Differential Unit problems of the 2005 Cadillac CTS - part 1

The vehicle is equipped with a very weak rear differential that was used in the lesser horsepower v6 and when taking off hard the car begins to wheel hop and destroys the rear end the vehicle was in motion on a city street this has occurred twice in less then a year and a half.

The contact owns a 2005 Cadillac Cts. The contact stated that the differential leaked and the vehicle became inoperable without warning. There was an abnormal sound that came from the differential. Cole Buick GMC confirmed that the VIN was excluded from NHTSA campaign number: 07v589000 (power train). The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was approximately 150,000.

Shifting gears was accompanied by clunking in rear differential. This occurred when shifting or when leatting off the accelerator. In March of 2014 a whining also accompanied driving at speeds of 50 - 70 mph. My Cadillac dealer replaced the differential with a new one under a private warranty program. Within 2 weeks the differential was again making the same noises. Dealer said that Cadillac would not do anything about the problem. Note: servicing mechanic noted after changing the differential fluid, that the fluid taken from the newly installed differential was burnt black.

I was traveling on the interstate when it felt like someone had hit us from behind except there was no one there. I saw smoke coming from the back end of car and it smelled like something was burning. I pulled off to the side and stopped my vehicle. After stopping the car it I could no longer get it to move forward. It acted like it was not able to go into gear. Had a tow truck haul it home from el centro, calif to yuma, az. The car had to literally be dragged onto the tow truck cause the rear wheels were frozen in place. Luckily the wheels didnt cease while we were still moving. After removal of differential we discovered it was bone dry. I had replace a bushing not to long ago but saw no sign of leaks. I purchased the 2005 Cts new from a dealer in yuma and never received any notice of a recall for the seals. Or for anything.

2005 Cadillac Cts-v rear differential whine. The rear differential on my Cadillac Cts-v went out. Metal shavings were found in the diff fluid. I took the Cts-v into the dealership to get a warranty repair done.

The contact owns a 2005 Cadillac Cts. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds and making a turn, he would notice a loud grinding noise coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected by a dealer who informed the contact that the noise was due to a leak in the seal located in the differential. The vehicle had not been repaired for the seal. The failure mileage was approximately 65,000.

Rear differential of my Cadillac Cts-v has begun to whine at 70,000 miles, dealer says the only option to fix it is to replace.

I own a 2005 Cadillac Cts with a 3. 7 liter engine, and automatic transmission. I am the second owner, and purchased this vehicle when it had 55,978 miles on it. After driving the car for less then 2 years, it developed a noise coming from the back (rear end). I brought the car to my local Cadillac dealer. After a road test and inspection, the dealer determined that the problem was the rear differential, and it would need to be replaced at a cost of about $1700. 00. I've owned many used cars over the past 30 years, some with over 100,000 miles on them, and I've never, never needed a new rear differential on any vehicle that I've ever owned! I understand that this is a common problem with this model. The dealer stated that the seals were good, and that all of the fluids were at the correct levels in the differential, and that the earlier Cts models had experienced problems with differentials, but that the problem was rectified with the 2005 model. Apparently it would seem that there are also problems with the 2005 model differential as well!.

At 50mph rear differential let loose on my 2005 Cts Cadillac. Lost control spun, hit curb and median. Had to be towed out. Wheels locked. Could have been catastrophic had I went into on coming traffic.

I am the 2nd owner my local dealership is calling my problem "catastrophic failure due to customer abuse". I own a 2005 Cadillac Cts-v. My issue was about 10 or 11 days ago. I left work headed home and on the onramp to highway 240 in asheville, nc I hit third gear going about 45 or 55 mph and my rear differential made a loud pop the car jerked and then just began to free roll. I then proceeded to cross three lanes of traffic with no means of acceleration in a high traffic 60mph zone in order to get to a safe stopping zone. Gm roadside service towed the car to the dealership I purchased the car at. The next day when I came to see what their verdict would be they told me that warranty wouldn't cover it and I would have to pay out of pocket for a new differential and labor amounting to around 2800 dollars. I had came to the same dealership three times prior to the incident and reported a popping in the rear end when shifting but there was no action taken at any of the complaints and to my knowledge none of my complaints were filed, they only told me that it was the clutch and I would just have to learn how to properly shift the car. I then called Cadillac customer service to make a complaint and to see if there was any way to have the warranty cover the cost. Customer service called me back and told me that they contacted the service manager at the dealership and he told them it appeared to be "catastrophic failure due to customer abuse". This is where I am stuck and the car is still at the dealership in their holding area where it will stay until, a: somehow by miracle they send the local Cadillac rep. And he oks the warranty repair or, b: I magically come up with the cost of repair. I was shifting to third, yes there were many close calls while getting the car off the road I had three lanes to cross at night in a 60mph zone on a busy night.

