— A Cadillac SRX rear toe link investigation has been launched by the government after two SRX owners said their SUVs crashed following uncontrolled swaying.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says about 344,000 model year 2010-2015 Cadillac SRX SUVs are included in the investigation.
At least nine SRX owners allege the rear toe link adjusters separated, and most of those vehicles were allegedly repaired during a 2014 SRX rear toe link recall. At that time, General Motors said loose nuts in the rear toe link adjusters were the problem.
The loose nuts allegedly caused loose toe link adjusters and damaged threads which eventually failed.
Cadillac SRX Crashes Caused By Toe Link Adjusters
Two SRX owners described the end results of the busted rear toe link adjusters.
"My husband and I were traveling home in our cadillac srx at about 6:00 pm our car suddenly spun out of control as we heard a bang, throwing us across three lanes listening to cars screeching all around us on the nj turnpike, we then hit into the side of a tractor trailer, pushing us back again across the three lanes until we finally stopped in the far left lane."
The SRX owner further said the insurance company concluded there was a problem with the "rear toe link adjuster lock nut torque." Then the driver learned about a recall for that very problem.
"Our vehicle was not on the recall list. I checked again and again. I checked my paperwork from when I purchased the vehicle (used but certified, off of a lease) and the carfax. No recall. After having the insurance company inspect the vehicle, they, in fact, stated that the accident was caused by the rear suspension (rear toe link adjuster)"
Another Cadillac SRX owner described what happened when the toe link adjuster broke.
"While traveling on 295 s in ri .. I felt what I thought was a blow-out of my right rear tire. I lost control of the vehicle swaying all over the road losing control of the vehicle. Luckly I went off the road onto the grassy area but was heading toward trees, I managed to turn slightly to only side swipe all the trees before coming to a stop. All the air bags side curtains deployed."
NHTSA collected the rear toe links from the complaint vehicles and found corrosion and thread wear on the adjustable portions of the links. GM doesn't know the exact cause but believes the problem originally occurred after technicians adjusted the toe links during four-wheel alignments.
The Cadillac SRX investigation will try to determine if there is evidence of widespread problems that require a recall of the SUVs.
CarComplaints.com will update our website with results of the Cadillac rear toe link adjuster investigation.
