Cadillac CTS-V - Intermittent vibration at hwy speed 07' CTS-V

Hi all. I have searched the form, but have yet to find exactly the same description of the problem I am having. I bought a 2007 CTS-V with 40K. Car ran good on the test drive and for the most part good all the time. I have noticed an intermittent vibration at highway speeds 65-80+. The car has no mods, new Toyota Proxies, and four wheel alignment before I bought it. I drive 40 mi to and from work each day. This vibration will not be there for 20 miles and then show up. Sometimes it will be at the start of my drive then go away. Sometimes it appears and disappears during the drive. It can get pretty rough like the car is gonna vibrate off. Last time I had this on my Infiniti it was a broken steel belt in the tire sidewall, but it was obvious. If it was a bad tire or wheel balance issue, drive shaft, flywheel it would not go away. Anyone else experience this and if so what should I be going after to resolve? Car has 36K remaining on the extended warranty so I have no issue pushing the dealership to fix it.

Thanks

For starters, try to isolate the problem to RPM or the speed you're traveling. Also, before you go out again, check the tightness of your lug nuts.

Checked lugs tonight and all were tight. Between about 1900 and 2500 in 6th gear. Speed between 68 and 75. Grabbed tie rods to see if joints were loose and everything was tight.

I have this problem. It'll come back 100 miles after I balance my wheels. Then it goes away and will come back again. It hasn't annoyed me enough to try and fix it. But keep me updated on what u try

Checked lugs tonight and all were tight. Between about 1900 and 2500 in 6th gear. Speed between 68 and 75. Grabbed tie rods to see if joints were loose and everything was tight.

So it's only at 1900-2500 RPM in 6th? That's a strange combination. Does it get worse as you get faster, or does it begin to smooth out?

At 80 to 85 it felt about the same. Only a short distance because there are state troopers all over my route home at night.

I know it sounds silly, but check your control arm bushings. I had those go bad on my black cts-v a few years ago with a similar issue.

Im too lazy to search but I think I recall a TSB on a vibration in 6th gear.

I have had the same issue it will come and go its like small but shake shake shake pause shake shake shake pause then as they said go away

I am going to take it in this week when the replace the ignition. They are going to start with checking tire balance. This morning I paid special attention to it and I think below 65 it is very unnoticeable. Faster it gets the worst it gets and seem to feel it or hear it in front end. If not front end engine or possibly drive shaft.

Have a Road Force tire balance done too. I've heard these can be finicky about tire balance, but i've never personally had a problem.

Had it in today to replace the ignition since it was shot. Had them balance all four wheels and they found it had thrown a 2 ounce weight at the rear. The ride is much smoother, but not perfect. Who does road force balance. This is honestly the first time I have heard of it and I like to work on my own cars so I am not a newbie. I am guessing they just force it against a roller when they spin it to mimic road conditions. I will need to google it.

Had it in today to replace the ignition since it was shot. Had them balance all four wheels and they found it had thrown a 2 ounce weight at the rear. The ride is much smoother, but not perfect. Who does road force balance. This is honestly the first time I have heard of it and I like to work on my own cars so I am not a newbie. I am guessing they just force it against a roller when they spin it to mimic road conditions. I will need to google it.

Check with Discount Tire. We did them at the Discount I worked at a few years back.

all discount tires have them. I didnt like how it felt after I had mine done. And I went back to a regular balance

Check your suspension bolts...mine started to to come loose and I noticed it the most when making turns going over 30. I took it into a dealership they lifted it grabbed one of the wheels and yanked up and down...they were loose as hell. Idk how or why they became loose but they were, they tightened them up and it cost me 100$, but if i would of let it gone longer it could of messed up the frame.

I had a similar issue in my '05 several years ago. One of the CV joints went out on the driveshaft. It started out as a very subtle vibration in 6th at approximately the speeds you're talking about, but wasn't always there. As it got worse, I could (most times) get the vibration to come/go by gently removing then reapplying throttle pressure, all while in 6th gear. It took about 1k miles to get bad enough for the dealership to be able to realize that it wasn't a tire issue, as I had it in more than once for the same issue.

