2012 Cadillac Srx

Do not drive

Owners filed 416 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the exterior lighting. It has been recalled 3 times.

When it fails
020k40k60k90k120k200k

270 complaints record an odometer reading. Failures cluster around 75,00090,000 miles; the median is 73,000 miles.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Exterior Lighting191
411
Service Brakes32
310
Suspension30
303
Electrical System23
221
Unknown or Other20
007
Exterior Lighting › Headlights18
000
Air Bags14
10015
Engine13
000
Structure › Body12
403
Steering11
000

3 safety recalls

Part 573 reports
Suspension › Rear21V473000Do not drive
Filed Jun 24, 2021380,498 vehiclesGeneral Motors, Llc

Defect. General Motors, LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2016 Cadillac SRX and 2011-2012 Saab 9-4X vehicles. The rear suspension toe link adjuster may not have been tightened properly, which could result in a loose toe link.

Risk. A loose toe link can separate and cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. Owners are advised to not drive their vehicle if they experience certain Malfunction Indicator Lamp (MIL) warnings or other issues, such as unusual steering behavior, while driving. Please see the Part 573 report for the full list of warnings. Dealers will replace the adjustable toe link with a non-adjustable one, free of charge. Interim owner notification letters were mailed August 6, 2021. Owner notification letters were mailed on October 25, 2021. Cadillac and Saab customers may direct questions to Cadillac customer service at 1-800-333-4223. GM's number for this recall is N212340980.

Suspension › Rear14V571000
Filed Sep 19, 2014290,241 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX vehicles manufactured April 14, 2009, to September 1, 2014, and 2011-2012 Saab 9-4X vehicles manufactured February 1, 2011, to September 13, 2011. On the affected vehicles, the jam nut in the rear suspension toe adjuster link may not be torqued to the proper specification. A loose toe adjuster link can cause the vehicle to sway or wander at highway speeds. A loose toe adjuster link may lead to thread damage and eventual failure. Failure of the toe adjuster link will cause an abrupt change in the vehicle's alignment.

Risk. Failure of the toe adjuster link could cause a loss of vehicle control, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. GM will notify owners, and dealers will inspect the torque of the left and right rear toe link adjuster lock nuts, and replace the parts if there is evidence of damage or a loose link, free of charge. The The recall began November 11, 2014. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006 or Saab customer service at 1-800-955-9007. GM's number for this recall is 14457.

Seats › Front Assembly › Power Adjust14V447000
Filed Jul 23, 2014414,333 vehiclesGeneral Motors Llc

Defect. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2012 Buick LaCrosse, Regal and Chevrolet Camaro, as well as certain 2010-2012 Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain vehicles, equipped with power height adjustable driver and passenger seats. In the affected vehicles, the bolt that secures the driver's and passenger's power front seat height adjuster may fall out causing the seat to drop suddenly to the lowest vertical position.

Risk. If the driver's seat unexpectedly drops, the distraction and altered seat position may affect the drivers' control of the vehicle, increasing the risk of a crash.

Remedy. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the height adjuster shoulder bolts, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed interim letters to owners on September 11, 2014. The recall began on December 26, 2014. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-521-7300 (Buick), 1-800-458-8006 (Cadillac), 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), or 1-800-462-8782 (GMC). GM's number for this recall is 14271.

What owners reported

Newest filings
Air Bags2 injured2 killed
Filed Jun 17, 2026SC

A deer rammed my passager side . airbag light was always on saying passenger airbag off . but when it explodes it injured my passenger . all the airbags didn't activate my car shut down after the incident but a few moments after it regenerated there were all types of debris after the extreme loudness of the air bags explosion. I'm still traumatized.

Air BagsCrash3 injured
Filed Apr 17, 2026ID

2012 Cadillac SRX was traveling approximately 30mph and t-boned another vehicle at an intersection. Both vehicles were totaled. The airbags in the Cadillac did not deploy and the seatbelt did not lock, causing the driver to be thrust forward into the steering wheel and windshield. Significant head injury. The safety of everyone was at risk, this car was not even road-worthy from the moment it left the floor.

Structure
Filed Apr 7, 2026152,667 milesOH

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the vehicle was having a failure with the drains for the sunroof. The contact stated that water was draining directly into the driver's and passenger’s side footwells. The contact stated that there was water saturating the carpet. Additionally, after it had rained, the radio intermittently stopped functioning. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer several times, but the vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was 152,667.

