[EdFromVA]

Great thread everyone I am experiencing the exact same conditions as described in Bulletin No.: 17-NA-158 I have a 2017 XT5 Platinum with 80k miles and this is first time this has occurred to me. Conversely, my Cadillac dealership wants to charge me $1300 to fix this? Can yous guys in here help me impress upon the dealership that they need to do this complimentary. My vehicle is paid off and out of warranty unfortunately. Also, the entire time I owned this car from 2017 to now has been serviced at my local Cadillac dealership. Thank you in Advance

This is a common problem with the GM 3.6 V6 at 50-60k. The dealer will replace if still under powertrain warranty; if not expect $1,200 -$1,500 bill. Dealers have a high overhead and charge a lot of money for repairs. Most professional garages (I'm not talking about the corner gas station) can fix for little more than half the cost. But it is a pain in the rear to replace, about 3-5 hours work depending on how familiar the mechanic is with the repair. I'd talk to your independent shop and politely ask them if they have experience with GM 3.6 V6 with the P0128 code. My mechanic just rolled his eyes and said "You've got to be kidding me. At least one a month."

 

[nycplayboy78]

This is a common problem with the GM 3.6 V6 at 50-60k. The dealer will replace if still under powertrain warranty; if not expect $1,200 -$1,500 bill. Dealers have a high overhead and charge a lot of money for repairs. Most professional garages (I'm not talking about the corner gas station) can fix for little more than half the cost. But it is a pain in the rear to replace, about 3-5 hours work depending on how familiar the mechanic is with the repair. I'd talk to your independent shop and politely ask them if they have experience with GM 3.6 V6 with the P0128 code. My mechanic just rolled his eyes and said "You've got to be kidding me. At least one a month."

Thank you Ed for your response I did just that and took it my local independent mechanic and showed him the Service Bulletin and he typed up a mechanic's note and I went and took that too my local cadillac dealership where I purchased my XT5 from and they reduced the amount to $900 labor included. The mechanic told me that it would be in my best long term interest to take any service bulletin items directly to the dealership for service. I am grateful that this issue is now behind me and then of course my brakes started acting up...SIGH....LOL!!!!!

 

[Jennifer2035]

I have had the same issues for 12 months on my 2017 xt5 as did my coworker. Been to the dealership 4 times. Both when it is doing it and when it’s not. It threw codes for the thermostat but that doesn’t explain the parking brake light flashing. The dealership has told me it’s just what they do as they get up in age. GMC Acadia is known to do the same thing they said. I found that unacceptable so I called GM corporate and opened a case. Morris Cadillac now refuses to work with me as they feel it would be a negative experience. Aka they don’t know what’s wrong. If something was truly wrong why would it correct itself? So I put a new battery in it. Didn’t help. Note to self don’t buy another one I guess

 

[jscott16]

I have had the same issues for 12 months on my 2017 xt5 as did my coworker. Been to the dealership 4 times. Both when it is doing it and when it’s not. It threw codes for the thermostat but that doesn’t explain the parking brake light flashing. The dealership has told me it’s just what they do as they get up in age. GMC Acadia is known to do the same thing they said. I found that unacceptable so I called GM corporate and opened a case. Morris Cadillac now refuses to work with me as they feel it would be a negative experience. Aka they don’t know what’s wrong. If something was truly wrong why would it correct itself? So I put a new battery in it. Didn’t help. Note to self don’t buy another one I guess

Did you get the thermostat replaced?

 

[njacobsen]

Morris Cadillac now refuses to work with me as they feel it would be a negative experience. Aka they don’t know what’s wrong.

Try a different dealer with a better attitude. If you have a case with Customer Service, tell them you want to try a different dealer who is easier to work with and they will reach out to a dealer of your choice to make the appointment. I did that with my last thermostat appointment and the first dealer called me right back offering to do the job they should have done in the first place. Dealers do not like to have documented cases where their attitude is driving customers away, especially if told you will never return for service or sales. Or, go to an independent shop where the cost will be much lower.

 

[hannahmarie]

My g/f's 2017 just had the same problem today. Steering Assist Reduced message, fan on continuously and the temp gauge on cold and not moving up at all. Brought it to my local dealer and they took it in right away and changed the coolant temperature sensor and replaced the thermostat and added coolant. Fine now and great service.

I'm having the same issue, just not steering problem part, we'll not yet anyways.. (knocking on wood) do you mind me asking hiw much your
bill was?

