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How Many Miles Can A Cadillac CTS Last? (Answered)

How many miles can a Cadillac CTS last? When you’re in the market for a new or second-hand CTS that’s of course a very reasonable question to ask. After all, you’re probably looking to get the most bang for your buck. In this blog we’ll look at the most popular models but first, let’s start with a quick answer:

On average a Cadillac CTS lasts between 170,000 – 190,000 miles. A Cadillac CTS needs to go for to the garage for unscheduled repairs about 0.36 times per year with 16% change of the problem being severe. Furthermore, Cadillac CTS owners spend an average of $684 per year on repair costs.

Having said that we’re certainly not done. Below we’ll first explain in more detail how many miles a Cadillac CTS can last. After that, we’ll compare the CTS to it’s main competitors in terms of potential mileage and we’ll also compare the CTS to other Cadillacs. Furthermore, we also discuss the common problems that a Cadillac CTS can have for the models that were produced between 2007 and 2016, how much maintenance will cost per year and how to maintain an CTS. Read on!

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How Many Miles Can A Cadillac CTS Last?

In order to know how many miles a Cadillac CTS can last we analyzed data that we retrieved from Autotrader.com. Here we selected all the Cadillac CTS’s that were for sale in the United States at the time (a total of 2,630 cars).

After that, we divided the cars into groups that were based on the number of miles they had already driven. The results are displayed in the table below. What we can conclude from this is that the CTS does seem to be a fairly reliable car with 4.49% of cars having already reached a mileage of 150,000 miles or more. Normally this number is within the 3-5% range so the CTS seems to meet that standard.

Amount Of MilesPercentage Of Cars
Cars With 150.000+4.49%
Cars With 100.000 – 149.00016.84%
Cars With 45.000 – 99.99941.75%
Cars With 0 – 44.99936.92%

Furthermore, 16,84% has already reached the 100,000 – 149,000 miles bracket which is a pretty strong number as well. It shows that the car seems to be reliable for the majority of owners.

Having said that, its also clear that a lot of the cars have a mileage of 99,999 or less. Reason for this is the fact that the CTS hasn’t been on the road for a decade or longer which means a lot of the cars simply didn’t have time yet to reach the 150,000 miles milestone.

However, there do seem to be a fair number of cars that did reach the milestone which makes it that the CTS can expected to reach this milestone easily. Furthermore, it’s interesting to note that the maximum recorded mileage of a CTS was 230,000 miles which shows that very high mileage does seem to be possible with this sedan.

How Reliable Is A Cadillac CTS Compared To It’s Competitors

Besides the number of miles the Cadillac CTS can drive it’s also important to know how these miles stack up against the competition. Below we’ve created a table that compares the CTS to it’s five main competitors.

What becomes clear when looking at this table is that the CTS does seem to perform pretty well against it’s peers. With 4.49% of the cars having reached a mileage of more than 150,000 miles the CTS outperforms the Audi A6, the BMW 5-Series, The Mercedes E 350 and the Jaguar XF.

ModelSample SizeCars With 150.000+ Miles% Percentage Of Cars With 150.000+Highest Mileage
Cadillac CTS26301184.49%220,000
Audi A63391852.51%230,000
BMW 5-Series86402252.60%260,000
Jaguar XF80770.87%170,000
Lexus GS17351106.34%260,000
Mercedes E 35035881213.37%230,000

Only the Lexus GS seems to do better than the CTS with 6.34% of the cars having crossed the 150,000 miles mark. Furthermore, it’s safe to concluded that the CTS has an average maximum mileage with the highest recorded mileage being 220,000 miles. The A6, 5-Series, E350 and GS all perform slightly better whereas the XF is simply terrible.

How Reliable Is A Cadillac CTS Compared To Other Cadillacs?

Besides it’s competition it’s also good to know how the CTS stacks up against other Cadillacs. This gives you an overall view of the Cadillac brand and how the CTS fits in that picture.

What you see below is that the CTS seems to be in the middle of the pack in terms of how many miles the car can drive. Cadillacs do seem to have a high percentage of cars reaching the 150,000 miles mark (except for the XTS and ATS).

ModelSample SizeCars With 150.000+ Miles% Percentage Of Cars With 150.000+Highest Mileage
Cadillac SRX20651045.04%210,000
Cadillac Escalade43772726.21%270,000
Cadillac CTS26301184.49%220,000
Cadillac DTS392379.44%210,000
Cadillac STS1201512.50%220,000
Cadillac XTS1144201.75%220,000
Cadillac ATS1879180.96%180,000

The CTS is not as good as the SRX, the Escalade, DTS or the STS but certainly still a reliable car. Also, when it comes to the highest mileage that’s recorded on the car we can see that the CTS (with 220,000 miles) is exactly on par with the other Cadillacs. The Escalade is an outperformer here with the ATS being terrible.

How Much Does A Cadillac CTS Cost In Maintenance Per Year?

Furthermore, it’s also important to know how much a Cadillac CTS costs per year in terms of maintenance. For this we used data of Repairpal.com. For each year of production we wrote down how much the car cost in annual maintenance. This resulted in the table below.

