NHTSA Complaint #10577793 — 2000 CADILLAC SEVILLE

ON TWO SEPARATE OCCASIONS MY OLD 2000 GM CADILLAC STS STALLED WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS WAS NOT A MECHANICAL PROBLEM - IT WAS SOME SORT OF DEFECT. NOTE THAT IT WAS "REPAIRED" IN BETWEEN THE INCIDENTS, DO IT WAS NOT THE SAME INITIAL PROBLEM. I FILED A COMPLAINT BACK THEN, BUT GOT NO RESPONSE. THE MECHANICS AT THE PALO ALTO CADILLAC DEALER SEEMED TO KNOW OF THE PROBLEM. AT THE TIME, THEY SAID IT WAS A FAILURE OF SOME SENSORS ON THE FLYWHEEL. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS RELATED TO THE CURRENT IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM. HAVING A VEHICLE STALL AT 65 MILE PER HOUR IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING. YOU LOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES. IT WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY ENDED UP IN AN ACCIDENT IF I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW CARS WORK. I WAS ABLE TO SHIFT INTO NEUTRAL AND RESTART THE CAR. MY POINT IS, THERE WAS A DEFECT ON THIS CAR THAT APPEARED TO BE KNOWN BY GM, AND WAS ALSO IGNORED. THE COMPLAINT WAS IGNORED BY THE NHTSA. I THINK YOU SHOULD ALSO INQUIRE WITH GM WHAT WAS KNOWN ABOUT THIS DEFECT. AS I WROTE - THEY SEEMED TO HAVE KNOWN THAT THIS WAS A PROBLEM, AND JUST REPAIRED IT, RATHER THAN UNDERSTAND THE RISK THEY WERE MAKING US TAKE. I ENDED UP SELLING THE CAR BECAUSE OF THIS ISSUE. *TR