Also had the Trans replaced under warranty for the TSB that itsslow98 is referring to, although that vibration was very consistent and very noticeable. Not subtle at all. Mine had a vibration/moaning any time 6th was engaged regardless of speed, but only with power applied. In other words, not when coasting.

Hope that helps

all discount tires have them. I didnt like how it felt after I had mine done. And I went back to a regular balance

Not completely true. The Discount tire where I had mine installed did not have the Road Force machine, just the standard.

It was ok for about 1,000 k and now it is getting worse again. Gonna try the road balance next to see if it helps. Very noticeable in the am when I get on the highway. Feels almost as bad as before. Very annoying.

A lot of vibration I had was from my clutch. Replaced it recently with the ls7. So much smoother

My Toyo Proxes T1R's will flat spot over night and vibrate worse in the morning.

Just gonna have to keep trying to figure it out. It is worse in the am so the Proxes could be flat spotting. At times it drive smooth as silk and others not so much. Maybe I just feel more of the road than the G35. Still fun stomping the gas and jumping to 90 like it's nothing. :-)

Just gonna have to keep trying to figure it out. It is worse in the am so the Proxes could be flat spotting. At times it drive smooth as silk and others not so much. Maybe I just feel more of the road than the G35. Still fun stomping the gas and jumping to 90 like it's nothing. :-)

What part of Houston do you live at?

Cypress area.

Most highway speed vibration issues turn out to tire/wheel related and that be the case here.

Another possibility, that is not uncommon, is a transmission issue descibed in the TSB referred to already. Specifically, the Tremec has a known issue with 6th gear. If this is the problem, it is easy to verfiy because you can always stop the vibration by simply shifting into another gear such as 5th or 4th and maintaining the same speed.

Very unsure at this point. Car sat in garage for three days while I was on a business trip. Drove it today and smooth as a babies ass. Only thing done over the weekend since I last drove it is I washed it. WTF? I pushed it to 95 on way home and some minor vibes, but not like before. Almost got balanced last weekend, but didn't.

Drivers side motor mount changed under warranty and car is tight and right. Gear changes are smoother very light vibration at high speed, but much much better.

Im too lazy to search but I think I recall a TSB on a vibration in 6th gear.

Ding Ding Ding winner...!!

I am bound not to discuss this based on a GM Repurchase.

Drivers side motor mount changed under warranty and car is tight and right. Gear changes are smoother very light vibration at high speed, but much much better.

If you shift to 5th and it goes away, you have one of the bad Tremecs.

I will try the 5th gear thing again, but I don't remember it making a difference. Still very minor vibration at hwy speeds, but much better since motor mount was replaced.

I am sure to be corrected if I am wrong, but I think the only model years affected by the sixth gear vibration is 04 and 05. One of the first things I look at is the drive shaft. If the bolts are all tight, the center bearing is not shot, and the front joint is not ripped, put the car on a lift and idle it in 4th or 5th gear, watching to see if the shaft is bent. You can also change the phasing of the shaft to the yokes (front, back, or both) to find a better balance point. Did they check to see if both engine mounts were broken? That happens a lot.

I am sure to be corrected if I am wrong, but I think the only model years affected by the sixth gear vibration is 04 and 05. One of the first things I look at is the drive shaft. If the bolts are all tight, the center bearing is not shot, and the front joint is not ripped, put the car on a lift and idle it in 4th or 5th gear, watching to see if the shaft is bent. You can also change the phasing of the shaft to the yokes (front, back, or both) to find a better balance point. Did they check to see if both engine mounts were broken? That happens a lot.

You are correct - but I wouldn't bet on the same issue not being possible in other years.

