Last August, Francesca Giannini of Jacksonville, Florida was driving in a school zone around 35 mph when the roof of her 2005 Cadillac XLR suddenly came flying off. A similar event happened last week to Brad Yates, a Georgia firefighter.
Yates was traveling on Interstate-75 at around 70 mph with the fiberglass roof panel on his XLR closed and secured during the multi-hour trip. Yates reports hearing a faint noise followed by a louder “bang” when his Cadillac’s roof detached.
There are 21 recorded complaints with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the 2005 Cadillac XLR. An overwhelming majority of the complaints filed under the structure category report that the roof detached from the car’s body.
Yates said that the rainy weather was what probably kept other drivers from being too close when the roof from his roadster detached. After he pulled over, he researched the problem on his phone to find an explanation.
“You get online and people are talking about this. It’s aggravating that I had no clue this was even a potential to happen,” he said. “Instantly, it was like all the windows were rolled down. You never think that a structural component of the car is going to fly off while you’re driving down the road,” he added.
Luckily, no injuries were reported in either Yates’ and Giannini’s cases. But since the Cadillac XLR models are more than ten years old, they are past even the longest warranty periods. Yates was quoted over $3,000 to replace the lost roof.
A local Cadillac service manager told First Coast News that the adhesive securing the roof erodes faster in hot weather. While this makes sense for the cases of Yates and Giannini, which took place in the warmer states of Georgia and Florida, respectively it certainly is not an acceptable excuse.
Meanwhile, General Motors recalled the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette for roof panel separation issues back in 2009. However, it made no recalls for the Cadillac XLR, which shares the Corvette’s architecture. A spokesperson for GM did say that the “roofs for the Corvette and XLR use different technologies, so it is important to understand what is happening with the XLR.”
While the Corvette features a roof panel that can be manually removed by its owner, the XLR used a more advanced, power-retractable hardtop roof configuration.
Stay tuned to GM Authority as we follow this story, as well as for more Cadillac news and Cadillac XLR news.
Comments
You mean there is no CUSTOMER satisfaction letter on this. “O” that right even if you get a letter from Cadillac that doesn’t mean your dealer has to fix anything. I forgot.
Nope it will have to kill a few before there is a recall.
Pay attention GM your CUSTOMER is calling!!
Typical lack of quality gm is known for.
They should rename the brand to cadil lack (of everything).
Considering what we had to go through on the Pontiac Solstice / Saturn Sky passenger seat sensor, I’d encourage the affected owners to start drafting a Defect Petition now. We won, eventually: https://www.christopherprice.net/yeah-i-was-part-of-the-pontiac-solstice-saturn-sky-airbag-pss-passenger-seat-sensor-recall-4096.html
Chrysler Crossfire attempted a similar action on their rear glass panels that suffered a similar de-gluing fate. NHTSA at the time closed the case arguing that the glass falling wasn’t deemed dangerous. Clearly they didn’t consider a motorcycle following behind a Crossfire.
Which means if you do press on with this, you need to make clear the risk for a two-wheeled vehicle running into your XLR’s roof.
Aw shucks. Another reason to keep my 51 year old Firebird convertible.
35 in a school zone? What was it, a racing school?
This is old news. The top SMC panel, (not the whole roof flying off) delamination issue has been posted on the XLR forums for over five years. The folding top was designed and built by CTS (Car Top Systems) who coincidentally build the convertible hard tops for the Mercedes SL’s. They built a small assembly facility in Bowling Green to support XLR production until it was ended in 2009.
Still, it looks like I won’t be tail-gating any XLRs on the highway anytime soon . . .
Many school zones are 35mph.
Remember, this was GM’s “halo” car, one model which cost $100,000 (in 2006 dollars). One that if you get in a fender bender with now, the insurance company will total it due to GMs poor parts management and lack of headlights/taillights for this former Halo car. No wonder they can’t sell these like Mercedes does. You can get new parts for your 50 year of Mercedes if you want.