Have We Solved The Steering Vibration On The Freeway?

[70eldo]

Originally Posted by WNBAMiamiSol

It is hardly "boring" if YOU spent $45,000 on a CTS which suffers this problem.....

I was not aiming at the problem (that REALLY needs a solution!), but on this endless thread and the same people posting the same things...

[Caddue]

Originally Posted by 70eldo

I was not aiming at the problem (that REALLY needs a solution!), but on this endless thread and the same people posting the same things...

I think your comments are unjustified. There are MANY people that have posted to this thread that have this problem. The reason they continue to post is that NO SOLUTION has been found. If you have not experienced this problem, consider yourself fortunate.

This thread should remain open until such time as Cadillac addresses and corrects the problems for ALL involved. I think after almost 2 years, enough time and patience has been given to Cadillac for a resolution don't you?

[70eldo]

Originally Posted by Caddue

I think your comments are unjustified. There are MANY people that have posted to this thread that have this problem. The reason they continue to post is that NO SOLUTION has been found. If you have not experienced this problem, consider yourself fortunate.

This thread should remain open until such time as Cadillac addresses and corrects the problems for ALL involved. I think after almost 2 years, enough time and patience has been given to Cadillac for a resolution don't you?

Ok, I'll put it in different words then, because some here are too heated up to take my comments unpersonal.
So, I agree this problem needs serious attention, which it already has. And there is nothing wrong with new people reporting their problem. My only suggestion was, to publish a locked thread with all info for those new who need info on these issues, without digging through 600+ posts and without some people here repeating the same arguments over and over again.

more clear now?

[WNBAMiamiSol]

Originally Posted by 70eldo

Ok, I'll put it in different words then, because some here are too heated up to take my comments unpersonal.
So, I agree this problem needs serious attention, which it already has. And there is nothing wrong with new people reporting their problem. My only suggestion was, to publish a locked thread with all info for those new who need info on these issues, without digging through 600+ posts and without some people here repeating the same arguments over and over again.

more clear now?

OK, let me make myself more clear.... If I had not walked into the Cadillac Service Department without every post here printed out ( a STACK of papers), they might not have looked into the issue for weeks, if at all. I truly believe all these posts quickened my being given another CTS.

[AJC]

Why would you even think about locking down this pos?

[fryfrye]

Wow. I just bought a 2009 DI CTS w/ Performance All Season Package tires on it. If the "vibration" that I feel when driving at 65-80MPH is the vibration that everyone here is complaining about I'd suggest that you go and drive a 535 w/ Sport package _AND_ all season tires... you WILL feel pretty much the same thing, if anything the CTS has less road feedback than any of my previous 4 BMW's w/ Sport packages. The only issue I had were four warped rotors day 1 (guess the car REALLY did sit that long on the lot). When the OEM tires are finished I'd probably put on Conti ExtremeContact DWS or the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus. I used the earlier generation of the Conti Exterme on my BMW 550i.

If anything changes as I drive, i will post an update... I wish I could drive someone's car who has this problem in the DC area just to compare notes.

[70eldo]

Originally Posted by AJC

Why would you even think about locking down this pos?

Oh, come on! READ! I mean an additional thread with the current status and info on these 3 problems so you don't have to dig through 40 pages.

Originally Posted by WNBAMiamiSol

OK, let me make myself more clear.... If I had not walked into the Cadillac Service Department without every post here printed out ( a STACK of papers), they might not have looked into the issue for weeks, if at all. I truly believe all these posts quickened my being given another CTS.

The thread is long enough now. I am just talking efficiency here. So post like these are not necessary... -sigh-

Geez, since when is everyone so touchy here? I am not attacking the facts of the problems. Just wanted to help out with a good idea...

[WNBAMiamiSol]

Originally Posted by 70eldo

Oh, come on! READ! I mean an additional thread with the current status and info on these 3 problems so you don't have to dig through 40 pages.



The thread is long enough now. I am just talking efficiency here. So post like these are not necessary... -sigh-

Geez, since when is everyone so touchy here? I am not attacking the facts of the problems. Just wanted to help out with a good idea...

Maybe WE are "touchy" because WE are the folks who spent $45,000+ on a CTS that has this seemingly unsolvable problem?

[C "T" ess]

I think what is being said is that there are not 600+ people with these problems, just 600+ posts about the same problems.. And to what end; unfortunately no solution and still a lot of raw nerves. Unfortunately with GM struggling to stay afloat and produce profitable cars, I believe the cure for this problem will be evolutionary rather than retroactive. Those with the problem may have been left at the alter, but that doesn't mean that all is forgotten. Perhaps dividing the topic into three distinct threads so that each issue can be addressed individually could avoid overlap which adds to the confusion as to who is feeling what.

[yatesd]

As I have said before, this thread is useless!!! It contains everything from tire balancing issues to people not accustomed to high profile tires, and some are just happy to rant about the same thing over and over....

The thread isn't even titled properly to address the drone issue which appears to be somewhat resolved by lowering fuel economy with a modification to shifting patterns. Very few actual "steering" issues as far as I can tell.

The only thing I use this thread for is to complain about anything off topic.

Anyone notice that their steering wheel will sometimes start to go in the direction in which you are looking? For instance, if I come across a Dunkin Donuts and am thinking of grabbing a cup of coffee I sometimes notice the car veers in the same direction. Very dangerous...

[Argent55]

Well, I've followed this thread for a long time now and guess I'll weigh in.

