2006 Cadillac DTS
Complaints about this year name headlights far more often than the model's other years — 20% of them, about 51× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 255 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 35 |
| Involving a crash | 14 |
| Involving a fire | 10 |
| Recalls | 4 |
| EPA combined | 18 mpg |
Also unusual this year
- headlight — 13% of complaints, 33× usual
- night — 9% of complaints, 23× usual
- flicker — 8% of complaints, 20× usual
What owners wrote
2006 CADILLAC DTS. CONSUMER WRITES IN REGARDS TO VEHICLE HEADLIGHT PROBLEMS. *SMD THE CONSUMER NOTICED WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKERED AND EVENTUALLY WENT OUT. THE CONSUMER HAD TO TURN OFF THE SWITCH AND TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN, IN ORDER FOR THE…
WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE HEADLIGHTS BECAME INOPERABLE INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED REPAIRED. THE [VIN] WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,000.
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V355000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 08V441000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 10V240000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- 06V105000 STEERING
How this was worked out
Every year of the Cadillac DTS was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2006 Cadillac DTS? What happened to yours?
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