I just noticed today that my front tires are feathering. Is this the problem that Cateras are infamous for? And if so how do you get it diagnosed and fixed? I still have about 5 months of factory warranty left but do not expect the dealership to be very cooperative. I just bought the car 2 months ago, and called the previous owner after the fact and found out that she had replaced the tires twice. The dealership told me they knew nothing about the tires. :suspect: Can the problem be fixed? And how should I approach the dealership? :want:

How much mileage does the car have on it?

There were earlier issues with some inner or outter tire wear on the Catera's but i dont recall if it covered feathering. Most ended up replacing the front lower control arm bushings.

That may just be a normal cause to get an alignment again. Have the alignment checked atleast.

The car has 38000 miles on it. The tires were new when I bought it 2 months ago. The Cadillac dealership where I bought the car checked the front end alignment, when I brought up the issue after talking to the previous owner, and said it was fine. I've been tring to call the previous owner today to get more info on what she had done for the problem. It was my wife who talked to the previous owner first so she didn't know what follow up questions to ask. If it is not the "normal" front end problem, it is odd that the previous owner had problems and now, in 2 months I am having problems. The car still drives good. Does not pull or shake. What was the issue with the lower control arm bushings?

See, the issue with the bushings was on 97-98 models they would become damaged over time. They would need to be replaced with a redesigned model. (Front Lower Control Arms)

There are other things than just the bushings that could cause this but it seems plausable. It may be something else thats damaged.

If your alignment is good, then something in the front end could be worn out. Tie rods? Control arms? Ball joints?
Something is definitely wrong with the car if it's eating tires in 2 months. Did the dealer "check the alignment" BEFORE you bought the car? If so, they might not have checked it at all just to make you feel good. Salesmen will tell you anything just to sell. Might be worth going somewhere else to have the alignment checked. A good tire shop would also notice any worn out steering parts if you ask them to.

I'm assuming the answer to this is yes, but do you regularly check the air pressure and do you keep the tires at the recommended 32 psi? I've had feathering issues on every car I have owned due to not checking the air and using cheap air guages. The Catera has been no exception. Also, try a different dealer just for grins.

I have not checked my tire pressure in about a month. I did not know that tire pressure could cause the tires to feather. I would admit to not being very diligent with checking tire pressure but have never had a problem with feathering before. Although in the last month it has been much colder and I am sure my tire pressure is on the low side. I will check tomorow. I just finished talking with the dealership and they said that they would look into what the factory warranty would cover. Hopefully it is just the tire pressure.

On another Catera forum, a few said that running the tires a bit over seems to help the feathering. I'd have to look it up, but evidently there is a reccommended highway pressure of 37psi.

The tire pressure was good (33 psi). I did not hear from the dealership today, I should be home in time to call them tomorrow. Yea I think the owners manual suggest a higher tire pressure for higher speeds, like 100 mph. But that may help, my commute to work is 95% highway.

I was just informed by someone on the Yahoo site that the lower contol arm bushing were redesigned post-production on all Cateras and that all Cateras are subject to tire wear issues, just more so on the 97-98 models. I have not heard from the dealership yet on whether of not the warranty would cover this. Has anyone had any success changing the lower control arm bushings.

I just found contadictory information on the Yahoo site about the rededigned lower control arm bushings being post-production for all Cateras.:hmm: I do'nt know what to believe. I just know my tires are feathering.:crying2: Has anyone else here had the same problem with later model Cateras?

Just because it was redesigned doesnt mean it cant wear... or wear abnormally even. There are some things that can and still happen even after the part was redesigned. Seen it before on the Catera.

Talking to the dealership, I was informed that when they took the car in on trade, they installed tires (third set on a car with 38000 miles) and aligned the front end. They rechecked the alignment at my request after I got some history form the previous owner. And now, two months later with feathering tires, they gave me a free alignment.:2thumbs: ---------------------:canttalk: Like that is going to help. I only have 4 months of factory warranty left and less hope of getting my problem fixed. I did get to see my car up on the lift will it was in the shop, and my redesigned hydraulic lower contol arm bushings looked to be intact. What can I do? Wait till my now rotated tires start to feather and take it back. It should happen in less than 4 months, but then what? Get another free alignment! Any suggestions?

Only two days and I can feel the feathering already. Is this fixable?

Can you take some photos of what your see'ing (if its visible) ?

