2016 Cadillac ATS-V: True Cost, Problems & Verdict
31 NHTSA owner complaints · 0 recalls · data-computed verdict. No opinions — public data only.
Owner complaints: 31 filed with NHTSA
Complaints per year on the road: 3.1
What owners say
Verbatim reports filed with the United States safety regulator (NHTSA) by owners of this exact model year. Public record.
The contact owns a 2016 Cadillac ATS. The contact stated that the message "Service Air Bag" was displayed, and the passenger's side seat belt warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.
When driving at around 40-50mph you can feel that the car has a shudder vibration. Took the car into Cadillac where they are informing me that it is the torque converter that needs replacement. No warning lights. If not fixed can lead to transmission failure.
Transmission drags. When stopping the car jerks bad and sometimes proceeds to accelerate. When at a stop auto start has a hard jerk I reported this problem to Cadillac dealership when I first got the car. They claim they couldn't find an issue. The touch pad goes out frequently.
Recalls: 0 campaigns
| Campaign | Component | Summary |
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What it costs to buy — and what owning it really takes
Class-level estimates, priced as a large premium car of its model year, re-priced to your country. Not a quote, not a valuation of one specific car — condition, mileage and options move it. How these are computed.
What it costs to run
EPA combined 19 MPG · estimated annual fuel cost $4,200
Re-priced automatically from your country's retail fuel, electricity and parts indices — change country in the bar at the top. Estimates; see methodology.
What this car's problems cost to fix
Ranked by the components owners of this exact model year actually complain about. Each figure is flat-rate labour hours x the local shop rate plus a parts band — an estimate of what this kind of failure costs, not a quote, and not a prediction that this car will need it. Formula.
- Power Train9 complaints · typical job: Transmission service or clutch-pack repair (7.0 h labour + parts)$1,290–$4,040
- Electrical System6 complaints · typical job: Alternator, battery-drain or body-module diagnosis and replacement (3.0 h labour + parts)$540–$1,310
- Air Bags4 complaints · typical job: Airbag module, clockspring or sensor replacement (2.5 h labour + parts)$600–$1,700
- Engine4 complaints · typical job: Cooling-system or timing-drive repair (6.0 h labour + parts)$1,040–$2,220
- Steering3 complaints · typical job: Electric power-steering rack or column motor replacement (5.0 h labour + parts)$1,020–$2,500
- Wheels3 complaints · typical job: Wheel bearing or hub replacement (2.5 h labour + parts)$460–$920
Other Cadillac ATS-V years
FAQ
What is the most common problem with the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V?
The most-reported issue in NHTSA complaint data is Power Train (9 complaints in our indexed sample).
Is the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V a good used car to buy?
Our data verdict is CAUTION with a reliability score of 54/100, computed from 31 NHTSA complaints and 0 recall campaigns. See the verdict card for the top reasons.
How much does it cost to fix the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V's most common problem?
9 of the NHTSA complaints filed against the 2016 Cadillac ATS-V sit in the Power Train group — more than any other component on this model year. The representative job there is transmission service or clutch-pack repair: about 7.0 hours of labour plus parts, roughly $1,290–$4,040 at a US independent shop and re-priced to your country at the top of the page. It is an estimate of what this class of failure costs, not a quote for this car.
What does a 2016 Cadillac ATS-V cost to run per year?
About $6,328 a year in fuel or energy plus the maintenance band — roughly $31,642 over five years, before purchase price, insurance and depreciation. Figures come from available EPA fuel-economy data and industry maintenance averages, and are re-priced to your country.
Compare with
Other luxury larges of about the same age.
What will a 2016 Cadillac ATS-V really cost YOU per year?
Fuel, maintenance band and depreciation — computed from public data in 10 seconds.
Open the true-cost calculatorData sources
Complaints & recalls: NHTSA ·
Fuel economy: EPA fueleconomy.gov ·
Scoring: our published methodology.
Maintenance bands are industry-average estimates (AAA Your Driving Costs, CarMD index) — labeled estimates, not measurements.
Last updated: 2026-10-04.
Thin evidence — 31 complaints, 0 recalls on record
- 31 NHTSA complaints on record (3.1/yr of exposure) — worse than a typical year of this model (0.1/yr)
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 touching safety-critical systems
- Thin complaint record — this score is held close to the model's own average rather than read as evidence of quality