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Transmission and drivetrainPart report

2010 Cadillac CTS Transmission and drivetrain Problems

Complaints
9about this part
Share
13%of 67 total for the year
Median mileage
41,500miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 9 complaints about the transmission and drivetrain of the 2010 Cadillac CTS, 13% of the 67 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 41,500 miles.

Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.

Example complaints

Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.

“I have read many forums with this exact problem. My car will get out of gear when I'm at a stop. It will act as if it was in neutral. There are no codes that tell you what is wrong and so many people have found that the issue is that the automatic transmission clutch goes bad. I only have 88k miles on my car and so many people seam to have the exact se problem as I am.”

NHTSA complaint #11343749, filed 2020-08, 88,123 miles

“2010 Cadillac cts4 premium 3.6 wagon I replaced the rear prop shaft of the awd system in january 2018. I now am having issues with the rear prop shaft yet again, not 2 years later. I believe the driveshaft carrier bearing is failing again (same as before)! With approximately 49k miles on it. I cannot believe that I have to replace this same item again. After having to replace the rear differential twice on this vehicle, I now believe GM has no clue to make a reliable awd vehicle. Worst car ever.”

NHTSA complaint #11269543, filed 2019-10, 128,550 miles

“My car while driving on the highway has turned off out of nowhere while driving 60 MPH while the car is still moving I put the car in neutral turn the ignition off n then back and the car turns right back on but some days this happens more then others. This problem has been going on for several months I have been in and out of the dealership. And they still to this day can't tell me what is the problem . But I have done research and there a lot of these incidents going on with gmc vehicles idk why they say they can't find problem or fix it . …”

NHTSA complaint #10659417, filed 2014-11, 75,000 miles

“The car shut off while driving down a hill this is the second time it has happened I checked with GM to see if there was a recall for this car and at this time there is not. We were lucky both times that there were no other vehicles around and that the car was kept under control while bringing it to a stop. Although GM has no recalls for this car I am filling this complaint because of the many recalls that are out there for this same problem. Will the third time be a charm when it happens and someone gets killed or seriously injured for GM to include this car? It will be to late!!!!!!!”

NHTSA complaint #10649889, filed 2014-10, 17,000 miles

“Vehicle died while driving with no prior warning or error messages-complete engine failure, loss of power steering, brakes. Unable to restart after several attempts. Mechanic determined that the ECM had failed unexpectedly. When computer was replaced, they were unable to detect any sensor issues that may have contributed to ECM failure, they concluded that the ECM had failed while driving. Had it failed on freeway, results could have been catastrophic.”

NHTSA complaint #10743645, filed 2015-07, 41,500 miles

Related service bulletins

Transmission and drivetrain: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
2019330%
2018338%
2017933%
2016929%
20152041%
20148458%
20131318%
201246%
20112222%
2010913%
20092817%
20082112%
20073315%
20064517%
20058230%
20045223%
2003258%

Other parts of the 2010 Cadillac CTS

Air bags
16 complaints
Electrical system
16 complaints
Engine
10 complaints
Body and structure
8 complaints
Exterior lighting
7 complaints
Other or unknown
7 complaints
Brakes
6 complaints
Steering
5 complaints
Electronic stability control
2 complaints
Engine cooling
2 complaints
Latches, locks and linkages
2 complaints
Seat belts
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2010 Cadillac CTS

About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 31, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.

To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology