Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/6/22
Introduction 3
Danger, Warning, and
Caution
Warning messages found on
vehicle labels and in this
manual describe hazards and
what to do to avoid or
reduce them.
{Danger
Danger indicates a hazard
with a high level of risk
which will result in serious
injury or death.
{Warning
Warning indicates a hazard
that could result in injury or
death.
Caution
Caution indicates a hazard
that could result in property
or vehicle damage.
A circle with a slash through it
is a safety symbol which
means“Do not,” “Do not do
this,” or“Do not let this
happen.”
Symbols
The vehicle has components
and labels that use symbols
instead of text. Symbols are
shown along with the text
describing the operation or
information relating to a
specific component, control,
message, gauge, or indicator.
M: Shown when the owner’s
manual has additional
instructions or information.
*: Shown when the service
manual has additional
instructions or information.
0: Shown when there is more
information on another page —
“see page.”
Vehicle Symbol Chart
Here are some additional
symbols that may be found on
the vehicle and what they
mean. See the features in this
manual for information.
u: Air Conditioning System
G:Air Conditioning
Refrigerant Oil
9: Airbag Readiness Light
!:Antilock Brake
System (ABS)
$: Brake System Warning
Light
9: Dispose of Used
Components Properly
P: Do Not Apply High
Pressure Water
B: Engine Coolant
Temperature
_: Flame/Fire Prohibited
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/6/22
Instruments and Controls 103
Instruments and
Controls
Controls
Steering WheelAdjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Heated Steering Wheel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Horn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Windshield Wiper/ Washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Compass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Power Outlets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Wireless Charging . . . . . . . . . 109
Warning Lights, Gauges,
and Indicators
Warning Lights, Gauges, and Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Instrument Cluster (Base
Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Instrument Cluster (Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Speedometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Trip Odometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Tachometer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Fuel Gauge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 Engine Coolant
Temperature Gauge
(Base Level) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Engine Coolant Temperature Gauge
(Uplevel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Seat Belt Reminders . . . . . . 122
Airbag Readiness Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Passenger Airbag Status Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Charging System Light . . . 124
Malfunction Indicator Lamp (Check Engine
Light) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Brake System Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Service Electric Parking Brake Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Antilock Brake System (ABS) Warning Light . . . . . 128
Performance Shifting Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Automatic Vehicle Hold (AVH) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Lane Keep Assist (LKA) Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Automatic Emergency
Braking (AEB) Disabled
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Vehicle Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Pedestrian Ahead Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Traction Off Light . . . . . . . . . 130
StabiliTrak OFF Light . . . . . 131
Traction Control System (TCS)/StabiliTrak
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Engine Coolant Temperature Warning
Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Driver Mode Control Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Tire Pressure Light . . . . . . . 133
Engine Oil Pressure Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Low Fuel Warning Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Security Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
High-Beam On Light . . . . . . 135
Lamps On Reminder . . . . . . 135
Cruise Control Light . . . . . . 135
Door Ajar Light . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/6/22
128 Instruments and Controls
Electric Parking Brake
Light
MetricEnglish
This light comes on when the
parking brake is applied. If the
light continues flashing after
the parking brake is released,
or while driving, there is a
problem with the Electric
Parking Brake system.
A message may also display in
the Driver Information
Center (DIC).
If the light does not come on,
or remains flashing, see your
dealer.
Service Electric
Parking Brake Light
This light may come on briefly
when the vehicle is turned on.
If it does not come on, have it
fixed so it will be ready to
warn if there is a problem.
If this light stays on or comes
on while driving, there is a
problem with the Electric
Parking Brake (EPB). Take the
vehicle to a dealer as soon as
possible. In addition to the
parking brake, other safety
functions that utilize the EPB
may also be degraded.
A message may also display in
the Driver Information Center
(DIC). See Electric Parking
Brake 0288.
Antilock Brake
System (ABS)
Warning Light
This light comes on briefly
when the vehicle is turned on
to show that the light is
working. If it does not come on
then, have it fixed so it will be
ready to warn you if there is a
problem.
If the ABS warning light stays
on, or comes on again while
driving, the vehicle needs
service. A chime may also
sound when the light stays on.
If the ABS warning light is the
only light on, the vehicle has
regular brakes, but ABS is not
functioning.
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/6/22
Instruments and Controls 129
If both the ABS warning light
and the brake system warning
light are on, ABS is not
functioning and there is a
problem with the regular
brakes. See your dealer for
service.
See Brake System Warning
Light0127.