I was driving across an intersection at the other side of the intersection there was a small dip I shifted into second as I was exiting the intersection and went through the dip and accelerated out of it I heard a loud pop and the car started to slow down I pulled into a parking lot with the momentum that I had ant stopped there was a puddle of gear oil on the ground. There was a track of oil from where it popped to where I stopped a piece of the diff housing was laying in the street. I called aaa and they came and towed my 2005 Cts-v to the nearest dealership.

2005 Cadillac Cts v with 38,000 miles. While driving down a California freeway the rear differential locked up. We managed to pull vehicle off road. Car was towed to Cadillac dealership where rear differential breakdown was confirmed. Dealership has declined covering part under warranty as they say "improper driving" was the cause. This is a crazy statement as this car has been driven just like all of our other cars. This problem is highly documented and very dangerous. We were lucky to be able to get the car off the road without an accident.

My 2005 Cadillac Cts-v has been sent to the Cadillac dealership numerous times concerning rear differential noise and clunking. After Cadillac claimed that the problem was fixed by replacing the drive shaft, on the same night the rear differential blew up under normal driving condition. The car was sent back to Cadillac and was denied warranty under the accusation of harsh driving or "hot rodding". There was no in-depth inspection or a mechanical and material analysis to determine the actual point of failure. The tech representative simple conducted a bias conclusion and accused me of "hot rodding".

(1) driving car from wet gravel incline up onto pavement. (2) loud noise from rear, car began to roll back down hill. Would not move further. (3) towed to dealership, rear differential and driveshaft damaged. Dealer refused to fix under warranty. Only owned car 2 weeks & bought extended warranty.

I have had 3 rear differentials replaced in the two years of ownership for my 2005 Cadillac Cts-v. They were evaluated by my dealership to be faulty and were replaced under warranty. Currently, my 4th differential is not giving me a problem but I am confident it is simply a matter of time.

Rear differential failure of 2005 Cadillac Cts. I have a 2005 Cts and experienced clunking while driving. The car was returned to dealer multiple times with complaint of clunking noise. All times the car was returned and said to be in proper operable order. I finally decided to contact Cadillac direct and was told by customer service to bring my vehicle for yet another appointment. They changed the rear differential finally and stated that there was complete failure due to leak of fluid. [smch from e-mail].

2005 Cts v . . . Noticed howling whining noise coming from rear end. Cadillac has replaced two rear differentials in my car and attempted to fix the whining noise three other time and I still have the noise coming from the rear end. My car only has 12,000 miles and needs a third rear differential.

The differential assembly in my 2005 Cadillac Cts-v was whining after only 5,000 miles and had to be replaced.

Differential began whining at 500 miles. Was told the noise was normal by the Cadillac dealer. Rear differential failed at 7500 miles with the dealer informing me I had abused the car.

Rear end whining noise (now broken), and clutch/drive train noise.

Cts-v rear differential whinning at 35-40 mph gm did replace it. I had a 2003 Cts and the rear differential locked up while driving 35 mph and skidded about 20 feet. Gm replaced it 3 times and finally bought the car back. One year later we bought the 2005 Cts-v and its doing the same thing, gm needs to figure this out before someone dies. . . .

Several rear end differential failures. 1 at 4000 miles, the second at 8000 miles. And the third is loud and makes noises from the day I got it back. Gm tried to void and not cover the rear end so I had to take it to another state for them to fix it for me. They just start out quiet and then get louder and louder and louder. The last one died with my family in the vehicle at 40 mph durring regular driving. Rear locked up then broke up in half. It killed the driveshaft and several other parts when it locked up. I have had 20+ gm cars in my lifetime and this one is the worst built rear end ever. If I tried, I bet I could kill it in one full throttle launch. But, of coarse wont try that cause it will break. . . . Also, needed a wheel alignment, clutch update, and several other things done. The radio acts funny and paint on one button is comming off, and my head liner lights dont work. Also I have had to replace all 4 tires 2 times already with factory replacements and I only have 10,000 miles on mine???.

Rear differential makes whining noise which is getting progressively worse. Car only has 4,000 miles.

1-whine in rear end between 44 and 47 mph 2-noise got louder as time went on (at 6700 miles) 3-rear end was replaced.

