2021 Cadillac CT5
Gas Midsize car
The 2021 Cadillac CT5 is sold in the U.S. as a gas midsize car with 6 EPA-rated configurations. The most efficient version, the CT5, is EPA-rated at 26 mpg combined. NHTSA lists 4 recall campaigns for this model year, which gives it a Safety Signal grade of C. Owners have filed 23 complaints, most often about electrical system. NHTSA crash-tested it at 5 stars overall.
Specs & fuel economy (EPA)
| Configuration | Powertrain | Drive | Engine / motor | City | Hwy | Comb | Annual fuel* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CT5 | Gas | RWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 23 | 32 | 26 | $3,000 |
| CT5 AWD | Gas | AWD | 2.0L 4-cyl turbo | 21 | 31 | 25 | $3,100 |
| CT5 | Gas | RWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 19 | 28 | 22 | $3,500 |
| CT5 AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 18 | 26 | 21 | $3,700 |
| CT5 V | Gas | RWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 18 | 27 | 21 | $3,700 |
| CT5 V AWD | Gas | AWD | 3.0L 6-cyl turbo | 18 | 26 | 21 | $3,700 |
*EPA estimate at 15,000 miles/year and EPA reference fuel/electricity prices. Source: fueleconomy.gov vehicle records.
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Recalls (4)
Power Train
highProblem: General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Cadillac CT6, 2020-2021 CT4, CT5, and 2020-2022 Chevrolet Camaro vehicles equipped with a 10-speed transmission. The transmission may become damaged internally and cause the wheels to lock-up.
Risk: Wheel lock-up while driving increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will install transmission control module monitoring software, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed April 7, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223 or Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020. GM's number for this recall is N242480630.
Exterior Lighting
minorProblem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2023 Cadillac CT4 and CT5; 2021-2023 Buick Envision; and 2022-2023 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Suburban, Tahoe, GMC Sierra 1500, Yukon, and Yukon XL vehicles. The daytime running lights (DRLs) may not deactivate when the headlights are on. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard number 108, "Lamps, Reflective Devices, and Associated Equipment."
Risk: DRLs that do not deactivate as intended may result in a glare, reducing visibility, and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The body control module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 23, 2023. Owners may contact GMC customer service at 1-888-988-7267, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N222386380. This recall expands previous recall number 22V-827.
Air Bags
highProblem: General Motors, LLC. (GM) is recalling certain 2020-2022 Cadillac CT4 and CT5 vehicles. The roof rail side-curtain air bags may not have been installed correctly, which could result in an improper air bag deployment during a crash.
Risk: Air bags that do not deploy properly can increase the risk of injury in a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect both left and right-side roof rail air bags and reinstall the air bags, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on August 30, 2021. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N212342780.
Electrical System
minorProblem: General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2021 Buick Envision, Cadillac CT4, CT5, Escalade, Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Tahoe, Corvette, Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL vehicles. The communications gateway module incorrectly processes a loss of communication with the sensing diagnostic module (SDM), causing the air bag malfunction indicator light to inconsistently illuminate.
Risk: The air bag malfunction indicator light may fail to warn the driver of a problem with the air bag, increasing the risk of injury.
Fix: The communications gateway module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed on July 1, 2021. Owners may contact Buick customer service at 1-800-521-7300, Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N212338110.
NHTSA investigations
Air Bags:Srs Malfunction Warning Lamp/Light — Air Bag Malfunction (closed)
On April 9, 2021, the Office of Defects Investigations (ODI) opened PE21-010 to investigate instances of air bag malfunction indicator light (MIL) illumination and potential for frontal air bag non-deployment in several vehicles manufactured by General Motors (GM). The vehicles included model year (MY) 2020 through 2021 CT4 and CT5 passenger cars, Sierra and Silverado trucks (1500/2500/3500 models), XT4 and MY 2021 Escalade, Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon SUVs.Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) 21-NA-005, issued in March 2021, addresses air bag MIL illumination with diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs) B0001-1B or B0012-0D. It cites rust particles in the connection terminal interface of the driver air bag
Opened Apr 9, 2021 · closed Aug 24, 2023 · action PE21010
Owner complaints
23 complaints filed
3 involved a crash, 0 a fire, 2 injuries, 0 deaths reported by owners.
Filed by year — 2021: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2026: 10
Most-cited components
- Electrical System — 8
- Structure — 6
- Power Train — 3
- Air Bags — 2
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 2
Complaint counts are raw owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects, and scale with how many were sold. Use them to spot patterns, not to rank.
Crash ratings
| Configuration | Overall | Frontal | Side | Rollover | Rollover risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 DR AWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
| 4 DR RWD | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
| 4 DR AWD | not rated | not rated | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
| 4 DR RWD | not rated | not rated | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | 10% |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program. Standard driver-assist: forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking.
Other CT5 model years
2026 CT5
1 recalls · 4 complaints
A2025 CT5
0 recalls · 8 complaints
A2024 CT5
0 recalls · 2 complaints
A2023 CT5
1 recalls · 12 complaints
B2022 CT5
2 recalls · 10 complaints
C2020 CT5
4 recalls · 38 complaints
Sources & method
Safety Signal starts every model-year at 100 and subtracts points per open NHTSA recall campaign by severity: critical 15 (fire risk, park-outside or do-not-drive advisories), high 8 (brakes, steering, airbags, loss of drive power, structure, battery), moderate 6, minor 3 (software, labels, lighting fixed by an update). Floor 35. A ≥ 90, B ≥ 80, C ≥ 70, D ≥ 60, otherwise F. Complaint counts and NHTSA crash ratings are shown separately and are not blended into the grade.
EPA figures come from fueleconomy.gov vehicle records (ids 43257, 43258, 43253, 43255, 43254, 43256). Recalls, complaints, investigations and crash ratings come from NHTSA's public flat files, refreshed weekly.