 

[ciesla.terry]

Happened to me this week. AC went and the steering assist warning came on. Also a fan was running high. It was the thermostat. Tech said the computer thinks the engine is running hot so it deactivates AC, fan runs high and the steering assist comes on. He knew what it was immediately and finished my sentence.

 

[Caddyfriend123]

In this case, it does. You can look on YouTube and see several cases and even DIY fixes for this. I had the issue a few years ago on my wife's XT5. Temp gauge won't move, stay at "C", front fan on engine runs full blast, and stop/start stops working. It was intermittent but did throw the code"P0128". This was covered under the Powertrain warranty but the dealer said my battery was low and needed replacing. I showed him the TSB on the topic but the car was 5 years old at the time so I went ahead and had them replace the battery. The problem has not come back in over a year or two but several folks have had to replace the tstat and there are videos on how to do it yourself with part numbers. Or, you can pay the dealer $1400 to do it. Mostly shows up on 2017 XT5 but others affected also!

Hi, thanks for all this information. It’s everything I needed to know.
my car started showing this warning today and I went to Advance Auto to read the codes. The codes seem to follow what you are saying in your video.
i am away from home now and will have a 500 mile trip in front of me to get back home. I called local Cadillac dealers where I currently am and no one can see me until sometime after Christmas.
Am I putting myself in any danger to make the trip back home with the warning still up and the repairs not made? I normally take it to my local Caddy dealer and would like to do that if it’s safe for me to drive.
i would appreciate your input on this.
thanks in advance.

 

[njacobsen]

Hi, thanks for all this information. It’s everything I needed to know.
my car started showing this warning today and I went to Advance Auto to read the codes. The codes seem to follow what you are saying in your video.
i am away from home now and will have a 500 mile trip in front of me to get back home. I called local Cadillac dealers where I currently am and no one can see me until sometime after Christmas.
Am I putting myself in any danger to make the trip back home with the warning still up and the repairs not made? I normally take it to my local Caddy dealer and would like to do that if it’s safe for me to drive.
i would appreciate your input on this.
thanks in advance.

What is the reading of your temperature gauge? If you can display Coolant Temperature on the DIC, what is the actual temperature. It is highly unlikely the temperature is too high as most, if not all cases posted on this forum have reported the temperature gauge is approaching cold. If that is the case, I do not think you will have any issues or cause lasting issues by running the car at highway speeds with coolant temperature significantly less than optimal.

Can the dealer you normally use able to work on your car shortly after returning home?

 

[Caddyfriend123]

What is the reading of your temperature gauge? If you can display Coolant Temperature on the DIC, what is the actual temperature. It is highly unlikely the temperature is too high as most, if not all cases posted on this forum have reported the temperature gauge is approaching cold. If that is the case, I do not think you will have any issues or cause lasting issues by running the car at highway speeds with coolant temperature significantly less than optimal.

Can the dealer you normally use able to work on your car shortly after returning home?

Yes, my plan is to have it looked at by the local caddy dealer that I normally go to. Just didn’t want to cause myself any problems from traveling from Long Island, NY back to western Va.

 

[njacobsen]

Yes, my plan is to have it looked at by the local caddy dealer that I normally go to. Just didn’t want to cause myself any problems from traveling from Long Island, NY back to western Va.

Did you look at your temperature gauge?

 

[Caddyfriend123]

Did you look at your temperature gauge?

I haven't... I've been working night and day getting my mom ready to go into a nursing home, she fell recently and has some dementia, and my dad into an assisted living....then it's selling their house, etc,etc,etc.
I'm hoping to give the car a bit of a run tomorrow to see if it comes up to temperature.
Thanks for asking.

 

[Chuck5330tn]

I just bought my car (2020) and saw this on the info screen also. It will be a couple days before I get to the dealership to get rectified. Is it safe to still drive with this problem? I hit the button so the warning goes away but im sure it's the thermostat. Also do they always stick in the open position?

 

[njacobsen]

I just bought my car (2020) and saw this on the info screen also. It will be a couple days before I get to the dealership to get rectified. Is it safe to still drive with this problem? I hit the button so the warning goes away but im sure it's the thermostat. Also do they always stick in the open position?

You should be OK for a couple of days. The thermostat seems to open prematurely because in my experience I have not seen a difference with changes in outdoor temperatures. The range of temperatures achieved seem to be nearly the same in cold or hot weather and the warmup time to reach the lower normalized range is not dramatically lengthened in cold weather.