Performance Shifting
Light
If equipped, this light may
display green when Sport
Mode is activated and certain
driving conditions are met.
Sport Mode detects when the
vehicle is being driven in a
competitive manner, and
adjusts the shifting of the
gears accordingly. See Driver
Mode Control 0293.
Automatic Vehicle
Hold (AVH) Light
This light comes on when AVH
is actively holding the vehicle.
See Automatic Vehicle Hold
(AVH) 0290.
Lane Keep Assist
(LKA) Light
Base LevelUplevel
If equipped, the Lane Keep
Assist Light may display the
following colors:
.Blank: LKA is disabled.
.White: Appears when the
vehicle starts. A steady
white light indicates that
LKA is not ready to assist.
.Green: Appears when LKA is
turned on and ready to
assist. LKA will gently turn
the steering wheel if the
vehicle approaches a
detected lane marking.
.Amber: Appears when LKA is
active. The light flashes
amber as a Lane Departure
Warning (LDW) alert to
indicate that the lane
marking has been
unintentionally crossed.
If the system detects you
are steering intentionally (to
pass or change lanes), the
LDW alert may not display.
LKA will not assist or alert if
the turn signal is active in the
direction of lane departure,
or if LKA detects that you are
accelerating, braking,
or actively steering. See Lane
Keep Assist (LKA) 0356.
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/10/22
240 Driving and Operating
Driving and
Operating
Driving Information
Driving for Better FuelEconomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Distracted Driving . . . . . . . . . 242
Defensive Driving . . . . . . . . . . 242
Impaired Driving . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Control of a Vehicle . . . . . . 243
Braking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Off-Road Recovery . . . . . . . 245
Loss of Control . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
Track Events and Competitive Driving
(V-Series and V-Series
Blackwing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Driving on Wet Roads . . . . 257
Hill and Mountain Roads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Winter Driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
If the Vehicle Is Stuck . . . . . 261
Vehicle Load Limits . . . . . . . 261
Starting and Operating
New Vehicle Break-In . . . . 265
Composite Materials . . . . . 266
Ignition Positions . . . . . . . . . . 267 Starting the Engine . . . . . . . 269
Stop/Start System . . . . . . . . 270
Engine Heater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Retained Accessory
Power (RAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273
Shifting Into Park . . . . . . . . . . 273
Shifting out of Park . . . . . . . 274
Parking (Manual Transmission) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Parking over Things That Burn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Active Fuel Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Extended Parking . . . . . . . . . 275
Engine Exhaust
Engine Exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Running the Vehicle While Parked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Automatic Transmission
AutomaticTransmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
Manual Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Manual Transmission
Manual Transmission . . . . . 283
Active Rev Match . . . . . . . . . 286
Drive Systems
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Brakes
Electric Brake Boost . . . . . . 287
Antilock Brake System (ABS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Electric Parking Brake . . . 288
Brake Assist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Hill Start Assist (HSA) . . . . 289
Automatic Vehicle Hold (AVH) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Ride Control Systems
Traction Control/Electronic Stability
Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Driver Mode Control . . . . . . 293
Competitive Driving Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Limited-Slip
Differential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Cruise Control
Cruise Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
Adaptive Cruise Control(Advanced) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
Super Cruise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317
Driver Assistance
Systems
Driver Assistance Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/10/22
Driving and Operating 245
.Holding both sides of the
steering wheel allows you to
turn 180 degrees without
removing a hand.
.Antilock Brake System (ABS)
allows steering while
braking.
Off-Road Recovery
The vehicle's right wheels can
drop off the edge of a road
onto the shoulder while
driving. Follow these tips:1. Ease off the accelerator and then, if there is
nothing in the way, steer the vehicle so that it
straddles the edge of the
pavement.
2. Turn the steering wheel about one-eighth of a turn,
until the right front tire
contacts the
pavement edge.
3. Turn the steering wheel to go straight down the
roadway.
Loss of Control
Skidding
There are three types of skids
that correspond to the
vehicle's three control
systems:
.Braking Skid —wheels are
not rolling.
.Steering or Cornering Skid —
too much speed or steering
in a curve causes tires to slip
and lose cornering force.
.Acceleration Skid —too
much throttle causes the
driving wheels to spin. Defensive drivers avoid most
skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing
conditions, and by not
overdriving those conditions.
But skids are always possible.
