Cadillac Owners Forum banner

Random no sound from radio/turn signals

53K views 52 replies 24 participants last post by  jghiller 
#1 ·
New to the forum and to Cadillac. Just got a 2008 CTS 3.6Di with both the Performance and Luxury Packages.
On several occasions the radio has not worked when it was working just fine an hour before. Have also noticed that the turn signals have no noise. Have had at the dealer twice now luckily once they got to see what it was not was or was not doing. They are telling me it has to do with bluetooth and a blackberry being paired and gave me some multi-page tech bullentin that does not apply. I tried to tell them that while I do own a blackberry it has not been paired with the car at any time only my iphone. It appears the previous owner or lease had a motorola bluetooth device added not sure if this has any bearing on the issue?
Does anyone have any idea what might be going on so I can get the dealership on the right track to fix?
Each time it has happened the radio works again just fine after several hours or the next morning. It's not doing it every day and at no set pattern just very random which makes all the more odd.
Thank you in advance....
 
#3 ·
My '08 CTS-4 was built in November 2007, and it has done this a handful of times through almost 48 months of ownership. My Service Writer at the dealership found nothing wrong, but said that it is similar to re-booting a computer, and to stop the car, re-start it, and the problem should not persist. As I said, it happened maybe twice when I mentioned it during a routine service visit, and then the next time it occurred, I did as he said, and everything went back to normal. It was strange, because the turn signals quit "clicking" as part of the irregularities. My car has "self-corrected" since it has not occurred in the last two years, or so. I don't know what triggered it when I had a similar situation to yours.
 
#4 ·
I've done what your dealer told you to do already with no difference. The last time this happened it was at the end of a work day the car had been sitting for more than 8 hours...the radio was just fine that morning. Knowing the dealership was still opened I drove by and got a service writer to come out to see the issue. He verified it by starting and turning the car off several times with the same condition. We went inside to write it up and schedule it. I come back out about 15 minutes later start the car and the radio is working again...it makes no sense. I've only owned the car for 30 days and it has done this 5 times now...clearly something is going on.
 
#7 ·
Good advice. I recall my Service Writer telling me on at least three occasions that they upgraded the software, or my Navigation unit, during routine service visits. The dealership also informed me of Technical Service Bulletins on a few occasions, too. You should check whether these updates have been performed for your vehicle.
 
#36 ·
Hello Breanne,
My wife's 2012 SRX seems to be doing something similar sporadically. This weekend, no audio from radio/signals or even locking the car. After turning it off/on and getting out of the car, it finally came back. If I provide you the VIN via PM you'd know if there is a TSB or soft/firmware update for the radio? I wish we'd gotten a 2013 with CUE. :( Oh well.

I'm hoping there is something simple to resolve this at a local dealer. The previous one we bought it from seemed rather questionable when it came to maintenance. Lugs weren't tightened to proper torque specs after a tire rotation. I was unimpressed.

Thanks in advance!
J.

----------

Hello rudeboyspi,

I apologize for any sound trouble you are experiencing with your vehicle. If you private message me and further explain your concerns, while also including your VIN and current mileage, I am more than happy to look into these concerns for you and explore our options from there.

Sincerely,

Laura M.
Cadillac Customer Care
I guess I could have quoted you too, Laura! :)
I'll send you a PM with wife's VIN from issue in post above. Thank you!
J.
 
#9 ·
November 2007 build means it absolutely does not have factory Bluetooth. The problem is either your radio needs to be updated (there have been bulletins for intermittent no sound) or the aftermarket BT device is interfering with the radio.

Have your dealer check both those items, starting with the software update.
 
#10 ·
fwiw, you said you had a motorola bluetooth kit? I have used those, and found them to be problematic. The one I had was constantly dropping the bluetooth connection. Parrot kits are much better. If you can/are willing to replace the motorola with parrot, you will be much better off. Or you can try the bluestar unit, which basically you unplug the onstar box, and plug in the bluestar. So you will lose all onstar functionality. And I have heard the bluestar is not completely reliable also.
 
#20 ·
Yes I'm in St. Louis and luckily the car is still under factory warranty so they should take care of it. I've been dealing with them for years both personal and business so I doubt they are going to be anything but helpful. I do appreciate the offer...another forum member posted the TSB that applies. I will stop by tomorrow morning to see what they have to say.
So it looks like you have the same model as I do...any tips, issues, problems that I should be looking for. They are taking care of a clunk in the rear end that they found a TSB for but had to order parts. Other then the radio and the clunk the car is amazing...my first Cadillac and I'm sure it won't be my last...they are such a pleasure to drive.
 
