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6spd car with horrible differential whine

4K views 29 replies 17 participants last post by  Cadillac Customer Service 
#1 · (Edited)
After making sure to not do any hole-shots with my 07 V1 (in which the rear diff. held together very well) it was time to get a V with a proper rear diff... In fact, probably the only thing that I did not like about my V1 was that I was always concerned that I could grenade the differential with too hard a WOT shift, or if I got into any wheel hop, especially in the wet. Well last year when I picked up my 11 V2, I felt now I have the perfect V, all the things I liked about my V1 and a supposedly bulletproof cast iron differential, I was one happy camper. Only problem is that now with about 11,000 miles on the car, the rear diff whines noticeably when off the throttle between 45 and 55 mph. It is so annoying that I must crank some tunes so I don't have to hear the whine. Unfortunately I absolutely dread going to the dealer on this, as it is never a great experience. I do ALL my own maintenance/repairs to avoid having anyone mess with my baby, but ponying up about $3 grand for a new diff is ridiculous, so looks like I'm off to the local Caddy service department to hear what they have to say.
Oh, yea, first thing I did was measure the factory fill on the diff, dead on. Replaced with royal purple to see if that would quiet things down, no dice. I guess that I had better refill the diff, as I bet the service manager would love to void my warranty for putting in a superior fluid.

Anyone else having problems with differential whine?

Wish me luck.
 
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#5 ·
Yes, I called the action center, they were polite, however it does not truly address the issue. Last time the car was I was in for a repair (lower control arm failed at the ball joint on my 07) the car was driven about 40 miles to an alignment shop (pure BS as I live on long Island and there are about 5 alignment shops within a 1 mile radius of the dealership). Car is black diamond and flawless, scared to death that I will find a few impossible to fix scratches on the car. Almost tempted to do the repair my self, wish they would just give me the diff!
 
#4 ·
I'm exactly like you and hate letting the dealer put their hands on my cars. They end up giving me something I never asked for - grease mark, scratch etc... so can understand what you mean. With it whining, not much choice but to go back to the dealer and have them swap it. Shouldn't be too bad as all the work will be done underneath so hopefully they won't be climbing in and out of it too much. I'd let him hear it, have him order one and keep driving it till he has a day to get it in , swapped and then the car back to you the same day.
 
#10 ·
Good luck, Ronsv! Please keep us updated, and I'm always happy to assist if you have lingering concerns after visiting your dealership. And if you'd like me to provide any additional information for you in the meantime (check for recalls, provide warranty parameters for the warranties that apply to your vehicle, etc.), please don't hesitate to send me a private message.

Best,

Katie
Cadillac Customer Service
 
#11 ·
I had my diff replaced at 11,000 miles. The dealer gave me no trouble at all, offered me a loaner or a ride home, took several days to get the part and put it in, and at I think 17K miles now, it has been no problem again. My service guy told me that GM got a batch of wrong diff fluid from their supplier, and it went into about 1,500 cars. Still they stood right up and replaced it so I can't complain. I hope that you have no problems getting yours fixed.
 
#12 ·
Thanks to all who posted with words of encouragement and for sharing their experiences. I'll be heading over the dealer in a couple of days to have a tech go for a ride with me and assess the diff.. Hope that things go smoothly, as I want nothing more than to post what a good experience I had this time around; will keep you guys posted.

Also, glad to see that a representative from customer service is reviewing this board, certainly a nice step in the right direction.
 
#13 ·
I had my diff replaced at about 10,000 miles as it had a whine while on throttle at between 38-50mph. After about 3,000 miles or so, I now have a whine in my diff again. I let the dealer know but they said to just drive it like it is and maybe they would come out with a recall or something. It is very annoying that the new one still has a whine in it and they will not replace it again. I wonder if a diff cooler on a new diff would help.
 
#14 ·
On my 07 V1 I changed the diff oil at about 2,500 miles and then every 15,000 miles thereafter. I used royal purple fluid for all changes. The diff in my 07 had a moderate whine, but not bad enough for me to bring the car in for service, as the whine remained constant till I sold the car with 49,000 miles.

I thought that all the diff issues were squared away with the V2, thus I did not change my diff fluid until the rear started to whine at about 10,000 miles. If I get a new diff, which I certainly hope will occur, (car goes to the dealer for evaluation on Monday morning) I will follow the schedule I used on my V1.

A diff cooler would certainly help in my opinion, wish they were less expensive however.
 
#16 ·
When changing your fluid, be sure to lift the car at 4 points, need to have the car perfectly level to properly fill the diff. you probably already knew that, but just thought I would throw that out there as I have seen too many people back the car up on ramps and then wonder why the diff did not take the specified amount of fluid.
 
#20 ·
SPEED74V,
I'm sorry that the differential replacement that was performed on your CTS-V has developed a whine. If we can follow up on this with you and your dealership, we're happy to do so by setting up a Service Request through our department. Please send us your name, phone, address, the last 8 of your VIN, mileage, and the name of your dealership to us in a private message and we will go from there.
Kind regards,
Sarah (In for Katie)
Cadillac Customer Service
 
#24 ·
An update to my whining diff saga. Last week I had an appointment to meet with the service manager to go for a test ride so that he can evaluate my whining differential. We go for a ride, me driving, about 3 minutes into the ride he says, "I hear the whine, the diff is shot, we will have to order you a new one."

It took a few days for the new diff to arrive as obviously they do not stock differentials. A few days ago my appointment was on, I drop the car off at 7:30 am, do a walk around with one of the advisers showing him that the car is as new, not a single scratch of any kind on the car. I get into my loaner, a cream colored DTS that my wife was embarrassed to ride in, I reminded her of my last rental, a Chevy Aveo (not from dealer), and state that I will happily drive the DTS for a few hours.

I did not have DTS for long, about 4 hours later I get a call from the dealer that my car is ready. I pull up to the dealer to find my car off to the side under an awning, and guess what, not a single scratch on the exterior or interior. The diff was fixed, car was fine, I was a happy camper.

I have to give credit where credit is due, everyone at the dealership was polite, the car was fixed no questions asked, the problem solved, what more could I have hoped for! Props to Paul Conte Cadillac!
 
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