2012 Cadillac SRX: brake failure

Filed Jun 10, 2025 · Brakes, Lights · NH

Braking after hitting a pothole was a nightmare! No warning lights came on to prepare me for anything. Brake pedal went to the floor and would not work properly. Finally after getting my vehicle to stop I pulled over pumped my brakes and seemed to work after 5 tries. Toe link recall was “fixed” well not the case. After 2 recalls on the toe link I had a nice bill the cost me $1.450.00 after having to pay for this part. Still haven’t been reimbursed. Also headlights are very dim and can’t see at night!! I’ve asked multiple mechanic shops and no one has an answer for me. So have to use my high beams or else I can’t see anything at night . Very unsafe and no one can help me resolve this issue.

Filed Nov 2, 2023 · Brakes · 105,000 miles · NY

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving 15 MPH and depressing the brake pedal to come into a complete stop, the contact drove over a bump in the roadway and the brakes made an abnormal grinding sound and the brake pedal went to the floorboard. There was no warning light illuminated. The contact stated that there was a stopping distance delay, which caused the vehicle to stop after the stop sign. The contact stated that she pumped the brake pedal and was able to continue driving. Additionally, the contact stated that while driving 5 MPH from a complete stop, the vehicle in front of her stopped abruptly. The contact stated that the vehicle hit a bump while she quickly depressed the brake pedal, and the failure recurred, causing the vehicle to rear-end the other vehicle. The contact stated that it was a fender-bender. There were no injuries sustained. The contact stated that the failure had recurred while driving 45 MPH; however, the roadway was not bumpy. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was purchased, and the dealer performed a brake inspection; however, the cause of the failure could not be determined. Additionally, the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where the brake pads and rotors were replaced, and the brake calipers were inspected; however, the failure persisted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 105,000.

Filed Sep 20, 2022 · Brakes · 100,000 miles · NC

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the brakes were replaced for routine services at a local dealer. The contact then stated that while driving at an unknown speed, she drove over a pothole and while attempt to stop the vehicle, the brakes failed to respond as needed. The contact stated that the brake failure reoccurred after driving over potholes and then depressing the brake pedal. The contact stated that no warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was then taken to an independent mechanic who was unable to determine the cause of the brake failure. The independent mechanic informed the contact that replacing the front brake pedals could possibly help with the brake failure. The front brake pedals were replaced; however, the failure reoccurred. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to another independent mechanic who was also unable to retrieve a fault code or determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Sep 8, 2021 · Brakes · RI

On multiple occasions I have experienced an unexpected temporary loss of braking. Peddle went to the floor requiring pumping of brakes to come to a stop. It lasts days and unexpectedly returns to normal. No warning signal to check brakes etc. For days after I have to pump the brakes and adjust my braking response time in order to avoid hitting another car. Each time this happened I have had it checked and nothing found. I’m from Florida and summer in RI. I had the vehicle checked in RI last year? Twice in FL. I have noticed ot happens during inclement weather or hitting an unexpected hole in the road. The last time this happened was several days ago on the MA turnpike during a rain storm. Very scarey and very dangerous. The brakes went back to normal but only after a week. I went on the car websites and realized it was happening to others too. With Cadillac! I spend a lot of time on the highway and a quick braking response is vital.

Filed Feb 11, 2021 · Brakes · 86,789 miles · GA

In feb. 2019 my brake pedal went to the floor causing me to run a red light. There was no accident. The problem did not repeat and I drove it immediately to the dealership which could not find a problem and replaced all parts which could have caused it. The brake pedal again went to the floor in feb. 2021 when exiting a store parking lot and no accident occurred. Again took to dealership who did not find a problem.

Filed Nov 25, 2020 · Brakes, Lights · 58,000 miles · NY

The headlights are too dim. I can't see at night and especially if it is raining. I have avoided going off the road more than once. I hit a fox on a busy road because I never saw it during a rainy night. My brakes have pressed to the floor many times. I brought it back to the dealer and they said they couldn't see it. It is intermittent. You never know when you will have no brakes. It seems to happen if I make a sharp turn, hard stop or go over a rough surface. This is life & death.and scary. Someone will get hurt or die.I purchased the car in 2019 and it happens to this day,november 2020.

Filed Nov 12, 2020 · Brakes · 106,000 miles · GA

After going over a pothole the brakes seemed to give out. The car was going at a speed of 20 miles per hour and was approaching a stop sign. The brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the car did not come to a complete stop. I have seen this issue reported by other cadillac srx owners but there is nothing on the cadillac website regarding it.

Filed Feb 8, 2020 · Brakes · 130,000 miles · OK

While in motion, I applied the brake pedal and the pedal went to the floor and the car did not stop almost causing a wreck. After that the brakes returned to normal. I took the vehicle to gm here and they were unable to find any problem. After a few weeks passed by the car then did it again. This needs to be approached because there are so many people with the same issue! Someone is going to get hurt or killed!

Filed Jan 26, 2020 · Brakes · 66,354 miles · NV

While turning off to enter a grocery store parking lot I stepped on the brakes and the brake pedal went to the floor. I had to quickly pump the brakes to slow down. The road conditions were wet with a little bit of ice. I felt a shudder in the front suspension when it happened. This has happened before approximately 2 years ago but it corrected itself in a few minutes after turning off the vehicle. This time it hasn't corrected and the vehicle is undrivable due to safety concerns. I had to have the vehicle towed home.

Filed Jan 8, 2020 · Brakes · 75,000 miles · CA

For the past 3 years I have been complaining about the brakes and how they just go out and the brake goes to the floor for no apparent reason, this happens periodically and you do not know when its going to happen. This is very scary and has almost caused accidents when this happens. You have to pull over and turn off the car and then sometimes the brakes come back sometimes they don't. They do eventually work again but its a matter of time some times. This is very dangerous

Filed Jul 12, 2019 · Brakes · 62,000 miles · GA · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 cadillac srx. While the driver was pulling into the garage with the brake pedal depressed, the brake pedal traveled to the floorboard and failed to stop the vehicle. The driver crashed into the living room wall. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to a collision center. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer or an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing or repairs. The contact called the manufacturer and was provided case number: 39-5355940481. The approximate failure mileage was 62,000. *tr consumer stated car was deemed as totaled by the insurance company. Airbag did not engage during the incident; airbag report was sent to vehicle owner by gm. Gm engineer stated that this vehicle has had many brake failure reports.

Filed Dec 6, 2017 · Brakes · 54,000 miles · CA · crash

I was pulling out of a parking lot into city traffic when the brakes in my 2012 cadillac srx failed. I ended up rear ending another vehicle at a very slow speed. When we pulled off to the side of the road I had to pump the brakes to get the car to stop. There were no physical injuries as I was maybe going 2 or 3 MPH. We exchanged insurance information. I notified my insurance of the claim as well. I had bought my daughter a 2010 cadillac srx when I bought mine and 6 weeks ago she had the same problem with brake failure but she was able to pump the brakes to get her car to stop. We took her car to st. Claire cadillac in santa clara and they could not find anything wrong and no error codes were identified in the on board computer. I searched the web and there are multiple incidences of this problem occurring with cadillac srx models but cadillac will not fix this problem. I do not know if this problem has resulted in any deaths if so the driver may not have been able to report the incident. Cadillac needs to do something about this! Needless to say I will be selling my srx and buying a toyota.