Other engine problem on the 2003 Cadillac Cts
4 fires 1 injury 5 of the 28 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 engine problem gets reported
Owners of the 2003 Cadillac Cts report other engine problem at a median of 70,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles, from 23 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 95,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 15,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 140,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 122,046 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
22% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15,954 miles | 41,000 miles | 71,000 miles | 112,530 miles | 138,000 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, 4 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–$4,000 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 12 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2016, at a median of 900 miles, and latest on the 2004 at 100,000 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.
Dt: vehicle lost power when the consumer hit the brakes. The transmission jolts and then the engine shuts off. It has been to the dealer 6 times since january. The dealer tried something different every time she took it in. Manufacturer said she could have a new vehicle if she paid for it. She wanted to get rid of the vehicle.*ak the check engine light illuminated. *jb
1. I purchased a used 2003 cadillac cts in 2005 with 45,000 original miles from a gm dealership in ontario, oregon. It was reputed to be in excellent mechanical condition by the gm mechanics. 2. This vehicle has since cut engine power spontaneously several times on the freeway and in town, presenting sudden and serious danger to driver, passenger, and other motorists as the vehicle must be steered powerless to the median/shoulder. Once we were in the middle lane of 75 MPH freeway traffic and several vehicles were nearly involved in an accident. 3. Gm tech's are unable to diagnose the problem after 7-8 attempts, so it continues to recur. Gm refuses to repurchase the vehicle despite their inability to diagnose, enforce the warranty, and the obvious danger to all involved. The better business bureau would not arbitrate because mileage was over 24,000. I am currently seeking legal counsel, but feel this vehicle should not be on the road. *nm
2003 cadillac cts with 45852 miles - oil leaked from the engine cam/ valve cover seals due to extreme cold weather operations. I was merging onto a major highway and had just removed my foot from the brake to the accelerate when thick black smoke began pouring through the heating system into the car. Visibility was obstructed and breathing was impaired. Within seconds, I was forced to evacuate the car. Smoke began rolling out from beneath the hood. I opened the hood and saw sparking and small flash fires along the left side of the car near the tire. I was in a rural area in 20 degree weather and was forced to slowly limp the car to a safer area to get help and contact towing service. As of december 20th, my car has not been repaired and I am receiving conflicting information between cadillac and the dealership. General motors document id # 1644918 states that they were aware of this problem on april 7, 2005 and also states that to prevent recurrence an after market part must be installed. However, there has not been a recall and general motors/cadillac are refusing to assist me in either handling the issue as a warranty or…
Also reported on the 2003 Cadillac Cts
Other electrical problem
Other lighting problem
Other body or interior problem
Other driver assistance problem
Other speed control problem
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 28 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 engine problem happen on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
Across 23 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 70,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 40,000 miles and a quarter after 115,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is other engine problem on the 2003 Cadillac Cts?
28 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.4 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