2015 Cadillac Cts

The rear differential started making a loud whining noise around 53,000 miles. It then turned into a grinding noise. I had it checked by a mechanic and he confirmed it was rear differential that needed replacing. He recommended not driving the vehicle since the differential could completely fail and cause an accident. Not having any mechanical experience, the noise was the only indication of a problem. No warning lights or sensor faults.

THERE WAS A VERY LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE BACK OF MY VEHICLE WHILE DRIVING. MECHANIC SHOWED ME THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL FLUID HAS METAL SHAVINGS IN IT AND HE SAID THE CAR WAS DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. DEALERSHIP TOLD ME TO CALL GENERAL MOTORS AT (800) 222-1020 AND THEY TOLD ME TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND GAVE ME FILE NUMBER 9-6712786810. IT IS AT IG BURTON, MILFORD, DE, NOW FOR DIAGNOSIS.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2015 CADILLAC CTS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED NOTIFICATION OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V038000 (POWER TRAIN) HOWEVER, THE PART TO DO THE RECALL REPAIR WAS NOT AVAILABLE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE MANUFACTURER EXCEEDED A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME FOR THE RECALL REPAIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BARKLEY BUICK GMC CADILLAC, INC, (3575 SKYLAND BLVD E, TUSCALOOSA, AL 35405), WHERE THE VEHICLE WAS REJECTED TO BE SERVICED DUE TO PARTS NOT BEING AVAILABLE FOR THE REPAIR. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE ISSUE. THE CONTACT HAD NOT EXPERIENCED A FAILURE. PART DISTRIBUTION DISCONNECT.

ON AUGUST 5, 2019, I WAS TRAVELLING DOWN A TWO LANE ROAD @ 35-40 MPH AND WITH A LOUD CLUNK FROM THE REAR OF THE CAR, THE REAR WHEELS LOCKED UP. I WENT INTO A SKID AND THE FRONT OF THE CAR SWERVED BACK AND FORTH ACROSS BOTH LANES. I WAS ABLE TO KEEP THE CAR UNDER ON THE ROAD AS I APPLIED THE BRAKES AND STEERED INTO THE SKID AS THE FRONT OF THE CAR SWERVED BACK AND FORTH. FORTUNATELY, AN ONCOMING DRIVER WAS ABLE TO STOP HIS CAR IN TIME TO AVOID A HEAD-ON WHEN HE SAW ME SWERVE INTO HIS LANE. I CALLED THE DEALER, WHO SENT A TOW TRUCK. THE SERVICE MANAGER LOOKED AT THE CAR THE NEXT DAY AND CONFIRMED THE DIFFERENTIAL WAS BAD--ALL KINDS OF METAL CHUNKS CAME OUT WITH THE OIL WHEN THEY DRAINED IT. HE TOLD ME THAT THE INTERIOR OF THE DIFFERENTIAL HAD PRETTY MUCH SELF-DESTRUCTED. THE CAR WAS WITHIN ITS POWERTRAIN WARRANTY, SO THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID THE DEALER WOULD REPLACE THE DIFFERENTIAL. ALMOST TWO MONTHS LATER, THE DEALER HASN'T LOCATED A REPLACEMENT DIFFERENTIAL. THIS CAR IS A CADILLAC V-SPORT, A PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED MODEL WITH AN ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL. DURING THE YEARS THIS MODEL WAS IN PRODUCTION, GENERAL MOTORS MADE LESS THAN 1,000 PER YEAR, AND I BELIEVE THAT PERHAPS THE DIFFERENTIAL WAS A SPECIAL TYPE FOR THE V-SPORT, ALTHOUGH I AM NOT SURE. I DO KNOW OF OTHERS HAVING THIS EXACT SAME PROBLEM--THEY HAVE REPORTED THE PROBLEM ON A CADILLAC V-SPORT USER'S GROUP FOUND AT CADILLACFORUMS.COM. THE ATTACHED PICTURES SHOW THE SKID MARKS MADE BY THE REAR WHEELS AND WHERE THE FRONT OF THE CAR ENDED UP. THE CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD IS MINE, WHERE SOME PASSERSBY PUSHED THE CAR.