Cadillac CTS Timing chain

[btx5mg]

Hi all Pete here from London England, It has been a little while since my last post, i have had my UK spec 3.6 CTS for just over a year now and happy to say all is well, i had a letter from GM in July of 2011 for a recall on my rear diff seal & my front brakes hose to have a mod done on them. Other then that shes been great. How ever i have heard some worrying news that 3.6 CTS & SRX have been having to have there timing chian replaced on low mile cars. My CTS has just over 17000 miles on it. Do any of you 3.6 CTS SRX or STS Drives, have you had any problems with this issue.

Have just called the one and only Cadillac dealer in the the uk and gave them my vin number for my 2007 CTS 3.6, They tell me the car was made in may 2006. And they have no info on any UK spec gen 1 CTS 3.6 with timing chain issue, and none of the 230 + gen 1 CTS in the Uk have had the chain fail or have any recalls for this issue. But they tell me the is a issue for 3.6 2008 cars to have the engine module reprogramed weather that is both SRX STS and CTS he did not say. Still i will be keeping an eye on mine and listening for any rattles . Cheers Pete

[Logan]

"They tell me the car was made in may 2006"

That does not sound correct. Typically the model year (MY) changes in July at most GM plants. So 2006 MY production would end in very late June 2006....and the 2007 MY production would start in mid July 2006 after the standard 2 week summer shut down at most GM plants.

On US cars...there should be a FMVSS certification label on the drivers (left) door or door jam. It will have the production month and year printed on it.

[btx5mg]

I have just checked my door sills/jams the is three white labels on the drives side the right on my car, two has the vin code on it the other have weights etc. And on the left side the is the psi inflation data.

The car was registed new in the UK in feb 2008, Hence the 57 Reg plate which runs from september 07 to march o8. But it must have been kicking around for quite sometime i know they all took a while to sell god knows why as there great VFM over a BMW. The is only a hand full over here i had a vin check done and it is one of only 12 with the exact same spec.

[cdgrinci]

I have heard of some 3.6L engines with cam chain problems. Cadillac has reprogrammed the OLM (oil life monitor) in some vehicles/years but I think a lot of the cam chain failures have occurred when the engines have been run down on oil (two quarts low and lower) and have stressed the chain; (there was also some discussion that, a supplier, had provided some sub-standard chains but I don't think that was proven to be a fact). I think you'll be fine as long as you keep your oil level topped off. But I would remain in contact with your dealer if other TSB (technical service bulletins) are received.

[BodybyFisher]

I had a friend have one go in a 2008, not sure of the engine.

[cassilei]

Hi! I recently just experienced a catastrophe with my 2007 Cadillac CTS. I had not heard about any timing chain recalls nor had my dealership notified me. My car has only 50,000miles on it and my timing chain broke while on the interstate going 70mph, it caused significant damage. Prior to this happening I took my car up to the local Cadillac dealership when my check engine light was on. When it said something about the cam shaft they replaced a sensor. Then when it read other codes (I am unsure of which) they assured me everything would be fine. My check engine light would come on intermittently. I am a female and feel like I was blown off. Now my car is in another city in pieces with a huge bill in order to fix it. I have a claim out to GM, still waiting to hear back. The local Cadillac dealership has not been helpful. They just quoted me an even more expensive price to fix the car. There is no paperwork stating they cleared my check engine light. They would clear it but not document it. Wishing now I would have made sure about documentation. Anyone have any suggestions? I went as far as to call a salvage yard in desperation to get some money for my car since I can’t afford the experience to fix it.

[Bruce Nunnally]

Hi Cassilei - sorry to hear your CTS suffered a timing chain failure. Where is the CTS? What was the quote to rebuild the engine? I think it is smart to ask GM Customer Service for assistance.

[Logan]

There are some special warranties etc related to this engine and replacement timing chains.

http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=42286

[Bruce Nunnally]

cassilei can you message me your vin, mileage, contact info, and name of servicing Dealership? i know you contacted GM but I can ask Cadillac Customer Service also. Or if you prefer you can DM them on twitter at @CadillacCustSvc

[Bruce Nunnally]

Customer Service writes:

thank you for bringing this to our attention. We’d be more than happy to assist this customer with his or her timing chain concern. If this customer would like us to reach out to the involved dealership, please have him or her send us an email to socialmedia@gm.com. The customer can also contact us here if that is more convenient. ^CK

[cassilei]

Bruce,

My car in currently in Tallahasse, FL. The Cadillac dealership there has been very helpful. I gave my rep the information provided here about the 10 year/120,000 mile warranty on the timing chain. They are looking into it, suppose to hear from them later today. I am suppose to hear back from GM on Monday. The quote to rebuild my engine was $6,500. My local dealership (that totally ignored the codes my car had) quoted me $5,000 but I had to get it to them and I owe Tallahassee money for the engine breakdown.....so not much of a deal. Plus I don't really have a lot of confidence in them. I didn't think about contacting Cadillac. I will give that a try Monday. Thank you.

Logan,

Thanks. I read that post. Hoping that is true about the warranty. Looking into it.