Was driving in the left lane climbing a mountain on interstate 24 about 60 MPH when I noticed the car felt funny. Proceeded to get back into right lane just as I lost all power. Was able to get on the shoulder safely. Had to have my car towed 45 miles away to a cadillac dealership only to be given an estimate of $12,000. They told me the timing chain had broke and caused the entire engine to blow. The service advisor also told me there had been numerous reports to cadillac for the same problem on the catera. Cadillac customer service has refused to make the necessary repairs even though the owner's manual says the timing belt shouldn't have to be changed for 100,000 miles or 96 mos whichever comes first. This is definitely a safety hazard! If I had been going down this mountain instead of up there is no doubt in my mind I would have been in a serious accident. Please help! Cadillac needs to do something before someone is seriously injured or killed.
1997 Cadillac Catera engine complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 75, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Vehicle stalls while driving 55 MPH. Dealer / manufacturer were not notified. Feel free to provide any further information.
While driving at highway speeds engine check light illuminated. Driver lost power of engine, making it hard to brakes and steer vehicle. Driver had vehicle towed to dealer, and dealer stated timing belt tensioner had failed. Please provide any further information.
Currently cadillac has no published information regarding the replacement of the timing belt for this vehicle. It is my understanding that in speaking with various dealer across texas, that the catera has been experiencing failure to the tensioner. When the tensioner breaks, the timing belt then either breaks as well or falls off, causing the engine to suffer sever damage. I am currently taking up the issue with cadillac because the price quoted to me by the dealer far exceeds the value of the vehicle. If you have any questions regarding this issue or can lend any assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.
While traveling heard noise coming from engine. Soon after ,engine stalled. Vehicle was towed. Technician stated that timing chain needed to be replaced. Please provide further information.
While driving approximately 65 MPH, the vehicle's timing belt tensioner assembly exploded. This caused the engine to stop in the fast lane of a fivelane interstate. The vehicle was towed to a cadillac dealership. The service personnel are aware that this event has happened to numerous catera models! Cadillac customer service refuses to assist customer in making expensive repairs. This should be considered a safety hazard to all catera owners! Please help cadillac do the right thing before someone gets hurt or killed!
Driving on highway about 60mph when funny ticking noise occurred and engine stopped and did not respond. Brought it to dealer to find out that the timing belt broke / pulley failed, causing engine to be totalled.
I took my car in for the 75,000 mile check up and advised dealership I was hearing a noise. They advised car was fine. I paid $200 for the work. The next week the car was making the same noise, I took it back to the same dealership and this time they said it was the belt tensioner. I paid $280 to have that fixed. The very next week, while driving on the hov lane to take my baby to daycare, the car stopped accelerating and went dead while I was going 65mph. The car was inoperable and towed to the dealership. They then advised that the timing chain had broke ruining the entire engine at the cost of $8000. I then began doing research and found 6 other complaints similar to mine on msn carpoint and about 3 on the federal safety agency site. I believe gm was aware of the problems this car has and should have recalled it and made the necessary repairs. I feel very fortunate because my child and I could have been seriously injured because of this defect. Gm needs to take responsibility for the inadequacies of their vehicles. Does someone have to die before action is taken?
Faulty timing belt caused massive engine damage resulting in loss of power on the road.
Defective pulleys caused the timing belt to come off its track. Bent valves do not allow proper compression to give the vehicle power so it will not start or run. Visual signs of wear on the pulleys show apparently bad craftmanship.
While driving 60-65 MPH engine check light light illuminated. Then, vehicle completely shutdown, cause unknown. Please give any further details.
Timing belt failed due to faulty water pump, and resulted in extensive valve train damage. The consumer stated that the problem occurs frequently.
Tensioner pulley failed @ 65mph on expressway. When tensioner pulley let go proceeded to bend valves; damage and break pistons causing one piston to become imbedded in the engine head. Engine is a loss. New engine cost 9500. We began to coast in highway traffic in the speed lane possibly causing an accident. Fornately there was none. Contacted dealer. No response no return phone calls. Contacted cadillac cust serv. They said could not assist me that we should have had the timing serviced @ 60k miles per manual. We never recieved a manual with car.one was requested from cadillac cust serv within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle. It was never recieved. No notice for service was sent.
After timing belt went bad vehicle would stall out without any prior warning. Consumer has contacted dealer.
Timing belt bolts have worn out prematurely. *ak a new tensioner was insalled, however the results are still the same.
