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Catera problems
Greetings! My family owns a 1998 Catera which has
had several problems (autoleveling putting the car
at a 20% angle, sun-roof failing, wipers failing,
and now...). Recently, the differential went
(they
opened up the sealed unit & said that we must have
been doing something because the fluid had
evaporated... if the unit is sealed, how the heck
can it evaporate?). At around the same time the
tires had to be replaced due to "uneven wear".
Because the tires wore unevenly, GM claims we have
somehow abused the car and will not pay for the
differential repair. I learned from a friend that
many Catera had issues with uneven wear on the
tires because of misallignment coming off the
assembly line - and GM KNOWS ABOUT THIS and is
still using it against us (and denies chronic
issues)! Anyone have any more information about
this (or similar) issues that they could share?
My
buddy said he saw info' about the uneven wear on a
website somewhere, but we've both failed to find
it since.
We're going to arbitration in the next couple of
weeks and I need evidence to prove it ain't our
fault!
Thanks in advance!
had several problems (autoleveling putting the car
at a 20% angle, sun-roof failing, wipers failing,
and now...). Recently, the differential went
(they
opened up the sealed unit & said that we must have
been doing something because the fluid had
evaporated... if the unit is sealed, how the heck
can it evaporate?). At around the same time the
tires had to be replaced due to "uneven wear".
Because the tires wore unevenly, GM claims we have
somehow abused the car and will not pay for the
differential repair. I learned from a friend that
many Catera had issues with uneven wear on the
tires because of misallignment coming off the
assembly line - and GM KNOWS ABOUT THIS and is
still using it against us (and denies chronic
issues)! Anyone have any more information about
this (or similar) issues that they could share?
My
buddy said he saw info' about the uneven wear on a
website somewhere, but we've both failed to find
it since.
We're going to arbitration in the next couple of
weeks and I need evidence to prove it ain't our
fault!
Thanks in advance!
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
Differential fluid does not evaporate from within the differential case. There must have been a leak or the unit was improperly filled in the first place. Differential fluid is not a volatile liquid. Evaporation is not an issue even if the case were open to the atmosphere.
It seems like you have a good case for warranty repair, but they are making you work for it.
This is ridiculous. Makes me wonder if I ever want to buy one of these cars.
There are two topics in our Sedans conference that you should check out, here are links:
Cadillac Catera (Topic #3779)
Cadillac Catera Owners (Topic #3092)
I'm sure someone in one of those topics can help you out. This conference focuses on maintenance and repair issues for vehicles our members already own.
Good luck!
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
They are plastic. The fuel door broke, its plastic. The Catera will not pull hills in the
snow, otherwise it handles fine. My panel lights keep going out and the air bag had to be replaced.
The cooling system leaked, and the car always shows its running hot in the extreme heat. The final touch is that your front brakes are going to
cost you about $600.00. Cadillac claims you have
to replace the rotors as well as the pads even if the pads are not completely worn. Hope this helps.
Camry Problems (Topic #597)
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
We had problems with the thermostat and the coolant. The car was in the shop for a month for that one.
Did you know that if your brakes need to be fixed, they have to replace the whole brake system? Something related to the engineering style of this system. The warranty had just run out so we had a $1800 bill for tires and brakes on a one year old car. We heard the same abuse of car story too. Does GMAC think drivers buy Cateras and start mistreating cars? Funny, the four cars I owned before were not abused. I have a 92 Honda Accord that has a tiny maintenance file.
Two days after we picked up the car we should have been suspicious when we had to wait two weeks for a fan to be repaired that would not stop running after the car was turned off causing the battery to run down. We had to have it towed for that.
Have you ever heard of replacing a glove compartment? We had a squeak in the glove compartment that would not stop. After five service visits and a ride with the service manager, they finally agreed to replace the glove compartment. That was another two weeks in the shop.
