Other brake problem on the 2003 Cadillac Cts
1 crash 2 fires 1 injury 4 of the 13 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When other brake problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Cadillac Cts report other brake problem at a median of 110,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles, from 11 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 88,000 miles. It is the 11th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 65,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 130,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 67,000 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.
9% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64,000 miles | 74,288 miles | 108,000 miles | 123,000 miles | 131,000 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
Of these reports, 1 a crash, 2 a fire and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $300–$1,800 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 11 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2009, at a median of 15,000 miles, and latest on the 2003 at 110,000 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 35; the 2003 has 13. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
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.
Possibly due to reduced brake fluid levels the brake pedal on my 2003 cadillac cts went down to the floor, at which point the brake pedal arm became stuck behind a plastic under dash tray, resulting in reduced brake pedal travel and no breaking. Luckily, this issue was discovered while at slow speeds (backing out of driveway), so the vehicle could be manually stopped. The brake pedal was dislodged from the obstruction, which was easy while the car was stopped and the operator could lean under the dash and move the pedal. At speed, it would have been nearly impossible to move the pedal. Brake system was bled and additional fluid added to reduce brake pedal travel. Problem has not recurred as a result. *tr
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 cadillac cts. The contact stated that in december 2009 while driving at a slow speed, she applied the brakes and they failed to operate. She had the brakes repaired at her expense. The contact was currently trying to get reimbursed because she believed recall 10v105000 (service brakes, hydraulic:foundation components:hoses, lines/piping, and fittings).is related to the failure. The contact also stated that the plastic containment module for the air bags protruded outward and was a safety concern. The dealer stated that because the vehicle was no longer under warranty,t he contact would be responsible for repair costs. The radio only received one channel. In addition, the moon roof made a groaning noise and opened whenever the vehicle was turned off. The failure mileage was approximately 30,000. The current mileage was approximately 42,000.
Tl* the contact owns a 2003 cadillac cts. The contact stated there was an abnormal noise coming from the front-end of the vehicle. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign id number: 10v105000 (service brakes, hydraulic: foundation components: hoses, lines/piping, and fittings) and the vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer for repairs. Following repairs, the abnormal noise became louder. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer where she was advised that the front calipers were loose. The manufacturer advised having the vehicle diagnosed before determining if they would assist with repairs. The failure mileage was 80,576 and the current mileage was 84,000.
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 13 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 other brake problem happen on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
Across 11 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 110,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 75,000 miles and a quarter after 125,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other brake problem on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
13 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