2013 Cadillac Ats: sudden loss of power

6 of the 161 complaints about the 2013 Cadillac Ats describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints: 6
of this car's complaints: 4%
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 372 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

2018
1
2017
2
2016
2
2015
2
2014
5
2013
6

What owners say

Filed Aug 18, 2025 · Electrical, Steering · NJ

Vehicle would not steer lost power steering and loud noise. Had the vehicle towed to a mechanic. The mechanic informed me that the bolts for the electronic power steering had corroded causing the electronic steering motor to fall. He told me that it is a problem with these cars and gave me a reference number (N202301950) I called GM and they said it was not a recall it was a service bulletin which I never received and is now expired. The vehicle needs a whole new Electric Power Steering Rack and Pinion Assembly due to the faulty corroded GM Bolts not to mention that I could have died or someone else could have been killed due to losing the ability to steer the vehicle because of the faulty GM parts. GM said it is my responsibility to pay for repairs which is thousands of dollars again due to their faulty parts and no fault of my own also not normal wear and tear.

Filed Jan 4, 2025 · Steering · NH

I had a total loss of steering about two weeks ago, scariest thing ever in my 50 years of driving. A local automotive shop inspected the car and found one steering motor bolt missing and two broken/sheared laying in their casting holes.General Motors issued a Customer Satisfaction Program 18207 – Loss of Power Steering Assist directive for steering rack inspection and repair and/or replacement. My 2013 Cadillac ATS had the bolt failure exactly as described in the directive but is not covered as the directive program was in effect until November 30, 2020 and has expired. It was and is still a poor engineering design by GM engineering and it still effects those of us operating the models listed in GM CSP 18207. This should have been a recall and not have had an end date of 11/30/2020. I'm sure there are many owners like myself that were never notified by General Motors of this design flaw as it was never a formal recall. I would ask that the federal safety agency review Customer Satisfaction Program 18207 as the loss of electric steering due to poor engineering design along with the safety of owners driving the affected vehicles still poses a danger and could seriously injure or kill someone. I do not understand why GM ended the program 11/30/2020. I would like to see either a CSP 18207 with no end date or preferably a recall to ensure owners are notified. I had never heard of an issue with my 2013 Cadillac ATS steering until I had this total steering failure. I only found out about Customer Satisfaction Program 18207 – Loss of Power Steering Assist because I searched the Web to see if other owners had experienced this failure. The repair cost to fix this is around $3,000 dollars. General Motors knows it was a poor design and in my opinion they should continue their 18207 Customer Satisfaction Program and not expect owners to pay. Thank you.

Filed Mar 6, 2016 · Driver assistance · 45,000 miles · OH · crash · 1 injury

Cadillac ats lost power and shut off while driving causing lose of control as well as right control arm snapping in half. Driver then hit ditch and then a tree cause damage to front of the car and injury to drive.

Filed Apr 3, 2014 · Engine · 12,112 miles · FL

2013 cadillac ats 6mt stalls when decelerating with an ensuing loss of power steering. Cadillac has come up with a software fix for this issue. Software written to protect the flywheel was modified to eliminate this problem.

Filed Dec 3, 2013 · Engine · NY

When coasting to a stop light, or a stop sign, the car will occasionally stall for no reason. I drive a stick shift, and will move the shifter into neutral as I am coming to a stop, and on multiple occasions, the car has just stalled out and I lose all power steering and electronic brake assistance, which makes stopping the car more difficult. This issue has also occurred a few times when actively driving at higher speeds. I will get a message on my dic saying that my power steering needs to be serviced, and shortly after the car stalls.

Filed Jan 14, 2013 · Steering · 1,000 miles · MI

While turning into a parking lot experienced loss of power steering. Message in the dic indicated "service power steering, drive with care". Upon restart of engine the power steering began to work again. Dealer saw c0545 steering wheel torque sensor fault, dealer notes indicate that the connector was checked and was ok. Also checked ebcm software, which was up to date. Nothing further was done, no parts updated or replaced. I received the same dic message ~4 times in the past 3 weeks without the loss of power steering prior to this event which prompted a visit to the dealer.