Exterior Lighting
Filed Mar 19, 2026WA

The headlights don’t work very well when they are dimmed. To the point that one has to use high beams all the time.

Electrical System
Filed Nov 17, 2025OH

There was a sunroof recall on my year of vehicle, with this being a used vehicle the previous owners did not know about the sunroof recall and this is why they sold the vehicle not knowing the issues it caused, so I purchased this vehicle wanting it to be my forever vehicle and still do, i am wanting the sunroof drain issue fixed as this has messed with all of my electronical functions in my vehicle, when it rains or snows the electrical information stops working as it has gotten wet due to the drain shrinkage not being fixed, I cannot drive my vehicle safely when this happens, i have to wait until it dries to drive my vehicle again. Please help me with getting the recall reinstated so i can properly get this issue fixed that the previous owners did not know about and i can keep my vehicle safely driving on the roads.

Unknown or Other1 injured
Filed Sep 4, 2025AR

My car was parked and in the park gear it was left running I went to get in the car to turn it off to stay awhile where I was at I got one leg in the car and reached over to push the button to turn it off and it lurched backwards and rolled over me and almost cut my leg off it kept rolling another good 200 ft or more before it stopped and it was still in the park position I read where there's a recall on the transmission on this car but I was injured very badly in this incident I do not know what happened because the car was in park and should not have rolled when I turned it off but it did and rolled over me and knock me down and cut my legs severely

Exterior Lighting
Filed Aug 27, 2025OH

Headlight assembly gets over heated and makes the low beam lights very dim, not safe or legal to drive at night. I've seen many many complaints for this. Not Safe!

Power Train
Filed Aug 18, 2025116,530 milesCA

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle failed to shift into gear properly, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic, where it was diagnosed and determined that the transmission control module had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The dealer was contacted. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 116,530.

Exterior Lighting › Headlights
Filed Jul 15, 202580,000 milesIL

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that while driving at night, the contact became aware that the low-beam headlights had moisture inside the headlight housings. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was repaired under an unknown recall; however, the failure progressed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

Exterior Lighting
Filed Jun 10, 2025NH

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.

Service Brakes
Filed Jun 10, 2025SC

I had Baker Cadillac Dealership to perform the toe-link recall as well as a Multi-Point Vehicle Inspection on May 28, 2025. This is for a 2012 Cadillac SRX-3.6 Luxury Collection [VIN: [XXX]] that I was going to purchase for my [XXX] daughter pending the inspection results. Because Cadillac technicians performed the inspection and nothing major was flagged, I purchased the car for my daughter. That evening, I was driving the car to fill up with gas, and the brakes completely cut out! I talked to a friend who knows more about cars than I do, told me the brakes cutting out was likely a result of the recall repair needing to reset to the proper values. I didn't think too much of it after that until 5 days ago when I was on [XXX] driving at 70 mph, the brakes completely cut out again. The road was wet and they cut out as I was exiting off an interstate overpass onto a ramp which circles back toward the direction I was coming from that ultimately feeds onto the road underneath the exit. I fishtailed side to side the entire length of that ramp that has no barriers at a lethal speed which could’ve killed me! If my daughter would've been driving, the outcome would’ve likely been fatal! I contacted the dealership who performed the recall installation and the Multi Point Inspection and told them everything that happened. I wanted answers as to why this wasn't caught during inspection, what exactly caused that to happen twice in less than 10 days, and what needs to be fixed to prevent th

Electrical System
Filed Apr 20, 2025GA

My 2012 Cadillac SRX gets water into the back of the car when it rains. There is a module in the back which when it gets wet shuts off all the electrical components in the car. The rain enters the car and gets trapped in the wheel well and all through the other components in the rear of the car. I have had this happen before and repairs cost up to 1000.00. General Motors needs to be accountable and a recall needs to be issued.

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Foundation Components › Master Cylinder
Filed Apr 3, 2025110,000 milesPA

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the brake pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to stop as intended. No warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the brake pedal was depressed to the floorboard to stop the vehicle. The contact turned off the vehicle. The vehicle was restarted, and the system was reset. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed with a failed brake master cylinder. The contact was informed that the brake master cylinder needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure reoccurred. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired by an independent mechanic or the dealer. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 110,000. The VIN was unavailable.

