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2008 Cadillac CTS electrical problems

39 complaints (22% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 74,000.

owner complaints
39
of this car's complaints
22%
typical mileage
74,000
crashes
0
recalls
2

Which part fails

  • Ignition
    1

At what mileage

Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.

0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+

Cadillac CTS electrical problems in other years

20032005201020152019

Related recalls

Electrical system: ignitionReported July 2, 2014 · 554,328 vehicles affected
What is wrong
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 2, 2014 that they are recalling 554,328 model year 2003-2014 Cadillac CTS vehicles manufactured August 16, 2001, to April 28, 2014, and 2004-2006 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured March 20, 2003, to August 11, 2006. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Risk
If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy
GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 15, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1‑800‑458‑8006. GM's number for this recall is 14172.

Recall number 14V394000 · Recall details

Electrical systemReported June 4, 2010 · 1,365,070 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
Risk
It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
Remedy
Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, cadillac at 1‑866‑982‑2339, chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463 and hummer at 1‑800‑732‑5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.

Recall number 10V240000 · Recall details

What 2008 Cadillac CTS owners say

Most recent owner complaints, unedited.

Filed May 29, 2025 · Electrical · OH

The recall performed on this vehicle were not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get aThe recall performed on this vehicle we’re not performed. They played a [XXX] man made him get a timing chain for Morris Cadillac. I have several receipts from the vehicle being serviced because of the faulty windshield washer heater system that was supposed to be disabled caused an electrical short in the vehicle because it was not properly sealed water got in the wires and caused the computer to be fried this happened before the car still only has 67,000 miles and they won’t even take it in. The car stopped in the middle of the road almost killing everybody. I’ve had several technicians explain that it’s because of the faulty. Recall that they did not fix that is still exposed. Maybe they had a worker that was fired in 2017. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Jan 28, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · OH · fire

Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, [XXX] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on [XXX]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: [XXX] Warranty: 30-day coverage for the transmission and engine After owning the vehicle for only 15 minutes, I entered the freeway, and the car began to shake violently. Shortly after, a gentleman driving behind me alerted me that sparks and fire were falling from beneath the car. I immediately pulled over, just before the engine burst into flames. The Columbus Police Department responded to the scene and had to extinguish the fire. This incident occurred within minutes of purchasing the vehicle, despite the supposed 30-day warranty covering the transmission and engine. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

Filed Feb 25, 2024 · Acceleration, Electrical · CA

Ever since I purchased this 2008 CTS vehicle, I have dumped thousands of dollars to repair the vehicle even after the "recall repairs". Problems persist and the car has become more dangerous than ever. The vehicle had inspected by the dealership a number of times the first 5 years of ownership the first 3, listed below, were the replaced recalls from dealership, the rest are known safety issues that gm denies to admit to faults and recalls. *Ignition starter replacement (still have starter failure issues after 2 repairs from gm) *washer fluid warmer removal (they just snipped the wires and removed the component but left hot wires exposed in vehicle) *motherboard ecm replacement recall(ecm is still faulty and has caused dozens of electrical issues. **************** battery drains over night. On my 6th battery (just bought new one 3 days ago) gauge cluster never recalibrated and is completely disabled. Don't know how fast im going how much gas or any other info related to. sunroof constantly leaking, flooding vehicle and destroying the electrical components which fried many relays including the door lock and power window components vehicle refuses to turn but cranks on fuel often will not allow a fill up ecm throwing irrelevant codes headlight failure due to seal defect that allows moisture into headlight casing frequent oil loss. 2018: vehicle engine failure whilst driving on freeway with zero warning nearly causing a fatal crash. Purchased new alternator (Shade tree auto in san Clemente) and had to pay 2000 for tow and alternator transmission failure and near miss collision into another vehicle on a steep incline road I have taken this vehicle to a multitude of repair shops and auto supply to get a diagnosis. Even the dealership didn't have any answers. Now I am out of a car. and money. These issues had been confirmed by Rorick Cadillac, Shade tree auto, oreily, s and s auto, auto zone.

