My 2005 cadillac cts-v has been sent to the cadillac dealership numerous times concerning rear differential noise and clunking. After cadillac claimed that the problem was fixed by replacing the drive shaft, on the same night the rear differential blew up under normal driving condition. The car was sent back to cadillac and was denied warranty under the accusation of harsh driving or "hot rodding". There was no in-depth inspection or a mechanical and material analysis to determine the actual point of failure. The tech representative simple conducted a bias conclusion and accused me of "hot rodding".
2005 Cadillac CTS transmission complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 82, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Rear differential failure of 2005 cadillac cts. *jb I have a 2005 cts and experienced clunking while driving. The car was returned to dealer multiple times with complaint of clunking noise. All times the car was returned and said to be in proper operable order. I finally decided to contact cadillac direct and was told by customer service to bring my vehicle for yet another appointment. They changed the rear differential finally and stated that there was complete failure due to leak of fluid. [smch from e-mail]
(1) driving car from wet gravel incline up onto pavement. (2) loud noise from rear, car began to roll back down hill. Would not move further. (3) towed to dealership, rear differential and driveshaft damaged. Dealer refused to fix under warranty. Only owned car 2 weeks & bought extended warranty.
I have had 3 rear differentials replaced in the two years of ownership for my 2005 cadillac cts-v. They were evaluated by my dealership to be faulty and were replaced under warranty. Currently, my 4th differential is not giving me a problem but I am confident it is simply a matter of time.
- degradation of the rear carrier assembly (e.e. Rear differential). - replacement of rear carrier assembly 3 times (on 4th differential by 45k miles) - no catastrophic failures, but on all occasions carrier assembly became so noisy that it could be heard with the windows down at speed with the radio on. Had it replaced before a failure, as the car was under warranty. On the 3rd differential, the pinion seal began to leak also.
Car shutters when driving up a grade. Has been in for service 4 times this month and still not fixed.
I have a 2005 cadillac cts-v my first issue was back in 05/05 8,200 miles on car while driving car would not allow me to shift or change gears the car stalled and rolled to a stop. I called for road service 2 hours from home they towed car to an area dealer who later called to inform me the rear differential failed and gm had refused to pay for service. I had the car towed to my local dealer at my expense, at my dealers request. They informed me that gm said the car had excessive tire wear and damage was caused by driver abuse or aggressive driving I was forced to hire an attorney and pay for a vehicle I couldn't drive for several months. Late in august 05 cadillac agreed to pay for the repair. 01/07 27,000 miles I was driving the cts-v changed gears from 2nd to 3rd approx 30 MPH heard a clunk and rear end started to whine I parked the car, called road side service ,they towed the car to the dealer. Customer service rep called a few days later he said the rear end has failed again and needs complete replacement the hangar baring is bent, the main bolt is broke in two pieces and is recommending a complete new rear end he also said gm refused to pay for service to his surprise. Here we go again. My local dealer has the car it has not been repaired as of yet, so yes the old parts are available. The cadillac cts-v rear differential is weak and may break causing this car to skid or suddenly stop, causing an accident, injury,or death. Cadillac knows of problem and has provided some customers with warranty repair, offered 100,000 mile extended warranties for others and yet denied repair for customers with similar problems. This rear differential is under rated for this cars horse power and was designed for use in the standard cts version of this car the rear tires have also been a problem showing early signs of wear. I had to replace my first set front and rear at 8,500 miles, these tires are worst rated tire by consumers at www.tirerack.com and cadillacfaq.com
Purchased my new 2005 cts in jan. 2005. Wonderful car. Wine began in the rear end of the car almost immediately. The dealer replaced the pinion gear, seals etc . Noise persisted. Had the dealer check for the noise again about may .'05 , they could not hear any noise. It continues to get louder especially under light acceleration in the 40 to 50 kilometer range. It is unnerving and I fear it is going to fail . Not a nice thing for such a great car !the dealer is less than interested in resolving the matter.
