AtWhatMileage
Model line · 2016–2020

Cadillac Ct6: which years to buy, and what breaks on them

Best and worst years of the Cadillac Ct6

Of the 5 model years of the Cadillac Ct6 that carry enough owner reports to score, 2019 comes out best at 65 out of 100 and 2017 worst at 82. The scores rank each year against other cars of the same model year, so an older one is not penalised for having had longer to break.

93 owner reports across 5 model years, 37 of them carrying an odometer reading. 5 years carry enough reports to score.

The year to buy, and the year to avoid

Both figures are ranks against other vehicles of the same model year, so the two are comparable even when the years are a decade apart. Each links to that year's full report.

The year to buy

2019 Cadillac Ct6

65/100 High risk

Best of 5 years on 18 owner reports, its own worst problem being other powertrain problem. Evidence behind the score: low confidence.

The year to avoid

2017 Cadillac Ct6

Risk 82 of 100 from 28 reports, worst problem other powertrain problem.

Severe Moderate confidence confidence

How much the year actually matters

The gap between the best and worst year is 16 points on a 100-point scale, which is wide enough to be worth acting on when two cars are otherwise comparable.

Across every year of the Cadillac Ct6, owners have filed 93 reports with NHTSA. The 2017 accounts for the largest share at 28, which can mean a genuinely troublesome year or simply the year that sold best and has been on the road longest.

What tends to break across the Cadillac Ct6

Taking the most-reported failure from each model year, the recurring problems on the Cadillac Ct6 are other powertrain problem (worst mode in 2 years), airbag failed to deploy in a crash (worst mode in 1 year) and other engine problem (worst mode in 1 year). A fault that heads the list in most years is characteristic of the design; one that heads a single year is usually a batch or a supplier.

Every model year, scored

Risk score by model year, out of 100

Shorter is better, and the outlined row is the best year of the line. A year with too few reports to score is shown without a bar rather than as a zero, because no data is not the same as no problems.

Lower risk is better. “Median report” is the odometer reading at which half of that year's reports had been filed. The best and worst year of the line carry a coloured edge. Click a column to sort.
Year Reports Per 1,000 Median report Most reported problem Recalls Risk Confidence
2016 Cadillac Ct6 15 2.0 2k Airbag failed to deploy in a crash 3 81 Low confidence
2017 Cadillac Ct6 28 311.1 10k Other powertrain problem 1 82 Moderate confidence
2018 Cadillac Ct6 16 1.8 29k Other engine problem 0 73 Low confidence
2019 Cadillac Ct6 18 0.1 62k Other powertrain problem 4 65 Low confidence
2020 Cadillac Ct6 16 1.6 9k Complete transmission failure 2 76 Low confidence
What each column means

Reports counts owner complaints filed with NHTSA against that model year. Filing is voluntary and unverified, so the count is a floor on how often something went wrong, never a census. It also rises with how many cars were sold, which is why the next column exists.

Per 1,000 divides those reports by an estimate of how many of that model year are on the road, so a common car and a rare one can be compared. The estimate comes from the vehicle counts in recall campaigns covering the same model year, which is the only per-model fleet figure published free of charge; where no recall covers a year, this column is blank rather than guessed.

Median report is the odometer reading at the midpoint of that year's reports: half of the readings owners gave were below it. It is a description of when problems get reported, not a prediction of when this car will break, and it needs at least eight readings before it is shown at all.

Risk is a 0–100 score combining how often reports arrive relative to fleet size, how serious they are, and how early they land, ranked against other vehicles of the same model year only. Confidence says how much evidence sits behind it: a low score on thin evidence is a shrug, not a clean bill of health. Both are defined in full on the methodology page.

Generations, and why the boundary matters

The Cadillac Ct6 splits into generation: 2016–2020 (best 2019, worst 2017). Comparing years inside one generation is the fair comparison — same body, same engines, usually the same suppliers.

Generation boundaries here are inferred from the pattern of model years in the data rather than taken from manufacturer documentation, so they are occasionally a year out. Where a boundary matters to a purchase, check it against the build date on the car.

How to use this page

The honest way to read a table like this is worst-first: rule out the years with high scores and heavy complaint volume, then choose among the rest on condition, history and price. A low score is not a promise, and a high one is not a verdict on the specific car in front of you.

Every figure comes from owner complaints filed with NHTSA and from recall records, both voluntary in the sense that nobody audits them for completeness. Counts are floors. The AtWhatMileage methodology page sets out each formula.

Questions this page answers

What is the best year for the Cadillac Ct6?

Of the model years we can rate, 2019 Cadillac Ct6 scores best at 65 out of 100, based on 18 owner reports. 2017 scores worst at 82.

Which years of the Cadillac Ct6 should you avoid?

2017 has the highest risk score in this model line at 82 out of 100. The scores compare each year against other vehicles of the same model year, so they are not affected by age alone.

How the generations are drawn. NHTSA does not publish generation boundaries, so ours are inferred from breaks in the recall and complaint record and from the model's own year range. They are close to the enthusiast consensus but not authoritative — if a boundary looks wrong for a car you know well, tell us and we will fix the table rather than argue with you.

Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed