My new XLR 4months old 1300 miles is in need of its 4th radio and GM customer care attitude is soo..................... Last GM product we will ever buy only because of attitude towards problem not problem itself. Last 2 day service appointment promised new(not another refurbed used radio) radio and GM tech. Neither materialized and car returned with same broken radio again! Filing under Florida lemeon law and will play game as needed!

Welcome aboard!


I would get tough with them! Demand they replace it with a new one or fix the existing one properly! Don't take "NO" for an answer. Talk directly to the Manager and threaten to tell all your friends about the service. I've never heard of these problems with dealerships up here.

Ironically I had the same problem with my 1991 and the radio was defective from the factory. The motherboard had a faulty circuit on the board because if the machines that stamp out the circuit boards is off by even a fraction of a millimeter, there will be electronic problems! Because of my low mileage it wasn't fixed until 1.5 years ago.

Hang in there. you are driving my dream car and not a bad one at that. Every car manufacturer has some problems and even the prestigue ones like Mercedes Benz are going through an electronic crisis in the past while. (can post links)

As long as they fix it!

if you tell that dealership you are going to file under the lemon law hell theyll go out into the showroom pull the one out of the showroom vehicle and put it in yours. that is the last thing they want to hear. well, i hope you reconsider about not buying another GM, they make good cars its just the fact that they have to take a model year or two to work all the bugs out. keep in mind though that EVERY car company has problems like this with vehicles. yes even german cars.

As I said earlier I really do love the car and the radio is just a great inconvenience. GM's attitude has been almost blase' and the dealer has just kept telling me to do the lemon law route and that the BBB has ruled against caddy everytime here in Florida. I also have a Magnum wagon, a crossfire Convertible, a volvo wagon, and aPorsche Cayenne Turbo and the XLR has more service appts. than all the rest combined. Just seems to typify GM's attitude to the public but in this case I hope to have some fun. Caddy already told me that they have decided the car does not qualify for upgrade or buyback

What exactly is wrong with the radio if I may ask? Maybe they are replacing the wrong part...

You would expect the dealership and GM to bend over backwards trying to keep a customer who had just bought a $70k+ car from them...
Have you tried another dealership or contacted GM customer service directly?

Im sorry to hear you are having such a problematic time with your new XLR, however I agree with the above, dont take NO for an answer and demand that they fix it. I know you feel you dont shouldnt have to jump through hoops for the people you just spent 70k with, but sometimes it just takes extra pressure to get the job done right. There is no icing on the cake here, I know its frustrating to deal with people who dont seem to much care about you in general, but hopefully the radio will be the only problem you have, and once its fixed you can get back to enjoying your new ride.

The first couple of radios after a few weeks lost the navigation/dvd systems entirely.The unit now will not hold its memory settings after a few hours. The fact that they would use repaired refixed radios after only weeks of ownership galls me! Then to let the car sit for2 days for a no show tech and a no show new radio and than send it home to see what happens......................!! In the middle of this they had to replace all the trim panels on dash console because tech did not know how to correctly remove radio and beat thne heck out of them and hoped we would not notice!! We are here in Key West with only one dealer so no other real options! Thanks for asking because it really is a fun car for this island. The top mech is slow and a bit outmodeed compared to other systems.

I feel your pain my brother! The same thing caused me to jump ship for Lincoln. Our GMC Denali was a nice-ass-truck but it spent too much time in the shop and GM didn't really seem to understand how to treat a luxury customer.
Oh, BTW, I don't think the Lemon-Law can be applied to a radio issue.

Wonder where they are getting the refurbished radios from?

From prior postings and things my dealer has said I am not the only person having radio troubles in new caddys. I assume that these refurbs are from model electonics in NY and are radiosthat have been repaired after failing in other caddys.?:annoyed: :bonkers:

From prior postings and things my dealer has said I am not the only person having radio troubles in new caddys. I assume that these refurbs are from model electonics in NY and are radiosthat have been repaired after failing in other caddys.?:annoyed: :bonkers:

You know, a while back there was a big problem with the paint peeling off the buttons on the NAV Radios and the dealers would actually replace the ENTIRE unit over this when customers would bring these in. Im willing to bet that 90 percent of the refurb NAV units out there are probably these same refreshed/repainted/refinished radios. I just cant imagine they would trash the whole unit over peeling buttons. In fairness, BMW replaced my rear end in my 330i with a refurb one, and I never had a problem with it.

From prior postings and things my dealer has said I am not the only person having radio troubles in new caddys. I assume that these refurbs are from model electonics in NY and are radiosthat have been repaired after failing in other caddys.?:annoyed: :bonkers:

Again, what is the exact nature of the problem with the radio?
Is it a navigation issue, CD changer problem, unit completely not working? Something else?

To add to what I said before, many of the unit's functions are tied to other systems in the car so maybe the dealership is trying to replace the wrong part... what exactly is not working with the unit?

You know, a while back there was a big problem with the paint peeling off the buttons on the NAV Radios and the dealers would actually replace the ENTIRE unit over this when customers would bring these in.

My CTS was one of those. Absolutely no problems with it's operation, just a bit of paint flaking off one of the buttons... swapped out no questions asked.

The XLR however, doesn't use the same Nav system that the CTS does... Or did they have the paint problem too?

may i ask what dealer in floirda you are useing ?

Of the 3 dealer i have in my area near tampa one just doesnt care at all about the customer , they want the sale and dont care about what happens after the sale ...

Ed Morse However has treated me with alot of respect , esp conciering the car was bought by me from a toyota dealer , and its 10 years old .....

Even the lead service tech came outside to me and gave me very valueable information regarding a part on my car for absolutely free !!!

So if you can take it to ED Morse Tampa i think youll be treated right

Just as a side bar while waiting for another new radio and being a fan of XM radio I decided to put in some CD's. What a shock even the dealer could not get one disc let alone six to download. This third radio is more screwed up than the first two. The first two could not read the Nav disc or a DVD . This one will read but cannot hold overnite any of the tone or memory settings or stations etc dsp etc. Now it winn not even take discs in to play. One more radio is on the way supposedly so we will see what happens. I hope that The NE Pat MVP does not retire after being given one of these xlr's as a gift by GM.

Also just for the record the dealer here in Key West is Niles Sales. Nice people but if I don,t call Caddy they haven't made one call on my behalf other than to Tech support and that seems pretty lame to me!

The service department should have looked elsewhere when the problems reoccured after replacing the head unit. The head unit problems wont go away, because the head unit isn't the problem.

If everything else is fine with the car it would be a shame to declare it a lemon. You need to find a competent Cadillac service department.

I concur totally! However we are about 150 miles to next closet dealer. It would probably mean a stay overnite....another major headache with kids dogs school work etc,.

Just to bring it up to the present 2 caddy reps called at tghe same time today on 2 lines to ask if my problems have been solved!! As of a 4 pm call from the dealer they are still trying to locate a new radio from GM (3 plus weeks now) and will getback to me when ........... I knowall mfrs. have problems with new models but is GM sending new XLR's off to dealers with NO radios since mine is always on BO? It is no wonder that the General keeps loosing market share.

I think they are making some effort for you. Simply put, have them take the car, demand a loaner of approx equal value and let them take care of you.....really you bought an expensive car let them sweat out the cost of replacing everything plus you driving around putting miles on their rental. Even if its just a cts tell them you paid for the radio and you wont get back in the xlr till it works

as of 5 pm Feb 16 I filed for lemon law with XLR. Caddy sent me a letter apologizing for their refusal to negotiate and advised me to file for arbitration with BBB. Late on the 15th still no idea on whereabouts of a new radio (4th) but part numbers have changed so dealer thinks there is a new series of radios due to numerous problems not publicly acknowleged by GM. Who know but a shame because it really could be a great car with jsu a few changes.