What we can see is that the Cadillac CTS’s that were produced between 2017 – 2014 seem to have above average maintenance cost. The 2014 production year takes the crown with an annual spending of $864.

Year Of ManufacturingCadillac CTS Annual Maintenance Cost
2017 $     787
2016 $     836
2015 $     811
2014 $     864
2013 $     710
2012 $     635
2011 $     619
2010 $     576
2009 $     632
2008 $     599
2007 $     459
Average $     684.36

Why these production years are so expensive is unclear. Cadillac CTS’s don’t normally have a lot of major problems that could result in expensive repair bills. Rather, we believe that these CTS’s suffer from their own little problems which add up. Further, a CTS does need quite some maintenance every 7,500 miles (which you can see in the maintenance schedule at the end of this article) which of course also adds up.

Besides that, the models that were produced pre-2013 do seem to have very reasonable maintenance cost and may be a smarter buy if you’re looking for a car that’s a bit more affordable on an annual basis.

Also read: The Complete Cost Of Maintaining A Cadillac

Cadillac CTS Common Problems

First of all, it’s good to know that the Cadillac CTS is a pretty reliable car. The CTS doesn’t have a lot of major problems associated with it which means you don’t have to expect to replace the transmission or the engine anytime soon.

Depending on the model of car you have or want there are however still some minor problems you should be aware of. You can find those below.

NOTE: Before buying a used car, I always like to make sure the vehicle isn´t having any problems that you should be aware of. The easiest way to do this is by buying an OBD2 scanner. These scanners can easily be plugged into any car you’re interested in, and they’ll give you a rundown of potential problems.

Steering Wheel Position Sensor Fails

The steering wheel position sensor is prone to failure in models that were produced before 2017. This results in a service stability message being displayed. Luckily, this is an easy fix and it will cost you around $80 – $120.

Passenger Seat Sensor Fail

The passenger seat sensor is prone to failure which results in the SRS light illuminating (this is the light responsible for the airbag). This problem occurs in models that were made in 2011 and before and some of them had a recall for this. The cost for fixing this problem is between $80 – $120.

Lose Or Worn Gas Cap

In models that were produced in 2011 and before there seems to be a problem with the gas cap being too loose or wearing out too quickly. Since this means the engine isn’t able to receive the normal amount of pressure (because there’s no vacuum) this will illuminate the check engine light. It will cost $80 – $120 to fix this problem.

Front And Rear Light Bulbs Fail

The front and rear light bulbs tend to fail prematurely in 2015 models and pre-2013 models as is also the case with the Cadillac SRX. The problem here is that the front light bulbs are especially difficult to replace which means an average cost of $340 – $390 for all light bulbs.

Check Engine Light Turns On

In pre-2011 models the check engine light may turn on and the computer may present you with a few different codes (P0011, P0014, P0021, P0024, P0341, P0346, P0336, and/or P0391). In some cars the Powertrain Control Module may need a software update. On other cars the problem is caused by excessive camshaft end play which needs to be corrected. A software update will cost around $80 – $120 whereas solving the camshaft problems may cost between $200 – $400.

Leak In The Rear Axle Pinion Seal

The rear axle pinion seal may leak which results in internal rear end damage and means that the seal needs to be replaced. This is especially a common problem in pre-2008 models. Replacing the seal costs around $240 – $280.

Is It Smart To Buy A Cadillac CTS?

Whether or not it’s smart to buy a used Cadillac CTS depends on a few factors such as how many problems the car will have, how much value you get for you money and how long the car will last.

As you read earlier CTS’s do seem to be a pretty solid buy in terms of the mileage they can reach. Reaching a mileage of 150,000 miles or more doesn’t seem that much of problem. Furthermore, the car also does very well in this area compared to it’s competitors and other Cadillacs. With a maximum mileage of 220,000 miles the car has a lifespan of 16 years and 4 months.

Also, the CTS doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of major problems. This is good because it means a second-hand owner doesn’t have to worry that much about major transmission or engine repairs. However, models that were produced between 2014 – 2017 do seem to have above average maintenance cost which is something to be aware of.

Finally, there’s the question how much car you can get for your money. Using data from caredge.com we found that a Cadillac CTS has 50% of it’s value left after 6 years. This means you can drive the car for an extra 10 years and get a 50% discount on the original price. After the first 6 years the CTS seems to lose an additional 8% of value each year which is normal.

Cadillac CTS Maintenance Schedule

If you want you Cadillac CTS to reach a high mileage you’ll have to look after it. In general this just means following the maintenance schedule of the Cadillac CTS that Cadillac has provided. This looks as follows:

  • Change the oil of the car every 7,500 miles
  • Rotate the tires every 7,500 miles
  • Flush the underbody every 7,500 miles
  • Lubricate lock cylinder every 7,500 miles
  • Replace the cabin air filter every 22,500 miles
  • Replace the air filter every 45,000 miles
  • Replace the spark plugs every 97,500 miles
  • Replace and flush the coolant every 150,000 miles

Sources

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