2005 Cadillac SRX from North America

Summary:

Wonderful icing on a cake of engineering stupidity

Faults:

Wifey bought this car used when our Durango broke. I like that she is surrounded by good American steel, a safe car that drives well and comfortably seats seven.

What I don't like are the maintenance issues. I'm the pit crew for our fleet, and this rig is NOT user friendly. To be fair, most cars made today are that way, but with the Cadillac it seems they specifically designed it to generate repair revenue for the dealer.

So far I've had to deal with a burned out front turn signal and non-working backup lights. In any other car I've ever seen these would be simple fixes involving maybe a screwdriver and ten minutes of work. But on this car each job takes an estimated 3 hours of work - to just change a bulb. What would that cost at a dealership?

For example, the turn signal: Jack up the car, remove the front tire and the wheel well liners. Then remove a big assembly that contains the bulb. Reassemble.

For the backup lights you have to disassemble the entire tailgate door.

I would recommend this car to only two sorts of people: Those who are expert mechanics and have lots of time on their hands, and those rich enough to not care what it will cost to have someone else fix it.

General Comments:

Great handling, ride, decent economy for a car this size. Fun and comfy to drive. Lots of room. I would enjoy it if I didn't dread the repairs.

Beware the very restricted view caused by the oversized roof pillars. The roof is built this way to support an oversized 4-foot skylight. People in both the front and rear seats can stand up and stick their heads out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th March, 2015

12th Mar 2015, 20:43

I agree with you on the lack of repair friendliness. I will not own a GM car/truck except for a Saturn because they are so difficult to work on. At least with a BMW it is usually fun to drive after you fix it. They (BMW) are probably the worst to work on.

Too bad GM messed up Saturn by bringing in the Opels and re-badging them.

It may be that all our best engineers are making war machines and not cars.

Good Luck!

2013 Cadillac SRX 3.6 from North America

Summary:

Dangerous, and unfriendly to operate

Faults:

Mechanically, the car is great.

General Comments:

I am concerned about safety in this car. If I don't mention it here, it's fine.

However, this item is big for me. The front window is installed in such a way that there two very large completely blind areas for the driver. The window mount posts are much wider than necessary, and are installed diagonally.

From about 9:45 on a clock to 10:30 on a clock, the driver is blind as to what is in front and to the left...

From about 2:00 to 2:45 on a clock face, right side of driver, there is another completely blind side...

I cannot emphasize the magnitude of danger created by this construction design!

I really reached the point of making this bad review follow my panic attack of almost running over an older male pedestrian crossing the street at a stop sign from left to right in front of my car. He was totally invisible to me, totally. I almost hit him.

Fortunately, he stepped out of my blind spot and I was able to stop short of hitting him, but just barely.

I don't expect that Cadillac would step up and say, 'Oh, that was our fault due to a faulty design, so let us cover the liability, medical coverage, etc.'...

I think I would rather be faced with, 'What, you are driving a Cadillac, and it has a faulty and dangerous design. And ever I was unable to see the pedestrian through the blind spot, there is a little light that flickers on the dash board, and maybe the seat vibrates also to tell the driver that he/she is about to create a fatality.' And, consider this, it would be bad enough to take out a pedestrian, but what if it was a bus, or a dump truck, or a tractor-trailer, or a train that was hidden in your blind spot?? Just food for nightmarish thought.

And, how can I not mention the voice-command navigation system... Over one year now I've owned this Cadillac SRX, and I have yet to successfully find an address using this system. It understands nothing I say. And I am a native-tongue American citizen, with a couple of college degrees, both language-oriented. And if I type the address in on the screen, it never finds the address. And it 'speaks' to you as if YOU are stupid...

I think buyers should expect a lot more from America's premium luxury car.

I hope this serves to enlighten some prospective shoppers, and that it might even generate a concern within GM to address these issues.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 17th May, 2014

25th Jul 2014, 22:13

It's a good point. On my Volvo there is also an important blind spot at the front A pillar. When at an intersection, I always sway my head left and right to make sure nobody is crossing the street.

13th Mar 2017, 04:03

Yes, the visibility from within these is poor. However, why were you driving a car that you felt was unsafe? It seems like you would get your complaints to GM across more forcefully if you purchased a car from one of their competitors.