General Motors and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently announced a recall of select 2010 and 2011 model year Cadillac SRX crossovers due to a risk of the transmission cables coming unattached from the transmission – making it impossible to shift and possibly leading to a rollaway accident if the vehicle is left in a drive gear or neutral.
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This new Cadillac SRX recall affects 2010 and 2011 models built between October 26th, 2008 and June 23rd, 2011 with 8,789 vehicles included in the recent statement from the NHTSA. The legal reason for the SRX recall is that the vehicle fails to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle safety standard Number 114 – a section of the laws which relates specifically to theft protection and rollaway prevention.
It seems that these 2010 and 2011 Cadillacs being recalled have a transmission cable that may have been improperly installed and over time, the cable could come free of the transmission bracket. When this happens, the shifter in the vehicle will no longer have any control over what gear that transmission is actually in so say that you pulled into a parking space and put the SRX in park – or thought that you did – but due to the broken cable, the Caddy was still actually in drive. You get out and walk away and, although very slowly at first, your luxury sport utility vehicle begins to roll away.
That may be an extreme example of the worst case scenario pertaining to the new Cadillac SRX transmission cable recall but rollaway risks aside, the cable coming loose could also strand the driver as when the vehicle is shut off in a drive gear, the safety features of the vehicle will not allow the driver to turn the key to the off position or remove the key. It also won’t allow you to restart your vehicle without being able to shift it into neutral or park and even if you can get it to start – you may not be able to shift to a drive gear to go anywhere. In short, while this SRX recall may present a risk due to rollaways, it also has the potential to be a massive headache to owners who get stranded somewhere because the transmission won’t shift.
General Motors will formally begin notifying the owners of the 8,789 Cadillac SRX models included in the recall starting in January 2012. Owners will be asked to return to their local Cadillac (or any other GM) dealership where a technician will inspect the transmission cable to make sure that it is properly and soundly connected to the transmission bracket. Owners with questions can contact Cadillac customer service at 1-866-982-2339.
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