Ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2003 Cadillac Cts
When ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Cadillac Cts report ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure at a median of 105,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles, from 14 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 8th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 185,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 156,400 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A spread this wide points at use rather than design. Towing, climate, service history and city mileage all move a failure like this, so the median is a weak guide to any individual car.
21% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28,600 miles | 49,000 miles | 105,000 miles | 135,000 miles | 185,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $250–$1,500 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 9 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2011, at a median of 2,000 miles, and latest on the 2006 at 155,000 miles.
By volume the 2003 is the worst of them, which makes this a problem of this specific year rather than of the model as a whole.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Since I purchased the vehicle used from a cadillac dealer I had experienced the vehicle would shut down when the vehicle would hit a pot hole or hard bump. I had dealership and several mechanics from other garages over the years check for engine shut down. No one was able to replicate the issue. Recently the news has been discussing issues with general motors ignition problems. I went out to my vehicle and started it, put the vehicle in drive and smacked my key ring and the vehicle stalled. My primer key ring contains a large number of keys with weight to them when I would drop of the vehicle I would always leave a single key. Since the news broadcast I have only used a single key and have had no additional issues. I would like someone to address my complaint or examine my vehicle because I see no information indicating that the cadillac models are involved in this issue. I believe that this problem is more widespread. This stalling has happen several times over the years. On of the most critical incidents occurred on a rainy night while traveling in the left lane of a 4 lane limited access highway. I struck a large pothole and…
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 cadillac cts. The contact stated that the air bag and anti-theft warning lamp illuminated intermittently. Also, the contact mentioned that the running lights and the fog lights remained illuminated and failed to turn off even when the key was removed out of the ignition switch. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to turn off and the key became lodged in the ignition switch. The battery had to be disconnected in order to turn off the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000. Updated 12/09/14*lj updated 08/23/2017*ct
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 cadillac cts. The contact stated that the air bag and anti-theft warning lamp illuminated intermittently. Also, the contact mentioned that the running lights and the fog lights remained illuminated and failed to turn off even when the key was removed out of the ignition switch. In addition, the contact stated that the vehicle failed to turn off and the key became lodged in the ignition switch. The battery had to be disconnected in order to turn off the vehicle. The VIN was not available. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The approximate failure mileage was 135,000. Updated 12/09/14*lj updated 08/23/2017*ct
Also reported on the 2003 Cadillac Cts
Other electrical problem
Other engine problem
Other lighting problem
Other body or interior problem
Other driver assistance problem
Other speed control problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 14 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure happen on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
Across 14 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 105,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 50,000 miles and a quarter after 135,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is ignition switch, key fob or immobilizer failure on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
14 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.2 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
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