Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 2011 record →
I PURCHASED A NEW 2011 CADILLAC CTS COUPE. IT CONTINUOUSLY MAKES A GROANING SOUND WHICH APPEARS TO BE COMING FROM THE REAR PART OF THE DRIVE TRAIN. THE DEALER CHANGED THE DIFFERENTIAL FLUID TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, THE PROBLEM REMAINS. I BELIEVE THIS SOUND IS PRODUCED BY A DEFECTIVE COMPONENT IN THE DRIVE TRAIN (DIFFERENTIAL, BEARINGS ETC.), WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY LEAD TO A COMPONENT FAILURE THAT CAN CAUSE A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. *TR
NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Full record for the 2011 Cadillac CTS → · Every CTS year → · How the figures are calculated →