My Tire Wear:

http://www.lasercannon.com/images/Z/troubles/feathering/myfeather.jpg
Got this illustration from a web site about a guy who has this same problem with his new 350Z. It is to eary to see on the tires that were recently rotated to the front, but is visible on the now rear tires. This is not classic feathering according to this web site, but that is what I have always called it. The wear is on the outside edge of tire. Any suggestions?

See.. our Catera is/was wearing on the outsides of the front tires and we just did a rotation. (I got confused because i thought that feathering meant that there were uneven places on the ouside of the tire being worn.. when thats cupping lol)

I just dont know what to say right now... we did find that there was plenty of tread in the middle of the tire.

Keep your tires at 37 (or 35? - what ever it says on the drivers door) psi. Um other than that... :suspense:. Essentially we're having the same problem. Now that they're rotated ill keep checking if it happens still.


That 350Z site explains a lot. Have to read up as well.

What is the best way to check the control arm bushings for excess play? And what would be the specs for normal/excess play?

ALL CATERAS SUFFER FROM PREMATURE TIRE WEAR. This is NOT fixable under any factory recommended repair. The earlier models were worse. At one point in time, cadillac allowed dealers to increase the camber on the front of these cars. What they were doing was increasing the camber where they could so that tires would wear on the outside, this was done on the front. The rear camber is not adjustable. What they hoped was that the front tires would wear the outside, the rear tires would wear the inside. when they got rotated, then the process would even the tread wear. We did this for about 6 months. Then cadillac issued a bulletin telling us to put them back like they were because the average catera owner was not "maintenance friendly" and the lack of tire rotation was now wearing out all 4 tires instead of just 2.

I would consider premature tire wear and feathering as a different problem. Are you saying that feathering is normal for the Catera? If so, why doesn't everyone have feathering? There are people on the Yahoo sight saying they had this problem fixed by replacing the control arm bushings. There has got to be specs for checking the bushings or the amount of lateral movement the control arm has. Where could I find this out?


Jeff

Feathering as you describe it, is caused by improper toe adjustment. If it feathers on the outside edge, it is toe'd in ( usually ) if it is feathered on the inside edge, it is toe'd out ( usually ). Due to the poor camber characteristics of the catera ( negative camber ) the catera will almost always wear the inside of the tires bald and feather the outside edge. Some alignment shops try to counteract the negative camber with too much toe in a half -hearted attempt to improve tire wear. YOU WILL NEVER GET GOOD EVEN WEAR ON A CATERA. It just cannot be done. I'm sorry.

Also, a tight tread pattern on the shoulder of the tire will give you more tread life, just based on the fact that it has more rubber to wear.

We have to also remember here that the catera is setup to handle very well, and like a sports car. Made to handle the Autobahn I think thats why we're seeing feathering.

If all that you said was true, than everyone with a catera should have feathering. I would go check my inner tire wear but it is icy outside right now. Will check and post the info tomorow. I will post a question on feathering to see how everone else is fairing. And for the control arm bushings, they are designed to alter the toe during braking. What are the specs for lateral movement for the control arm? Where can I find them?

I would not make a blanket statement like "everyone", but, I would guess, "most". Like I said previously, the feathering is caused by a toe problem. The reason this is so prevalent on the catera is the toe problem is compounded by a negative camber issue as well. Even with a perfect toe in setting, the tires will still wear unevenly due to the negative camber. The camber can be corrected some on the front of this car but there is NO camber adjustment possible on the rear. If you look closely at the alignment of your tires from the rear of the car, you will get a first hand look at what negative camber is. Something like / \ You can see how the tires will wear more on the inside. Like JeffreyG said, these cars are made to handle, made to German standards, for high speed driving. I made the statement back in 1997 when these cars first reared their heads "This car may have been a hit in Germany, but American luxury car buyers have much different expectations than those in Germany" . Tire wear is one of those things.

Theoreticaly, if not all cateras have this problem, then mine is fixable. Someone posted that they put stiffer shocks on to help with the camber. Do you think this could help? I do not have the sport model, is this more prevalent on non sport models with the softer shocks?

Thanks Jeff

Feathering may also be due to tire model/design and your driving habits. Radials do wear "funky" and thats why we must rotate them.


Not sure if it differs from sport model to non... theres not too many sport cateras running around so it may seem seperated when it probably isnt.

