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Sedans Cadillac Catera Cadillac Catera Maintenance & Repair
1216 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 3:38 PM
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I'm absolutely amazed at the number of unhappy Catera owners...In Europe the Omega was a pretty reliable car. Under new car warranty,our 2001 was towed twice out of our garage. They gave me a $50 deductable two year warranty for free. That was a year ago...so far,nothing has happened. I've decided to at least keep it while it's got one more year of extended warranty.....But the problems I read of are beyond belief! But still, I love mine-it drives great! |
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I acquired a '97 Catera 6 mos ago with, get this, 113k miles on the oddmeter. I too am amazed at all the trash talk about this model. The fellow I purchased from,used of course, went over the car in detail and is well versed in German machinery having serviced VW's most of his working career. In the time I have owned it nary a problem has cropped up. He did itemize his service efforts and from this list I have to assume people in this forum are over- looking " regular maintenance ". The V6 installed in the car is potent in the German version but de-tuned in the N/A copy, and as such timing belts, ignition timing and verility of spark have to be spot on. The Coil pack goes, given where it is located. Timing belt at 100k mi. is a must these days and fuel filters for sure. Heat is definately a issue in these cars since German engineers like to heat 'em quick, so make sure the rad is transferring all the heat and degrease the engine regularly. The only faults I can find are: the memory programming is quirky at times ( mirrors and seat pos.) and the tolerance on the door hinges is so tight that its hard to lube them. Hence I have one sloppy door. Also the factory CD changer should be more ubiquitous. By all means rave on but N A cars are worse when neglected only thing is that replacement parts are more obtainable. Feel free to comment on my comments. nogm4me 
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Replying to: nogm4me (May 23, 2006 7:53 am)  Don't get me wrong I absolutely love the car despite the problems that I have had with it because of all the options. The thing is now I have had it since January and about $2000 later how do I know that down the road something else is not going to pop up and cost me another 2 grand. The mechanics said that they did not have to replace the computer system but they did find 10 separate problems! I would love to keep the car but I am afraid that my pockets are not that deep. I don't know if it will run for years now or if it is just going to break down again as soon as I get it back from the shop. To keep or not to keep.....
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Replying to: cadcadgirl (May 23, 2006 9:11 am) I have heard so many stories about the Catera being a money pit as it ages, but ours only has 34,000 miles on it. I'll try it for at least another year or so.. What is the highest milage 2001 on this board? |
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My mom bought this catera new in '99. We've had a few problems, some were fixed under warranty and some not. Car now has 48K on it. Most recently we went on a 250 mile one way trip. On the way home we had to slow to a crawl for some construction. I noticed the oil light came on and the oil pressure got real low when the engine was idling (but not quite into the red). When you go faster speeds the pressure increases somewhat and the light goes off. Oil level is full and we have always changed the oil and oil filter at 5K max but mostly at 3K. Now whenever I stop the car in the garage, you can smell oil burning off the exhaust headers and there is a small amount of leaking on the garage floor but it is minimal. Sometimes when you first start the car up and put it in reverse, it doesn't want to move without racing the engine up. Also, when driving, it doesn't always shift consistently at the same RPM's and will downshift while driving on a level road for no reason at all. I personally have a Lexus and when I drive my mom's Catera, I feel like I am driving a stylish garbage truck. I suppose the oil smell is the valve cover gaskets going bad. After reading some of the other posts, I am wondering if we shouldn't dump the car before the required repairs get worse. Of course for what the market value of the car is, it would be better to just drive it til it doesn't run and then junk it. Or we could sell it to a relative for a decent price as they love the car, but I hate to do that. The oil pressure light and actual pressure could be a sign of major repairs to come or could just be a faulty sending unit?? Anyone have any thoughts on this. I have a few classic cars and am a excellent car detailer so needless to say, Mom's Catera looks as good as the day it came off the assembly line. It just doesn't run like it. Thoughts please?? Thanx, Rick
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I bought a 2000 cadillac catera two years ago w/49,000 miles and has been a HUGE problem ever since. It had a clean CARFAX when I bought it. Since then, I've spent close to $2,000 as a result of damages. Below summarizes my problems. 1: car leaks water when it rains on right passenger side , driver door broke, will not stay open. Car also smokes periodically, smells like oil. 2. Heater Valve part 90566947 replaced 63K miles due to coolant leak ($300) 3. timing belt tension pulley broke off few months later ($400, car had to be towed to firestone) 4. 78K need to replace UPPER/LOWER intake manifold gaskets coolant as a result of coolant leak AGAIN!! (close to $800) Also told heater valve needs to be replaced a year after 2nd one put in due to leak. ***I have all left over pieces of old gaskets and reciepts for all work done in case claims can be filed. I'm soo upset about this I can't even begin to explain. I've had the car two years and did everything possible to ensure this car wasn't a LEMON but it is..and still owe $6, 000 on it.
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Replying to: rcorbe1 (Jun 12, 2006 5:21 pm) Randy |
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Replying to: golfchic (Apr 13, 2006 9:58 am) |
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Replying to: azton (Jun 15, 2006 10:39 am)
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