When you put these problems with a car along with the apathy of Cadillac to accept the responsibility and the hideous "Smart Lease" program we did not read carefully, we are so disturbed by this experience with an American car maker. We had a lease expert review our lease for us so that we could trade the car, he couldn't believe the terms of the lease. Of course we were buying a car on the reputation of the manufacturer and didn't worry about the terms. We truly thought Cadillac would stand behind quality and satisfaction.
I am sure my husband would consider a class action toward the company. Of course our car expenses may inable us to put too much money into legal fees.
It is in the dealership a good four times per year with all kinds of problems.
It now needs its fourth set of tires for uneven wear. On the second set cadillac charged me for an alignment. This car needs constant alignment adjustments.
It has been in for the sunroof not operating, coolant light staying on, traction control problems, door locks not operating, door not closing properly, brakes, etc.
I even have lights go out on the car and then several days later come back on.
While the dealer has done what they can, Cadillac has been no help and based on my conversations with them has no intentions of making things right.
This car is a LEMON and after speaking with individuals connected with GM in Detroit, GM knows it is - has been - and always will be a lemon.
So, at 40 years old, GM has lost all my future business. Not to mention, all of the individuals I have personally steered away from the purchase of a Catera. (I enjoy when someone asks me how I like my Catera)
When you see this car - go to the other side of the street.
The only real problem is that the LEDs in the radio are very dim. The radio itself works perfectly, and the other dash LEDS (for the climate control system, etc.) are at their normal brightness. The radio LEDs aren't always dim; at (increasingly rare) times they are at normal brightness (it's probably some minor elecrical problem or a defective LED panel). My dealer couldn't fix this because they had trouble duplicating the problem. Now that it is happening nearly all the time, I'll ask them about it again.
In general, I'm thrilled with my Catera. The ride is quite good, the handling is superb, the soundproofing is fairly good, and the interior comfort and style are excellent. When my lease ends on October 2002 I'll probably buy the car (though that may depend on the new Catera, the Cadillac CTS).
- Daryl
I dropped in to point out that all Cateras are equipped with remote keyless entry (that's why there is no lock cylinder on the trunk or passenger door). You simply needed to buy a transmitter (really 2) and have it programmed by the dealer. The dealership should of provided you with transmitters and more than one key.
If you bought your Catera from Enterprise, it was a rental car. Any brand of car that has been used as a rental is trouble.
I hope that you are able to either get your car fixed or find something that you like better. I just wanted to point out that not ALL 97s are bad, the ones built between 10-96 and about 3-97 are the ones to be weary of.
I leased the car new, this was my third caddy at
age 19. At three months my brakes started to
make a horrid sound, kinda like a mac truck. I
had it serviced right away. They gave me this
piece of paper stating that this was normal, that
it was the material that would do this. Since
then the car has been fine, but I have ran into
a few problems. I had a flat front tire and I
had the car jacked up properly and the jack gave
out and the car came slamming down, luckly it didn't do too much damage, mainly body damage. I
had the defective jack replaced under warranty.
The first summer my battery died. I disregaurded
this since I live in Southern Nevada and batteries
really don't last. The problem I just had at 28,000 miles is my brake ware light came on. I took it back to the dealer and they told me that
it would be $600 - $800 to replace the brakes
and Rotors. They also told me that I was lucky
that I got 28,000 miles out of the brakes, which
I think is rediculas. I had a 1990 Deville that
had over 67,000 miles on it with the orignal brakes. I then had a 95 deville which I needed
to replace the brakes at 40,000 miles. Cadillacs
response to that was that the Deville is a
"Front heavy Front wheel drive car" so the brakes
ware fast. Now back to present times, I was also
told by the dealer that they are replacing brakes
with the other caddies at 9,000 - 10,000 miles.
If you ask me, I think this is going to be my
last Cadillac. It has been nothing but a consistant problem. I spoke to a friend back in
South Jersey and found that He took Cadillac to
court for Lemmon law and won, once I find out
who he talked to and if I can get the same
deal as he did, I will defanantly post it here
for the rest of you that have unfortunatly have
been screwed big time by poor engineering and
manufactoring.