2005 cts v . . . Noticed howling whining noise coming from rear end. Cadillac has replaced two rear differentials in my car and attempted to fix the whining noise three other time and I still have the noise coming from the rear end. My car only has 12,000 miles and needs a third rear differential.
The differential assembly in my 2005 cadillac cts-v was whining after only 5,000 miles and had to be replaced.
Several rear end differential failures. 1 at 4000 miles, the second at 8000 miles. And the third is loud and makes noises from the day I got it back. Gm tried to void and not cover the rear end so I had to take it to another state for them to fix it for me. They just start out quiet and then get louder and louder and louder. The last one died with my family in the vehicle at 40 MPH durring regular driving. Rear locked up then broke up in half. It killed the driveshaft and several other parts when it locked up. I have had 20+ gm cars in my lifetime and this one is the worst built rear end ever. If I tried, I bet I could kill it in one full throttle launch. But, of coarse wont try that cause it will break.... Also, needed a wheel alignment, clutch update, and several other things done. The radio acts funny and paint on one button is comming off, and my head liner lights dont work. Also I have had to replace all 4 tires 2 times already with factory replacements and I only have 10,000 miles on mine???
Dt*: the contact stated there are several things wrong with the vehicle. The check coolant light and the check engine light illuminated on the dashboard. The dealership determined the radiator was damage and attempted to repair the radiator four times. The first three repairs performed by the dealer in an attempt to repair the radiator were unavailable. The fourth time, the dealership determined the problem was with the water pump and the water pump was replaced. The fuel pump was also found to be defective and was replaced. The check engine light illuminated on the dashboard prior to the fuel pump problems. The drive shaft was defective causing the vehicle to become inoperative. The crs light illuminated in the vehicle. There was an unknown part replaced to repair the crs light. The driver's power window worked intermittently making a grinding noise and the dealer repaired the window. The wiring was in backwards on the passenger seat causing only half of the seat to move. The dealership corrected the wiring to repair the seat.
Cts-v rear differential whinning at 35-40 MPH gm did replace it. I had a 2003 cts and the rear differential locked up while driving 35 MPH and skidded about 20 feet. Gm replaced it 3 times and finally bought the car back. One year later we bought the 2005 cts-v and its doing the same thing, gm needs to figure this out before someone dies....
Differential began whining at 500 miles. Was told the noise was normal by the cadillac dealer. Rear differential failed at 7500 miles with the dealer informing me I had abused the car.
Rear end whining noise (now broken), and clutch/drive train noise.
Rear end leaking and wining replaced rear diff.
Rear differential makes whining noise which is getting progressively worse. Car only has 4,000 miles.
1-whine in rear end between 44 and 47 MPH 2-noise got louder as time went on (at 6700 miles) 3-rear end was replaced.
I have a 2005 cadillac ctsv with a faulty rear under-engineered rear carrier unit that supports the rear differential. It is leaking. Cadillac has replaced these units with the same faulty under-engineered units manufactured by getrag with 2006 units. This solution has been nothing more than a band-aid and the result of the leaking is faulty engineering as determined by several highly respected engineering companies such as lingenfelter and katech that gm does there actual outsourcing to. I am very concerned to drive this vehicle out of fear that the rear end will fail and cause me to lose control of the vehicle and cause property damage and possible fatal bodily injury. Rather than cadillac issuing a recall to replace this unit with a properly engineered unit to support the rear wheel torque that is generated by this vehicle; they have instead hid behind a technical service bulletin and handle these cases on a case by case basis. I remain hopeful that you will take action before we are dealing with another firestone tire issue as cadillac was made aware by getrag that this rear carrier differential was not "up to par" with the engine that they installed in the 2004 and 2005 cadillac ctsv.
August 2005, 4 months after purchasing car, both rear tires worn out from the inside out with 4000 miles on the car, took car in for warranty on tires and rear end, gm denied claim. Had to purchase 2 new tires and have the frame aligned. January 2006, car slightly hits curb and right rear causing no damage to tire and scrap to wheel, rear differently broken and axle, again gm denies claim.