I will take a look at the drive shaft too. It's just odd today on the way home vibration. Not as bad as before the motor mount, but worse than it has been recently. Just does not make sense why it would come or go. If it was a bent shaft, out of balance shaft, bad gear etc it would be constant. The other mount looked and felt fine, but I guess you never know. Maybe something in the drive is bad and mount are just masking it. If mount fail again shortly it will surely mean something back there is going on.

I am chasing a vibe as well, when I switched from my winter to my summer tires it got allot better but it's still there. When it happens I can see my shifter vibing, it happens in 5th & 6th so I don't think it's tranny. I have new CS motor and tranny mounts so the drivetrain should be solid. I am guessing it's a combination of slightly bent wheel and driveshaft out of phase because it comes and it goes (probably because the harmonic won't resonate when the wheel changes phase-relation with driveshaft due to turning?) and changes slightly when I rotate my wheels.

I also have a loud hum @ 110 mph+ and I have never changed any suspension bushings so it could be allot of small things adding up... When i jack up the car and shake the shit out of all the wheels they all seem rock solid though. I guess my arms can't simulate going 110 :P

Dont know if this will help anyone but I was dealing with a vibration for awhile with my car also, tried looking at everything and couldnt figure it out until my harmonic balancer came apart and went into my fans. put a new one on and the vibration was gone.....

I was just looking for a sale on the ATI balancer and then I want to put it on but it is hard to find one for a deal. $450 is a good chunk of change for a pulley with rubber in it :( :eek2:

Take it to the dealership brother. It's under warranty

Had it in to my local shop for an oil change and asked them to look at it. They are very aware of the issues with the CTS V's and quickly found 1" of play in the carrier bearing. They called the extended warranty people "Easy Care" and they made them pull the drive shaft after getting my permission to confirm. This was a waste of time since it was obvious. Then they told them to only change the bearing. I thought the whole drive shaft had to be changed. They apparently have the same view on this and told them they would not do a half ass job. So they recommended I take it back to the dealership since they may have more pull. Can only the bearing be changed out? Is that ok given it has been flopping around for some time in that bad bearing? I hope this is the issue, but my shop said they still needed to check the CV joints to make sure they were ok too. Anyone else have experience with this Easy Care? I bought the warranty through the dealership I purchased the car at. bTW I don't normally buy these, but my buddy got it for a very low price.

I am sure that the stock drive shaft and carrier bearings are sold as one piece and that the carrier bearing is somehow bonded or you cannot split the fore/aft portions of the shaft to do a replacement.

:argh:

glad u found it man. i just had my driveshaft replaced also about a month ago. Mine was a lot more obvious though, and vibrated very badly in all gears and all speeds.
GM considers the carrier bearing a non-replaceable part, so you must replace the entire shaft..... Or so i was told. lol

^^I might be in the same boat soon enough. For now I'm hoping a tire balance will help. I'm at 105k and I know my carrier bearing sags a little, but it's not torn or making noise.

I'm dealing with the exact same thing right now. Vibration over 65mph in 6th. I definately need motor mounts but I need a paycheck before I can get those lol. I will now check the carrier bearing tomorrow.

Well it is at the dealership now. They did not sound to excited about dealing with the extended warranty people, but I don't as long as it works when I get it back. :nod: I will give you an update after I get it back.

Extended warranties and vibrations are never a good combination.

Yep dealership called and said they felt nothing and could not find anything. He asked if I wanted to pick up and I told them no. :-). Told them I would take someone for a ride later thiS week when I can get it. Shame when my 03 Xterra with 144 K and 06 G35 with 91 K are 100 x smoother ride then the V. We will see what the guy next to me thinks at 100 mph.

Good move.

I see why they found nothing. I went to pick it up because I can't get back in till next Saturday. I picked it up and first off they forgot to do the oil change. Then I see the problem description which is engine vibration over 65 mph. I told the guy drivetrain vibration noticeable at 75 mph and gets progressively worse the faster you go. I can see this is going to be a real pain in the ass. I wish I had a hydraulic lift in the garage.