You do understand that even if you fix the feathering problem, you stiil have the negative camber, wearing out the inside edge issue? THAT problem is NOT repairable.

That is my goal. The balding inner wear will not make a roaring noise going down the highway. Are you saying ALL cateras have the inner wear issue? If not ALL, then it is fixable. Would stiffer shocks help with the negative camber?

Just to clarify my issue. After having my car aligned by the dealership and my perfectly good rear tires rotated to the front, I started to see feathering in less than 200 miles! How normal is that?

ALL cateras have negative camber, more so in back than in front. Did you look at your rear tire angle like I mentioned? Most are so bad you can see it with the naked eye.
Remember../ \

Yes, I can see the negative camber on the back, and think I can barly see some in the front. Still to cold ( and icy )to lay on the ground and measure tire tread depth on the back tires which were on the front untill rotated recently. But you did not address my questions. Is feathering in under 200 miles after alignment normal for the front tires? And do you think stiffer shocks could help with the negative camber? And are there specs for lateral movement for the control arm?

Thanks Jeff

Sorry:banghead2 The feathering should not have occured that quickly. Stiffer shocks will not help the problem. I am sure that there are some specs for control arm movement, but I have never seen them. The issue is camber. A good alignment shop can fix the front, but as the Catera service manual states " There are no provisions for camber adjustment on the rear ".

As explained on the Yahoo Catera Owners site/group, there was/is a problem with the bushings in the front lower control arms on all Cateras. I apologize for any confusion, as the alignment specs were changed mid-year 1998 production year, and that helped some, but evidence has shown that the bushings were a problem throughout production. There is a very detailed draft bulletin on the Catera Owners site which I wrote, and the reality after more than two years of people approaching this issue is that most owners who have replaced the control arms with the new design bushings no longer have the tire wear problems. Hope this helps.

And let me add...the bushings on a Catera are somewhat unique in that they are special "hydro bushings" that control toe under braking. When they fail, tire feathering occurs, as feathering is a sign of inconsistent toe. With the proper alignment specs and new control arms, most Catera owners report they no longer have the tire wear problems. Therefore, the problem CAN usually be fixed, despite GM's claims to the contrary. Both the front horizontal and rear vertical control arm bushings were redesigned after the end of the Catera production run and they do make a difference. Dealers who have paid attention to this issue via the draft bulletin are getting far fewer complaints, and have an actual fix to offer. GM should have recalled this item and the Oil Cooler, both of which have been redesigned, but apparently they decided the engine recalls were enough of a loss, sad to say.

I took my Catera to the dealership to have a fog light replace and they are going to check out the control arm bushings. I have said in the past that the car drove fine, which it does on the highway, but I have noticed on bumby or uneven roads that it feels like it wants to dart back and forth with the road. Hopefully they can take care of my problems.

The dealership said that the car checked out Ok, which is not hard to believe. But they want to say that the feathering is normal tire wear. It only had 240 miles on the car since they aligned the front end and rotated the tires when they checked the car and the feathering is not only feelable, it is visable to the eye.:deadhorse Is feelable a real word? I don't know what to say. :banghead: I do have an appointment to have them show me the car up on a lift and explain their findings since my wife was the one to drop off the car and pick it up. Any suggestions on how to convince them to fix my car. This is my last step before talking to an attorny in more depth.

Thanks Jeff

The dealership said that the front end was redesigned on the 2000 year model, that my car was set up to factory specs and that they could try to adjust with negative toe but could not guarantee what effect that would have on wear or handling. I don't know what to say or do. What makes me mad is that they knew the previous owner had the same problem but said nothing and sold the car to me with new tires. I'm not that kind of person.

I am just replacing my tires now... I have 53000 kilometers on the car but my tires have only been rotated twice. The inside is balding and I don't really like the Eagle RS-As... Should I replace the control arm bushings on my car so the new tires wear better? I will get them rotated every 10000kms [front to back since they are directional]. Or would you not change the bushings because they are original but fine?

Note: I think I have decided on the General Exclaim UHP because of the 380UTG rating or the Contiprocontact (400UTG) the eagles are 260UTG and would obviously wear faster... Any opinions welcome! (both tires are rated well! the General surprisingly is rated number one in its category on Tirerack.com)

Thanks for advice on the control arm bushings in advance!