— A Cadillac SRX leaking sunroof lawsuit alleges the SUVs have defective sunroof drains or seals that allow water to enter the passenger areas.
The intruding water causes damage to the carpet, wiring and all kinds of electronics. Even the sound deadener used in the vehicles can be damaged by water intrusion, according to court documents.
Plaintiff Kelley Gaines filed the proposed class-action lawsuit after she allegedly experienced a leaking sunroof in February 2017. Gaines claims she found the floorboard carpet soaked from the water and a dealership told her the padding between the firewall and instrument panel assembly was also saturated by water.
The dealer found the right front sunroof drain hose was loose and the drain was not 14 seated correctly at the firewall. Cadillac replaced both front sunroof drain tubes and charged the plaintiff $442.48 to repair the leaking sunroof, another $513.00 for removal, drying and cleaning of the front and rear interior carpet and $50.00 to shampoo the carpet.
Gaines says her insurance company paid a portion of the costs but she was still required to pay her deductible of $250 from her own pocket to repair the damage.
According to the lawsuit, Cadillac has denied warranty coverage for SRX models prior to 2014, but for 2014 models and newer, the sunroof drains were redesigned to fix the leaks. This allegedly proves the automaker knew about the problems and finally changed the design to fix the leaking sunroofs.
Cadillac allegedly knew from its own documents and technical service bulletins as early as August 2013 about the sunroof drain problems and what allegedly caused the problems.
One bulletin issued to dealers in 2013 says some customers may complain about seeing a water leak in the driver or front passenger floor area, or they may complain about finding the front carpet wet.
GM says the most common causes of the problem includes a void in the cowl seam sealer, and front drain hose grommet(s) that may not be connected or fully sealed. GM told dealers it's possible the sunroof front drain hoses are mis-routed or too short, causing too high a tension level.
The lawsuit alleges Cadillac makes SRX owners pay for repairs instead of fixing some of the vehicles under warranty so the automaker can save money. In addition to the expense laid at the feet of SRX owners, the lawsuit alleges the leaking sunroofs cause a safety hazard because of the damage water does to electrical components, wiring and modules.
The proposed class-action lawsuit includes all current and former owners or lessees of 2010-2013 Cadillac SRX SUVs located in California and who paid to repair or replace their SUVs because of leaking sunroofs.
Although the lawsuit currently includes California residents only, the plaintiff says more than 222,000 of the affected SUVs were manufactured. This means based on how much traction the California class-action gets, more lawsuits concerning SRX sunroofs could crop up across the country.
The Cadillac SRX leaking sunroof lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California - Kelley Gaines, et al., v. Cadillac Automobile Company and General Motors, LLC.
The plaintiff is represented by Zlaket Law Offices APC, and the Law Office of Robert A. Waller, Jr.
CarComplaints.com has complaints about the 2010 Cadillac SRX, 2011 SRX, 2012 SRX and the 2013 Cadillac SRX.
