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two weird things

2K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  928S 
#1 ·
A couple weeks ago, I was in my driveway with the car facing down hill which has a pretty good slope to it, I had the parking brake on and proceeded to start it. I believe, I did not have my foot on the brake. Also, I put the car in drive with the PB on. I noticed on my display something to the effect of "AWD has been turned off". I put it back in park and turned off the engine and just turn on the electrical. The message did not come on and did not say about it being turned back on. My next drive, I did the proper procedure...brake, release PB, start. I didn't get any messages it seemed like I could feel the front wheels pulling appropriately.

About a month ago, pulling into a parking lot at work, I got a message the compass needed recalibrating. I drove in a couple circles and didn't have any problems with it.

The other day, I was doing the magical waste of 1 mile New Jersey U-Turn from Route 17 North to go 287 South, which results in a full 360 degree turn. As I was coming out of the turn, I thought I saw my radio turn off and DIC as well. The car or engine seemed fine throughout. I haven't had any other problems since then.

I am at 37,500 miles on my May '09 car. It's getting freaky and thinking again to get the GM extended warranty.
 
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#2 ·
Hi smooth_ride,
I also have a May '09 CTS and though I would not testify, I believe I have seen my radio screen turn off and coming immediately back on. I would say that it happened 2-3 times since I bought the car new in May 09. When this happens, the radio itself continues playing. I don't know about the DIC, but of course, when I believed the radio screen just flickered, I was not looking directly at it - but kind of saw it though my side vision.
I never had it checked though, i.e. is there a TSB for this?
 
#4 ·
I seem to recall a similar instance with my prior 08 CTS where the NAV/Audio screen would go black. I also had an issue where the screen displayed weird wavy colors like a TV set unable to tune in the station or just go 'green'. Hard to describe. Eventually, I had the NAV display screen replaced to fix the issue. Happened a long time ago. I think I had to take a picture of the display when it failed to show to dealer.
 
#5 ·
Re: the parking brake, the CTS seems to be very particular about being put into gear when the parking brake is still on. When I shift into reverse with the PB on, I get a message that says "Parking Assist Off." In your case, it could very well be that the car disables AWD if an AWD car is put into gear with the PB still on (my CTS is RWD). I have noticed that if I shift back to park, disengage the PB and shift back into gear, everything returns to normal, so a full restart may not be required to re-enable AWD in these situations.

On less than five occasions, I have had the NAV screen go black and re-start right away (complete with the startup animation of the Caddy crest). I consider this to be the NAV system crashing. Part of me thinks it's just the fact that it's a Microsoft product and therefore susceptible to random, inexplicable crashes. But I've also noticed that each time it crashed, it happened as I was pulling out of large parking structure onto the street. I think it might have something to do with the system re-establishing the Satellite signal that crashes it in certain situations. But that's just speculation on my part. While it has it's small bugs, I do have to say the system is less buggy than I expected, especially considering it's mid-2000's technology.
 
#8 ·
^ The system can shut off if the computer decides it needs to. Either through "loss of vehicle or wheel speed", "AWD system overheat", or "certain vehicle electrical conditions". If it happens it will function in 2WD. You can reset the warning by shutting the car off for 30 seconds.

Not really sure why your car did it, electrical gremlins are definitely a possibility though. You should not be able to shift out of park without your foot on the brake pedal. There is an interlock (you can hear it click by tapping the brake pedal) that does not allow the vehicle to be shifted from park without the brake being applied when the ignition is in the on position. If this is not functioning on your car, that's a problem.
 
#10 ·
Originally Posted by next2pool
The system can not shut off at all and I doubt there is a warning message that says it has been shut off. The mechanical make up won't allow it to be shut off. It's electronically modulated but only to a minimal degree.
As somedaycts said above...

All Wheel Drive Off
If the vehicle has the All-Wheel Drive (AWD) system, this message displays when there is a temporary condition making the AWD system unavailable. The vehicle will run in 2WD. This could be caused by:
• Loss of wheel or vehicle speed
• AWD system overheat
• Certain vehicle electrical conditions
This message turns off when the above conditions are no longer present and by resetting the warning message. To reset the warning message, turn the ignition off and then back on again after 30 seconds. If the message stays on, see your dealer/retailer right away. See All-Wheel Drive (AWD) on page 4-9 for more information

p 3-57 (2009 Cadillac CTS Owner's Manual)
 
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