In Feb I bought this car from my mom...she lost her license due to seizures. The car now has 44 k miles...she hardly drove it. She had minor issues like battery and one day she did try and drive it into the dining hall at the retirement center where she lives, but no real problems....I now drive the car 3 hrs from my house to hers weekly to take her to doctors or run errands and I am having a problem. I thought it was a tank of bad gas, as did my husband...an owner/operator and has been driving professionally all his adult life....and the fella at the part store also thought it was bad gas. As far as I know it has always been run on mid-grade , 89 octane.My problems began with slight skipping just after ignition start up and sometime at idle. Then I began to hear a soft clicking sound....short bursts of what reminded me of a baseball card clipped to the bike frame so the spokes would rub it. Now you know how old I am and how little I know/understand cars. By the time I got to 1/2 tank the stuttering and the clicking became more frequent, so at hubby's suggestion I put some STP water treatment in, and filled up with 93 octane. So the stutter continues, usuall just after starting the car but the clicking gets louder and begins to last longer, from 3 to 20 second bursts....but no engine light . Then last Thursday the clicking lasted for app5 miles and the engine light flickered 3 times and went out, the car ran smoothly for the remainder of the day....app 35 miles of driving. Yesterday , the clicking was about the same..intermittent....when suddenly the engine light came on and stayed on. I contacted On Star and they gave me 2 codes...P0014 & P0021 and recommended I get the car serviced within 7 days. I stopped at the Auto Zone and asked them to check and they found codes P0300 ~ P0306...no P00303 was detected.....my question is...How much trouble am I in here ? Can the cam positioning sensor cause that many cylinders to mis fire? Do I need to mortgage the house for this repair??? Please help if you can...thanks

 

You might want to take car to dealer if it is a v6. GM had some concerns related to timing chains which maybe covered under warranty. Clicking sound maybe chain(s). The OnStar codes relate to chains. Dealer can also tell you about any applicable recalls or warranties still in effect. I don't your in trouble yet but it is a Cadillac and tend to cost more to fix when they break.

 

Thanks for the response SlowRoll....the cost of the repair is quite worrisome to me. I am on disability , and as I said my husband is an owner/operator and we just had the engine overhauled...ouch at $15,000.....so funds to have major work done are scarce. But that is just the way things are. I just purchased the car , and the only reason I did was to keep mom happy...she loves the thing the way I love my F-350 d truck...however she cannot get in and out of the truck so I use her car so she can still ride in it. I will call the dealership and see if they can provide me with an estimate on time and cost..I know GM is in the middle of a huge recall and am concerned about the time frame they can do this.
Again, thank you for helping....it is nice to have all the help I can get.

 

Hi Cadi Lady,

I can see where these concerns would be frustrating and am sorry you are having problems with your STS. If you decide to head to a dealership, please email me your VIN, dealership, and contact information at socialmedia@gm.com (with "Attention: Austin" in the subject line) so I can work in conjunction with the dealership to help resolve this issue. I hope to hear from you soon.

Austin J.
Cadillac Customer Care

 

Thanks Austin J ...
I go pick up the car today, I did not use the dealership because of financial concerns. I was able to locate a mechanic who worked at the dealership, ASE certified..factory trained and he was able to do the work, guarantee the work for less and quicker.
When I began to experience this problem I did go through the on board computer and it displayed that I had 40% of the oil life remaining, and I am 1000 miles from my next scheduled change. The onboard computer did not inform me that this engine consumes oil. I do wish that Cadillac would have done a better job of establishing the paramenters within this unit to do just that.
It turned out that the oil was very nearly gone, no leaks anywhere and out of 6 qts there was 1 1/2 in the motor. I never would have expected an auto mobile with 44k miles to have this problem. Not since my 1967 Belair have I been in position that I was advised to purchase and keep oil with me at all times....but that is what I am being told to do, so I will.
Do you still want the VIN ?
Thanks again

 

Hi Cadi Lady,

I understand your reasoning for going to an independent mechanic, however, I cannot work cooperatively with this mechanic to further research the concerns with your STS. I would still be happy to run your VIN if you would like, but any additional recommended services would have to be handled by a Cadillac dealership.

Please email me at socialmedia@gm.com with “Attention: Austin” in the subject line should you feel you require additional assistance. I hope you have a great day!

Austin J.
Cadillac Customer Care

 

Unfortunately, the Northstar engine uses oil. I have a 2002 Cadillac Deville with a little over 100,000 miles, and it uses almost 6 qts in 4000 miles. There are no leaks inside or out, no burning oil smell, and all the O-rings and other seals are fine. Getting the oil changed is also slightly more expensive due to the extra oil required. These are normal costs with any of the 2000-2012 Northstar engines.

And as a former truck driver (I was a company driver), I know how repairs on a truck can cost A TON of money.

TS

 

Thanks to all for the kind advice.....it turns out to be "an oil consumption" problem. The mechanic was able to fix it relatively easy....and this was the first time he had run into this. Here is what he did...he completely drained the synthetic oil out and changed the filter, put good old oil in and ran the car...not driving it, just letting in run.....then he drained out the conventional oil, changed filter and replaced the synthetic oil, reset the codes and it now it runs fine. He was able to locate ....and he made a copy for me...of the Tech Bulletin # 11-06-01-004C that relates to this problem. I was shocked to see that GM rates this engine as high mileage once it reaches 30,000 ~ 40,000 miles. Shocking that is 20,000 ~ 30,000 miles before factory warranty runs out !!!!
Crazy !!!
Any way...I used to have a 1967 Belair that I had to carry oil around with me all the time, so I will just do that with this car. He said it may use 1 qt every 1,000 miles.
Wel like I said, I bought the car so my mother has this one last little joy in her life..when she is gone or I no longer need to drive her around, I will sell it and go back to a Ford product.
Until the next adventure......Happy Trails y'all !