2024 Cadillac Lyriq: What to check before buying
Owners have filed 106 complaints with NHTSA about this car, most about the electrical, exterior lights, and brakes. The 9 checks below target those problems, in the order you would do them at the car.
2024- Owner complaints
- 106
- Recalls
- 6
- Crashes reported
- 16
- 3 injuries
Your inspection sheet
Tick items off on your phone at the car, or print it. Ticks stay on this device.
0/9 checked
2024 Cadillac Lyriq: inspection sheet
Paperwork and questions
Before you go, or before you touch the car0/2
Walk-around and cabin
Engine off, key in hand0/2
Test drive
At least 20 minutes, with some highway0/5
These checks are specific to this model year. For tires, body panels, fluids, and the other basics every used car needs, use the general inspection guide.
Which Lyriq is it?
EPA figures for each version of the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq. Use them to confirm you are looking at the version that was advertised, and as a yardstick on the test drive.
| Version | Drive | EPA rating |
|---|---|---|
| Electric | AWD, RWD | 307–314 mi range |
- With a full charge, the range estimate on the dash should land near the EPA figure of 307–314 miles. A much lower number on a mild day can mean a worn battery; ask for a battery health report.
Why these checks: what owners reported
NHTSA complaints for the 2024 Cadillac Lyriq, grouped by the part owners named. Open a row to read what goes wrong.
Electrical301 crash
Sudden shutdowns, no-start conditions, and cascades of warnings lead these reports. The car can lose all power with no warning, leaving doors locked and unresponsive. Two reports describe a child trapped inside. One-pedal driving switches off on its own, sometimes with a surge forward. Screens go blank and driver-assist errors pile up, often after software updates. Two reports put onset at 7,300 and 9,900 miles. One fire-related report describes smoke filling the cabin from the liftgate after water got into a taillight. Repeated module swaps and reprogramming often fail to fix the problem, and one car waits on a part that has not been made yet.
Exterior lights17No crashes
Headlights drift out of aim while driving. One side points down and lights only about a car length ahead, while the other tilts up and glares at oncoming traffic. Some lights cut out entirely, and restarting the car is the only short-term fix. Dealers have replaced headlights and lighting modules more than once without curing it. A second pattern covers dashboard displays that dim too much at dusk and dawn, even at the maximum setting. Dealers say this meets spec. The right rear taillight and brake light also fail on and off, and backup lights are described as weak.
Brakes158 crashes
The brake pedal fails to stop the car at low speed, usually in stop-and-go traffic or while parking. Automatic emergency braking also fails to step in. Eight of 15 reports involve a crash, and one involves an injury. Several drivers say the brakes worked normally before and after, and dealers often find nothing wrong. The opposite fault also appears: hard phantom braking at highway speed, an overheated-brake warning, ABS pulsing when one-pedal driving hands off to the friction brakes, and "Brake System Failure" messages that cap speed at 43 mph. Reported mileages include 7,000 and 18,125.
Automatic emergency braking10No crashes
Automatic emergency braking slams on with nothing ahead, at speeds from a crawl up to 65 to 70 mph. Following drivers then have to swerve to avoid a rear-end crash. Rain triggers false braking in reverse that can take several tries to clear. Adaptive cruise control sometimes fails to slow for stopped traffic, or speeds up toward a car that has just stopped. Driver-assist screens can go black and switch the systems off. Dealers often cannot reproduce the fault, and owners say it continues after dealer visits and over-the-air updates. One report puts onset at 3,400 miles.
Backup camera91 crash
Rear automatic braking slams on again and again while backing up in the rain, with nothing behind the car. Some owners can barely back out of a driveway or parking space. Sloped driveways set it off too, and switching the feature off does not always help. Some reports describe the same hard, false braking at highway speeds, with one injury. Less often, the system fails to brake at all. One crash report, filed under a 2023 model, involved reversing into a guardrail at 8,600 miles with no warning. Dealers typically cannot find a cause.
Transmission51 crash
The car loses drive power while moving, and regenerative braking stops with it. Drivers coast to the shoulder, and a restart usually brings everything back. One-pedal driving can shut off at a stop and let the car lurch forward. High-voltage battery fault codes flagged "Service Right Away" leave at least one car sitting at a dealer with no repair plan. One crash report describes hard braking with no cause, followed by the car shifting into reverse on its own and backing into another vehicle.
Acceleration and cruise control32 crashes
The car surges forward while being parked at walking speed. In one case it hit a parked car, a tree, and a building, and the driver was injured. Two of the three reports involve crashes. One owner reports automatic emergency braking failing to stop for a stationary object at under 25 mph, even after the brake control module received a software update. Another describes one-pedal driving switching off at speed with a slight surge, alongside a side detection warning.
Steering31 crash
Both a parking-lot surge and a full software failure at speed appear here. In the crash report, the car accelerated at about 1 mph while turning into a space, then hit a parked car and a wall with no warning lights. In another case at 65 mph, steering assist, AWD, headlamps, and brake assist all dropped out together. Steering became hard to control and braking was unavailable, and a reboot did not clear the errors. A third owner reports a steering wheel that sometimes wobbles and fails to turn the wheels.
In owners' own words
Excerpts from complaints Lyriq owners filed with NHTSA, as written. Listen for the same symptoms on your test drive.
The car has 7300 Miles on it and it has an electrical Battery error that it can not start Also multiple soft ware errors the screen turns off while driving and assist control errors
Filed with NHTSA, January 2024
The vehicle's instrument panel automatically dims excessively at dusk and dawn. When it does this, the speedometer and other information in the dashboard are not visible. There is no way to adjust the brightness any higher and no way to disable this auto dim feature. This is, to my knowledge, a known software bug that has persisted for close to two years without any effort by GM to rectify this safety issue.
