Post pics. Need to see how bad it is

 

ostpics:

 

what he said^^

 

:yeah:

 

You ought to check your front brake hoses for any damage while you're poking around.

 

Radiator/trans hoses as well.
Is it just surface rust on the welds, or all the way through? Ive seem alot of CTS with surface rust on welds, but none were very bad.

 

I will get some pics asap. I checked all hoses and they all seemed to be fine. The rust has gone all the way through on both sides.

 

Thats unusual.

 

I just repaired mine last week (650$). I could do a hole with my finger just by pressing the rust.

The problem is simple: the ac compressor is just above the frame on the driver's side. When condensation is dropping, its dropping on the frame and gets inside from the upper part. The passenger side is okay. The rust starts inside of the frame btw.

Bad conception...

 

. I could do a hole with my finger just by pressing.


Bad conception...

Sadly, a lot of dysfunctional families are started this way..............................:crying2:

 

That makes sense. I wonder why the passenger side did it to tho? Did you have the part with rust cut out and replaced or did you just have a brace welded over the bad piece?

 

The a/c condensation theory doesn't explain both sides. I was thinking it was from road salt/deicer/whatever crap they put on the road. The front wheels kick it up and it lands where you describe the rust. The previous owner should have had it fixed under the corrosion waranty. I wonder if you have a branded title i.e. salvage. Its hard to have ignored something that bad, especially while it was under warranty. As soon as it was in the air for service it would have been seen. My 2 cents.

 

It is a clean title, and a 1 owner. The sad part is it has been regularly serviced at the dealership because I went and got the records. Agreed on how hard it is to believe a technician could possibly miss something like this? Im sure it has been apparent for several years.

 

And covered by the corrosion warranty. For a dealer to pass up the opportunity for guaranteed cash from GM is hard to understand.

 

The corrosion warranty is 6/100, so its possible it didnt get this bad until after the warranty ran out. Unlikely, tho...seems like rust this bad would be progressing over a few years.

 

This is looking from front of car to give an idea of where the rust is

 

up close...

 

How would I go about finding out about something like this?

 

Its extremely unlikely, but you could have RippyPartsDepartment run your VIN through "Global Warranty Management" for any corrosion repairs. If it was fraudulantly claimed from Cadillac, it would be listed there or it didn't happen. Carelessness is the likely suspect. Or it might not have been so bad under warranty that it needed repairs, as noted above.

I just checked my Global Warranty Management printout and I have unlimited "Corrosion Limited Warranty" I don't know what 2003 had, but you'd have to do the math to see when was the last time yours was covered, and then figure out how bad it had to have been back then.

If you become certain that it should have been covered, you could complain to Cadillac Customer Service, maybe. You need to talk to Rippy. He works at a dealership and knows the ins and outs.

 

How about Chris that works in the parts deptartment at Rippy Cadillac LOL! ...Just saying

 

Thanks for the help and info. Is this the dealership out of north carolina?

 

it is

 

Can they clean that up & box the frame ? I hope they can do something decent without costing an arm & a leg.

 

Thats what im hoping for!

 

any luck with that rust?

 

Not good if the car spent a substantial time being operated in the rust belt are in a similar climate where salt was used on the roadways and it was also regularly parked in a heated garage. Those conditions would certainly have accelerated the corrosion process too.

 

in this case, what are the different options available in fixing this issue?

 

I have the exact same problem with my 03 CTS, but it has gone much worse, to the point I can actually put 4 of my fingers right through the frame :S.... I'm in the process of dealing with the Cadillac Headquarters here in Canada, and their consumer claims department at the moment. My local dealership took pictures of my car and the damaged frame, and passed them on to claims as well.
From what I can grasp the dealership tells me that they cannot just repair or replace a section of the frame in the front, due to the stress from the weight of the engine and such. They would have to replace the entire frame rail, which would cost thousands in labour, or if the car isn't worth it, then they'll deem it a total loss .... I know my car isn't worth the extensive repairs having 210,000kms, I just hope they'll come back to me with a settlement.

Have you head back from anyone yet?

 

The a/c condensation theory doesn't explain both sides. I was thinking it was from road salt/deicer/whatever crap they put on the road.

Not good if the car spent a substantial time being operated in the rust belt are in a similar climate where salt was used on the roadways and it was also regularly parked in a heated garage. Those conditions would certainly have accelerated the corrosion process too.

These are definitely the reason why.
Up here this problem would not have made it through a safety check before being sold. (very strict here) I can't believe as others have stated that the service techs did not spot this. Seems strange. I just had my Old's LSS go because of similar problems too. I feel your pain!
Who did you by this from?? Can you get the vendor to make good on it or did you purchase in "as is condition"

 

I bought my CTS used from a Mazda dealership about 2 years ago when it had 140,000kms, I didn't buy it "as is" I was told it went through a 5-point safety inspection :s.... Over the passed two years the car has been in and out of Cadillac dealerships, and not once has anyone.. until now, told me about the frame rusting out. and its passed rusting out its completely gone :S....Its had to believe that none of these certified cadillac dealerships didn't spot it, because its pretty evident and in your face when under the car.
Still waiting on Cadillac to get back to me, crossing my fingers they are willing to help out.... but not holding my breath :/

 

I bought my CTS used from a Mazda dealership about 2 years ago when it had 140,000kms, I didn't buy it "as is" I was told it went through a 5-point safety inspection :s.........:/

To me, it reeks of incompetence & negligence. Hopefully you were given a written copy of the Safety Inspection Report, especially if you plan to make a formal compliant to them or even through the BBB.

 

Then it was passable when you got it from Mazda but I bet the rust was already started and has excelled over the last 2 years.
So either the cadillac guys never mentioned it or they took the attitude that "it's not their problem". Hope you get some help but I'm with you, don't hold your breath!
Anything can be fixed, it just comes down to how much! You may need to start hunting for frame repair people.