On thursday 17th Cadillac care called and was annoyed that I was filing under the lemon law.Kept asking if I was refusing to allow them to fix my car. I said they were free to repair at their will but I wanted to record our conversation. She angrily said I did NOT have GM's nor her permission to record our conversation. Then I asked her to put herself in my position and to stop spouting the corporate blarney and if they were trying so hard to fix the problem, how is that my radio is still broken after 4 monthsf botche d attempts? Call ended with her hanging up after I refused to not record the call.
A new person called today from Caddy business office and assured me that something will take place now that they have received notice from BBB that I have filed for lemon buy back. Stay tuned as GM continues to act like the only game in town!!

Keep at it swim , its taken us many months of work but GM is ready to buy our maxx back over its issues that the dealer cant fix....

we may not have spent near as much but we understand !

Thanks for the support! The amount is really not the issue but rather making good a a shoddy product in an honorable fashion. I FEEL BADLY BECAUSE IT COULD BE A REALLY ENJOYABLE CAR! If this is GM's general attitiude this car will go the same way of the Allante and that would be a real shame . Good luck on your pursuit but after a while it becomes a holy grail of it's own!

yah dad said he wasnt impressed with GM either , in fact tonight the dealer stepped up tot he plate and i guess called the head GM service guy for the entire southeast US...

nevertheless to say were looking at maxxes and after we throw a couple grand on the hood (for extra options we want) we will have a new replacemnt maxx ....

Maybe you need to find a way to get this guy to look into your situation , if he runs the service stuff for the entire southeast GM units then he may be able to help you ...

I forgot to mention that woman from GM business office called and said they were notified by the BBB of filing for lemon law hearing. Asked what i wanted at this point and advised I would contribute some $$$ for the 1300 miles on the car and that GM should replace this car witgh a new one. We will see what happens and the saga continues.........................

Just as a side bar while waiting for another new radio and being a fan of XM radio I decided to put in some CD's. What a shock even the dealer could not get one disc let alone six to download. This third radio is more screwed up than the first two. The first two could not read the Nav disc or a DVD . This one will read but cannot hold overnite any of the tone or memory settings or stations etc dsp etc. Now it winn not even take discs in to play. One more radio is on the way supposedly so we will see what happens. I hope that The NE Pat MVP does not retire after being given one of these xlr's as a gift by GM.

You know Tom brady was pretty pi$$ed off at Cadillac lthis time ladt year bceause GM used his name in ads and they were "slow in delivering his XLR". I don't know what his definition of slow was.....

Now on your radio. keeping tone / EQ / memory settings, I was all wrapped up my radio apparently not doing tis either, but then found out by reading the manual, that I was doing it wrong. So you may want to check the manual.

Now, if you are able to get the radio to keep an EQ mor memory setting, verifed by changing bands and going back to that band / station/ but find that turing the car off causes the radio to "lose it's memory" then your radio is not likely getting it's low amperage keep alive current. Keep us posted and good luck.

GM won't buy a car back unless tha are court ordered to do so. Nobody else will either, because if they do, the title gets "branded" in many states (FL included) at a "lemon law buyback" or something similar and it will show up as such in carfax inquiries, etc.

That said, they sometimes offer to "credit MSRP" minus a (hopefully reasonable) mileage charge "towards the purchase of a new model" This way, they avoid the branded title problem.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Made my call to the dealer today and lo and behold there is a new(?) radio waiting for me. I would think they would call me just to try and get this issue over with... anyhow new radio goes in tomorrow and than we will see what happens from there. I still have my doubts that the radio itself is really the problem.

Just got car back with radio #4. All is ok so let us hope they have finally nailed the problem. Like this car too much in all other respects and rfeally want to order a 440 V.

