NHTSA Complaint #10279948 — 2004 CADILLAC SRX

AT ABOUT 65-70K MILES THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL STARTED MAKING NOISE IN MY 2004 CADILLAC SRX. I TOOK IT TO THE MAJOR CADILLAC IN KANSAS CITY, THEY TOLD ME IT WAS NORMAL. THE WHINE TURNED INTO A MECHANICAL CLUCKING SOUND WHEN THE CAR ACCELERATING FROM A STOP. I RETURNED TO THE SAME DEALERSHIP. THEY TOLD ME IT WAS A COMMON SOFTWARE UPDATED THAT NEED TO BE INSTALLED (AND CHARGED ME ABOUT $250). WHEN I PICKED IT UP, PULLING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT, THE NOISE WAS STILL THERE. I ASKED FOR A REFUND OR FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY FIX THE ISSUE. I WAS TOLD TO RETURN WHEN MY SERVICE REP WAS IN. THE NEXT DAY THE DEALER WAS SHUT DOWN BY GM. I UNDERSTAND SOME OF THESE DETAILS DON'T DIRECTLY TO THE ISSUE (WHICH I WILL FURTHER EXPLAIN), BUT SEEMS TO BE A SYMPTOM OF HOW THE GM DEALERS HANDLE ISSUES. TODAY I TOOK IT TO ONE OF TWO REMAINING GM SHOPS IN TOWN. THEY NEEDED TO PERFORM A $200 FLUID EXCHANGE ON THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT WAS THE ISSUE. THEN CALLED ME BACK, SAYING THERE WAS NO 100K MILE WARRANTY ON THE CAR AND THE REPLACEMENT WOULD BE ABOUT $1300, ALONG WITH THE ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT "SHOULD BE DONE" PUTTING THE TOTAL TO OVER $2500. ON A CAR THAT NOW HAS JUST OVER 70K MILES AND IS NOT QUITE FIVE YEARS OLD. HAD I NOT SEEN SO MANY OTHER OWNERS WITH THE EXACT SAME ISSUES WITH THE MODEL, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT IT WAS A RARE OCCURRENCE. BUT GIVEN THE BEVY OF INDIVIDUALS WITH THE SAME THING HAPPENING, THIS WOULD SEEM TO BE A GLARING DESIGN DEFECT. I APPRECIATE THERE IS A PLACE TO COMPILE THESE COMPLAINTS. MAYBE ACTION CAN BE TAKEN TO REMEDY THIS ISSUE. THANK YOU *TR