There are 5 owner-reported brakes complaints for the 2014 Cadillac XTSin NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
My back brakes have locked up on me while going 65 miles a hour. It was smoking bad when I had to get back home.
SHORT VERSION: WHILE DRIVING APPROX. 55MPH, REAR BRAKES LOCKED UP. WE PULLED OVER INTO A PARKING LOT AND THE BRAKES WERE SMOKING AND A SMALL FIRE APPEARED ON EACH REAR BRAKE. A PERSON WHO SAW US PULL INTO THE PARKING LOT RAN OVER AND PUT OUT THE FIRE ON EACH BRAKE. LONG VERSION: APPROX. 2-WEEKS PRIOR TO THE ABOVE INCIDENT, THE BRAKE WARNING LIGHT APPEARED ON THE DASH BOARD. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER AND CALLED THE DEALERSHIP AND MADE AN APPOINTMENT. WHEN I RESTARTED THE CAR, THE LIGHT WAS NO LONGER ILLUMINATED. AFTER THE APPOINTMENT, THE DEALER STATED THEY COULD NOT FIND ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. APPROX. 1-WEEK LATER, I WAS PARKED IN A PARKING LOT. I STARTED MY CAR, RELEASED THE PARKING BRAKE, PUT THE CAR IN DRIVE BUT THE CAR WOULD NOT MOVE. IT APPEARED THE BRAKES WERE LOCKED. I CALLED THE ONSTAR SYSTEM, THE RAN A DIAGNOSTIC TEST AND FOUND NO ISSUES. I SHUT THE CAR OFF AND RESTARTED THE CAR AND THE PROBLEM DISAPPEARED. A FEW DAYS LATER, MY WIFE AND I WERE DRIVING IN UP STATE NEW YORK WHEN THE INCIDENT ABOVE OCCURRED. AFTER RETURNING TO OHIO, WE TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER WE PURCHASED THE CAR FROM. THEY CALLED YESTERDAY AND SAID THEY REPLACED THE BRAKE PADS BUT FOUND NOTHING WRONG WITH THE BRAKING SYSTEM. AT THIS POINT, WE ASSUME THERE IS A DEEPER PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE ELECTRONIC BRAKING SYSTEM AND CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING THE CAR BACK. WE HAVE CONTACTED GM AND OUR CASE NUMBER IS [XXX]. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
WHILE WEARING MY DRESS SHOES FOR CHURCH TODAY (SIZE 13) I PIVOTED MY FOOT FROM THE ACCELERATOR TOWARD THE BRAKE PEDAL AND ENCOUNTERED A SOLID OBJECT THAT PREVENTED ME FROM ACTUATING THE BRAKES. AS I PUSHED HARDER (PRESUMING SOMETHING WAS HOLDING THE BRAKE PEDAL UP) MY SHOE SLIPPED OFF THE SOLID OBJECT AND SLAMMED INTO THE BRAKE PEDAL CAUSING A RATHER ABRUPT STOP. UPON INSPECTION I COULD SEE THE SOLID OBJECT WAS AN AIR VENT WITH A SHARP LOWER EDGE THAT GRABBED MY SHOE. CLEARLY, THERE SHOULD SOME SORT OF GUARD OVER THE SHARP OPENING SO THAT EVEN IN A PANIC STOP WHEN SOMEONE RAISES THEIR FOOT EVEN HIGHER THAN I DID, THE SHOE WOULD EASILY SLIP OFF. *TR
LETTER FROM CONGRESSMAN KING ON BEHALF OF CONSTITUENT RE XTS CADILLAC ENGINE FIRE. *SMD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE HAD BEEN RECALLED ON APRIL 7, 2014, FOR A DEFECTIVE BRAKE BOOSTER PUMP, WHICH COULD START AN ENGINE FIRE. THE VEHICLE WAS DECLARED TOTALED.
BRAKE PEDAL MAKES A "CLUNKING" NOISE WHEN RELEASED. DEALER EXAMINED ANOTHER XTS FROM THEIR INVENTORY AND FOUND THE SAME NOISY SOUND UPON RELEASE OF BRAKE PEDAL. 2 MORE VISITS WERE MADE TO MY SELLING DEALER FOR THIS NOISY BRAKE PEDAL AND SO FAR GM HAS NO SERVICE BULLETINS FOR A FIX FOR THIS SITUATION. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 26, 2026