Events leading to failure: no abuse, no tire burning. Vehicle used for commuting and job related purposes. Problems & resolutions: 7/11/2005 7/18/2005 problem shifting - dealer could not verify sunroof rattling - dealer could not verify right-rear sail panel broken - warranty repaired pixels burn on nav screen - nav unit replaced wheels scratched - dealer paid for repair front panel loose - replaced loose panel 7/25/2005 7/27/2005 left-rear panel broken - warranty repaired competition mode not working - warranty repaired dash panel loose - warranty repaired 8/22/2005 8/24/2005 wheel hop - service bulletin warranty repair hard to put in reverse - dealer says normal grinding when shifting - aligned exhaust system sunroof rattle - dealer could not verify sunroof material loose - warranty repaired 10/19/2005 10/23/2005 fuel gauge malfunction - warranty repaired 11/21/2005 11/23/2005 sunroof rattle - dealer could not verify drivetrain rough - dealer could not verify clunk when shifting - dealer could not verify car pulls to the right - tires bald @ 9000 miles battery failure - warranty repaired grinding in 5th gear - dealer could not verify 11/29/2005 12/1/2005 rattle from rear - warranty repair suspension right-rear panel broken - warranty repair; dealer warned this would not be covered under warranty anymore as "someone" is braking the panels on purpose 2/6/2006 2/8/2006 clunk from rear - dealer replaced differential/drivetrain unit under warranty. 5th gear sometimes hits reverse - could not verify grinding noise in reverse - dealer forgot to check unit won't play cds - replaced navigation/radio 2/15/2005 2/17/2006 grinding noise in reverse - dealer replaced transmission under warranty; area rep advised they will not replace future failures. Competition mode not working - warranty repaired.
Failed rear differential: case cracked, spilling differential oil onto the rear of my car, rear wheels, street. Car began to grind, had to limp to dealer, still in shop after 1 week with no word on when it will be fixed. *jb thankfully no injuries, but 2 quarts of oil dumped onto the exhaust, tires and street could have been a major problem.
I have a 2005 cadillac cts-v with 17800 miles. It has developed a whine in the rear differential. Upon investigating further, I found this has not been unusual for this model. (gm has used the same differential in this car as they put in the base cts model, which has significantly less torque) upon taking the car to the gm dealer, they said they would have to replace the differential, but would have to await parts to do so. They are to call me when they get the parts in stock. They also said the clutch has been updated and have ordered a new clutch also.
Rear whine in transmission, dealer states is normal.
I was simply driving "normally" and a "clunk" was heard from the rear of the car. The vehicle was not drivable. It had to be put on a flat bed truck and taken to the dealer. The right hand half shaft broke it two pieces and destroyed the differential in the process.
Whining from rear end. Rear differential replaced.
The differential in my car has started to whine after ~11k miles despite, perhaps, the least abusive driving that is reasonably possible, especially considering that this car is a cts-v. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. After a little bit of investigation, it appears that gm has used an under-engineered part for its differential for reasons I'm not real certain of. Multiple failures are being reported all across the country, many with similar driving habits that I have. The cts-v differential is a limited slip 3.73 application and requires ~ 7% friction modified oil. Such fluid was changed several thousand miles ago as a precautionary measure and the proper oil was added. I plan on taking my car in for evaluation/service in the near future, but I believe that gms decision to install a clearly known "bad" part is wholly egregious.
Took delivery may, 2005. In less than three months, with approximately 1,500 miles, differential began to whine at speeds between 45 and 50 MPH, once up to normal operating temperature. Vehicle currently has ~5,200 miles. Differential now whines between 40 and 55 MPH. There seems to be a consensus among many cts owners that this condition is a precursor to complete, and sometimes sudden, differential failure.
1-rear end wine high pitch 2-rear differential defect 3-replaced with an 06 differential & three weeks latter leaking oil.
Vehicle has moderate to severe wheel hop during acceleration or when roads are wet or slick, causing some lose of control. Rear differential had loud whine and is prone to catastrophic failure.
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