The 1st generation XLR spans the 2004 to 2009 model years.
It has accumulated 15 owner complaints over those year and ranks 25th in reliability out of 35 eligible Cadillac generations.
Our reliability rank is based on our PainRank™ system. A higher number means you can expect more significant problems. The average Cadillac score is 2.26 while this generation comes in at 2.47.
The XLR roadster comes with a retractable roof system that is supposed to give owners the option of riding around with the top down. Unfortunately, a problem with the adhension of the roof means owners may suddenly find themselves riding ar…
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Sometimes it helps just to tally up the complaints and see where the biggest stacks are. Use this information to learn about troublespots or to run for the hills.
Grouping all models by their year can reveal some baddies.
Running tally of owner grievances filed to CarComplaints.com.
Overall reliability rank out of 35 eligible generations.
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XLR owners have made so many complaints about the roof detatching from the frame that it sparked a federal investigation back in February of 2019.
But during the course of that investigation, safety regulators discovered that most of the complaints happened more than 10 years after the cars were manufactured and that, along with what they're calling a "relatively low incident report rate", wasn't enough to issue a recall.
keep readingIn some cases, the entire roof flies off while driving.
NHTSA will look at degradation problems with the adhesive used to secure the outer roof panels to the roof frames. If they find a quality issue it's likely they'll issue a recall.
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