To the full credit of GM my new radio has worked as it is supposed to for 2 weeks! On the other hand the first unit lasted 4 weeks the second about 6 w3eeks the third one day so we w3ill keep our fingers crossed. The sad part was that it took my filing for lemon law here in Florida to get a decent response out of a real GM executive. That is why GM is getting kicked out of their market share.

lets hope this one works for you ...im happy to see GM is starting to take a more active role ....even tho like us it took the threat (and starting) of legal action ...

GM won't buy a car back unless tha are court ordered to do so. Nobody else will either, because if they do, the title gets "branded" in many states (FL included) at a "lemon law buyback" or something similar and it will show up as such in carfax inquiries, etc.

Mike,

Just a quick note about buybacks: If GM voluntarily repurchases the car, it's a private transaction and doesn't affect the title. Cadillac just bought my '05 STS from me (Dropped it off Monday, 03/14) after four months of nothing but problems. They can resell that car without anything negative on the title. Of course, if someone were smart, they'd CarFax the VIN and ask why the car was a private purchase then was listed as a GM (or dealership) purchase.

You're absolutely correct that if a car is a forced (Lemon Law) buyback the title will reflect it and the car will be worth significantly less.

GM will buyback a car, but it takes LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of screaming and fighting to get them to do it. Mating elephants is a cinch in comparison.

The ONLY reason GM bought my STS is precisely because they were aware that I had a good Lemon case and would win. If they buy the car now (and sell me another Caddy in the process) they're in a win-win situation. If I hadn't waived Lemon Law at them, they'd have told me to Sod Off.

One last thing, the Lemon Law in Florida is miles ahead of those in most other states - particularly Texas. That's a big reason why I'm buying my cars in Florida now - the consumer protections are much, much better.

Regards,

JW

To the full credit of GM my new radio has worked as it is supposed to for 2 weeks! On the other hand the first unit lasted 4 weeks the second about 6 w3eeks the third one day so we w3ill keep our fingers crossed. The sad part was that it took my filing for lemon law here in Florida to get a decent response out of a real GM executive. That is why GM is getting kicked out of their market share.

I think GM handles problems better then any other auto maker. Remember, all auto makes will have some cars that have problems. The cororation has to hold the line on buybacks otherwise they would loose millions each year. In addition, any company has a hirechy of whom the customer speaks with.

You should never be able to get too high up the food chain when dealing with a customer servce rep. That goes for any large corpration. I work for a very-very large US corporation and if a client compliant comes through to me someones head is going to roll.

There is no reason GM cannot build a car as reliable as or more reliable than the Japanese. They need to develop a reputation for quality. I firmly believe that US corporations are still top down driven which is fine regarding policy issues. And the first policy issue should be that quality is first and foremost. Regarding actually improving quality and preventing problems, a corporation must come from the bottom up from the mechanics at the dealers and from those on the assembly lines. Toyota didn't get to be #1 because of price. It was a rep for reliability and quality.

The tendency with GM is to fix the problem but not fix the reason. I've seen the same problems come back to haunt subsequent model years. Common sense tells you they've done nothing to fix the root cause. Their QC organization needs to listen as well as direct. They need to get input from mechanics on the front lines. There must be a disconnect at this level and at recognizing repetitive problems and fixing them at the source. Could be they've lost control because of outsourcing or offshoring. Whatever they need to make quality number and dealership customer care number one or they will slide into oblivion.

Sorry for the rant as my first post, but it frustrates me to see the US continually lose market leadership because of poor management. :)

Ni..ce posting! But as I have stated before the big problem with my dealings with GM is that apparently they only remotely give a darn. After a few weeks of discussions after third bad radio, one customer rep actually got angry with me because I questioned her remark that GM was doing all that was humanly possible. AFTER 4 MONTHS TO STILL HAVE A NON FUNCTIONING RADIO strikes me as less a hurculean effort on anybody's part.

Well, if any of you are in the Kansas City area and need some help, don't hesitate to call upon me. I'm a service advisor with Major Cadillac. I will get most of you fixed up the first time and fixed right.