When I had it in they mentioned normal maint. Like balancing tires is not warranty work. So I had them balanced and rotated and as I suspected it did not change. Going to take it in to my local garage for an oil change and have them take pictures or video of the bad bearing so I can just show e dealership. What a pain in the ass.

You could also secure a camera under the car aimed at the carrier bearing along the driveshaft and verify that it's shaking causing the vibration at speed.

I have an '07 and I had the same thing when I first got the car 2 years ago. Brought it to the dealer and they re-indexed the driveshaft (basically unbolted, turned it half a turn and rebolted) and told me to pick it up. I was REALLY skeptical, but when I took the car home sure enough the 6th gear vibes were gone.

I saw someone posted a video on YouTube of a camera filming the carrier bearing. Pretty convincing. Guess that is an option if it goes that far.

Took it back to my trusted family garage. Now I have pictures of the drive shaft basically resting on the shield and pushed up. The tape measure shows it 3/4" away from the shield at the bearing location. Pretty sure the tolerance for play in the DS is not 3/4". Does anyone have any idea what the play should be? Would be fun to go back to dealership armed with info. Last time it was there the tech said it is "In Tolerance", but what I asked what the tolerance was he could not answer.

I was hoping someone had the actual tolerance so I could quote it when I take it in later this week.

Any updates?

GM won't specify a tolerance on a rubber insulated part like that. Best you can get is a angle measurement, but the dealership probably won't honor that for warranty repair. Did it feel loose in the strap or just able to move around a bit? It should be able to center itself in the strap when you let go.

Lol doesn't matter what spec is. Its def not ½" of play in all directions. Its probably why they had diff problems.. this is why I am so Leary about buying an American car. They just dont care about the final product like jap cars.. this is why I am member here so I can learn the most about issues so I can go over my new purchase correctly..

I have this as well and would like to get it fixed. Yesterday it was so bad that I had to run 69mph in a 70mph zone. This morning it was smooth as butter at any speed. Strange!

I have this as well and would like to get it fixed. Yesterday it was so bad that I had to run 69mph in a 70mph zone. This morning it was smooth as butter at any speed. Strange!

I have the same vibration at 70 - 85 it starts to disappear as I get closer to 90. I also have a sound like monster truck tires.I have CS Motor and Trans mounts. I rotated the wheels and the problem still exists to the extent it did before eliminating the wheels as a possibility.

Going to try the chassis ears to see if we can pinpoint where the vibration/noise is coming from.

I have the same vibration at 70 - 85 it starts to disappear as I get closer to 90. I also have a sound like monster truck tires.I have CS Motor and Trans mounts. I rotated the wheels and the problem still exists to the extent it did before eliminating the wheels as a possibility.

Going to try the chassis ears to see if we can pinpoint where the vibration/noise is coming from.

I will bet the inside edges of your tires are "feathered". It is caused by poor alignment, worn suspension components, or not rotating the tires timely (or combo of all). I had this issue on my Mazdaspeed 3 and the CTSv I just bought has this issue. Definitely sounds like monster truck tires. If you roll through some dust and look at the tires the feathering should be evident.

Going to try the chassis ears to see if we can pinpoint where the vibration/noise is coming from.

Cool, let us know if you find anything. I can't believe how randomly occurring this is on my car.

I will bet the inside edges of your tires are "feathered". It is caused by poor alignment, worn suspension components, or not rotating the tires timely (or combo of all). I had this issue on my Mazdaspeed 3 and the CTSv I just bought has this issue. Definitely sounds like monster truck tires. If you roll through some dust and look at the tires the feathering should be evident.

I will look for feathering and scalloping when I use the chassis ears. I know the tires that came off my wife's X5 were terribly scalloped. I didn't rotate the tires on the CTS-V my buddy did, but he didn't mention anything about them being scalloped.

I did have a bad wheel for 500 and the noise may be an artifact of that, though it didn't change when I rotated tires.

