[dr3wski]

I'm 9 months into a lease of an ATS Standard (not manual transmission...the base model). Here are my concerns:

#1 -- The low beam headlights are extremely dim. This is the first car I have ever had where I have to worry about safety while driving in rain due to impaired visibility secondary to dim headlamps. What can I do?

#2 -- I am aware that the CUE system on this vehicle is a technological time bomb. Is it covered under warranty for when it breaks?

#3 -- The trunk still does not close properly...a dealer fixed it once...that lasted about a month

#4 -- The stereo (part of CUE) has begun having the volume lessen by about 25% for a few seconds and then come back to where I have it set (this is not related to road noise, volume correction software). Anyone heard of this before?

#5 -- There is still a flapping noise emanating from the moonroof when it is tilted and I am driving above 45 mph...this lessens when I engage recirculation. A dealer supposedly looked at it and "could not duplicate." Anyone ever had this happen?

#6 -- The USB intermittently does not work...they also "could not duplicate."


I will be taking it in for its 2nd oil change (I'm at 10,300 mi) in 3-4 months and will be having a serious talk about these concerns. I will likely also give the dealer a copy of a letter going to GM; I may CC an attorney.

I am a very busy clinician and do not have time to diagnose or DIY these days. I also thought all cars on the road had headlights bright enough to handle a moderate NY rainstorm.
Mechanically the car is a lot of fun.
The "service" I have received from 3 separate Cadillac dealerships has been apalling.

What ashame that tech and unsafe headlights are going to force me away from a brand that I used to love.

 

[CadillacGM]

Keep documenting your complaints, if things don't improve get ready to contact GM head office. Cadillac Dealers have historically poor customer service, a simple solution for points 5 and 6 are either for them to drive the vehicle with you so you can point it out, or just to take a video the next time these problems occur. I haven't had any problems with the Low Beams, maybe just by some brighter aftermarket bulbs. The CUE is under warranty so long as your vehicle is under 80km, as for the sound issue, does this happen when paired to a blutooth device?

 

[rsingl]

1. Does the 2018 base trim still not have HID headlights? If so, there is probably a brighter after-market bulb available. Also have dealer check headlight aiming. And thoroughly clean the inside windshield glass that is subject to buildup from the out-gassing of the many materials inside the car. It becomes most noticeable when conditions are impaired.

2. CUE is under the 4/50 bumper to bumper warranty.

3. No rocket science here, might need a better dealer.

4. Haven't run into this, but make sure that the speed sensitive volume or Bose Audio Pilot equivalent (which you have depends upon trim level) is turned off in vehicle preferences to test. The system will reduce volume in some situations (i.e. when nav is making an announcement or there is an incoming call alert) so maybe there is a problem with it doing this partial mute. Does it happen with all sources (radio, MP3, etc.)?

5. Haven't noticed this and I use the roof in this position often. Is it consistent? If so should be easy for a GOOD dealer to duplicate and resolve.

6. Ditto others, try a different dealer. It sounds like your CUE system has individual issues in addition to the generally poor implementation of CUE.

 

[dr3wski]

Thanks for the replies. The 2018 base does not come with HIDs. I believe they are simply halogens...but man, my 1992 Nissan 240sx hax brighter sealed beams.
And the car is always immaculately clean, inside and out.

NOTE: I did mention headlight focus/aim to the dealer...they said it was fine...my highbeams hit 25-feet up in the trees...which I don't think is normal, but they don't seem to care.

What's upsetting me is that I *want* to buy this car at the end of the lease. But if CUE is gonna fail (and possibly fail multiple times) an inconvenience and cost like that is reason alone for me to not buy it.

 

[Sergio526]

For point number 4, maybe it's switching between analog FM and HD radio? Mine does that a lot, so I just disable HD radio on the station and resave the preset (which it eventually forgets that specific setting and I have to do it again).

 

[dr3wski]

The volume level only seems to go down and then back up when using USB. It seems that since the car updated itself (which caused me to lose all of my settings, ability to use Android Auto...then I flipped out on the phone on tech support and an hour later it all miraculously started working again) the problem of USB intermittently not working has stopped...but the weather also changed at the same time.

