Does the 2008 Cadillac CTS have any recalls?

Yes. NHTSA lists 2 recalls for the 2008 Cadillac CTS, the most recent reported on July 2, 2014 (Electrical system: ignition). Check a specific car by its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

What are the most common problems with the 2008 Cadillac CTS?

Owners have filed 175 complaints with NHTSA. The most frequently reported area is electrical system (39 complaints), followed by fuel/propulsion system (23).

How many 2008 Cadillac CTS complaints mention a crash or fire?

12 of 175 complaints report a crash and 3 a fire; 7 injuries were reported in total. Complaints are unverified reports from owners.

2008 Cadillac CTS recalls and problems

2 recalls and 175 owner complaints on file with NHTSA for the 2008 Cadillac CTS.

recalls

175

owner complaints

complaints mentioning a crash

mentioning a fire

Recalls apply to specific production ranges. To see whether a particular car still has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Repairs for safety recalls are free at authorised dealers.

2008 Cadillac CTS recalls

Electrical system: ignition

NHTSA campaign 14V394000 · reported July 2, 2014 · General Motors LLC · 554,328 vehicles potentially affected

The problem: 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.
The 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.
The fix: 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.

Electrical system

NHTSA campaign 10V240000 · reported June 4, 2010 · GENERAL MOTORS CORP. · 1,365,070 vehicles potentially affected

The problem: 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.
The risk: It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
The fix: 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.

Most reported problems

Areas named in owner complaints to NHTSA. One complaint can name several areas.

Electrical system39
Fuel/propulsion system23
Engine22
Power train21
Unknown or other17
Structure14
Vehicle speed control14
Service brakes, hydraulic13
Steering13
Air bags12

What owners report

Recent complaints filed with NHTSA, shortened. These are unverified accounts from owners, not findings.

Jun 4, 2026 · Air bags
Me and my husband were visiting my brother in Vienna, Maryland and we were packing up to leave to go visit my mom and the surrounding area where we live and then go home. After my husband got everything in the car as well as the kids and my dog we were both getting in the car he had gotten in prior to me and shut the…

Jun 28, 2025 · Unknown or other
I haven't had a problem with my car and my truck. But my main concern is the LED and laser headlights almost every new car and truck that comes equipped with them. Even the aftermarket replacement bulbs and light assemblies, they are way too bright at night. Blindly bright. I have to put my hand in front of my eyes…

May 29, 2025 · Electrical system
The recall performed on this vehicle were not performed. They played a […] man made him get aThe recall performed on this vehicle we’re not performed. They played a […] 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…

Jan 28, 2025 · Electrical system · fire reported
Vehicle Purchase Statement – Top Tier Auto I, […] , purchased a vehicle from Top Tier Auto on […]. The vehicle details are as follows: VIN: […] 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…

Aug 22, 2024 · Air bags · crash reported
Airbags did not deploy in a massive front end collision. That failure caused me physical injury which possibly would not have occurred had the airbags deployed. I don’t know how many 2008 Cadillac CTS are on the road at this time but feel it is an important enough matter that should be investígated. This was never…

CTS model years compared

Year	Recalls	Complaints	Crashes	Fires
2005	6	277	25	4
2006	6	269	23	2
2007	6	217	26	6
2008	2	175	12	3
2009	5	167	10	0
2010	3	67	2	1
2011	2	101	11	3

Across all years, the 2003 CTS has the most complaints (313). All Cadillac CTS years →

Questions

Does the 2008 Cadillac CTS have any recalls?: Yes. NHTSA lists 2 recalls for the 2008 Cadillac CTS, the most recent reported on July 2, 2014 (Electrical system: ignition). Check a specific car by its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
What are the most common problems with the 2008 Cadillac CTS?: Owners have filed 175 complaints with NHTSA. The most frequently reported area is electrical system (39 complaints), followed by fuel/propulsion system (23).
How many 2008 Cadillac CTS complaints mention a crash or fire?: 12 of 175 complaints report a crash and 3 a fire; 7 injuries were reported in total. Complaints are unverified reports from owners.

Source: NHTSA recall and complaint data, updated October 27, 2026. Latest complaint received June 4, 2026.