If the vehicle starts to slide,
follow these suggestions:
.Ease your foot off the
accelerator pedal and steer
the way you want the vehicle
to go. The vehicle may
straighten out. Be ready for
a second skid if it occurs.
.Slow down and adjust your
driving according to weather
conditions. Stopping
distance can be longer and
vehicle control can be
affected when traction is
reduced by water, snow, ice,
gravel, or other material on
the road. Learn to recognize
warning clues
—such as
enough water, ice, or packed
snow on the road to make a
mirrored surface —and slow
down when you have any
doubt.
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/10/22
Driving and Operating 253
2. Using the G-Force Gaugein the HUD display, use
enough pedal force to
completely stop the vehicle
in four to five seconds.
(~0.7g Decel level to stop
the vehicle in a straight
line). If ABS activates,
braking is too hard.
3. Repeat the first two steps 20 consecutive times, this
should take about
five minutes.
4. After completing the 20 stops, cool the brakes by
driving for 8 km (5 mi) at
100 km/h (60 mph).
Alternative Closed Course
Brake Burnishing Procedure
This brake burnish procedure
should only be run on vehicles
with a factory equipped brake
system.
This procedure should only be
run on a track and only on dry
pavement. Brake pedal fade
will occur during this track
burnish procedure and can cause brake pedal travel and
force to increase. This could
extend stopping distance until
the brakes are fully burnished.
1. Start track lapping at lower speeds and lower
braking efforts for
three minutes of driving.
Allow for increased braking
distances due to reduced
brake output.
2. After Step 1, increase speed and braking effort
for the next six minutes of
lapping, gradually ending
up at 90% effort. Continue
to allow for increased
braking distance due to
reduced brake output.
3. Cool the brakes by lapping with minimal light braking
for six minutes.
Wheel Alignment
Wheel alignment suggested
specs for track use:
Road Course (V-Series)
.Front: -2.0 deg camber,
0.2 deg total toe
.Rear: -1.7 deg camber,
0.2 deg total toe
Road Course (V-Series
Blackwing)
.Front: -2.5 deg camber,
0.1 deg total toe
.Rear: -1.5 deg camber,
0.1 deg total toe
Tire Inflation Pressure
Guidelines
Tire inflation pressures affect
vehicle handling and tire life,
and should be adjusted for
various types of tracks/
courses.
Inspect the tires prior to every
track/course session. Track/
course driving will reduce the
tire tread life.
To maximize tire life, drive
800 km (500 mi) prior to
racetrack driving or complete
the minimum track running
that will increase the tire
pressures by 35 kPa (5 psi).
After this, immediately let the
tires cool to cold pressures.
Cadillac CT5 Owner Manual (GMNA-Localizing-U.S./Canada-16500419) -
2023 - CRC - 5/10/22
Driving and Operating 259
.Check all fluid levels and
brakes, tires, cooling system,
and transmission.
.Shift to a lower gear when
going down steep or long
hills.
{Warning
Using the brakes to slow the
vehicle on a long downhill
slope can cause brake
overheating, can reduce
brake performance, and
could result in a loss of
braking. Shift the
transmission to a lower gear
to let the engine assist the
brakes on a steep downhill
slope.
{Warning
Coasting downhill in
N (Neutral) or with the
ignition off is dangerous.
This can cause overheating
of the brakes and loss of(Continued)
Warning (Continued)
steering assist. Always have
the engine running and the
vehicle in gear.
.Drive at speeds that keep
the vehicle in its own lane.
Do not swing wide or cross
the center line.
.Be alert on top of hills;
something could be in your
lane (e.g., stalled car, crash).
.Pay attention to special road
signs (e.g., falling rocks area,
winding roads, long grades,
passing or no-passing zones)
and take appropriate action.
Winter Driving
Driving on Snow or Ice
Caution
To avoid damage to the
wheels and brake
components, always clear (Continued)
Caution (Continued)
snow and ice from inside the
wheels and underneath the
vehicle before driving.
Snow or ice between the tires
and the road creates less
traction or grip, so drive
carefully. Wet ice can occur at
about 0 °C (32 °F) when
freezing rain begins to fall.
Avoid driving on wet ice or in
freezing rain until roads can be
treated.
For Slippery Road Driving:
.Accelerate gently.
Accelerating too quickly
causes the wheels to spin
and makes the surface under
the tires slick.
.Turn on Traction Control.
See Traction Control/
Electronic Stability Control
0 291.
.The Antilock Brake System
(ABS) improves vehicle
stability during hard stops,
but the brakes should be