Lemon Law arbitration quickly ruled in our favor regarding the '98 Catera. It was cake walk, they know they are selling a piece of crap. The rep. did not even show up, he was on the phone!
I was lucky enough to see my Mom in her new 2000 Lexus GS 300 for two weeks before she finally passed away from a battle with Leukemia for well over 10 years.
Cadillac knew of this and DID NOT CARE ONE BIT!
Lexus knew of this and expedited the order for the GS 300. What a car the GS 300 is, phenomenal!
American cars are garbage with exception of some Ford models, American cars branded from Germany are Garbage.
I really feel bad for anyone who must deal with GM with their problems. There service is pathetic and may all the losers who work for GM ROT IN HELL.
Over 1,000 people attended my mothers funeral and the last of her memories has to be the terrible experience GM and Cadillac put her through.
Well we screwed them in the end, the car is forever titled with LEMON on it. And after we had the value locked in, GM did not pick up the car for a month so we REALLY abused it and put quite a few miles on it before we got the new LEXUS. How stupid GM is.
Lexus gave the GS an oil change at 5000 miles as well as wheel rotation. The loner was RX300 with 3000 miles on it, awesome. The loner at Caddy was ALWAYS a Chevy Cavalier, a real piece of CRAP.
I feel bad for anyone who builds GMs pieces of CRAP, its not their fault, its the overpaid idiots who run the company. They have NOTHING to be proud of. Imagine going to work knowing you contribute ABSOLUTELY nothing to the automotive world. Pathetic, these execs have not learned one thing in 20 years.
Get real dude...I had an Acura that came with the TLC (Total Luxury Care) program and included roadside assistance. The few times I had to call for a tow truck they made me wait on average 1 or 2 hours depending on the hour and day of the week. Neither Acura, Cadillac or Lexus have their own Tow Trucks waiting for your orders. They rely on local tow truck companies to perform any roadside assistance for their clients, simple as that. If your Lexus breaks down late saturday night in a bad neighboorhood, the Lexus operator will make you wait until they can get a hold of a local tow truck operator to rescue you.
Learn your facts before you type crappola!
You sound like a disgruntled EX-GM salesman or mechanic....find a better way to sell your beloved lot of Lexus snobmobiles.
When I bought my Acura I was told "They never brake down"...guess what it DID!
Teo, best of luck to you and your Catera , I just feel bad when someone who served in two Wars , WWII and Korea ,buys a Cadillac, and finds its a big load of you know what. It does not sink well.
Look above and notice there many disgruntled owners of Cateras. Not so with any Japanese Luxury brand. That IMO is sad.
I know the Catera is produced in Germany and I do not blame the people who make them, I blame the people who design them , who engineer them.
But did you know that these employees have terrible labor, management relations?
I truly enjoyed the car when everything worked, but that NEVER lasted very long and I have huge problem with that. The automobile is now about a century old and GM still cannot it right.
What company is the most consistently auto company on the planet? you guessed it , Toyota.
The best solution: a car with the ride and handling of the Cater (with perhaps about 50 more horsepower) and the dependability of the Toyota. Does such a thing exist without killing my bank account?
P.S. I bought the car very cheap because it wasn't starting when I bought it and the orig. owner was sick of trying to figure it out.
I now have another problem which my local dealer cannot seem to duplicate.
Whenever I start my 98 Catera (w/15,000 miles on it) after it's sat overnight or for eight hours or more, I get one helluva loud knock just as the starter catches. Thereafter, the engine runs smoothly. If I shut it off and start it up again, there is no knocking sound as before. I have had it to the dealer three different times and they initially replaced the timing belt tensioner which failed to solve the problem. Since then, I have left it with them overnight several times, but they can't seem to duplicate the sound. Today, I let a car buff friend of mine who also owns a Catera listen to it as I started it after an eight hour hiatus. It gave a really loud knock which he thinks
came from the back of the car. He diagnosed it as a faulty fuel pump solenoid.
Anyone out there have a similar experience or suggestion? My dealer has been very supportive and seems committed to resolving the problem. Lord knows they've spent a small fortune without complaint on my Gold Key rentals whenever I leave my car there.
