Cadillac XLR owners have reported 6 power train related problems since 1996. Table 1 shows the 1 most common power train problems. The number one most common problem is related to the vehicle's power train (6 problems). For details of each of the problem category, use the links in the table.
| Problem Category | Number of Problems |
|---|---|
| Power Train problems |
Driving at 45mph then the car surged to the left. I got control then in service stable traction warning and traction control off light appeared.
Driving at steady 45 mph then the rear of the car surged sharply to the left. I gained control but the the service stabletrak warning and the traction control off light came one.
When car is stationary in our garage, the gasoline vapors are way too strong! literally can knock you over as you open the door between the house and closed-up garage. Doesn't seem to matter if it's recently been filled with gasoline or if it's depleted some. *took our car to the local Cadillac dealer for the worst raw gas smell ever within our garage, where we park this 'new black beauty'. They've done all sorts of tests, but have found no leaks, etc. :-( this seems like a really dangerous situation when our attached garage fills up with gasoline vapors!!! (have only owned this car for approximately 5 weeks!) **however, they did find a frayed and broken shift cable! none available, as all are back-ordered! trying to locate one somewhere in the country! anyway, after reviewing all of the many complaints and problems listed on various websites and the other Xlr forums, and determining that we are definitely not alone in this really expensive shift cable fix, we believe there's a definite manufacturing problem/defect with this faulty part!! how do we all get gm to pay for these expensive faulty parts?? some folks have had to replace their shift cables more than once, so that should tell gm that they designed a faulty piece. . . We are informing the government watchdog! thanks and we'll await any response about the gasoline smell, and the faulty shift cables. ($500+ alone).
Broken shift cable parked the vehicle as normal. Returned to the car and started it. Shifted into reverse to leave a parking space and then to drive. The car remained in reverse only causing a dangerous situation in a parking lot. When I then shut it off, it would not start as it believed it was in reverse. Car had to be towed and dealer charge $600 to replace the shifter cable. I went online to the Xlr forum and there are numerous complaints over this part failing - leaving people stranded in harm's way.
Parked in a parking lot & placed it in park. Upon returning I started the car & placed it in drive. I took foot off brake & car moved rearward. Put car in neutral & car moved rearward. I tried all gears including park & car moved rearward, turned car off. Car would not restart because it was not in park. Because car was not in park all electrical accessories would not turn off & battery went dead, doors or windows would not open because all are operated electrically. Fortunately the battery died on route to dealership on tow truck. The shift cable was found to be broke. I looked on the web site Xlr net & this is not an uncommon problem and appears in several forums. If there had been a car behind me I certainly would have hit it. One guy on the forum parked his car put in park & when he turned back the car was rolling down a hill. Since there was little change in Xlr design over the years I would suspect all model years through 2009 are affected. A very unsafe condition! this should not have occurred on a low mileage well maintained vehicle.
While backing out of a parking spot I placed car in reverse and it backed up as it should. When I placed gear in forward and stepped on accelerator the car still went rearward almost striking another vehicle. At that point vehicle only had reverse and needed to be towed for shift cable replacement. This same thing happened again on 6/27/13 at 42874 miles only this time cable snapped while attempting to go in reverse and instead went forward almost striking a pedestrian. In talking with other owners of Xlrs,three other owners have complained of same problem. Dealer employee admitted to me that they have had several incidents similar to mine. Obviously, when placing gear selector in a particular mode that is the direction you expect the vehicle to go. As a member of an Xlr car club I will advise other owners to be aware but this problem needs your national attention to avoid any possible injuries.