I'm more concerned with the likelihood of CUE failing and the fact that the stock headlights on this thing are the dimmest headlights I have ever seen. I can't see sh** when it rains. Wild.

 

[Phantom14]

#5 -- There is still a flapping noise emanating from the moonroof when it is tilted and I am driving above 45 mph...this lessens when I engage recirculation. A dealer supposedly looked at it and "could not duplicate." Anyone ever had this happen?

Check the fitment of the bellows (accordion-style rubber trim that extends when you open the roof to the vent position) on both the left & right sides. The lower mounting point on the sunroof frame is a press-fit and would make that noise if it comes loose. If that's the problem, the noise will go away if it's pushed back into place, but the dealer should still replace it with a tighter-fitting bellows or apply some adhesive to prevent a recurrence.

I didn't check the impact of recirc mode when I had that problem, but I suppose it's possible that it changes the airflow enough to stop the flapping. The 'could not duplicate' technician was probably hung up on trying to make recirc mode create the problem...lol. It's my experience that you have to be careful how much you tell the service advisor, lest they focus on one of the symptoms instead of the root of the problem.

 

[dr3wski]

Phantom, thanks. I did not mention anything about the recirc button.
It def is the bellows because that is the sound that material would make if it were flapping around.
At $400 / month on a leased car, I am not interested in playing technician, DiY-anything.

More importantly.....headlights...they suck.
And you have a '14 ATS--have you ever had a CUE system get destroyed?
I'm trying to figure out just how common this problem is. I hear it's common...I'm just wondering *how* common.

Thanks.

 

[artscadillac]

Standard + Luxury trims on Sedan still have Halogen. My 2018 headlights are better than the 2016 I had and so is the rear camera,
but not as good as HID would be.

CUE is under warranty. Like other common problems, they all appear in the forum, so it's hard to gauge what percent have
problems, but likely fewer % than it seems.

Sometimes I have to press down on the trunk firmer a 2nd time.

I have not had a stereo volume problem. I do miss the volume number that old CUE had. New Cue has a graph.
I have not heard of your volume problem.

I have never used the moonroof. I do not like them.

My USB is sometimes not found. Restart of the car helps that. You can't make it fail. Its random after a restart.

Buying the car at the end of the lease may not be a good deal, since it will be worth less than the residual.

 

[Renaldo1]

CUE maladies are many. I'm 'somewhat' new to Caddy, having been a euro sports car owner most of my life. My CPO 2013 ATS 2L Turbo Premium I purchased in 2015 developed a deadspot in the lower center of the CUE screen. Replaced under warranty. My 2016 ATS-V purchased in 2017 developed the 'spiderweb cracking' as a result of excessive heat in the cabin (so the story goes). Both units have had their infrequent glitches where a car/system stop/turn off/turn-on/reboot was all that was necessary to regain sanity. For me, this happens so infrequently that I don't worry about it. Others have worse experience concerning system stability, and performance/hesitation.

As for the headlights, my used example didn't come with a couple of welcomed packages and thus I have Halogen lights and no locking gas cap... this on a car that stickered for ~$75K. Some items, on a luxury sports sedan should be considered 'standard.' One can blame the buyer (myself in this case) but I was more interested in the 'sport-performance' equation for the ATS-V, than I was all the bells and whistles that came with my 2013 Premium. Still, I do miss my HUD & locking gas cap. Eventually I'll find a solution for brighter headlights on the aftermarket. All the rest is peachy! (I track (road course) my car.)

 

[Phantom14]

More importantly.....headlights...they suck.
And you have a '14 ATS--have you ever had a CUE system get destroyed?
I'm trying to figure out just how common this problem is. I hear it's common...I'm just wondering *how* common.

