2009 Cadillac CTS
Complaints about this year name timing chain far more often than the model's other years — 24% of them, about 60× the usual rate of 0.4%.
NHTSA opened a defect investigation into this model year.
| Complaints filed | 334 |
|---|---|
| Median for this model | 93 |
| Involving a crash | 20 |
| Recalls | 5 |
| EPA combined | 20 mpg |
What the complaints were about
- cost — 12% of this year's complaints, against 4.6% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: cost, document, transmission failed, lucky.
- indicator — 7.8% of this year's complaints, against 2.8% across the model's other years (2.8×).
- vibration — 7.2% of this year's complaints, against 2.8% across the model's other years (2.6×). Owners wrote it as: vibration, 45mph, resolve.
Words owners used for the same problem are counted together, so a fault written four different ways is measured once. Grouped by which complaints they appear in, not by a list anyone wrote in advance.
Also unusual this year
- engine — 29% of complaints, 3× usual
- check engine — 14% of complaints, 10× usual
- wear — 8% of complaints, 21× usual
What owners wrote
I HAD A P0008 CHECK ENGINE CODE COME UP ON MY CAR FOR TIMING CHAIN ISSUES. GM ISSUED A SPECIAL EXTENDED WARRANTY FOR 2008-2009 CADILLAC CTS WITH THIS ISSUE, BUT THEY STATED I AM NOT COVERED UNDER THIS WARRANTY, BUT IT IS THE SAME PROBLEM AS THE TSB THEY ISSUED…
WHILE DRIVING AT 60 MPH, THE CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE FAILURE OCCURRED TWICE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE TIMING CHAIN FAILED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE [VIN] WAS NOTI…
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint filings, with identifying details removed.
Recalls for this year
- 14V394000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM Fixed free of charge.
- 11V089000 SUSPENSION Fixed free of charge.
- 08V582000 AIR BAGS Fixed free of charge.
- 10V240000 ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
- 10V414000 EQUIPMENT Fixed free of charge.
How this was worked out
Every year of the Cadillac CTS was compared against its own history rather than against other cars, which removes popularity and age from the answer — a common car draws more complaints at equal reliability, and an older one has had longer to accumulate them. A year is flagged when it drew at least 2.5× this model's median and at least 50 complaints.
This is a fault record, not a review. Nobody files a federal complaint to say the car was fine, so it shows what tends to go wrong — not whether owners liked it, and not whether it is a good car.
Source: NHTSA complaints, recalls and investigations, retrieved . Look this vehicle up directly on NHTSA's site to check anything here.
Own a 2009 Cadillac CTS? What happened to yours?
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