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16087 messages,  Last post on May 09, 2013 at 9:32 AM

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What is this discussion about? BMW 3 Series, Infiniti G37, Acura TL, Lexus IS 350, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Cadillac CTS, Volvo S60, Audi A4, Acura TSX, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 1574 of 1610

#15724 of 16087 Re: It Seems That Many CTS Drivers. . . [sweendogy] by cdnpinhead

Mar 05, 2013 (4:27 am)

Replying to: sweendogy (Mar 04, 2013 5:14 pm)
Does this issue effect other cars at gm using the same motor - ?
 
I don't know. I only monitor the CTS board.

#15725 of 16087 Re: CTS Lease [nyccarguy] by dino001

Mar 05, 2013 (6:22 am)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Mar 04, 2013 6:31 pm)
Yes, they do. By law, American market cars have to have lights aiming unevenly, biased to the right. You could see it in xenons because they are so bright, but the same is with regular lights - that is, unless people tamper with their settings, which I see done a lot. Some guy thinks he can't see, so he ratchets the up, blinding everybody else.
 
BTW, Other markets (like European) have different regulations (even aim, there are other differences, too). However, US-versions of European brands have US-market settings, obviously.

#15727 of 16087 Re: CTS Lease [dino001] by dino001

Mar 05, 2013 (7:29 am)

Replying to: dino001 (Mar 05, 2013 6:22 am)
I would amend that it is left lights that should aim lower, not right. The idea is reduction in glare for the oncoming traffic and better vision for the sidewalk/shoulder pedestrians or small vehicles.

#15728 of 16087 Re: CTS Lease [dino001] by nyccarguy

Mar 05, 2013 (8:15 am)

Replying to: dino001 (Mar 05, 2013 7:29 am)
Cool. Thanks. So my left light is aimed too high. When I use the high beams, they are even.

#15729 of 16087 Re: CTS Lease [nyccarguy] by dino001

Mar 05, 2013 (8:32 am)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Mar 05, 2013 8:15 am)
Or perhaps your right light is aimed too low?

#15730 of 16087 Re: It Seems That Many CTS Drivers. . . [cdnpinhead] by sweendogy

Mar 05, 2013 (9:59 am)

Replying to: cdnpinhead (Mar 05, 2013 4:27 am)
Might be something to monitor if you are looking to go back at GM about a product fault- if it's an engine issue it should not be isolated to the Cts- and would effect other brands under the umbrella- just food for thought.

#15731 of 16087 Re: CTS Lease [robr2] by plekto

Mar 05, 2013 (3:15 pm)

Replying to: robr2 (Mar 04, 2013 12:38 pm)
When the oil life percentage in my Explorer gets to 0%, Ford says to change the oil within 500 miles. That indicator has a level of safety built in.
 
Evidently, in the CTS's case, 0 life was really very close to 0% and there was no leeway. GM changed it to be twice as sensitive (2011) so it tells you it's time in about 6 months or 6000 miles, which gives you a fair amount of leeway. Note - anything less than about 25% protection is running into greatly increased wear with synthetic oils. If you are running an older (2011 or older, evidently) CTS, letting it drop below 50% oil life remaining is causing increased wear and problems.
 
I ran into this a few years ago when I was looking for a car for my parents. And back then the mechanics at the dealers were all saying to get it changed at 6 months/6K miles. (the manual says almost twice that interval) That they didn't do a recall is a whole other problem, but the mechanics certainly figured out what had happened with the oil life sensors several years ago.
 
So the engine isn't the issue. In fact, it's the best engine GM has ever built. It, not too surprisingly, wasn't really designed to run on synthetic goo which some marketing genius managed to pass off as "oil". GM kind of found this out the hard way, it seems.
 
NOTE - there is nothing that says that you can't run semi-synthetic in the car, either. In fact, the newer oil that they put in it at the dealership when you get it changed (on 2011+ models at least) is actually semi-synthetic. GM doesn't want to admit that their engines shouldn't be run on pure synthetic and are "suggesting" their new DEXOS standard oils.
 
Yes, it's buried way way in the fine print, but DEXOS is semi-syntietic oil under a new brand name/standard to try to confuse the issue, since they spent over a decade ruthlessly pounding into everyone's head that pure synthetic oils were better than conventional ones.(which is not true, obviously)
 
So the fix? Switch to semi-synthetic ASAP. Change oil every 6K miles/6 months. Ignore the computers and change the oil religiously at those intervals. Semi-synthetic costs about twice as much per change, but you change it half as often.

#15732 of 16087 Re: Oil by markcincinnati

Mar 05, 2013 (3:47 pm)

Replying to: plekto (Mar 05, 2013 3:15 pm)
2012 3.7L V6 Acura engines didn't come with synthetic oil. Of course the dealer will sell it to you -- but if you don't ask you will get non-syn when the oil change indicator comes on (which is at 15%).
 
I have used 100% synthetic oil from the first change forward. I change the oil damn near the instant the 15% indicator comes on -- and, of course, I always use a new filter. I bring my oil into the dealer, since at the beginning I didn't know if they actually even had syn oil.
 
Are you saying that synthetic oil has a shorter (in miles or time) life span of "protection" but that semi-syn is better in that regard? I thought that one of the hallmarks of 100% synthetic was that it was able to hold more dirt and crud in suspension than non-synthetic oils (meaning, I assume) that you could use synthetic oil for longer intervals without engine damage or for shorter intervals for even better protection than non-synthetic oils.
 
I've not heard the argument to use semi-syn; it seems if half synthetic is good, that full synthetic would be better still.

#15733 of 16087 Re: Oil [markcincinnati] by dino001

Mar 05, 2013 (4:36 pm)

Replying to: markcincinnati (Mar 05, 2013 3:47 pm)
Yeah, I had same thoughts. The comment on synthetic simply didn't add up to me either. Knowing that European brands/models and all other brands marketed across the Pond (that includes GM, Ford, Honda et al.) come with synthetic-only maintenance with intervals 12-20 thousand miles, depending on the brand (they did that about a bit less than 10 years ago). You have to use specific brand (or approved brands), or you void your warranty, but the idea is to cut into number of visits in garages. Seems it didn't catch up in the US because the dealers would rather see you four times per year, so they can always find something to do. In exchange, you get cheapest oil they can buy, but since you change it every three months, it doesn't matter that much (in their mind anyway). It would be an outrage if customers suddenly stopped coming just because the oil got better and doesn't need to be changed, wouldn't it? Not in this country, we don't allow things like that.
 
Plekto's short synthetic life comment make no sense to me. Even oil companies today sell full syntetic oil with indicated intervals on the box north of 10 thousand miles. They woudn't do that, if the product didn't meet that. They have interest in selling more stuff, not less.
 
The advantage of synthetics is supposed oil particle size and chemistry, which in turn is supposed to provide both better lubrication and lifespan.

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