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Cadillac CTS Engine Problems

662 messages,  Last post on May 25, 2013 at 3:56 PM

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

What is this discussion about? Cadillac CTS, Engine, Sedan

    
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Messages Page 35 of 67

#340 of 662 Re: Engine problems 2006 CTS [05gmlemon] by dallascts

Sep 22, 2011 (8:18 am)

Replying to: 05gmlemon (Sep 17, 2011 8:45 pm)
So I had the same issue with my 2005 CTS and found a fix. Go to the dealer and state that your cadillac is burning through oil at an unreasonable rate. They will ask you to do an oil consumption test, which consists of paying for a new oil change ($90) and then coming back in 1500 miles to see how much oil has been consumed. Here is what I did.... I drove the car like a mad man for the first 1000 miles. Heavy on the gas to burn as much oil as possible. The car can handle the heavy driving and it's actually not a bad idea to burn out the old build up.
 
Then at 1000 miles I removed the oil plug for a few seconds and drained a about a 1/4 of the oil remaining. Place the oil plug back into position and MAKE SURE you have at least enough oil to cover the first hole in the dipstick. Continue driving for another 500 miles to build up gunk on the oil plug so they can't tell you have drained it and make sure to monitor the oil amount along the way so that you don't drop too low.
 
I took the vehicle back to the dealership 1500 miles after the oil change and guess what... They performed the cadillac service needed (about a $3500 repair) for free and my car has run like a champion ever since. Performance is better and you can feel the response difference due to all the new seals etc. I don't lose a drop of oil between changes now and never have any excess oil burn. It was a tricky way to get it resolved but I've had several friends do the same now and we all have great working caddy's. Good luck!

#341 of 662 CTS OIL CONSUMPTION FIX by dallascts

Sep 22, 2011 (8:21 am)

So I had the same issue with my 2005 CTS and found a fix. Go to the dealer and state that your cadillac is burning through oil at an unreasonable rate. They will ask you to do an oil consumption test, which consists of paying for a new oil change ($90) and then coming back in 1500 miles to see how much oil has been consumed. Here is what I did.... I drove the car like a mad man for the first 1000 miles. Heavy on the gas to burn as much oil as possible. The car can handle the heavy driving and it's actually not a bad idea to burn out the old build up.
 
Then at 1000 miles I removed the oil plug for a few seconds and drained a about a 1/4 of the oil remaining. Place the oil plug back into position and MAKE SURE you have at least enough oil to cover the first hole in the dipstick. Continue driving for another 500 miles to build up gunk on the oil plug so they can't tell you have drained it and make sure to monitor the oil amount along the way so that you don't drop too low.
 
I took the vehicle back to the dealership 1500 miles after the oil change and guess what... They performed the cadillac service needed (about a $3500 repair) for free and my car has run like a champion ever since. Performance is better and you can feel the response difference due to all the new seals etc. I don't lose a drop of oil between changes now and never have any excess oil burn. It was a tricky way to get it resolved but I've had several friends do the same now and we all have great working caddy's. Good luck!

#342 of 662 Re: CTS OIL CONSUMPTION FIX [dallascts] by billpaul

Sep 22, 2011 (4:18 pm)

Replying to: dallascts (Sep 22, 2011 8:21 am)
"Then at 1000 miles I removed the oil plug for a few seconds and drained a about a 1/4 of the oil remaining."
 
You fabricated an oil level in order to get Cadillac to work on your problem?
 
How much oil were you actually burning?

#343 of 662 Re: Anybody With Good News? [gm_bigot] by bigjohn281

Sep 22, 2011 (8:49 pm)

Replying to: gm_bigot (Sep 22, 2011 7:03 am)
MAKE SURE IF YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP THIS CAR PLEASE BUY THE EXTENDED WARRANTY. THERE IS ONLY GOOD NEWS YOU SHOW THE DEALERSHIP A COPY OF THESE COMPLAINTS AND THEY GIVE YOU THE EXTENDED WARRANTY.

#344 of 662 cadillac 2006 by chimon1

Sep 22, 2011 (10:46 pm)

i love my cadillac 2006 and it has 106,000 miles on it with no problems except the thrmostat gave up twice. the first time i bought a new one at the dealer and the second one after market at 96,000 miles. now listening to all you guys i am getting exta, extra worried. the cadillac is using way too much synthetic oil. actually i forgot to check for 6 months and luckily i found out when the engine started making weird noises. i measured the oil and the dip stick came out dry three times. as of 9-21-11 i put in 4 quarts of pennzoil synthetic oil.
     At 106,000 miles is it ok to use non-synthetic oil now. thanks guys. let us keep the pressure on GM.
      My first american car was a used ford escort, lasted for 2 years. this is my second american car bought brand new. i am having secon thoughts---will stick to foreign cars

#345 of 662 Re: Anybody With Good News? [gm_bigot] by zebandco

Sep 23, 2011 (3:06 am)

Replying to: gm_bigot (Sep 22, 2011 7:03 am)
The good news is it seems you have escaped the pain many of us have gone through. So far. The really good news is that you should have no trouble trading your car for another year/make/model that does not have this kind of history. Get while the gettin' is good, friend.