Unknown or Other2 injured
Filed Mar 30, 2025WI

Recently the liftgate has closed unexpectedly several times while items were being unloaded/loaded from the rear of the vehicle. This caused the user to be struck by the liftgate. Someone smaller or weaker, such as a child could potentially be trapped and injured since the blockage detect function apparently fails at the same time. It has also opened on it's own while the operator was away from the vehicle and out of range of the key fob. Apparently, this is a common issue with the panoramic roof in many Cadillac models leaking water into the rear storage area of the vehicle. The control module becomes immersed in water and begins to perform unreliably, eventually failing complete as it becomes more wet. No warning tones or lamps are activated

Exterior Lighting
Filed Mar 19, 2025WI

Low Beam Headlamps are very dim-hard to drive at night because of low visibility

Seat BeltsCrash
Filed Jan 27, 2025AL

A deer hit the driver side of my car. The air bag had a smell but did not deflate. The seatbelts kinda detached from the driver’s seat and both front seatbelts are locked very tight. This happened 1/3/25. About three months ago while driving, the driver seat went into the lowest level position. When I put it back where I could drive it, it did it again. I had to keep putting it in place till I got home. It hasn’t done that again yet. Please send me any recalls so I can get them fixed. Thank you

Structure
Filed Dec 31, 2024110,000 milesTX

The contact owns a 2012 Cadillac SRX. The contact stated that the rubber tubing around the sunroof was allowing water to leak into the vehicle. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer where the vehicle was inspected but not diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rubber tubing had shrunk and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage 110,000.

Exterior Lighting
Filed Oct 18, 2024TX

The headlights are very dim It is like driving your vehicle with a flashlight as the lighting. When you turn on bright lights you can see good but your then endangering drivers going the opposite directions It is very dangerous. If you reserch this issue on the internet it is a well lnown problem. How can people drive their cars like this. I did inquire with GM and they said they did at one time reimburse owners to get headlights replaced but that offer expired Well there are people out there driving these Dangerous cars that were not notified of this. I would invite anyone to drive one of these cars and see how bad it is. It is very urgent that someone look at this problem I have seen where there have been recalls over 10 years old . I am trying to get across how DANGEROUS this cars lights are. Please someone look into this Sincerely Sue Lanford Lance Lanford I dont know if NHTSA can or would get the media to film the lighing on these vehicles.

Suspension
Filed Oct 9, 2024TX

To whom it may concern, I am writing this as a complaint on the rear toe link separation recall that was performed on our 2012 Cadillac SRX. We installed new tires on our SRX in August 2022 (Michelin Defender 235/55 R20) with a mileage of 108,452 just due to this being our sons car and wanted him to be safe on the road. In December of 2022 we had the recall performed at Lakeside Chevrolet in Rockwall Texas and the mileage was 110,893. Since the recall, we have been through 2 sets of tires on the back of this vehicle in less than 2 years with the outer edge of the tires being worn down to the cords. The car has 119,051 on it now. I am very angry as we tried to have the alignment performed and were told that these links that were installed can not be adjusted and will cost me another $650 to replace and another $130 for the alignment. The vehicle did not have any issues until we had the recall performed. We are now out $1404 for tires and $130 for an alignment that can’t be performed unless the links are replaced with adjustable units. My total to get this taken care of is over $2200 which was created by your recall parts. I would like to have someone reply to this email to let me know what can be done to take care of this situation.

Service Brakes
Filed Aug 16, 2024IN

While driving the pedal will go all the way to the floor and suddenly your break line will be full of air.The car's hard to stop. This is the second time it's happened. Really scary, almost in an accident.

20 of 416 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2010
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
20191000Routine
2016168213Do not drive
2015442430Do not drive
2014390220Do not drive
2013393550Do not drive
2012 — this page416342Do not drive
2011446710Do not drive
2010474650Do not drive
200927000Routine
200847010Routine
200752110Routine
200668320Routine
2005122340Routine
2004216720Above average

Compare every Srx year →

Reading this record

NHTSA has issued a do-not-drive warning for a recall on this vehicle.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.

Most recent recall on file: Jun 24, 2021. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.