CT5-V Engine failure

[LF4472]

I know that we are really straying off the OP topic talking about Corvettes (sorry again OP), but I only agree with your statement for cars built after 2016; however, cars that were built before 2016 GM released this statement below. My 2016 Z06 was an "early 2016" that was built in 2015, so GM told my dealer to change my oil due to the issue below of foaming that I was seeing. Later year models, GM released a statement that dry sump cars were required due to "break in contaminates." See after below for that one as well for 2016+ dry sump. I bolded everything to make it easier to find.

The reason for the 500 mile change on 2016+ later cars is the same as the pre-2016 cars: breakdown of the anti-foaming agents. The quote you mentioned for the 2016+ just isn't calling out what the specific contaminant is (the silicone sealants). This post has a good overall of the issue.

 

[CT5BW757]

Note to all. On 2/28/23 the engine in my 2022 CT5V Blackwing failed. It was trucked to the dealership, Sewell Cadillac of Dallas.

FYI. I just got this from the Sewell service manager:

“Mr. Shanks,

It appears that we may have an internal engine failure. Which explains why it just died with no warning. We will have to do a tear down on the engine to see exactly what is going on and needs to be replaced. We will not be able to have it fully torn down till until the middle part of next week. When we drained the oil there was bearing material in the oil. I will give you an update next week once it is torn down. Do we need to get a loan car out to you in the mean time?

Thank you,
David Boyd | Service Manager”

Hey Brother. I know this is a year old but my CT5 BW just went in the shop for a tick and turns out it needs a new motor. ‘ 23 with 10500 miles. What did your resolution end up being?

 

[AACaptRet]

The car was still under warranty. The oil was the oil put in by the factory. Sewell Cadillac of Dallas, ordered a new engine from Cadillac. The Sewell mechanics, removed the engine and installed the new one. I assume Cadillac had to eat the cost of the removal and installation. I don’t remember what it cost but I think it was around $50,000 + or -
I was out $75, which is what I paid to have the car brought from the engine failure point to my house. Sewell would have picked it up at the road side park where it failed, but I wanted to go back to my house. Sewell sent a wrecker to my house, brought me a (CTS sedan) loaner, and installed the new engine. When the new engine was installed, they brought the car back and picked up the loaner. From engine failure to car return was less than 2 weeks. Most of which was the time it took to ship a new engine from Detroit to Dallas. My car was not the only one that had an engine failure. Not sure of how many. Probably 3 or 4. It was a bad batch of parts from whoever made the parts.
Sewell could not have been nicer. I live 5 miles south of Waxahachie TX, which is about 40 miles south of Dallas. Go to Google Earth and search for 54TA, which is the designation the FAA assigned the grass airstrip at my house. (Yes, I have my own airstrip. Doesn’t everyone?) Hope this is helpful.

 

[AACaptRet]

Oh they also had to replace the battery and starter,

 

[Matt27]

The car was still under warranty. The oil was the oil put in by the factory. Sewell Cadillac of Dallas, ordered a new engine from Cadillac. The Sewell mechanics, removed the engine and installed the new one. I assume Cadillac had to eat the cost of the removal and installation. I don’t remember what it cost but I think it was around $50,000 + or -
I was out $75, which is what I paid to have the car brought from the engine failure point to my house. Sewell would have picked it up at the road side park where it failed, but I wanted to go back to my house. Sewell sent a wrecker to my house, brought me a (CTS sedan) loaner, and installed the new engine. When the new engine was installed, they brought the car back and picked up the loaner. From engine failure to car return was less than 2 weeks. Most of which was the time it took to ship a new engine from Detroit to Dallas. My car was not the only one that had an engine failure. Not sure of how many. Probably 3 or 4. It was a bad batch of parts from whoever made the parts.
Sewell could not have been nicer. I live 5 miles south of Waxahachie TX, which is about 40 miles south of Dallas. Go to Google Earth and search for 54TA, which is the designation the FAA assigned the grass airstrip at my house. (Yes, I have my own airstrip. Doesn’t everyone?) Hope this is helpful.