I contacted an attorney, who would have accepted my case, and charged me big $$$, with no guarantees. Instead I enlisted the dealer to get me in contact with the big guys at General Motors in the Cater division. I advised the dealer to share with them that I was giving them a week to get in touch with me and failure to do so would prompt my calling the local MEDIA. I assured them that I would tell the world about the problems I encountered and that it would not be nice.
Within two weeks I was in my new 1999 Cater, I am proud to say I have had no problems with this vehicle. I have just turned 18,000 miles, and no service appointments have been made other than to change the oil and rotate the tires. I love this automobile!
Almost a year later it's just too late. the first thing they tried to tell me was it had to be the spark plugs and wires with a bad valve gasket. I let them change that. Didn't help at all.
Next up they said it was the harmonic balance and they changed it,only to have failure as a result once again. The service manager said they would be working with a Cadillac engineer to get the problem resolved. The manager said they thought it might be build up in the cylinders.
They cleaned the whole top end of the engine. this also did nothing but make me lose more money and patience. they said it then could only be the computer was going bad. Replace? Of course.
That did nothing but make the car run like carp.
the car finally said enough and one morning just wouldn't start. Took it back in to the rep. and they said it was three bearings that run the timing belt. which they said it was probably that the whole time!!!!!!
So the bearings would have cost around $300 and now they say ,since the bearings went bad the timing was thrown off and the valves are bent and so are my rods. they said I could either fix that for $3,000 and take a chance of something else being wrong or spend $5,000 for a new, but used engine. Instead of finding the problem right away .
CADILLAC IS JUST A WANNA BE LUXURY CAR WITHOUT THE SERVICE!
The catera was one of the cars i was seriously considering, and this topic makes me a little relieved i didn't get it.
dave
have 60,000 miles and a 70,000 mile warranty. The
engine and trans are strong but I have had minor electrical problems like everyone else and just had to call Mr. Goodwrench for a service call for
my third new battery. I have had good service from my dealer. What do I do now, considering low
resale value? Run it past 100,000 miles and plan to junk it or hope that all of the problems will be resolved before my warranty expires or sell it
now and take the hit money-wise?
The first two repairs consisted of software updates. Next, the dealer replaced the crankshaft
sensor. The last time I brought it in, they replaced the crankshaft sensor and the O2 sensor.
The car continues to stall from time to time when I slow down going up a slope or driveway, or
when it's crawling in slow traffic. I suspect it's got something to do with the low and inconsistent
idling. I don't want to waste my time bringing this car in again until they figure out a fix.
1. Head Gasket leak
2.Bad o2 sensor
3.Fuel pump died
4.Alignment problems
5.A bunch of other little thinkgs
The newest and biggest problem started like this:
When the dealership did my head gasket they informed me that I should do the timing belt while the heads are up. So I authorized the work. 10,000 mile later I was driving down the street and my car sounded horrid and the dash was bouncing up and down, basically the car felt and sound like it was going to blow up. I got my car towed the dealer and it was my timing tensioner. It blew into pieces, in turn cause all of my 24 valved to be bent and nicked by the timing belt. So I authorized the work 3 weeks later and 4,800 dollars short. I have been fighting with cadillac over this matter because the tensior should have been serviced when the had done the belt. It was never serviced leaving me with a bill of 4,800 dollars. Cadillac will not be responsible for it and the dealer won't either. All I have had was constant problem with this car. I love it to death but I'm 21 years old and only have a limited money to spend on repairs. There is definately something wrong with these cars that GM is not explaing to us. So if anyone has had and similar or just any problem at all email me at ballznpgt@aol.com. I'm trying to go after GM on this to compensate the owners for our hard earned money wasted.
Thankfully, I've experienced only one minor problem with my Catera Sport (that the dealer fixed in one day) and love driving it. I hope (pray?) that I do not experience the problems many of you have been experiencing. I will also make sure to keep my eye on (and keep records of) any issues that many of you have mentioned.