Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1989 Cadillac Allante submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 36 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 36, in the owner's own words
DRIVER APPLIED THE BRAKES AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. THEN, DRIVER PUMPED THE BRAKES THREE TIMES TO STOP. DRIVER WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN CONTROL, AND DROVE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER. MECHANIC ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM, BUT A SOLUTION COULD NOT BE DETERMINED AT THIS TIME. *AK
EVERY ALLANTE OWNER SEEMS TO HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. DT
THE BRAKES WILL NOT WORK. WHEN THE BRAKE PEDAL IS DEPRESED THE VEHICLE WILL NOT STOP, ALSO THE ABS LIGHT HAD ILLUMINATED. *JG
WHEN TRYING TO APPLY BRAKES BRAKE PEDAL WILL GO TO THE FLOOR, CAUSING VEHICLE TO HAVE EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK
PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR, NO BRAKES, THEN THE ABS PUMP STARTED AND BRAKES RETURNED. THE BRAKE SYSTEMS HAS BECOME UNRELIABLE. REAR BRAKES WERE NOT FUNCTIONAL (CALIPERS FROZEN), AND ACCUMULATOR REPLACEMENT RETURNED NORMAL FUNCTION FOR LESS THAN 12 HOURS.*AK
WHILE DRIVING 70 AND APPLYING BRAKES, THE ABS SYSTEM FAILED, CAUSING LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. *AK THE DEALER REPLACED THE ACCUMULATOR, BUT DID NOT CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *YH
WHILE COMING TO A STOP AT ABOUT 25 MPH APPLIED BRAKES AND HEARD A CLUNKING SOUND.THEN, BRAKE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. HE WAS ABLE TO COAST TO SIDE OF ROAD, GOT OUT, AND NOTICED BRAKE FLIUD ON THE GOUND. MECHANIC DETERMINED BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER HAD FAILED, AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED.*AK
UNDERSTAND YOU ARE REVIEWING ANTI-LOCK BRAKES FAILURE ON THIS CAR. I AM ALSO EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM AND UNDERSTAND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY FAILURES ,18 INJURIES AND ONE DEATH FROM THIS PROBLEM. IS THERE A RECALL FOR THIS SYSTEM.*AK
EBCM FAILED, ANTILOCK SYSTEM INACTIVE, POOR BRAKING ABILITY AS ANTILOCK SYSTEM GOES NUTS FOR THE FIRST FEW MINUTES OF DRIVING,WENT TO DEALER TO REPLACE EBCM, PART NOT AVAILABLE ANYMORE FROM GMC. MY CAR IS NOW A SAFETY HAZARD. GM SHOULD CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SUCH A VITAL PART RELATED TO THE SAFTEY OF THE CAR.*AK
OUR 1989 & 1990 HAVE THE SAME DANGEROUS PROBLEM OUTLINED WITHIN 70% OF THE COMPLAINTS ON YOUR DEFECTS INVESTIGATION DATABASE. WHAT IS THE OUTCOME OF YOUR INVESTIGATIONS THERIEN ABOUT THIS PROBLEM? NO SAFETY DEFECT LISTED IN SUMMARY. *AK
CONTINUED PROBLEMS WITH BRAKE SYSTEM LEAD TO COMPLETE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM FAILURE. GM NEEDS TO RECALL THESE BOSCH III ABS BRAKE SYTEMS. ODI ACTION NUMBER EA99-017. *AK
WHILE DRIVING DOWNHILL AT 55 MPH ABS WARNING LIGHT CAME ON. UPON APPLYING BRAKES, DRIVER HAD TO PUSH ON THE PEDAL REALLY HARD, AND PULL UP STEERING BEFORE VEHICLE WOULD STOP. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO DEALERHIP, WHERE THE ABS PUMP AND RELAY WERE REPLACED. *AK *ML
ABS ARNING LIGHT AND COMPUTER FEEDBACK CONTINUOUS TO FAIL. VERY POOR ENGINEERING DESIGN AND GMC SHOULD CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. *AK
MASTER CYLINDER FAILED, NO PRESSURE, REQUIRED TOTAL REPLACEMENT. *AK
THIS IS A INTERMITTENT ABS FAILURE. BRAKES STILL STOP CAR, BUT, NO ABS. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOVE VEHICLE.