X

Hey Swimpool5,when They Fix Your Radio I Suggest You Listen To Billy Joel's "big Shot".....it Is A Shame That The Few Rotten Apples Still Try To Ruin The Barrell.

Hey Swimpool5,when They Fix Your Radio I Suggest You Listen To Billy Joel's "big Shot".....it Is A Shame That The Few Rotten Apples Still Try To Ruin The Barrell.

Good song, though Im not sure if this is toward GM or Swimpool5... :hmm:

Hey I tried to call the number left on the posting but got his machine. Left my number so I will see if he returns the call. Have the feeling that the shot was at me rather than GM. Guess I would feel the same after reading these boards if I made my living selling GM products. If it was at me it was a cheap shot in any event! Oh yeah didn't GM just recall 1650000 vehicles for abs problems? Sounds like more leaks in the general's ship.

He did return my call and was a little less offensive but I think that he tried to pass the comment off to another person. He feels that only 18 year old kids post anything to this board so what can I say.......................... way past 18 though!!

Hey I tried to call the number left on the posting but got his machine. Left my number so I will see if he returns the call. Have the feeling that the shot was at me rather than GM. Guess I would feel the same after reading these boards if I made my living selling GM products. If it was at me it was a cheap shot in any event! Oh yeah didn't GM just recall 1650000 vehicles for abs problems? Sounds like more leaks in the general's ship.


It was for a rear bench seat, middle passanger seat belt. Which includes them trimming the seat belt and installing a new retainer.

I agree that some times its a pain to deal with any major manufactor. I am glad to hear its fixed and you are back to loving it. Its still the best looking roadster in my opinion.

For years GM has operated under the program of build the car, ship it to the dealer and THEN fix the problems. I've seen new Cadillacs delivered to dealers that could not be test driven because the brakes had problems! But they still shipped them.


So the car hopefully gets fixed before delivery and hopefully the customer is satisfied. But with today's complicated electronically controled cars, this program doesn't work any more. I think it was a wine comapny that used to advertise that with its wine, none is shipped before its time. That should be GM's motto and watch their market share come back.

A relative has an 04 Crimson/Ebony XLR. It has been rock-solid. No quality issues, and fortunately I get to drive it whenever I want really, and it is the most exhilirating car I have ever driven. So much fun with the top up or down. And you don't feel like you're sitting on the ground.

A relative has an 04 Crimson/Ebony XLR. It has been rock-solid. No quality issues, and fortunately I get to drive it whenever I want really, and it is the most exhilirating car I have ever driven. So much fun with the top up or down. And you don't feel like you're sitting on the ground.

you are so right, even much more fun by going 278 kph (173 mph) on the autobahn.

It`s the best car I´ve ever had and a had a lot.

Harry

Sorry to hear about the radio, mine is having some problems too but nothing like that, just display problems sometimes. Hope they get their act right, and soon!





I also have a Magnum wagon, a crossfire Convertible, a volvo wagon, and a Porsche Cayenne Turbo
Oh ok, now I remember you! I work at Realty Executives Keys, and I've seen you driving the Cayenne Turbo (which is http://forums.clubrsx.com/images/smilies/thumb.gif by the way), Crossfire, and of course the XLR (since I took a pic of it while you were talking with I think Terry). I'm the 18yr old at the front desk who was listening to you talking about Ferrari's and such with my dad (broker) and I think also with Tim Thompson as he came downstairs. Sorry to post this in your thread, just thought it was neat seeing someone else from Key West

I would PM you, but it wont work for me :(

But anyway, did you happen to buy a red Ferrari 360? I saw one today passing Publix, and it looked like you driving, and that reminded me of when you were talking to me and my dad at the office about you possibly getting a Ferrari 360 Spyder :)

I am on my third one myself

I am having the same problem but now i have to get the car painted i also want the buy back let me know how you make out