[ccoleman88]

Hello fellow Cadillac'ers!

I have owned a few luxury brands, Acura TL, Infiniti G37 the most recent. With a growing family i set out to get something more practical, but when touring the ford dealership here in Tucson, I noticed a spotless '14 ATS in dark grey/black and fell in love. 3000 miles, single owner, and i got it out the door for $23k with my very damaged trade-in! Immediately fell in love with my first Cadillac, the lines, the striking interior and dash. A very masculine look and distinctive on the road with very few other ATS in my city. LOVE IT

2014 Grey ATS 2.5L
Basic package, no CUE
3000 miles, single owner

Then, as with any vehicle, reality started to set in a bit and i noticed some items im going to have to deal with. I am hoping you all may have some solutions to get me more settled in my new ride.

1) The non-CUE stereo doesnt have bluetooth audio which sucks, because i primarily use my iPhone with streaming services like spotify/beatsmusic. But is had a USB hookup, which i was fine with. What ive noticed is that this is a very glitchy system. My phone isnt always recognized. There is a noticible latency when changing songs. And the worst part is that it occasionally (once every 10 min or so) sounds like a skipping CD as a song studders for a moment then continues. In researching, most concerns are with CUE, but i havent heard any response on the non CUE system working with iphones. My backup is to use AUX, which is fine, but now im controlling on my phone which defeats the purpose and is a big fall from what should be standard bluetooth audio. Is anyone having a better experience witht heir USB iphone in a base non-CUE ATS?

2) The sound system(labeled as Bose) just seems really unimpressive. Its not a very rich audio experience. Worst of all, the rear spear seems to really rattle hard on certain basstones, I'm considering taking it in to be looked at. Is this common?

3) My last item will seem like nitpicking, but its becoming a big deal for me. Im 6'2 and 220 pnds, I knew i was getting into a smaller vehicle, and having drove my G37 coupe for a long time, i was all for it. The space is just fine, im reasonably comfortable, the problem for me is how my feet rest while driving. there is a downward slope in the driver side footwell where i rest my heels, which causes me to put additional weight, or pressure on my heels, which becomes pretty uncomfortable on longer drives. my commute to work is about 50 min, which makes this a twice-a-day discomfort. HAs anyone else experienced this? any larger guys driving ATS's out there?


Aside from these items, I love everything about the car, so i am hoping i can improve some of this to really settle in.

Thanks!

 

[donavo]

welcome and congrats.

1) there was another guy on here that had the base radio and he did alot of research on it because he was not happy with it. the bottom line was that he couldnt find any solutions for the issues that you both are having. aux is the only reliable way, he tried to go by the SD card route but that was also not successful due to formatting/size limitations on base radio.

2) theres a service bulletin for the rattling rear deck. ive taken mine in several times now. it definitely improved but didnt totally disappear.

3) i havent noticed this but im not a big guy. however i remember there was someone that ordered an aftermarket pedal kit with a heel plate. that might help you.

 

[BeeJayAy]

I'm 6'6" 235. I find the car very comfortable. Run the seat all the way back and most of the way down. Biggest problem is that I carry my wallet in my left rear pocket, after about 150 miles gets a little uncomfortable, have to remove it.

 

[duneless]

Congrats to you,
I have to have the seat back pretty far with the Thigh lumbar of the seat tilted up and my feet set nice on the pedals. My feet were feeling the same for sometime until I got everything just right. My main problem was I wear a 14 sneaker and my toe would rub while pressing the gas. A boot is worse driving home from work. On a long trip I have to wear sneakers. And my wallet after a half hour hurts and has to come out. But I think as you get used to things it gets better. I'm very comfortable now but in the begining not so much.

 

[ccoleman88]

I think part of the problem is i have the base model, and those seats done have thigh lumbar adjustment, so my butt hits the seat, but most of my legs are lifted. I have been messing with it and i expect between tweaking and just flat getting used to it I will be OK in the comfort zone.

I am expecting at this point that I will need to replace my "bose" speakers because the sound just really is flat. the back panel rattle apparently is a known issue that I can have them look at.

My bigger concern is that with a new cadillac in 2015 I have to use AUX for my iphone. the base infotainment center (non-cue) leaves a lot to be desired. I wonder if the stuttering and poor responsiveness via USB can be remedied with a firmware update?