I have not had a chance to take it back into the dealer since I posted. It will go days and drive like a dream and then drives like all four wheels are out of balance. Weirdest thing I have ever seen. I change the rotors and did the brakes and everything was tight and right so it is just a matter of getting the dealership to honor the warranty. Love the car when it runs smooth, but may be my last American car. I have bought Nissans and Infiniti for the last 8 yrs with no issues. And e minor ones I had the dealership took care of without any run around.

I have not had a chance to take it back into the dealer since I posted. It will go days and drive like a dream and then drives like all four wheels are out of balance. Weirdest thing I have ever seen. I change the rotors and did the brakes and everything was tight and right so it is just a matter of getting the dealership to honor the warranty. Love the car when it runs smooth, but may be my last American car. I have bought Nissans and Infiniti for the last 8 yrs with no issues. And e minor ones I had the dealership took care of without any run around.

I hear you about that, but what car does Nissan make now that entices one to buy. This car gets my pulse racing everyday on my commute to work. It is almost as fast as my Sentra on the track. Having a crazy track car the noise and vibration of this car are just a minor annoyance. I am very surprised at the reliability of this car overall even compared to my last 4 cars (2 VWs, and 2 BMWs)

It will go days and drive like a dream and then drives like all four wheels are out of balance. Weirdest thing I have ever seen.

I have the exact same thing. Like I said, a week ago I couldn't drive between 70-80mph without it feeling like a wheel was terribly out of balance. Sometimes I can barely feel a vibration and sometimes it is smooth as butter. I just don't get it, but I have a theory that it has to do with heat getting to the rubber guibo and/or center bearing for the driveshaft.

..... may be my last American car.

You lost me here. Every manufacturer has cars with issues and cars without. Every time I am frustrated with the V, I remember all of the maintenance and suspension linkage replacement that BMW's seem to require.

I have the exact same thing. Like I said, a week ago I couldn't drive between 70-80mph without it feeling like a wheel was terribly out of balance. Sometimes I can barely feel a vibration and sometimes it is smooth as butter. I just don't get it, but I have a theory that it has to do with heat getting to the rubber guibo and/or center bearing for the driveshaft.



You lost me here. Every manufacturer has cars with issues and cars without. Every time I am frustrated with the V, I remember all of the maintenance and suspension linkage replacement that BMW's seem to require.

VWs need window regulators, Toyota has bad electronics, BMW has turbo issues, every make has their issues.

I used to have issues with intermittent vibrations when my diff bushing was torn and starting to die. It would be great for a week until I got on the gas hard, or braked hard, or cornered hard, which would then cause alignment issues with the diff bushing, and then noise.

Mine ended up being a rear tire out of balance. Fixed and now car is smooth as glass

Just a heads up for the people that are still having this issue

my car would vibrate like everyone elses. I would get the tires balanced, it would be good for 100-200miles, then would come back.

We'll I sold my car about 3 months ago to a buddie of mine put hotchkiss swaybars and new endlinks on it. Drives smooth as can be now. No vibration and the thing feels 100% tighter. I dont know if it was the endlinks or the swaybars, but I would definately pay $500 to make the vibration I had go away

One thing to remember is that our endlinks have plastic in them, and they flex a lot. So try the endlinks first and see how they do

I will have to check this. Went back to the Chevy dealership I bought at and they brought the shop foreman out to talk to me. He proceeded to tell me that they do not know how to work on these cars and I would need to take it to a Cadillac dealership. Why didn't they just tell me this in the first place. This run around it starting to really irritate me. And the vibration is getting worse. At times I swear I can smell a hint of burnt rubber after pulling in the garage. Taking it to the Cadillac dealership in the am so we will see.

Took Cadillac tech for drive and vibration was not apparent. He actually owns an 05' modded. Great guy. I was ready to take his word if he said it was good. Left it at dealership and they just called saying center support "carrier bearing" is bad and they would have to replace the drive shaft assembly. Great service and great tech. Looks like this will be taken care of now. I have had my last trip to that Chevy dealership.

No issues with warranty company after going to the caddy dealership. Car runs like a dream now.