Parking Brake Release 2008 Dts

[ewill3rd]

I stand corrected, I thought that another thread I saw the other day was a worthless waste of time. That being said I'd like to address a few issues here.

First of all, no the new DTS does not have a fancy park brake release. I mean I know how hard it can be to move your foot over 6 inches and push the pedal to release it but you just have to man up and do it. What's next?
Your car starts and automatically cools off from 50 feet away, you have heated and cooled seats, a navigation system that will get you within feet of where you want to go, comfort and convenience features not even heard of 20 years ago, alarms that let you know if you are too close to something or about to run over a kid you can't see... and you whine because the parking brake that most people use three times in the life of the vehicle doesn't release automatically?
Really? Not to sound rude but if this is the biggest problem in your life, I'd be willing to trade.

That being said, the fuel door does not lock either. If you want security you have to buy a locking gas cap. Try not to piss your neighbors off and you likely won't need to worry about it but in some cases I know this can be an issue so we'll let that slide. I don't know why they deleted that feature but I am sure it was to cut costs. STS, SRX, and CTS don't have locking fuel doors either. AFAIK XLR is the only one that still does.

The DTS and all the other models from Escalade to CTS use a drum style parking brake and have for quite some time now. They are supposed to self adjust but rarely work properly.

The new CTS-V has an electric parking brake, and I suspect in the near future mor models will see this feature added. It is a lift type button to set the brake and once set it will automatically release when vehicle motion is detected in gear or the button is pushed to release it. All the new CTS's have a notched area in the shifter plate, this is the location of the new electric park brake button.

GM does not call these "emergency brakes". It is a "parking brake" and it is not really intended for emergency use, although in a pinch it will work (eventually).

Sorry if this comes off as rude-ish.
I am in a bad mood and just amazed at what some people complain about.

[TulsaVic]

Everyone's entitled to rant about whatever they want, though I must say some of the complaints here are as bad as the one I heard last week from a lady who just got a new cell phone. The problem? When she wanted to check what time it was using the phone she had to--are your ready for this--there was no button to press to activate the screen so she had to open the phone to read the time. Oh...my....God..... Can you imagine???!!!! The effort !!! The inconvenience !!!!

But there are some surprising omissions. Like the heated seat activating with the remote start is nice. But here in OK, you can singe your tush getting in the car after it's been in the parking lot all day. Why doesn't the cooled seat function work with remote start?

The biggie for me is the absence of flash-to-pass. I know it wouldn't work well with the HID headlights because of the few seconds it takes for the bulbs to come to full intensity. But why not remove that ridiculously large signal/running light in the headlight cluster and replace it with a standard, old fashion, 1960 technology headlight that could double as a running light AND a flash to pass? If I had had the option, I would have picked the older technology tungstun lights--as in the standard STS-- instead since they do have that feature (and can anyone tell me the reason for that tiny third light in the headlight cluster?)

[SouthernCountry]

I cosign everything that ewill said. I'm 26. Prolly a young buck compared to most everyone on this post. Honestly though. You don't need the parking brake for anything other than parking on a hill or changing a tire which is a nice safety net to have but anything else is beyond me. Only time I know ppl use them is if they have a stick or are drifting with smaller cars. Hondas, Mazdas, etc...

The gas cap lock was nice yes but it doesn't matter anymore. If someone wants your gas they will get it. When I was stationed in Cali back in 05'-06' people were drilling holes underneath cars stealing gas. Crazy huh. Point of the matter is where theres a will theres a way.

I saw someone said something about the trunk feature. I can agree with that cause that was a nice feature. No need to slam the trunk. Just lightly push it down and it did the rest. It was cool but I'm fine with it being gone even though I miss it.

Flash to pass. It's not really a big deal cause even just that one flick people should see it especially when the turn signals are on while driving anyway. I think that small light is the parking light. Ewill could correct me if I'm wrong. Honestly I like the new head light configuration. It's different and it stands out. I would prefer the CTS head light system but for now this one fits the bill.

The cell phone thing is funny. I've seen stupid stuff like that when I would go in for a new phone. I'm like people are here for official business and you upset cause the bluetooth light keeps blinking. WTF. I feel ya on that one.

[ewill3rd]

I don't mean to say people can't complain, I mean some of the stuff GM does is stupid.
Ranting and raving and saying you'll not buy another Cadillac because you have to press the parking brake pedal to release it is just a bit much, that's all.
(not that anyone said they wouldn't ever buy one again but....)

I can count on one hand the number of times in my life I have actually seen someone use Flash to Pass in order to pass.
I've only been driving since '84 though.

[Superjim]

I too miss a lot of the stuff that used to be on my older Cadillacs.