Filed with NHTSA, December 2024
Headlights on vehicle “droop” after driving 20 minutes or more. They start off okay and then become non existent l, pointing directly down toward the pavement in front of the vehicle and you can’t see more than 1 car length in front of you. You must turn the vehicle off and then back on to reset the headlights to drive. This is a huge safety issue for driving at night.
Filed with NHTSA, September 2023
Right rear taillight and brake light fail to light intermittently. This is a known defect on many other Lyriqs. When this failure occurs, the vehicle is not compliant with state laws regarding having working taillights and brake lights, and could result in a moving violation ticket. Cadillac should be required to recall and repair/replace these lights.
Filed with NHTSA, August 2024
When approaching a red light at 5-10mph, I engaged the brakes, but the brakes did not work and the automatic breaking didn't work either, leading me to rear end the car in front of me. There were no prior warnings lights or notices, and the breaks were working properly before and after the accident. The car was towed to the dealership for inspection, but they could not find anything wrong and have contacted GM for further inspection.
Filed with NHTSA, July 2024
As I approached a stop sign and hit the brake the car did not stop. I pounded on the brake but there was no response at all; it just coasted forward. The car continued to move and hit the car in front of me stopped at the stop sign. That car, a Nissan Rogue, had no damage. I was barely moving but the plastic sheet in the front of the Lyriq was cracked.
Filed with NHTSA, May 2024
Driver assist forward continues to have issues after being at dealer for issue for 4 weeks for repair After getting car back from dealer for the first three days the error did not come up. Now the error comes and goes daily. Issue happens when approaching stop lights stop signs where there is nothing in front of you starts vibrating seat and slams on breaks. Same stop sign as yesterday but today it vibrates warnings Makes not sense.
Filed with NHTSA, September 2023
The automatic collision system braking is engaging when the vehicle is in reverse and while it is raining. This occurs multiple times while trying to back the vehicle up during rain. This is dangerous for the passengers since they are abruptly thrown backwards without warning. The vehicle must be placed in "park" and then "reverse" multiple times until the collision braking stops malfunctioning.
Filed with NHTSA, May 2024
How the 2024 compares with other Lyriq years
Complaints for this year next to the average for the other model years, area by area.
The 2024 has the most owner complaints of the 3 Lyriq years we cover, about 5.7 times the average of the others. Newer years have had less time to collect complaints, so compare like with like.
- Electrical304
- Exterior lights175
- Brakes152
- Automatic emergency braking101
- Backup camera91
- Transmission51
Recalls to confirm (6)
Recall repairs are free at any Cadillac dealer, but the seller may never have had them done. Check each campaign number against the VIN.
26V082000Backup cameraFeb 2026
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2024 Lyriq vehicles. The rearview camera screen may turn gray with no camera image.
Risk: An inoperative rearview camera can reduce the driver's rear visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The vehicle cockpit unit (VCU) software will be updated by a dealer or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed March 16, 2026. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N252542530. Vehicle Identification Numbers (VINs) involved in this recall became searchable on NHTSA.gov on February 12, 2026.
25V356000EquipmentMay 2025
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023 – 2024 model year Cadillac Lyriq vehicles. The driver video display may go blank while driving.
Risk: A blank video display can result in a loss of critical safety information, such as the speedometer, warning lights, and rearview camera image, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The video display control module software will be updated by a dealer, or through an over-the-air (OTA) update, free of charge. Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed July 14, 2025. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. GM's number for this recall is N252500680.
25V232000SuspensionApr 2025
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023-2025 Cadillac LYRIQ vehicles. The left or right front stabilizer bar bracket bolts may have been improperly tightened, which can allow the bolts to loosen and separate from the vehicle frame. A detached stabilizer bar or bracket can damage the vehicle's high voltage cables or EV battery coolant lines.
Risk: Damaged cables or coolant lines can result in a vehicle shutdown, causing a loss of drive power and increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and tighten the left and/or right stabilizer bar bracket bolts, as necessary, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 8, 2025. Owners may contact Cadilac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. GM's number for this recall is N252494190.
24V589000BrakesAug 2024
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023-2024 Cadillac LYRIQ all-wheel drive vehicles. The anti-lock brake system (ABS) may activate unexpectedly and release brake pressure in the vehicle's service brake system.
Risk: A release of brake pressure can cause a loss of braking ability, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: The electronic brake control module software will be updated through an over-the-air (OTA) update or by a dealer, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed September 3, 2024. Owners may contact Cadillac's customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or EV Concierge at 1-844-EV-CADILLAC (1-844-382-2345). GM's number for this recall is N242453471.
24V320000ElectricalMay 2024
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2024 Cadillac Lyriq, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Hummer EV SUV, and GMC Sierra EV vehicles. The electric motors in the rear drive units may have insufficiently insulated wires that can contact each other, resulting in a loss of drive power.
Risk: A loss of drive power increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will replace the rear drive unit, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed May 16, 2024. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020; Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006; Hummer customer service at 1-800-732-5493; or GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782. GM's number for this recall is N242447080.
23V785000Seat beltsNov 2023
General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2023-2024 LYRIQ vehicles. The bracket that anchors the left-rear and center-rear seat belts may have been improperly welded to the seat frame.
Risk: An improperly welded seat belt bracket may not restrain an occupant as intended, increasing their risk of injury during a crash.
Fix: Owners are advised not to use the left-rear and center-rear seating positions until the recall repair is completed. Dealers will replace the rear seat cushion frame, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 17, 2024. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is N232425220.
Also looking at these instead of a Lyriq?
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2024 owner complaints, side by side
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