Strange one.


Shopping trip. Stopped at several stores, put merchandise in the back. Then we got a major downpour, Florida style. Afterward my wife went to open the hatch, and it refused to open! Not by the remote, not by the switch, not by the button on the driver's door armrest. Drove home, tried again. Still won't open.


We need to go grocery shopping, then haul some sound equipment to a show, then take a trip to Georgia. Not a good time for this to break. The good news, it appears the car is still under warranty and my local Cadillac dealer will, I'm sure, get me fixed up. BUT -- this certainly rings up some questions.


First off, any ideas what happened? Is this a frequent problem? Second, is there some way of opening this door in the event of an emergency? As it is, it's Saturday night. Suppose I need to get inside before Monday -- any tricks? It's not reassuring to realize that such a malfunction can prevent someone/something from getting in or out of the car.

 

The plot thickens. Last night, in the middle of the night, the alarm went off by itself -- horn blowing, waking everyone up. This is the third car I've owned with horn-blowing-in-the-night problems, and the second Cadillac. Last time the police were called and I had to go out in my pajamas in the mud to disconnect the battery.


Not exactly happy at the moment.

 

Multiple cars might be the neighborhood. Kids with nothing better to do. Hopefully it's still broke when you take it in.

 

Oh, I'm having fun with this car. I got in it yesterday to get lunch, and it blew the horn three times and said "Theft Attempted." I guess I'm now driving a stolen car! Hatch still won't open. I left the car unlocked last night with hopes it will keep the alarm from blowing again.

 

hatch maybe part of a recall involving the support struts. if you have onstar I would contact them to have diagnostic run about the other conditions

 

Verdict: There is a moisture seal that prevents water from getting to the control module, and the seal was cracked. The major downpour caused water to get to the module, creating the logic problems. New seal, new module, also he said a strut was going bad so that's new, we're all set. Drove it home, as soon as I arrived we got a downpour. Wow. But so far, so good.


This is one instance I really want to give praise to Sunset Cadillac in Sarasota. They took care of me immediately and gave me a loaner, at a time when I REALLY was in need. I need this car (with cargo area) this weekend, and next week will be taking a trip. They could not have done anything better than they did. Believe me, I thanked them.

 

 

In my case it was under warranty, so there was no charge. This was a couple years ago. The warranty has just expired, but I now have an extended warranty with $200 deductible.


Overall, this has been a GREAT car! The SRX has been replaced, I think the new one is XT5 (can't keep up with the letters, whatever happened to Fleetwood?). I've driven the new one. Some things I really like, some things I scratch my head over (like that gearshift thingie). I'll keep this one around a few more years, then decide.