#346 of 662 Re: CTS OIL CONSUMPTION FIX [billpaul] by dallascts

Sep 23, 2011 (7:28 am)

Replying to: billpaul (Sep 22, 2011 4:18 pm)
Yes I did. I had to add 1 to 2 quarts between oil changes and with synthetic oil thats ridiculous. EVERYONE with a CTS has this issue of burning oil and the car should not being running that way. I can personally tell you the performance and oil level is 1000x better since the fix. They virtually replace every seal in the engine. I strongly recommend this as an easy way to get your car in proper working condition. Even if you're burning oil like I was they generally come back with a "normal oil consumption" result on the test. Not this time

#347 of 662 Oil Consumption Cause Finally Found? by gm_bigot

Sep 23, 2011 (10:46 am)

I was out on another Cadillac forum and I read a posting from a guy who has a 2005 CTS that was burning a couple of quarts every 1000 miles or so. This guy obviously knows something about cars because he made a modification to his PCV vacuum tube (don't ask me to explain what he did), and apparently the engine no longer drinks oil. So that got me looking around again on the web and I went back to the old reliable: technical service bulletins on the CTS. Apparently one was issued in May 2011 that talks about oil consumption. Finally! Right? It mentions only 2006-2008, but I suspect this can apply to all of model years with the 3.6. At least we now have something to wave in the face of the dealership when they say, "Oh, that's normal" or "We don't know where the oil is going". See below.
 
Make / Models: Model/Build Years: BUICK / ALLURE SUPER 2009BUICK / LACROSSE SUPER 2009BUICK / RAINIER 2004-2007CADILLAC / CTS 2006-2008CADILLAC / CTS-V 2004-2005CADILLAC / ESCALADE 2003-2011CHEVROLET / AVALANCHE 2003-2010CHEVROLET / AVALANCHE 1500 2011CHEVROLET / COLORADO 2009-2011CHEVROLET / CORVETTE 2003-2007CHEVROLET / EXPRESS 2003-2011CHEVROLET / IMPALA 2006-2009CHEVROLET / MONTE CARLO 2003-2007CHEVROLET / SILVERADO 2003-2011CHEVROLET / SSR 2003-2006CHEVROLET / SUBURBAN 2003-2009CHEVROLET / SUBURBAN 1500 2010-2011CHEVROLET / TAHOE 2003-2011CHEVROLET / TRAILBLAZER 2003-2009GMC / CANYON 2009-2011GMC / ENVOY 2003-2009GMC / SANANA 2010GMC / SAVANA 2003-2011GMC / SIERRA 2003-2011GMC / YUKON 2003-2011HUMMER / H2 2004-2010HUMMER / H3 2008-2010HUMMER / HUMMER H2 2003PONTIAC / G8 2008-2009PONTIAC / GRAND PRIX 2005-2008SAAB / 9-7X 2005-2009Service Bulletin Number: PIP-4492P NHTSA Item Number: 10036464
 
Summary:
BUICK/CADILLAC/CHEVROLET/GMC/HUMMER/PONTIAC/SAAB: OIL CONSUMPTION AND/OR EXHAUST SMOKE. POSSIBLE PCV BAFFLE OR LIFTER CONCERN. UPON INSPECTION, OBVIOUS OIL WILL BE FOUND IN THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AND/OR PCV VACUUM TUBE. *PE UPDATED 3/21/11. *PE UPDATED 5/9/11. *PE UPDATED 5/25/11. *PE UPDATED 06/16/2011. *KB UPDATED A SECOND TIME ON 06/16/2011. *KB UPDATED 6/27/11. *PE

#348 of 662 Re: Buy american? [gmcustsvc] by heyburt

Sep 24, 2011 (8:15 am)

Replying to: gmcustsvc (Sep 21, 2011 1:34 pm)
Why is cadillac going to admit this is a crap engine? I dont think so . So can you at least tell me what years will go in my 05 with the least amount of change. I still owe 10k on the crap car. so it has to last till its paid of.

#349 of 662 Re: Anybody With Good News? [gm_bigot] by lww

Sep 29, 2011 (1:11 pm)

Replying to: gm_bigot (Sep 22, 2011 7:03 am)
No good news. My 2005 started using 1 qt every 1000 miles at 55k. I had to have the engine replaced at 87k (covered under extended warranty). New transmission at 125k, new cats/oxy sensors at 130k, new radiator at 150k, new coils at 160k. I now have an apparent ecm issue at 168k (car won't start; key won't come out). My 2005 Sierra has a similar litany of problems. After having owned GM products all 38 years of driving, I'm DONE!

Messages Page 35 of 67

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