Failed rear differential: case cracked, spilling differential oil onto the rear of my car, rear wheels, street. Car began to grind, had to limp to dealer, still in shop after 1 week with no word on when it will be fixed. Thankfully no injuries, but 2 quarts of oil dumped onto the exhaust, tires and street could have been a major problem.

The differential in my car has started to whine after ~11k miles despite, perhaps, the least abusive driving that is reasonably possible, especially considering that this car is a Cts-v. To say I am disappointed would be an understatement. After a little bit of investigation, it appears that gm has used an under-engineered part for its differential for reasons I'm not real certain of. Multiple failures are being reported all across the country, many with similar driving habits that I have. The Cts-v differential is a limited slip 3. 73 application and requires ~ 7% friction modified oil. Such fluid was changed several thousand miles ago as a precautionary measure and the proper oil was added. I plan on taking my car in for evaluation/service in the near future, but I believe that gms decision to install a clearly known "bad" part is wholly egregious.

Differential failure.

Vehicle has moderate to severe wheel hop during acceleration or when roads are wet or slick, causing some lose of control. Rear differential had loud whine and is prone to catastrophic failure.

1-rear end wine high pitch 2-rear differential defect 3-replaced with an 06 differential & three weeks latter leaking oil.

Excessive wheel hop frequently under mild to heavy acceleration excessive tire wear, tires need to be replaced after 4000 to 6000 miles rear end differential is very weak and may break causing injury or death Cadillac knows of problem providing some customers with extended warranties had a 2004 Ctsv and it was lemon lawed in July 2005 for the rear diff breaking 3 times within 1 year.

When driving in rain / poor weather, the car during take-off violently shakes when the rear wheels spin. This shaking has thrown off my rear alignment, aided in premature tire wear, and may have caused significant rear-end damage.

With only about 3370 miles on a brand new car, my rear differential internals were destroyed and the housing cracked due to the following 2 reasons: 1. Excessive wheel hop due to a poorly designed rear suspension 2. The differential that comes stock in every 2004-2005 Cts-v Cadillac is not rated to handle as much horsepower and torque as the car puts out. Gm cut corners and put in a differential that was meant for their v6 base model Cts that makes about half the power. When the rear differential blew up, it also destroyed my driveshaft. I noticed the differential over time started to whine and clunk more and more and become louder and louder until all of a sudden while driving I heard a loud boom and a bunch of clunking and metal grinding. The car was immediately undriveable. My dealership replaced my driveshaft and the differential with a 2006 Cts-v differential which is a beefier piece. I have 2500 miles on the new differential which is already starting to whine and clunk. Wheel hop is still atrocious and it is only a matter of time before this differential breaks as well. My dealership denied knowledge of any issues with Cts-v rear ends, and tried to place the blame on me by stating that my rear tires were very worn for only 3370 miles, so I must have been abusing that car. That is not the case, and these tires are notorious for having the worst tread wear of any tire on the market, and every Cts-v owner complains about how long they last. In fact, consumers gave the tires on this car the worst rating of any tire listed on "the tire rack. . Read more...

I have a 2005 Cadillac Ctsv with a faulty rear under-engineered rear carrier unit that supports the rear differential. It is leaking. Cadillac has replaced these units with the same faulty under-engineered units manufactured by getrag with 2006 units. This solution has been nothing more than a band-aid and the result of the leaking is faulty engineering as determined by several highly respected engineering companies such as lingenfelter and katech that gm does there actual outsourcing to. I am very concerned to drive this vehicle out of fear that the rear end will fail and cause me to lose control of the vehicle and cause property damage and possible fatal bodily injury. Rather than Cadillac issuing a recall to replace this unit with a properly engineered unit to support the rear wheel torque that is generated by this vehicle; they have instead hid behind a technical service bulletin and handle these cases on a case by case basis. I remain hopeful that you will take action before we are dealing with another firestone tire issue as Cadillac was made aware by getrag that this rear carrier differential was not "up to par" with the engine that they installed in the 2004 and 2005 Cadillac Ctsv.

- degradation of the rear carrier assembly (e. E. Rear differential). - replacement of rear carrier assembly 3 times (on 4th differential by 45k miles) - no catastrophic failures, but on all occasions carrier assembly became so noisy that it could be heard with the windows down at speed with the radio on. Had it replaced before a failure, as the car was under warranty. On the 3rd differential, the pinion seal began to leak also.

Whining from rear end. Rear differential replaced.