This to TulsaVic...The cooled seats worked on remote start on my VERY EARLY BUILD 2006. They DO NOT WORK on the 2006 I have now.
It also had the speed limiter at 130...the newer one was set at 123.

I miss the little trash container in the passengers footwell.
I miss the little lights on the fender and over the rear window that monitored your outside lights.
I miss the AUTOMATIC PARKING BRAKE release. Even tho I probably didn't use it over once or twice a year.
I miss the automatic trunk pull down.
I miss the BIG trunks.
I miss the BIG COMFORTABLE seats.
I miss the smoothness of the older Cadillacs.
I miss the general "FEEL" of the Cadillacs of old.
They just had a silky smooth feel to how the buttons and controls operated.
The new ones don't have that "REALLY PUT TOGETHER WELL" feel of the older ones.
I miss rear wheel drive.
I miss QUALITY carpet and QUALITY leather..
I kinda miss cars that I could do my own routine maintenance on.
One of the service writers at my dealer, told me that the Performance Sedan had 23 separate computers in it. And of course, they all talk to each other via a LAN.

There are too many things that I miss t make a complete list...this is just a few off the top of my head.

I really like my 2006 Performance Sedan, but for $55,000 bucks, it could have been SO MUCH BETTER.

Texas Jim

[SouthernCountry]

The one BIG FEATURE that everyone on here could agree on is the signature tail lights....That is what made me love Caddys when I was little...That's a big deal and no one else was doing it. I would definitely love that again. People say that all the time too when I see people. They say yea thats a nice car but why did they take away the tail light. Who knows maybe Cadillac would release an anniversary edition or something. Now that would be nice.

I'm assumming I have an early build DTS cause my seats cool and heat on remote start, except the driver seat til I get some money to get that fixed. I can live without tho for now. Tinted windows are life savers.

[ral1960]

Southern Country, my driver's seat heater/cooler has been shutting off after a minute or so most of the time. I ended up switching the fan unit under the seat with the one on the passenger side (a new one is $167). It wasn't difficult to do if you have a short phillips head screwdriver. There's a green plastic piece you have to pry out to release the wiring connector. My passengers can roast.

I use my flash-to-pass to warn on-coming traffic of speed traps. It's also handy to just hold in when you need the high beams for a few seconds on dark roads. You don't forget you have the high beams on and blind other drivers.

My 74 had the trunk pull down. It would drain the battery pretty quick if you used it several times without starting the car. Also, strangers would slam the lid, which couldn't have been good for it. The auto brake release rarely worked, so I had to kick a small lever up under the dash to do it. I wish my Deville rode as well as I remember that car riding.

The remote trunk release that raises the trunk lid fully is much more useful than the pull down.

[tedcmiller]

In an earlier post to this thread I stated that the electric parking brake on my 2009 CTS-V did not release automatically. I was wrong. When you apply the parking brake, a message saying you have done so appears in the DIC and the red BRAKE light comes on. If you then move the transmission from Park to Drive nothing happens. If you then release the foot brake the car doesn't move and still nothing happens. Now if you apply the gas to force the car forward, the brake releases, the red BRAKE light goes out and the "Parking brake released" message appears in the DIC. So it does work, but it is kind of scary. I don't think I will be using that technique again deliberately. It is a good feature if you forget to take the parking brake off, but I don't think it was intended to be used on a regular basis. I don't know about the DTS.

[ewill3rd]

Ted, the reason that feature is set up that way is for the people who want a manual transmission but don't know how to drive it on a hill.
You can set the park brake on a hill and then let go of the brake, wait until you are ready to go, let the clutch out and when you start to roll it automatically releases.
I know some people that could use this feature

[V-Eight]

Maybe because its the performance edition, so there may be some people (idios) who wanna e-brake it lol?

[raysteen]

Anyone remember the 'hill holder' that Studebaker had in the 50's?

[z06bigbird]

Originally Posted by Rapid Roger

With all due respect....What the hell does this say........?

Local politician--going for state and federal elections.

[z06bigbird]

Anyone know why Ford dropped the small trash disposal unit in 1965 or so? They actually had this option available in 63 and 64. What is this world coming to!?

Chrysler used to have squarish steering wheels in the late 50s and early 60s. They are gone too.
Driver's front seat rotated when you opened door.

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by z06bigbird

Driver's front seat rotated when you opened door.

Years ago...my friend had a T-Bird that had the rotating seat.
The steering wheel moved to the right and the seat would swivel, making it easier to get in and out of the car.

Texas Jim

[Superjim]

Originally Posted by raysteen

Anyone remember the 'hill holder' that Studebaker had in the 50's?

yep...I remember that...my Dad had one.
Seems like that was about the same as the new "Auto Release" brake they have now.

Texas Jim