FOB , OUTSIDE DOOR HANDLE LOCK BUTTON AND AUTOMATICALLY LOCKING WHEN PUT IN DRIVE. ALL DOORS WILL NOT LOCK / UNLOCK WITH THE ENGINE "ON" OR "OFF". THIS HAS OCCURRED MULTIPLE TIMES AND IS REPEATABLE. CONDITION CLEARS UP IF CAR IS LEFT PARKED FOR 6+ HOURS. SIMILAR COMPLAINT OCCURRED BEFORE BUT W/O WATER. THE ISSUE WAS FIXED BY THE DEALER "REPROGRAMMING".

NHTSA ID

11035313

Incident

Oct 10, 2017

Mileage

10,000 mi

MY 2017 XT5 COMPLETELY SHUTDOWN ON MY ON SATURDAY, 10/7. I WAS AT A STOP LIGHT & WHEN I PRESSED THE ACCELERATOR, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER HAD A NUMBER OF LIGHTS COME ON & THE VEHICLE WAS VERY HARD TO ACCELERATE. I HAD TO PULL OVER IMMEDIATELY & THEN THE CAR SHUT DOWN. IT WAS COMPLETELY DEAD: THE HAZARD LIGHTS DID NOT WORK (VERY SCARY) & ONSTAR AND THE SOS BUTTON WOULD NOT CONNECT. AFTER ABOUT 5-10 MINUTES, ONSTAR WAS CONNECTED & I WAS TOLD NOT TO DRIVE THE VEHICLE DUE TO ENGINE & TRANSMISSION CODES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED THE DEALER BY ROADSIDE. ON MONDAY, THE DEALER PROVIDED ME WITH A LOANER WHILE THE DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE. ON 10/11, WHEN I WENT TO PICK-UP THE VEHICLE, I WAS TOLD THE ISSUE WAS A 'LOGIC LOCK,' THE CAR WAS DRIVEN FOR 4 MILES & CONSIDERED FIXED. I REFUSED THE CAR AS WE NEED TO KNOW THE ROOT CAUSE. THE DEALER STILL HAS MY CAR AND HAS NOT CONTACTED CADILLAC YET. I AM STILL WAITING TO HEAR FROM THEM AND ALSO HAVE A CASE OPENED WITH CADILLAC CUSTOMER CARE, BUT THEY ARE LESS THAN HELPFUL. THE POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE IS ONE ISSUE, BUT THE GREATER ISSUE IS THE SAFETY OF MY CAR AND THE FACT THAT IT COMPLETELY DIED ON ME AND THE DEALER THINKS CLEARING SOME CODES WILL RESOLVE IT. PLEASE HELP. GOD FORBID THIS HAPPENS TO ME OR SOMEONE ELSE AGAIN. IT IS COMPLETELY UNSAFE.

NHTSA ID

11033273

Incident

Oct 7, 2017

Mileage

10,036 mi

2017 CADILLAC XT5. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO ELECTRICAL ISSUES WITH VEHICLE. *LD UPDATED 10/04/2017*JS

NHTSA ID

11032409

Incident

Jan 1, 2017

MULTIPLE ISSUES WITH GARAGE REMOTE CONTROL BUTTONS NOT FUNCTIONING. ISSUE WITH DRIVER SEAT NOT VIBRATING WHEN VEHICLE VENTURES OUT OF LANE WITH "LANE ASSIST" FEATURE ON. VEHICLE SHUT DOWN WHILE DRIVING ON HIGHWAY SENDING MULTIPLE WARNINGS ABOUT ENGINE MALFUNCTION, PARKING BRAKE ON, ETC.

NHTSA ID

10926030

Incident

Jun 10, 2016

Mileage

400 mi