Vehichle quit running, when brake applied while cruise control was on, at 68mph in heavy traffic . Coasted over to median. My husband was driving and pulled over to the left, had he gone to the right we would have been hit by the south bound traffic. When the engine failed. The car would not restart, making grinding noise when attempting to restart engine. Called aaa for tow.(flat bed) left sitting in median in heavy traffic. Local police stopped and osp also. In speaking with cadillac customer service we were told that there was a recall #00042 on this vehichle, of which we were never notified. I was told that bond and rubber hub pulley may fail. 04/25/2001. Informed by cadilac dealer engine needs to be replaced.($9,500) this car can stop without prior warning when the engine fails. This could be a potential hazard when traveling at high speeds, possibly causing a serious accident. We were very fortunate! Customer service at cadillac is not returning our calls or acknowleding the recall. How many people are having this problem with this car? Depending on when this happens , such a failure could be a potential hazard. We have had the engine replaced through a private individual and it is available for inspection. The problem was that the bearings came out of the pulley that holds the timing belt. The belt was not broken....we need to know if our new engine, which also is from a '97 catera will have the same problem at 60,000miles...thank you for checking into this. Fjf
Car was making a grinding sound under hood. Was told timing chain tensioner was almost broken. Dlr replaced tensioner, timing chain, and idler pulley. Car has had 6 alignments since 10/13/00. Car still pulls to left and wears out tires prematurely. Car has 47,000 miles on itand has 3rd set of tires on it. Car had a oil leak on valve cover gaskets. Dlr repaired and replaced. Car hesitates and surges forward. Dlr has not found problem. Car has abnormal shift patterns. Sometimes shift down to a lower gear causing car to lose power and speed, then shifts back to overdrive without depressing accelerator. Dlr has not found a problem. There is a sound from rear of car. Sounds like bad shocks. Dlr replaced frame support bushings and lower control arms. Noise still there. There are too many problems to report here. Car has serious problems and has been to dealership for extensive warranty work 9 times within our 7 months of ownership. The last visit, the sealership had the car for 15 days trying to repair the car, and now, most of the same things that were suppose to be repaired are still faulty. Today, the heating system went out. There is no heat in the car now. We will be returning back to dealership this morning. We have written the manufacturer and will be sending that letter off today also.
1997 cadillac catera problems, vehicle was in the shop for repairs 4 times in the 6 weeks of ownership, right side front door would not open, left side front door would not open, tail light assembly out, engine caught on fire while driving on beltway (insurance estimate a total loss)
The back of the main engine block is leaking oil. * et
No summary
Steering problem not corrected as of 5/19/2000. Servicing dealer has acknowledged popping noise in steering but to date (05/19/2000) has not corrected the problem. Servicing dealer has recommended waiting until the problem worsens with steering. All other items have been corrected by servicing dealership.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
This is a seriously unsafe vehicle . No safety defect (s) mentioned in summary.
While driving engine crankshaft/pulley came off, causing the vehicle to lose all power.ause unknown. Please give any further details.
Car was in to dealer on 5/25/1999 (mileage 7876) when I complained of engine squeal, nothing done
Coolant fan. Sensor in coolant tank too sensitive?
Battery replacement 2 months after purchase; tensioner pulley disintegrated; fog lights have been replaced twice
The timing belt broke while consumer was waiting at a stop light causing extensive damage t0 the engine. Nlm
This car has had ongoing problems with various electrical components. The dealer is often unable to replicate the problem while in the repair shop. The car has been serviced for electrical malfunctions of various nature 19 times, and in the repair shop 44 days. It has been out of the shop 2 days and again the door locks will not let us in the vehicle. This started with the rear door lock not letting us out of or into the car. The problem now affects all four doors. They cannot be locked or unlocked using the remote, the key, or manually. We therefore must exit and enter using the windows. The windows (all4) have also malfunctioned. The dash lights ABS, traction control, replace wiper fluid, illuminate when there is not a problem. The o2 sensor has been replaced. The alignment on the wheels has also caused repeated problems and I have replace 4 tires. The car intermittently dies while driving. The dealer is unable to replicate the problem and says cadillacs just do that sometimes! My daughter ended up in the median of 71 hwy after the car died at 70 miles per hr. The dealer has replaced the battery, the starter, many various doorlock parts and harness wiring, ABS wiring, traction control wiring, and worked on the ignition switch. The problems still occur. We now carry a hammer with us to break out of the car in an emergency should the doorlocks not work. *ak( dot number: tire size: fits cater )
Steering wheel locked up causing accident. Yh
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