2026 Cadillac XT5

The contact’s father-in-law owns a 2026 Cadillac XT5. The contact stated that while the owner was driving at an undisclosed speed going uphill, he was blinded by the sunlight and started driving onto the grass. The driver released the accelerator pedal, and within a second, the vehicle started rolling backwards. The accelerator pedal was depressed; however, the vehicle failed to respond. The vehicle rolled down a steep hill and crashed into a tree. The contact stated that the START/STOP was activated during the failure, and it was a programming failure where the vehicle automatically went into neutral with no lights indicating the vehicle was shut off. The contact stated the vehicle was rolling backwards at 35 MPH. The rear floorboard of the back seat was crushed against the rear frame rail, panel, and suspension. The vehicle stopped after crashing into the tree. The contact stated that no air bags had deployed. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 700.