NHTSA Complaint #10494361 — 2002 CADILLAC ESCALADE

UPON THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT OF A LOUD "TICKING" NOISE WHEN STARTING MY 2002 ESCALADE 6.0 AWD, I IMMEDIATELY BROUGHT THE TRUCK INTO MY LOCAL SHOP FOR DIAGNOSTICS. A QUICK INSPECTION FOUND MISSING AND RUSTED EXHAUST MANIFOLD BOLTS ON THE DRIVER SIDE OF MY ENGINE, CAUSING AN EXHAUST LEAK. THIS LEAK CREATES NOT ONLY A DANGEROUS CO2 LEAK WITHIN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT (WHICH ALSO CAN BE DRAWN INTO THE CABIN'S HVAC SYSTEM), BUT IT ALSO RAISES ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS, AS THE LEAKING EXHAUST IS NOT BEING PROPERLY TREATED VIA THE VEHICLE'S CATALYTIC CONVERTER. MY PASSENGER SIDE MANIFOLD ALSO HAS RUSTED BOLTS AND IS VERY CLOSE TO HAVING THE SAME ISSUE AS THE DRIVER SIDE. MY TRUCK IS IMPECCABLY MAINTAINED, WITH ALL THE APPLICABLE SERVICE RECORDS. THIS ISSUE IS WELL DOCUMENTED ACROSS THE INTERNET, WITH OWNERS OF 1999-2006 ESCALADES, TAHOES, SUBURBANS, YUKON/XLS, SILVERADOS AND SIERRAS. I STRONGLY URGE THE NHTSA TO LAUNCH AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ISSUES SURROUNDING THE MASSIVE FAILURE OF MANIFOLDS AND MANIFOLD BOLTS ON 1999-2006 GM FULL SIZE SUV AND PICKUP TRUCKS. A QUICK SEARCH ONLINE SHOULD PROVIDE MORE THAN ENOUGH COMPELLING EVIDENCE TO BEGIN AN INVESTIGATION. I'LL BE HAPPY TO PERSONALLY PROVIDE WHATEVER ASSISTANCE I CAN TO HELP ENCOURAGE YOUR DECISION. *TR