1990 Cadillac Brougham

The 1990 Cadillac Brougham has 7 recalls, all centered on the same braking concern: the rear wheel cylinders are too small to generate adequate stopping force, meaning the car takes longer to stop than federal safety standards require.

The core problem is consistent across all these recalls. The rear drum brake wheel cylinders, which press the brake shoes outward against the drum to slow the car, are undersized for this application. Under normal conditions the power brake assist unit compensates to some degree, but if that assist unit loses function, stopping distances extend significantly beyond what is considered safe. In practical terms, a driver pressing the brake pedal in an emergency may find the car needs considerably more road to come to a halt than expected. One of the recalls specifically identifies this concern in limousine-configured versions of the Brougham, where the longer, heavier body puts additional demand on the braking system, making the undersized cylinders even less capable of bringing the vehicle to a controlled stop in time to avoid a collision. The remedy across all of these recalls involves replacing the rear wheel cylinders with properly sized units that can deliver sufficient hydraulic pressure to the rear brakes regardless of whether the power assist is functioning.