The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac DTS. The contact stated while driving at an undisclosed speed, the message "Alternator Not Charging" was displayed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that oil was leaking onto the alternator and exhaust manifold. The alternator was replaced. However, the contact stated while driving at various speeds, there was a significant amount of smoke coming from underneath the vehicle. There was no warning lights illuminated. Additionally, the contact noticed a trail of oil leak in the driveway. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 87,000.
2008 Cadillac DTS electrical problems
39 complaints (45% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 90,000. 1 crash reported.
- owner complaints
- 39
- of this car's complaints
- 45%
- typical mileage
- 90,000
- crashes
- 1
- recalls
- 3
Which part fails
- Instrument cluster/panel2
- Wiring: fuses and circuit breakers1
- Ignition1
- Alternator/generator/regulator1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Cadillac DTS electrical problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2008 Cadillac DTS electrical
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Electrical system: ignition
- What is wrong
- This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2005-2009 Buick LaCrosse, 2006-2011 Buick Lucerne, 2000-2005 Cadillac DeVille, 2006-2011 Cadillac DTS, 2006-2014 Chevrolet Impala, and 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles. In the affected vehicles, the weight on the key ring and road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
- Risk
- If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position will cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.
- Remedy
- GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 23, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1‑800‑521‑7300 (Buick), 1‑800‑458‑8006 (Cadillac), and 1‑800‑222‑1020 (Chevrolet). GM's number for this recall is 14299.
Recall number 14V355000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling certain model year 2006-2009 buick, lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; model year 2008-2009 buick enclave; cadillac cts; model year 2007-2009 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl; saturn outlook; and model year 2009 chevrolet traverse vehicles equipped with a heated washer fluid system (hwfs). A recall was implemented in 2008 to add a fuse to the control circuit harness to address the potential consequences of a printed circuit board (pcb) electrical short. However, there have been new reports of thermal incidents on hwfs modules after this improvement was installed. These incidents resulted from a new failure mode attributed to the device's thermal protection feature. The significance varies from minor distortion to considerable melting of the plastic around the hwfs fluid chamber.
- Risk
- It is possible for the heated washer module to ignite and a fire may occur.
- Remedy
- Dealers will permanently disable and remove the heated washer fluid module. An updated page for the owner manual will be provided and inserted in the owner manual to document that the feature has been permanently disabled and removed from the vehicle. The safety recall began on june 11, 2010. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080, cadillac at 1‑866‑982‑2339, chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438, saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9463 and hummer at 1‑800‑732‑5493 or at the owner center at www.gmownercenter.com.
Recall number 10V240000 · Recall details
Electrical system
- What is wrong
- Gm is recalling 857,735 my 2006-2008 buick lucerne; cadillac dts; hummer h2; my 2007-2008 cadillac escalade, escalade esv, escalade ext; chevrolet avalanche, silverado, suburban, tahoe; gmc acadia, sierra, yukon, yukon xl, saturn outlook; and my 2008 buick enclave vehicles equipped with a heated wiper washer fluid system. A short circuit on the printed circuit board for the washer fluid heater may overheat the control-circuit ground wire.
- Risk
- This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor, or cause smoke increasing the risk of a fire.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse free of charge. The recall began on september 12, 2008. Owners may contact buick at 1‑866‑608‑8080; cadillac at 1‑800‑982‑2339 or http://www.cadillac.com; chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438; saturn at 1‑800‑972‑8876 or http://www.saturn.com, gmc at 1‑866‑996‑9436; or hummer at 1‑800‑732‑5493; or through their website at http://www.gmownercenter.com .
Recall number 08V441000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Non-crash engine compartment fires
In a letter dated august 27, 2008, general motors corp. (gm) notified the federal safety agency that it will conduct a safety recall (the federal safety agency recall number 08v‑441) to address a safety relateddefect that can result in engine compartment fire in approximately 850,000 vehicles equipped with a heated windshield washer fluid option.the subject vehicles of this investigation comprise over three-quarters of the recall population. According to gm, a short circuit on the printed circuit board for the windshield washer fluid heater module may overheat the control-circuit ground wire. This may cause other electrical features to malfunction, create an odor or cause smoke and in rare cases it may cause a fire.as a remedy, gm dealers will install a wire harness with an in-line fuse. In addition to the subject vehicles, several other gm models with the heated windshield washer fluid option are included in recall 08v‑441: my 2006-2008 buick lucerne (manufactured august 2005 through november 2007); my 2008 buick enclave (manufactured february 2007 through april 2007); my 2006-2008 cadillac dts (manufactured may 2007 through november 2007); my 2007-2008 saturn outlook (manufactured august 2006 through april 2007); and my 2007-2008 gmc acadia (manufactured august 2006 through april 2007) vehicles.gm is instructing owners to take their vehicle to a dealer for service if they experience symptoms of windshield washer heater module short circuits. Gm's recall resolves the safety defect concerns pursued by this investigation.this engineering analysis is closed.