Filed Jul 18, 2023 · Electrical, Engine · CA

Car went crazy one day while behind the wheel everything malfunctioned then car shut off and won't start again. I could of easily got into an accident had there been any other vehicles around. Kids were scared. Codes come up as U0100,U0140,U0101,C0242,B0081-0F,B0081-71,B1370-01,B1370-06,U0155-00,U0170-00,P0856-00.

Filed Feb 15, 2023 · Brakes, Electrical · IL

I was pulled over by the Police because my 2008 Cadillac CTS license plate lights were not working and my rear brake lights were not working. These light failures were caused by a known design flaw with the wiring harness in the trunk lid near the right trunk lid hinge in where the wires inside the harness that go to the brake lights break in half after repeated opening and closing of the trunk lid because of the poor design of the wiring harness and it’s mounting brackets. There should have been a safety recall from GM as I could have been killed if a car in back of me did not stop because my brake lights were not going on when I would step on my cars brake peddle! Now the car dealership service center wants to charge me $335.00 to replace the broken wires that were caused by GM/Cadillac’s poor and unsafe design of this wiring harness. Regards [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

Filed Mar 20, 2021 · Electrical · VA

After it rains water leaks from sunroof (not sure) down onto floorboard near the petal.and also into trunk. Electrical device inside car does not open trunk even after having it repaired.

Filed Jun 3, 2019 · Airbags, Electrical · 92,000 miles · VA

While driving maybe 6 minutes my center console display would no longer function preventing me from being able to control the radio or air, which both remained functioning and the air bag light came on at the same time. The radio no longer plays but the air still blows. At the time this happened I was driving on a paved road at night going approx. 50 MPH.

Filed Oct 24, 2018 · Electrical, Steering · 98,000 miles · CA

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 cadillac cts. While the vehicle was stationary, the electrical system failed and the control panel became inoperative. In addition, the power steering failed and the steering wheel was extremely difficult to turn left or right. Kuni chevrolet cadillac (2449 fulton avenue, sacramento, california 95825, (916) 538-7217) diagnosed that the power steering pump was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall for the failures. The failure mileage was approximately 98,000.

Filed Jan 10, 2018 · Acceleration, Driver assistance · TX

My car has been in the shop due to engine issues, now that engine is replaced I'm seeing stabilitrak, service AC, and brake assist lights appear. Also when driving the speedometer is not engaged and car won't shift gears. Codes will not appear when hooked up to diagnostic reader and their is moisture that gets inside my car through the sunroof.

Filed Sep 16, 2017 · Electrical · LA

My car won't hold a charge. I buy a new battery and the car says battery saver mode activated. The battery will be dead by morning or if I take it down the road the voltage will start dropping before I get home. When I say down the road I mean less then a 2 miles. After I turn my car off it won't start because the battery voltage will be to low. I've had the battery and alternator check both are fine. Checked to see if their might be lights left on, but nope not even the truck light. So I'm at my end with the car, it's a $30,000 car that I can't even drive. That's a lot of money for a yard ornament.

Questions about the 2008 Cadillac CTS electrical

Does the 2008 Cadillac CTS have electrical problems?

Owners have filed 39 complaints about the electrical of the 2008 Cadillac CTS, 22% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.

At what mileage do 2008 Cadillac CTS electrical problems start?

The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 74,000 miles.

Was there a recall on the 2008 Cadillac CTS electrical?

Yes, 2 recalls: 14V394000, 10V240000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.

What year does the Cadillac CTS have the most electrical problems?

The Cadillac CTS model years with the most electrical complaints are 2003 (56 complaints), 2006 (43 complaints) and 2007 (41 complaints).

Other 2008 Cadillac CTS problems

Engine 29Fuel system 28Brakes 22Transmission 21Acceleration 14Body 14Steering 13Airbags 12Driver assistance 9Lights 6Visibility 5Locks 4Seats 4Suspension 4Wheels 2Seat belts 1Tires 1

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