#12 ·
STL09: I've had exactly the same thing happen in my car (2009 w/Bluetooth). This sounds like the known issue with the 2008-09 CTS (that's also unrelated to Bluetooth). There's a radio software upgrade that is supposed to fix this specific problem and I believe there's a related Tech Service Bulletin.

Turning the car off, opening the door, and letting the electronics *completely* shut down should "fix" this issue when it randomly happens. If you don't let the car completely shut down (i.e. just turning it off and turning it back on again), the problem continues. By leaving the car and coming back a few minutes later, yours had a chance to completely itself shut off and reset itself.

FYI, I lost all the radio presets in my car when they upgraded my software, so you might want to take pictures of your presets if you have a lot to lose. It's MUCH better (it went from once a month to maybe once every six months). However, I do still have the issue happen occasionally since the reprogramming.

My theory (although I have no proof) is that it's caused by changing sources or XM stations immediately before opening the door and canceling the retained accessory power. This is the only thing I can think of that I could have done consistently prior to my system having this problem.

As I've posted previously, this inevitably happened to me when I was carrying passengers. "Hold on, let me pull over and restart my car so the stereo works correctly," just isn't the best way to show off GM quality. I have every hope that the new CUE system (running Linux instead of Windows) will be more reliably and full-featured, similar to the flexibility of the features offered in the first-generation CTS.
 
#14 ·
Here you go:

Bulletin No.: 08-08-44-031A
Date: March 24, 2009

Subject:
No Audio from Radio, Door Ajar Chime and Turn Signal Click Clack Inoperative During a Key Cycle - Audio Returns After Vehicle is Turned Off For Several Minutes (Reprogram Audio Amplifier)
This TSB should fix your turn signal/audio issues. Worked for me.
 
#25 ·
I have a 2007 STS and for the last 6 months I have not had any Audio from Radio, Door Ajar Chime and Turn Signal sound, I took it to the dealer and they said it was the Amplifier but it would cost 1600 to replace it. I didn't have the bucks and left it as it is. Funny thing happen yesterday, when I started the car all sound was working, I shut off the car and restarted it and everything worked. Here's the kicker, when I started it today there was no sound anymore, does any one have any idea what it might be??
 
#26 ·
This procedure has worked for some of us CTS owners. Find your amp, ours is in the trunk on the left side behind the carpet. With the car off, unplug all connectors and clean them if necessary. Plug them back in and start your car. This is all it took for my car and haven't had a problem since.
 
#33 ·
Hello rudeboyspi,

I apologize for any sound trouble you are experiencing with your vehicle. If you private message me and further explain your concerns, while also including your VIN and current mileage, I am more than happy to look into these concerns for you and explore our options from there.

Sincerely,

Laura M.
Cadillac Customer Care
 
#44 ·
Just wanted to add my 2 cents to this, as the more info we can share = the better for everyone.
I've had my 08 CTS for just over 2 weeks, and suddenly the radio/speakers/turn signal tones etc stopped working yesterday.

Luckily, I have been reading these forums for months in anticipation of buying a CTS, and remembered this thread... For me, I had to get to the amp in the trunk and I cleaned off the audio connectors at the amp by removing/replacing them several times & blew some compressed air onto the area for good measure. This worked instantly for me, the "shutting the car down and returning later" method wasn't working though.

So anyway, thanks to everyone who contributes here, you just (hopefully) fixed my problem!
 
#45 ·
Just wanted to add my 2 cents to this, as the more info we can share = the better for everyone.
I've had my 08 CTS for just over 2 weeks, and suddenly the radio/speakers/turn signal tones etc stopped working yesterday.

Luckily, I have been reading these forums for months in anticipation of buying a CTS, and remembered this thread... For me, I had to get to the amp in the trunk and I cleaned off the audio connectors at the amp by removing/replacing them several times & blew some compressed air onto the area for good measure. This worked instantly for me, the "shutting the car down and returning later" method wasn't working though.

So anyway, thanks to everyone who contributes here, you just (hopefully) fixed my problem!
I tried that but it happens when my car is hot and sitting in the sun for along time. The summer time is back and I am starting to have this issue again. Anyone having this issue and got it repaired?
 
#52 ·
Sounds like it could be an amplifier issue.
Check the connections; the amp is located behind the closeout panel in the trunk on the driver side.
 
#53 ·
Losing the turn signal blinker noise has been an issue since the 2nd GEN CTS in 2008;losing radio too, and it still happens infrequently with the turn signals on my 16 XTS. Then when the car is turned off and then back on after a brief time, they come back. The system computer needs to reboot. The dealer should be aware of this old, ongoing issue. If you subscribe to www.alldatadiy.com for your MY CTS you can locate known TSBs from GM. As I said I used to experience this on my 08 CTS from time to time.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top