EA08010
What 2008 Cadillac DTS owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Rear fuse block fuel pump relay shorted out melted fuse block...could catch back seat on fire and very close to gas tank.
The car gives off false oil pressure information on cars message center. I replaced the sensor as discribed, verified my oil level, cleaned the connector to oil pressure sensor and still every 2 or 3 mintues I get engine oil pressure low, stop vehichle. When I stop the oil level is great and the oil is very clean. This has been going on for over 3 months. If the oil pressure was low the engine would have siezed up by now. This is ongoing issue with these 08 cadillac dts 4.7l northstar engines.
Rear passenger fuse block (p/n 19116816) gets melted by a faulty fuse pump relay burning up due to a faulty design within the fuel pump system. Fuel pump putting a lot of resistance on the wiring, relay won't blow, but it melts. Without correcting this, the fuse box will be affected once the fuse pump relay overheats and eventually melts and burns. Car was stationed. This is unsafe by any means. The fire could have spread and caused the seats to burn and worse, it's right by the gas tank.
My 2008 cadillac dts woudl not start, I found the fuel pump relay to be burnt. I replaced and was able to drive for 150 miles, same thing happened again. Replaced the relay again in order to get home. I then replaced the fuel pump, same thing happened. Then I researched that this is a known problem and that the fuse box under the rear seat needs to be replaced. Fuel pump relay keeps burning up under the rear seat, potential fire hazard. It will continue to burn until you remove it.
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 cadillac dts. The contact smelled a rotting odor inside the vehicle and the radio remained in valet mode. Also, the turn signals failed to activate correctly and the headlights failed to illuminate to full capacity. The contact also experienced several other electrical failures with the vehicle. The contact took the vehicle to les standford chevrolet (located at 21730 michigan ave, dearborn, mi 48124, 313‑444‑7537), but it was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failures and stated that the VIN was not included in a recall the approximate failure mileage was 219,000.
Car stopped operating all of a sudden. Battery charging issue.
2008 cadillac dts (100k mi) was parked and engine would turn over but not start. I determined that there was no fuel to engine by checking schrader valve on fuel rail. Proceeded to check fuel pump (fp) fuse (ok) and fp relay (burned on pin 30 along with fuse block). Replaced fp relay; however, after a few minutes from vehicle start, the relay heats to about 200 degrees f. After reading several forums, this is not uncommon: it appears the fuse block (under rear seat ). Is defective. I have ordered gm block 19116810 which apparently supersedes the original factory gm block 13599106. This problem clearly poses many safety issues: fire, engine shut down while driving, etc. Gm needs to take ownership of this problem. Moreover, I have also experienced the burned out connector (under passenger seat) for the heated seats. Fortunately, I did not have the heated windshield washer option which also experienced electrical issues. Shame on gm for not correcting these engineering design defects. Safety should be paramount with these types of issues on your vehicles especially your premier brand (cadillac).
Tl* the contact owns a 2008 cadillac dts. The contact stated that the window washer fluid was leaking and could potentially short out the other electrical components of the rear windshield wiper. The failure was burning up the fuses and could cause a fire. The vehicle was experiencing the same failure as listed in the federal safety agency campaign number: 08v441000 (electrical system). The contact spoke with britain chevrolet cadillac (4495 interstate hwy 30, greenville, tx 75402, (903) 274-4401) and was informed to bring in the vehicle. The contact would be charged for the repairs. The manufacturer was not contacted. An independent mechanic diagnosed that the entire fuse box and harness located under the back seat needed to be replaced. The mechanic would not perform any repairs due to a potential fire. The failure mileage was 200,000.
Tried to start my car and it would turn over but not crank. Replaced the fuel pump and fuel pump relay. Car started and I drove about 10 miles and it cut off while driving. Since we replaced the relay my husband took out the back seat to check it to find the fuse box too hot to touch and smelled like burning wires. He disconnected the battery to avoid a fire. This could have been a disaster had he not had the forethought to check the fuel relay. It was just before causing a fire and we had two passengers in the back seat.
Questions about the 2008 Cadillac DTS electrical
Does the 2008 Cadillac DTS have electrical problems?
Owners have filed 39 complaints about the electrical of the 2008 Cadillac DTS, 45% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2008 Cadillac DTS electrical problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 90,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2008 Cadillac DTS electrical?
Yes, 3 recalls: 14V355000, 10V240000, 08V441000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Cadillac DTS have the most electrical problems?
The Cadillac DTS model years with the most electrical complaints are 2006 (79 complaints), 2008 (39 complaints) and 2007 (28 complaints).
Other 2008 Cadillac DTS problems
Engine 16Fuel system 11Lights 7Airbags 6Seat belts 6Body 5Steering 5Brakes 4Visibility 4Driver assistance 3Suspension 2Transmission 2Wheels 2Acceleration 1Tires 1
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