Model-year matrix

Cadillac DTS
which year?

Compare every Cadillac DTS model year the EPA recorded, 2006 to 2011. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Cadillac DTS year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Cadillac DTS?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Cadillac DTS years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2006

255 indexed complaint reports; exterior lighting is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2006 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2007

97 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2007 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2008

86 indexed complaint reports; electrical system is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2008 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Cadillac DTS model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2010 Cadillac DTS

NHTSA complaint allegations: 22
Combined EPA economy: 18 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 2
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,400
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 11engine 4air bags 3

Open the 2010 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2011 Cadillac DTS

NHTSA complaint allegations: 15
Combined EPA economy: 18 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 1
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $3,400
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelselectrical system 6engine 5air bags 2

Open the 2011 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2011 has 7 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2010.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Cadillac DTS by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Cadillac DTS model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2011	15	electrical system 6engine 5air bags 2	18	1	$3,400	Dossier →
2010	22	electrical system 11engine 4air bags 3	18	2	$3,400	Dossier →
2009	35	electrical system 12service brakes 6seats 5	18	2	$3,400	Dossier →
2008	86	electrical system 39engine 14fuel/propulsion system 8	18	2	$3,400	Dossier →
2007	97	electrical system 28exterior lighting 14engine 13	18	2	$3,400	Dossier →
2006	255	exterior lighting 84electrical system 81engine 38	18	2	$3,400	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.