I WAS DRIVING TO CHURCH WITH MY DAUGHTER ON OCTOBER 24, 1999 TRAVELLING ABOUT 35 MPH ON DRY PAVEMENT WITH OUTSIDE TEMPERATURE ABOUT 70 F. AS I APPLIED BRAKES TO STOP AT A TRAFFIC LIGHT, THE BRAKE PEDAL WENT DOWN AS USUAL, BUT SUDDENLY PUSHED MY FOOT UP AND BRAKING EFFECT BECAME NOTICEABLE LESS. FORTUNATELY, ON SUNDAY THERE IS NOT MUCH TRAFFIC AT THIS INTERSECTION, BUT WITH MORE A USUAL TRAFFIC PATTERN I WOULD HAVE CERTAINLY BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. THERE WAS NO WARNING PRIOR TO THIS EVENT. THE BRAKES APPEARED TO BE WORKING NORMALLY. AT THE TIME OF THE BRAKE MALFUNCTIONED, THE RED BRAKE LIGHT LIT ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL ALONG WITH THE LIGHT BEHIND THE CHECK INFORMATION CENTER AREA ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE DRIVER'S INFORMATION CENTER PANEL DISPLAYED "ANTI-LOCK DISABLED" FOLLOWED IN A FEW SECONDS BY "ANTI-LOCK OK". A SIMILAR SEQUENCE OF EVENTS RECURRED AS I DROVE THE CAR HOME SLOWLY. I CONTACTED GARY AT 1-800-ALLANTE WHO INFORMED ME THAT GENERAL MOTORS IS AWARE OF ANTI-LOCK FAILURES ON ALLANTES BUT HAS NOT "OPENED A CAMPAIGN". HE TOLD ME HE WAS "NOT ALLOWED" TO SAY ANYTHING FURTHER OTHER THAN TO CONTACT MY DEALER. THE CAR HAS BEEN REPAIRED. THE PROBLEM BEING ISOLATED TO THE ANTI-LOCK PUMP AND ACCUMULATOR. *AK
WHEN THE PEDAL WAS APPLIED WHILE TRAVELING SLOW THERE WAS NO RESPONSE FROM THE BRAKES, THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. VEHICLE EVENTUALY CRUISED ITSELF TO A STOP. NO DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK
NO SUMMARY
I WAS APPROACHING A STOP SIGN AND WHEN I APPLIED MY BRAKES THEY DID NOT FUNCTION. LUCKILY THERE WAS NO VEHICLE IN THE INTERSECTION WHEN I WENT THROUGH IT.
THERE IS A SYSTEM DESIGN PROBLEM ON ALL CADILLAC ALLANTE ABS BRAKE SYSTEMS. *AK
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE. *AK
WHEN BRAKE IS APPLIED, WARNING LIGHT COMES ON, BRAKE "THUMPS" (SKIPS), ABS IS DISABLED AND BRAKES WORK. I AM CAUTIOUSLY DRIVING CAR. LET NO ONE ELSE DRIVE. DEALER (FITZGERALD, ANNAPOLIS, MD) SAYS CAR IS SAFE, BRAKES WILL WORK. *AK
ORIGINAL ABS SYSTEM FAILED IN FALL OF 1998 AND WAS REPLACED WITH A REBUILT MASTER CYLINDER/ABS ASSEMBLY AT A COST OF $2900. 14 MONTHS AND 16000 MILES LATER, THIS ASSEMBLY FAILED AS WELL. THE LATEST FAILURE RESULTED IN NUMEROUS "ATTEMPTS" ON THE PART OF THE DEALERSHIP TO REPAIR THE SYSTEM, PUTTING THE CAR BACK ON THE ROAD, ONLY TO FAIL AGAIN. TWO FAILURES NEARLY RESULTED IN ACCIDENTS, ON AVOIDED BY DRIVING THE CAR OFF THE ROADWAY. REPAIRED SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY FUNCTIONING CONSISTENTLY WELL. I MAY BE CONTACTED DIRECTLY FOR FURTHER INFORMATION IF IT WOULD BE HELPFUL. I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A COMMON, AND EXPENSIVE PROBLEM ON THIS VEHICLE AS I HAVE LEARNED. THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER. DOUGLAS S. HERBERT (919) 682-3411. *AK
WHEN APPYLING ABS BRAKES BRAKE PEDAL BOUNCES BACK AND BECOMES HARD, ALSO, ABS BRAKE LIGHT ILLUMINATES. PLEASE GIVE ANY FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Data on this page last refreshed .