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Cadillac CTS - Quality that lasts?

64 messages,  Last post on Sep 27, 2012 at 9:49 AM

You are in the Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Forum.

What is this discussion about? Cadillac CTS, Cadillac CTS-V, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 7

#27 of 64 Re: Rear-end Roar [temj12] by soxfan55

Aug 04, 2007 (8:57 am)

Replying to: temj12 (Jul 16, 2006 12:26 am)
I have had two CTS cars a 2003 and 2006 with sport apearance package. The 2003 had the rumbling from new which led me to have an inspection done at 50,000 miles leading to a new rear end installed (at factory expense). My 2006 had rear end leaks replaced three times and finally they replaced the complete rear end (12,000) miles. The 2003 was in the shop (I am not exagerating) 16 times in three years.
 
A very frustrating 2003 problem were my 17" (factory polished wheels). Two Goodyear tires blew out at highway speeds with no impact or other probs. I check my tire pressures and inspect every week and in close to a million miles of driving never had had a blow out. Goodyear denied there was a problem and destroyed the tire I had submitted. Previously Caddy had recalled this tire because of cosmetic reasons and replaced four. (sounds a bit suspicious also). Caddy said they could do nothing about tires.
 
Now the 18" tire is a Hi performance summer tire (great in the midwest winter) and nobody (three day wait) stocks it. They don't even make an all season recommended replacement.
 
Anyway, the CTS is otherwise a nice car but Cadillac falls way short of being a luxury brand. It is a chevy with donuts in the service waiting room.

#28 of 64 Re: Cadillac CTS Rear-end roar [temj12] by stillunsure

Aug 13, 2007 (9:38 am)

Replying to: temj12 (Jul 17, 2006 1:10 am)
I have 21K and the car is in for service for that very issue today. In fact, it has been there since Friday, last week. No indication from the service manager as to the problem, yet

#29 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [breaga01] by dbieganski

Apr 01, 2008 (1:32 pm)

Replying to: breaga01 (May 30, 2007 11:22 am)
Sorry to hear this, I am responding because I am having the same exact issue with my 2005 CTS. I bought the car with 43000 miles on it and the oil was low at the first oil change. I did not think to much about it then, but when driving to St.louis fron Michigan the car started to buck a little bit. I had no indication on the dash of engine trouble. I finnished my drive and went straight to the dealer. They told me I was 4 quarts low on oil! I was shocked because I had Apox 50% oil life and just my scheduled oil change mileage. I now have die in my oil form the dealer to find a leak. I'm pretty sure it is not leaking or I would find puddles in the driveway. The dealer is giving me trouble about getting an oil analisys because they want a fresh oil change and drive 500 miles then come back to get the sample. I work all over the midwest so this is not easy.
 
I am now 53000 miles and out of warentee. not to happy with my purchase!
 
I just wanted to ask you if you found the problem with your car?
 
Thanks, Dave

#30 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [dbieganski] by sls002

Apr 02, 2008 (1:45 pm)

Replying to: dbieganski (Apr 01, 2008 1:32 pm)
It is the owner/driver's responsibility to check the oil level at some reasonable interval (usually each time you fill the tank with fuel). If you have an oil level sensor (which seems not to be the case), then it should have indicated that the crankcase was low on oil. Oil life and oil consumption are not the same thing. Your engine may use a quart of oil every 2 to 3,000 miles.
 
If there is an oil leak the dye (not die) should show where it is coming from.

#31 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [dbieganski] by spyderman4g63

Apr 06, 2008 (6:48 am)

Replying to: dbieganski (Apr 01, 2008 1:32 pm)
I signed up for this site just to reply to this thread.
 
I also have a CTS (2004) with a 3.6l motor. I experience the exact same symptoms as the original poster. I started the car one day and it made a strange noise, went to check the oil and it wasn't on the stick. I put 2 quarts in and took it to the dealer. The dealer says they cannot find an oil leak. It also uses coolant, well it goes somewhere. The GM Dealer claims that they searched the database and nobody has this problem. However a simple google search will show you that these 3.6l motors have problems with oil usage.
 
So the dealer says they don't know what is wrong. I inspected the motor and found a minor leak on the rear main seal, but not enough to justify using 2-3 quarts of oil. The rear end also hums like some other people mentioned. I bought this car used with 20k miles on it and started to experience trouble within the first year. It now has 70k miles on it (long highway drives for work) and I am SOL because there was no warranty.
 
I would not recommend buying a 3.6l first generation cts. Use a search engine and you will find a ton of results for oil usage.

#32 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [spyderman4g63] by sls002

Apr 06, 2008 (9:28 am)

Replying to: spyderman4g63 (Apr 06, 2008 6:48 am)
So if I understand your post, you were checking the oil every week or every time you filled it with gas, and your car went from full of oil to being 2-3 quarts low in a hundred miles or so?
 
If your coolant is also disappearing, then my guess is that you have a leaky head gasket.
 
My 2002 Seville used about 1 quart of synthetic oil every 2000 miles. The oil monitor requested oil changes every 10000 miles, so I added about 4 quarts in between changes. My 2007 SRX, with the RWD VVT northstar V8, has been much better on oil, needing none before the first oil change done 11,500 miles. The V6 is a different engine though.

#33 of 64 Speaker replacement on my 05 CTS by mcspeechless1

Jul 14, 2008 (11:33 pm)

I want to replace the woofer on my 05 CTS. It sounds very distorted when the radio volume is turned up. I would also like to add navigation as well. I have found a factory nav unit and hopefully it is compatible and will work with my 05 CTS.

#34 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [sls002] by spyderman4g63

Jul 28, 2008 (7:24 pm)

Replying to: sls002 (Apr 06, 2008 9:28 am)
"So if I understand your post, you were checking the oil every week or every time you filled it with gas, and your car went from full of oil to being 2-3 quarts low in a hundred miles or so? "
 
No. I would say about every 2500-3000 miles the car will be 2-3 quarts low. I am still having problems using oil and coolant and of course the dealer doesn't think anything is wrong.
 
Now I am thinking that i have a gasket problem (intake or heads). As soon as I can get something else to drive for awhile we are going to tear into it.
 
The rear end on the car hums pretty loud at high way speeds also. I thought it may have been the tires, but I got new tires and still humming. To be honest I think the car has a mind of it's own. Some days it doesn't want to idle right. I have to turn it off and back on and it idles (this is very rare). Also about tow weeks ago I back out of the drive way, put the car in drive and the car would not go anywhere. The screen displayed "stability system engaged" and I could only go about 4mph with the whole car vibrating. It seems like the traction/stability system was stuck on. I turn the car off and back on and it was fine since then. I give it another month and something else will decide to act up.

#35 of 64 Re: CTS Quality, Not that good for a Cadillac...???. [spyderman4g63] by sls002

Jul 29, 2008 (11:43 am)

Replying to: spyderman4g63 (Jul 28, 2008 7:24 pm)
While a quart every 1000 miles is a bit high, it may or may not be a problem. However, you should not be using coolant. The dealer needs to see the coolant loss, so you should not replace low coolant, but take it to the dealer and tell them its low. They should check for leaks.

#36 of 64 CTS Rear end problem??? by cher11

Aug 27, 2008 (5:54 pm)

I have a CTS 2005 with 44,000 miles and I just had to have the rear end replaced. Has anyone had a problem like this and should I get an extended warranty for the next 3 years or should I get rid of this car now?? I can't believe this has happened with such low mileage. Any advice or info would be much appreciated. thanks Cher11

Messages Page 4 of 7

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