My mother owns a 2000 Cadillac STS with low mileage (25K). The “service suspension system” appears everytime she starts the car. The car sits a lot in the garage, only out for church and the grocery store, etc. Is this something that is serious? Should I take it to a mechanic, or can I do something to fix it myself? I found on-line that it may be a “open wiring circuit” problem (?) Thank you.
Cadillac offered “variable suspension” option on some of its cars. There will be an electrical connector on top of each spring tower (strut). You might check to be sure they are all properly connected. If they are, you can safely ignore the service message. Having a dealer repair this “problem” will be very expensive. Read the owners manual carefully. You might be able to turn the system off and eliminate the warning light.
I would not ignore this problem, it could be dangerous. The suspension has sensors at each strut/shock and based on the readings from the sensor it can adjust the ride height of the car. Imagine riding down the road and all of a sudden the rear suspension is fully extended. This could cause a adverse handling condition even in normal driving conditions, imagine what might happen if the roads are wet or icy.
I know from personal experience. My father-in-law had the same problem with his Cadillac, he chose to ignore it. While driving the rear struts fully extended and it handled so bad he had to pull over immediately and park it. This happened when the road conditions were almost perfect, he figures he would have crashed if the roads were wet or slippery.
Get it checked.