Engine Belts And Pulleys Problems of Cadillac Catera - part 2

Faulty timing belt caused massive engine damage resulting in loss of power on the road.

See all problems of the 1997 Cadillac Catera 🔎.

Timing belt tensioner failed at 51,000 miles (warranty ends at 50,000 miles) causing major damage to the valves and gears. Requires new valves, tensioner, head gasket, belt, etc. Service department told me that this is a problem specific to the Catera. He said that tensioner system is unique to Catera. This problem appears to be associated with a faulty system. Other Cadillac models do not have the same timing belt system. Quoted repair cost is $4,800. This is not just a timing belt problem, which is a normal wear and tear problem. Most car owners expect to repair timing belts some time during their ownership, if they keep the vehicles long enough. However, we are talking about a $40,000 vehicle. Consumers should not expect such a costly problem to occur on this car for a very long time, if ever. Hopefully, once repaired, this will not occur again. Most consumers can not afford an unexpected $4,800 repair bill once, let alone every few thousand miles. It just seems like the tensioner must be faulty or have a faulty design. The edmunds website shows many customers who have had this problem. Gm knows about this costly problem. Why haven't they made some provision for fixing the problem?.

See all problems of the 1998 Cadillac Catera 🔎.

Timing belt tensioner pulley bearing is prematurely failing and causing major damage in the engine valve train. If the car is out of warranty, this defect results in the customer having to pay a repair bill of several thousand dollars. If the defect is found soon enough it still costs the cusomer over five hundred dollars. When I bought the Cadillac the timing belt was suppose to last at least 100,000 miles and now I hear they are recommending the replacement of the assembly (p/n9120501) within 60k. The only problem with is some cars have the problem before 60k. The warranty on the replacement parts is 12 months/12k. There are also no procedures to assist the customer in reducing the costs of the necessary repairs. The edmunds website list many customers all over the country who have experienced this problem. Gm should be required to have a recall to fix this problem and they should be required to reimburse all customers who have experienced this problem. As far as I know all years of this model can experience this problem. Also the current replacement parts are prone to fail at the same rate as the original parts since the design hasn't been improved.

Defective pulleys caused the timing belt to come off its track. Bent valves do not allow proper compression to give the vehicle power so it will not start or run. Visual signs of wear on the pulleys show apparently bad craftmanship.

Tensioner pulley failed @ 65mph on expressway. When tensioner pulley let go proceeded to bend valves; damage and break pistons causing one piston to become imbedded in the engine head. Engine is a loss. New engine cost 9500. We began to coast in highway traffic in the speed lane possibly causing an accident. Fornately there was none. Contacted dealer. No response no return phone calls. Contacted Cadillac cust serv. They said could not assist me that we should have had the timing serviced @ 60k miles per manual. We never recieved a manual with car. One was requested from Cadillac cust serv within 30 days of purchasing the vehicle. It was never recieved. No notice for service was sent.

After timing belt went bad vehicle would stall out without any prior warning. Consumer has contacted dealer.

Timing belt bolts have worn out prematurely. A new tensioner was insalled, however the results are still the same.

Vehichle quit running, when brake applied while cruise control was on, at 68mph in heavy traffic . Coasted over to median. My husband was driving and pulled over to the left, had he gone to the right we would have been hit by the south bound traffic. When the engine failed. The car would not restart, making grinding noise when attempting to restart engine. Called aaa for tow. (flat bed) left sitting in median in heavy traffic. Local police stopped and osp also. In speaking with Cadillac customer service we were told that there was a recall #00042 on this vehichle, of which we were never notified. I was told that bond and rubber hub pulley may fail. 04/25/2001. Informed by cadilac dealer engine needs to be replaced. ($9,500) this car can stop without prior warning when the engine fails. This could be a potential hazard when traveling at high speeds, possibly causing a serious accident. We were very fortunate! customer service at Cadillac is not returning our calls or acknowleding the recall. How many people are having this problem with this car? depending on when this happens , such a failure could be a potential hazard. We have had the engine replaced through a private individual and it is available for inspection. The problem was that the bearings came out of the pulley that holds the timing belt. The belt was not broken. . . . We need to know if our new engine, which also is from a '97 Catera will have the same problem at 60,000miles. . . Thank you for checking into this. Fjf.

1997 Cadillac Catera problems, vehicle was in the shop for repairs 4 times in the 6 weeks of ownership, right side front door would not open, left side front door would not open, tail light assembly out, engine caught on fire while driving on beltway (insurance estimate a total loss).

Car was making a grinding sound under hood. Was told timing chain tensioner was almost broken. Dlr replaced tensioner, timing chain, and idler pulley. Car has had 6 alignments since 10/13/00. Car still pulls to left and wears out tires prematurely. Car has 47,000 miles on itand has 3rd set of tires on it. Car had a oil leak on valve cover gaskets. Dlr repaired and replaced. Car hesitates and surges forward. Dlr has not found problem. Car has abnormal shift patterns. Sometimes shift down to a lower gear causing car to lose power and speed, then shifts back to overdrive without depressing accelerator. Dlr has not found a problem. There is a sound from rear of car. Sounds like bad shocks. Dlr replaced frame support bushings and lower control arms. Noise still there. There are too many problems to report here. Car has serious problems and has been to dealership for extensive warranty work 9 times within our 7 months of ownership. The last visit, the sealership had the car for 15 days trying to repair the car, and now, most of the same things that were suppose to be repaired are still faulty. Today, the heating system went out. There is no heat in the car now. We will be returning back to dealership this morning. We have written the manufacturer and will be sending that letter off today also.

While driving vehicle died due to a faulty timing belt. Dealer has vehicle currently.

The drive belt shredded causing the timing belt to jam resulting in damage the valve head. Yh.

The timing belt broke while consumer was waiting at a stop light causing extensive damage t0 the engine. Nlm.

While driving about 25 mph serpentine belt fell off, causing power steering to malfunction. This happened without any indication. The problem was reported to the dealership. Crankshaft/pulley was replaced under warranty.

While driving engine crankshaft/pulley came off, causing the vehicle to lose all power. Ause unknown. Please give any further details.

While parking the pulley on the crankshaft broke, causing loss of vehicle control. Cause unknown.

While driving and without warning engine cut off. Mechanic stated that timing belt broke, causing engine to malfunction.

Engine belt failed, caused major engine damage. Yh.

Consumer stated that the engine was replaced due to both tension bearings and timing belt failure, consumer has since sold the vehicle.