A poorly-designed projector housing is hard to overcome even with a brighter bulb, for which the trade-off is a shorter lifespan. You can move up to something advertised as brighter, but try to avoid anything that's supposed to be cool 'blue-ish' (>5500K) - a warmer light color (<5500K) will get you less glare and better contrast. I'm blessed with the HIDs now on my ATS, but have tried to maximize my halogen output in the past on previous cars. Sometimes the perception of better illumination is as simple as raising the headlight aim - just a little higher than factory spec - so light gets a little further down the road.

The CUE system in my car hasn't done anything outside the ordinary in the years I've owned it. The core software is the same as is used elsewhere in GM brands, so should be fairly robust, but it's hard to get past the lack of processing power needed to make some of CUE's features work as smoothly as they should. My USB connection has always 'worked', but occasionally is slow to reload after starting the car or takes some time to re-index the files. There have been faults and problems in other things connected to/controlled by CUE, but I don't consider it a time bomb despite the seeming rash of touchscreen delaminations (spiderweb cracking) reported in the FB group and elsewhere. I actually never even heard about that until I joined the FB group!

I don't know if it's at all related to the delamination issue, but soon after I got mine (used) I noticed that my screen had 'patches' of worn area where I couldn't wipe off the fingerprints/smudges. I ended up taking a fine polish to the screen, which took it down to crystal clear glass. Later, I realized that I probably removed a layer of anti-glare coating, but I replaced that with a liquid screen protectant that's sold for phones/tablets. Glare hasn't been an annoyance, touch sensitivity seems fine, and fingerprints don't seem to show up anymore...or maybe my fingers aren't as oily as most?...lol. I also polished the black plastic and applied a paint sealant, which seems to help with fingerprints there, as well. YMMV...

 

[angel71rs]

NOTE: I did mention headlight focus/aim to the dealer...they said it was fine...my highbeams hit 25-feet up in the trees...which I don't think is normal, but they don't seem to care.

High beams up in the trees and they say it's ok? You can check/adjust aim easily, see post 39:

https://www.cadillacforums.com/foru...n-forum/653802-headlights-3.html#post14743826

 

[Karl_1052]

I also have a 2018 Base ATS(but mine does have the manual transmission) with 18000 miles on it.

#1 -- The low beam headlights are extremely dim. This is the first car I have ever had where I have to worry about safety while driving in rain due to impaired visibility secondary to dim headlamps. What can I do?
Unless there is an issue with your car, the base headlights are fine. They are actually rated higher in some tests than the factory HIDs.
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/vehicle/cadillac/ats-4-door-sedan/2018#headlights
#2 -- I am aware that the CUE system on this vehicle is a technological time bomb. Is it covered under warranty for when it breaks?
The CUE system was updated in 2017, so most of the issues of the 2 earlier generations do not affect these years. Having said that, mine wouldn't access presets at my first oil change. The dealer replaced the CUE unit, and I haven't had any issues yet.
#3 -- The trunk still does not close properly...a dealer fixed it once...that lasted about a month
I have not experienced this issue. Could be an alignment issue.
#4 -- The stereo (part of CUE) has begun having the volume lessen by about 25% for a few seconds and then come back to where I have it set (this is not related to road noise, volume correction software). Anyone heard of this before?
See above about CUE. Insist they replace the head unit.
#5 -- There is still a flapping noise emanating from the moonroof when it is tilted and I am driving above 45 mph...this lessens when I engage recirculation. A dealer supposedly looked at it and "could not duplicate." Anyone ever had this happen?
I have never experienced this. I only drive with mine fully open.
#6 -- The USB intermittently does not work...they also "could not duplicate."
Probably related to the CUE. Get it replaced.
[/QUOTE]

Try to document the issues as they happen on video if possible, so you can show the service advisor.

 

[Sydtron]

If you're still under warranty (assuming you are), make sure to have the rear axle seals checked out. In fact, have them checked out yearly while you're under warranty. I just had mine done for the 2nd time (79k miles), 1st time was under warranty, but the 2nd time hurt.

 

[MrAl]

I would suggest taking it to another dealership. The service levels are all over the board, and if you tell them you want to switch to them, and will continue to give them business, they will be motivated to help more.

Al