Backover prevention, steering, and rear camera issues are the main causes of complaints received by the NHTSA from vehicle owners
Cadillac boasts about the sophisticated 2023 XT6’s user experience embodied in its “select driver awareness tech.” This is designed to keep drivers safe with features that include rear park assist, forward collision alert, and an HD rear vision camera. But owners are complaining that rear cameras don’t work properly. They are also reporting issues with faulty steering and malfunctioning systems that should prevent crashes.
Click on other model year to view more problems: 2020 2022
The Standard Cadillac Smart System includes automatic emergency braking, front pedestrian braking, rear park assist, vehicle diagnostics, a teen driver feature, and a superior HD rear vision camera. Alerts incorporated in the system include a warning for a potential forward collision, a safety alert seat, and a rear seat reminder. This is very reassuring for new owners – until systems don’t work as intended.
Complaints to the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA) filed between October 3, 2022, and February 13, 2023, report problems that affect backover prevention, lane departure, the powertrain, visibility/wiper, and unknown or other issues. From these complaints, it appears that there are issues with the rear park assist and warning systems related to backover prevention. There are clear indications of faulty rearview or back-up cameras and steering that malfunctions.
There is also a recall as a result of illegible tire size information that might result in the wrong tires being installed on a few (24) 2023 Cadillac XT5, XT6, and GMC vehicles. General Motors, which owns Cadillac, Chevrolet, and Buick, warns that this increases the risk of a crash.
| Complaint Category | Number of Complaints |
|---|---|
| Power Train | |
| Visibility/wiper | |
| Back Over Prevention: Rearview System Braking | |
| Back Over Prevention: Sensing System: Camera | |
| Electrical System | |
| Lane Departure: Assist | |
| Steering | |
| Structure:body | |
| Unknown Or Other |
An owner from Texas complained to the NHTSA in December 2022 that the rear camera wasn’t working properly. The issue first appeared about a month after purchase, when the Cadillac XT6 had only 600 miles on the clock. The complaint states the obvious. It says that the “rear camera is necessary for the driver to help prevent hitting unseen subjects behind the car. Let’s say if there is a 2-year-old kid playing in the back of my car, I wouldn’t see the kid (behind the car).” The SUV has been seen by the dealership 3 times, but the problem continues to occur.
On February 13, 2023, another 2023 Cadillac XT6 owner, from Florida, laid a complaint. This states that the backup camera display “works fine” when reversing the SUV during the day. But at night, when it is raining, or when it is in a dark environment like a garage, the camera display dims. And the driver finds it difficult to see poles or people behind the vehicle. “When shifting into Reverse, it is bright, then it goes dim.” While the XT6 was with the dealer, the owner drove a Chevy loaner that had no rear camera issues “and my last car worked great. The dealer checked everything, and I was told ‘it is working to spec’ although they see an issue that they can’t fix.”
But Cadillac is well aware of the problem some vehicles have with rearview camera display gridlines being too dim, and dealers have been informed of a solution.
An owner from Texas complained to the NHTSA in December 2022 that the rear camera wasn’t working properly. The issue first appeared about a month after purchase, when the Cadillac XT6 had only 600 miles on the clock. The complaint states the obvious. It says that the “rear camera is necessary for the driver to help prevent hitting unseen subjects behind the car. Let’s say if there is a 2-year-old kid playing in the back of my car, I wouldn’t see the kid (behind the car).” The SUV has been seen by the dealership 3 times, but the problem continues to occur.
On February 13, 2023, another 2023 Cadillac XT6 owner, from Florida, laid a complaint. This states that the backup camera display “works fine” when reversing the SUV during the day. But at night, when it is raining, or when it is in a dark environment like a garage, the camera display dims. And the driver finds it difficult to see poles or people behind the vehicle. “When shifting into Reverse, it is bright, then it goes dim.” While the XT6 was with the dealer, the owner drove a Chevy loaner that had no rear camera issues “and my last car worked great. The dealer checked everything, and I was told ‘it is working to spec’ although they see an issue that they can’t fix.”
But Cadillac is well aware of the problem some vehicles have with rearview camera display gridlines being too dim, and dealers have been informed of a solution.
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In a complaint filed as a backover prevention problem, a Florida owner states that his wife hit a truck behind her while she was reversing. There was no warning and no alarms sounded. After the SUV had been repaired, it was checked out by a dealership. They “said there were no sensors in (the) rear bumper to alert (the) driver.” There were “only plugs in (the) rear bumper.” The dealership where he had bought the vehicle said the SUV had been checked out and all the sensors were working. But, “on my way home I noticed the blind side warning did not work.” So, he took the XT6 to another dealer.
“I know the car was not tested. I would like someone from GM (to) look at the warning system and tell me it is safe.”
An owner from California had a different issue the day after buying a new 2023 XT6. When he put the XT6 into reverse gear, the car continued to move forward and not backward. “I tried it multiple times, but it was still moving forward. There was a car in front of my car, and since the car was expected to go backward, this issue put (my) safety at risk as I could hit the car in front. This issue does not happen every time I do reverse.”
While the SUV has been awarded 5 stars by the NHTSA in its frontal and side crash tests, they only awarded it 4 out of 5 stars for the rollover test. This test “measures the risk of rollover in a single-vehicle, loss-of-control scenario.” As a result of the test, the NHTSA says it has a rollover risk of 16.4%.
If you have to fight with the steering wheel to stay on the road, you’ve got a major problem, as a 2023 Cadillac XT6 knows only too well. While driving at about 40 mph along a straight, dry, 2-lane road, “something went wrong and it decided to encourage me to drive into the ditch, steering me directly off the road.” Testing its consistency, “when I found a stretch with a wide shoulder to see what would happen, it took me unerringly to the right, onto the dirt. For me, it was unnerving and distracting, but I could only imagine what would have happened to an elderly driver with a loose grip on the wheel.”
Do you think your 2023 Cadillac XT6 might be a lemon? If it has problems that recur and affect the use and value of the vehicle, there’s a possibility it may be a lemon. Lemberg Law will be happy to assess your problems and see if you have a case.
We have been helping vehicle owners negotiate settlements with automakers for many years. The law says that Cadillac (GM) must pay the legal fees for lemon law cases, so it’s not going to cost you anything.
Brian Jones spent more than 30 years working as an ASE Certified Master Tech and Parts Specialist at multiple dealerships. Brian has become an authority in the industry, traveling across the country to consult for car dealerships and contributing his expertise as a writer for several major automotive publications. In his spare time, Brian enjoys working on pickup trucks, muscle cars, Jeeps and anything related to motorsports.
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