I've had the "drone" issue since I pulled out of the dealer lot. At first I thought it was just the tires on the road. But then I realized it was while cruising about 40-50 mph or so (~1400 rpm). My next thought was that it was the TC kicking into 6th gear (good for the gas mileage!) and there was some sort of harmonic. Then I thought it might be an exhaust resonance. But I'm no mechanic or engineer. Noticeable? Yes. Annoying? A bit (turning up the stereo helps!). Enough to make me want to dump the car? Not a chance! I don't think it is anything dangerous and no one who has ridden in the car has commented on it. And apparently there's no fix from GM yet, so I won't be taking it in for that.

I also seem to have the "steering wheel shimmy", maybe. At highway speeds the steering wheel travels maybe 1/16". Not a lot, but it's there. I've never had the tires RF tested or the car aligned since I bought it (August '08). So maybe it's just one of those. But I don't really know if it's at all possible to get rid of ALL vibration/shimmy in something so complicated as a steering system. I'm not suggesting that anyone is being overly sensitive to the issue. Some apparently are severe. And for the prices we paid we SHOULD expect fewer problems. When I take it in, I might mention this item.

But overall, I love the car and love to drive it.

Just my 2 cents.

[Southern]

Somewhere around 20 pages ago, I audited the thread at that point. There were, IIRC, 14 actual problems in the first 20 pages or so. And some of those had already been fixed.
I sure wish I could drive some of these cars with the vibration.
The reason is that we had one guy say that every car at every dealer had this problem. (He bought one anyway if you are to believe that he is a complete moron, and yes he was complaining that his car had a vibration.....!).
Meanwhile, I drove at least 6 or 7 CTS with different suspensions wheels/tires, from two dealers and never ran across the problem, leaving me to think that at least some of it is interpretation. Some think that a fairly sporty steering, transmitting quite a bit of road feel, is a a "vibration" problem.
Now I do think there are some problems. And yes there are at least two and maybe three Different kinds of problems in this thread.
There are also several non-problems for sure.
There are not many real vibration problems. And that makes it hard on the owners.
I know that I had a problem with my CTS that an internet search seemed to indicate there was just one other like it, over on the Edmonds forum
I couldn't get mine fixed either.
Cadillac acknowledged that it had happened, it could happen again, and they were not going to do anything about it. This was from the Technical assistance center in Flint in a message to the local cadillac mechanics at two dealerships. One in PA and the other in FL.
That's why I don't own my CTS anymore. Right or wrong, I tend to deal with problems.

But I still am a Champion of the car.
Mine was a fluke, but there are so many things that GM did right with this car.
I feel for the people who have the vibration issue.
I really do.
I have been there.
And nobody here cared one whit (Well except for nick and lewis and a very few others..... )
But the 600 posts are not an indication of the commonality of this issue.

[like2drive]

Originally Posted by Argent55

Well, I've followed this thread for a long time now and guess I'll weigh in.

I've had the "drone" issue since I pulled out of the dealer lot. At first I thought it was just the tires on the road. But then I realized it was while cruising about 40-50 mph or so (~1400 rpm). My next thought was that it was the TC kicking into 6th gear (good for the gas mileage!) and there was some sort of harmonic. Then I thought it might be an exhaust resonance. But I'm no mechanic or engineer. Noticeable? Yes. Annoying? A bit (turning up the stereo helps!). Enough to make me want to dump the car? Not a chance! I don't think it is anything dangerous and no one who has ridden in the car has commented on it. And apparently there's no fix from GM yet, so I won't be taking it in for that.

I also seem to have the "steering wheel shimmy", maybe. At highway speeds the steering wheel travels maybe 1/16". Not a lot, but it's there. I've never had the tires RF tested or the car aligned since I bought it (August '08). So maybe it's just one of those. But I don't really know if it's at all possible to get rid of ALL vibration/shimmy in something so complicated as a steering system. I'm not suggesting that anyone is being overly sensitive to the issue. Some apparently are severe. And for the prices we paid we SHOULD expect fewer problems. When I take it in, I might mention this item.

But overall, I love the car and love to drive it.

Just my 2 cents.

Argent55,
I'm interested to know what you mean exactly by "steering wheel shimmy"? I have a RWD, non-DI with 17" wheels (FE1) '09 CTS and I took it to the dealer for some sort of steering vibration. In fact, for me as well, I can see the steering wheel traveling maybe 1/16" at highway speed. HOWEVER, this is only when I do not touch the steering. IF I keep my hands on the wheel (like it should be ), I don't feel any vibration. MOREOVER, it depends on the type of road surface I drive on. At some moments, nothing at all. On some other occasions, I can see the steering wheel slightly moving. The techs at the dealer told me that it is some sort of road feeling. As a control, we took another '09 CTS with the same settings as mine and could see the same phenomenon happening. They rebalanced all four wheels and I still see the same thing. Either I should go for RF balancing or it is simply a consequence of a more direct connection between the steering and the road.

[kevzter]

I just watched an introductory video on the Auto Channel about the 2010 CTS Sport Wagon and SRX and, at the end, they quickly mentioned that the 2010 CTS has some improvements to the front suspension, transmission mounts and rear suspension to improve NVH levels even more. I don't have any vibration problems myself but perhaps some of these changes may address this? Don't know if they will be able to retrofit but....

[C "T" ess]

I wonder if there are any AWD cars with these problems. They have a different steering geometry.