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Engine & cooling

2012 Cadillac CTS Engine problems

Owners have filed 6 complaints about the 2012 Cadillac CTS's engine & cooling with NHTSA - 9% of all its complaints, most recently on September 30, 2020. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.

Complaints
6
Recalls
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths
0

Engine complaints

SteeringEngine & cooling

My car was brought in for vibration at alderman cadillac in meriden I took it in and come to find out, it was the power steering and a motor mount. The dealer asked me if I wanted to take the car after it was fixed although he told me that it wouldn't be safe to drive. I received the vehicle 3 days later and the problem was still there. My steering wheel was also loose and the alignment was off. I took it back to the dealer withing 20 hours to tell them that it was not fixed and that the car all of a sudden drives...

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totally different and not in a good way. The manager of the service department told me that they can't fix the car because it's too much work. I did not feel safe driving my vehicle which I told the dealer about 5 times. That did not matter to them at all. The dealer argued me down and I told them that I will not drive my vehicle in the position it was in. I will continue to go as far as I need to do get this unsafe situation handled. I do not appreciate this. I trusted in cadillac and I will never go back there again.

Filed Incident Steering · EngineNHTSA 11361939
Engine & cooling

The car began cutting off unexpectedly when stopping. The mechanic told us the timing chain was faulty. The car barely has 65,000 miles on it and has primarily been driven to work only, averaging 20 miles a day! We contacted the company but they have not recalled the timing chain on this particular car. It has on older models so I wanted to report to have the newer models further researched as well. This is a huge safety concern as intersections can be dangerous for an unpredictable car.

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 11301395
SuspensionEngine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 cadillac cts. While driving at an unknown speed, the rear driveshaft and the support bearing caused the vehicle to shake violently. The vehicle was taken to cadillac norwood (700 boston providence hwy, norwood, ma 02062) where it was diagnosed that the support bearing needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired. A few days later, while driving, the engine overheated. The vehicle was taken back to the same dealer where it was diagnosed that the water pump needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 86,478.

Filed Incident Suspension · EngineNHTSA 11092729
Engine & cooling

The car ignition switch would sometimes automatic cut off by itself. I have notified this cadillac dealer about this car several times, even with the engine sounds like it is about to blow up, I don't think they believed me because I was upset about a car that the entire car had ben painted inside and out, motor and all, but I quests when something happens , then they will believe me. *Js

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10617421
Engine & cooling

Tl* the contact owns a 2012 cadillac cts. The contact stated that while at a complete stop, the engine warning lamp illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the ecm was defective and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 28,837 and the current mileage was 30,200. The consumer stated when he attempted to accelerate, the vehicle stalled. He attempted to re-start the...

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vehicle, but to no avail. The vehicle was flat-bedded to the dealer. The dealer replaced the ecm unit. However, on may 7, 2014, while making a left turn, the vehicle stalled again. When he tried to re-start the vehicle, the engine started to shake and vibrate. Once again, the vehicle was towed to the dealer. However, the dealer was unable to find a problem. Updated 06/16/14

Filed Incident EngineNHTSA 10587239
Engine & cooling

I took my car through a car wash and afterwards, the traction control system indicated a failure on the dash warning light. At the same time the engine lost significant power, and I'm told by the dealer that this is due to inhibiting half of the injectors if the tc system fails. The tc system "healed itself" after the car dried out for a day and this is not the focus of my complaint. Anyone can drive a car safely without a traction control system in operation, however, a non-responsive engine due to the...

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programmed shutdown of half of the injectors is extremely dangerous. The car was barely able to accelerate in street traffic, and if the tc failure had happened on the freeway, I would have been in a very bad situation, unable to maintain safe speed just to get off of the freeway. This is a design flaw and should be re-evaluated. *Tr updated 05/22/2012 *js

Filed Incident Traction control system · EngineNHTSA 10458437

Cadillac CTS engine complaints by year

CTS engine problems, every year

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Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked . Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data

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