2020 Cadillac CT5 Complaints

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 08/04/2025

The left passenger door will not open manually nor with key fob. It has caused me to not allow back seat passengers including grand children for fear if necessary to get out in an emergency and I am left to wonder if the driver door will go into lock position during a collision and that would be life threatening. I tried holding the lock and unlock at the same time for 3sec and that didn’t work. The dealership said it would cost around $800 or more to take the door off and try to find the problem and I would probably have to get a new door and try to match the paint. I really need help with this issue because I have less than 20,000 miles on my car. I have seen online that there’re many people dealing with this problem being it the back doors and some the front. These cars cost the customers a lot of money when purchasing them. I would greatly appreciate the issue being reviewed for recall repairs. Thanks

POWER TRAIN — Filed 07/01/2026

Lockhart Cadillac Service Department committed warranty fraud by charging me on multiple occasions for repairs that should have been covered under GM/Cadillac 2025 Transmission Recall & Special Extended Warranties. The transmission has continued to deteriorate. I took the vehicle in on July 1, 2026 for recall service and was told it needed a valve body replacement. However, they are demanding again that I pay for it and refusing to submit it as a recall repair. They have had my vehicle 15 days and refuse to provide written documentation of actual diagnosis, TAC has not been submitted, they have not provided GM/Cadillac or myself with any written documentation as to why it wouldn’t be covered under warranty. They have not submitted the service history of the last 6 service repairs to GM/Cadillac as requested, nor have they offered me a courtesy vehicle or rental car compensation and virtually have left me stranded for 2 weeks.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 07/01/2026

There is some type of mechanical or electrical malfunction with the door locking system. I can not unlock or enter the car using the fan or by any mechanism from outside the car. This has left my fiance & infant trapped in the car. My fiance has to reach over and manually open the driver side door from inside the vehicle. However, I can no longer drive with only my infant in the car for fear she will be trapped inside.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 05/17/2026

While driving my 2020 Cadillac CT5 at highway speeds, the vehicle suffered a sudden and dangerous total loss of motive power. The transmission completely failed without warning, creating an immediate, severe safety hazard as I was forced to navigate across multiple active lanes of high-speed highway traffic without acceleration.The vehicle was towed to an authorized Cadillac dealership. The technician's diagnostic inspection confirmed that the internal transmission pump drive gear completely shattered, sending catastrophic metal debris throughout the entire transmission system. The dealership has recommended a total transmission system replacement.This internal pump gear failure is a documented cascade consequence of a manufacturing defect in the Transmission Control Valve Body, which causes severe internal fluid pressure drops. This specific transmission defect is subject to GM Special Coverage Bulletin N242480631 and NHTSA Campaign Number 25V148 / GM Recall N242480630. The defective valve body starved the transmission of pressure, directly destroying the pump gear at highway speeds and putting my life in danger.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER — Filed 05/09/2026

The rear passenger driver side outside door handle stopped working about 3 days ago. I have three small grandchildren and if there is an accident or any other emergency I cannot open the back door to get them or anyone out of the vehicle to safety, which can lead to bodily harm or worse. I have already had the driver outside door handle replaced on March 18 2025 for the same problem. There should be a recall on the door handles to prevent the chance of bodily harm upon anyone. Also, to prevent this from happening again, the door handles could possibly be replaced with regular door handles. Thank you

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES — Filed 01/15/2025

The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the front passenger's side and the front driver's side door latches failed to unlock from the outside. In addition, the front passenger's side door latch failed to unlatch from the inside. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed front driver's side door handle, a failed passenger's side door handle, and the front passenger's side door latch. The contact was informed that the front driver's side door handle, the passenger's front door handle, and the front passenger's side door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the door indicator was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed with a failed front passenger's side door latch and driver's front door latches. The contact was informed that the front driver's side door latch and the front passenger's side door latch needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact was advised by an online forum to contact the NHTSA Hotline to report the failure. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 01/30/2026

My front door latch doesn't work often leaving me locked out of the car. If the car is off I can use the auto roll down feature, but if the car is on i can't. This is a safety issue if I am in danger or my child is in the car.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 03/03/2022

The contact owns a 2020 Cadillac CT5. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the vehicle shuddered and experienced hard shifts intermittently. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that the failure progressively worsened, and the vehicle made an abnormally loud sound while driving. The check engine warning light and the traction control warning light were illuminated. The contact stated that after taking the transmission apart, the contact became aware that cheaply made transmission parts had disintegrated, and there were metal shavings in the transmission. The contact determined that the transmission needed to be replaced; however, it was an extensive repair. The contact had received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 25V148000 (Power Train); however, the recall repair only involved the transmission control module monitoring software installation. The dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the transmission repair was not covered under the recall. The contact stated that the recall remedy was inadequate to correct the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted and informed the contact that the recall repair could not be performed on the vehicle due to the vehicle having a branded title. The failure mileage was approximately 578.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM — Filed 01/09/2026

The electronic exterior door handle on my CT5 has failed and raises a concern of what if there was an accident and nobody was able to open the door if I was unconscious. I believe that having a key access is not enough and there should be a mechanical exterior door handle instead of an electronic handle that fails and is costly to repair.

POWER TRAIN — Filed 11/12/2025

While slowing down vehicle felt as if it was put into park momentarily, which cause car to slide on ice. After reading the recall, I am certain that the transmission failed. Car was towed to Ray Skillman cheverolet on south post road in Indianapolis, to which they already ran the vin and agreed to perform the recall. After they realized it was a more serious problem than software, they refused to work on the vehicle. So they worked on it long enough to find out they would have to cover it, then denied that they would do any work. They stated that the title is branded. The BMV has no brands listed on title. The service guy Ryan laughed at me today when I stated that it was dangerous, and told me good luck getting some one to help if I filed a complaint. Regardless they won’t touch the car