I like the sign you have out front (on Google Streetview). Looks like an amazing setup.

 

[CT5BW757]

The car was still under warranty. The oil was the oil put in by the factory. Sewell Cadillac of Dallas, ordered a new engine from Cadillac. The Sewell mechanics, removed the engine and installed the new one. I assume Cadillac had to eat the cost of the removal and installation. I don’t remember what it cost but I think it was around $50,000 + or -
I was out $75, which is what I paid to have the car brought from the engine failure point to my house. Sewell would have picked it up at the road side park where it failed, but I wanted to go back to my house. Sewell sent a wrecker to my house, brought me a (CTS sedan) loaner, and installed the new engine. When the new engine was installed, they brought the car back and picked up the loaner. From engine failure to car return was less than 2 weeks. Most of which was the time it took to ship a new engine from Detroit to Dallas. My car was not the only one that had an engine failure. Not sure of how many. Probably 3 or 4. It was a bad batch of parts from whoever made the parts.
Sewell could not have been nicer. I live 5 miles south of Waxahachie TX, which is about 40 miles south of Dallas. Go to Google Earth and search for 54TA, which is the designation the FAA assigned the grass airstrip at my house. (Yes, I have my own airstrip. Doesn’t everyone?) Hope this is helpful.

It is helpful. Crazy you got your motor and it was installed in less than 2 weeks. However I don’t know if I want my car back simply because I don’t buy a car built by a dealer I bought one built by Caddy V division. I will not be able to enact any Lemon Laws in my state if they finish it in under 30 days however. So that is interesting to know that the turn around time was so quick. I have heard from others their motors were back ordered indefinitely.

 

[AACaptRet]

I flew for and retired from American Airlines, after 32 years. Plus 8 years in the AF flying the B-52. Airline was a better deal. With the airline, the only person shooting at you is the occasional jealous husband. (Airline joke). Don’t fly anymore. I will be 86 in May. 40 + years of messing with airplanes was enough. Never had a real job until I retired. Had a part time gig at a corporate pilot training center.

 

[AACaptRet]

The replacement engine was built by the same company that built the first one. All Sewell did was install the new one. They must have done it correctly because I have not had any problems with it. I got a personalized TX plate. 0260N4S. Zero to 60 in 4 seconds.

 

[CT5BW757]

The replacement engine was built by the same company that built the first one. All Sewell did was install the new one. They must have done it correctly because I have not had any problems with it. I got a personalized TX plate. 0260N4S. Zero to 60 in 4 seconds.
View attachment 24852

Yea the company is GM. We will see. I’m definitely going to lemon it if possible/lobby for a new car. I’ve been told you can basically pick the spec and receive msrp+ taxes as your trade credit

 

[AACaptRet]

Good luck. I hope you are successful. If not, a conversation with a local TV station would probably get their attention. FYI. Sewell has a reputation for excellent customer service.

 

[thefleshrocket]

These engine failures make me a little apprehensive about modding my 5BW and voiding its warranty. I'll probably do a couple more track days this year and if it survives unscathed, figure it's probably solid and let the mod bug get underway with a few bolt-ons.

I changed the oil on my 5BW at 500 miles and again at 1500 miles. Currently has close to 4000 miles on it; the way the oil life meter is dropping, I'll probably do the next oil change around 5000 miles. I am a strong believer in doing a couple of early oil changes on any new engine.

 

[AACaptRet]

Probably a good idea. Like chicken soup for a dying man, “It couldn’t hurt”

 

[CT5BW757]

These engine failures make me a little apprehensive about modding my 5BW and voiding its warranty. I'll probably do a couple more track days this year and if it survives unscathed, figure it's probably solid and let the mod bug get underway with a few bolt-ons.

I changed the oil on my 5BW at 500 miles and again at 1500 miles. Currently has close to 4000 miles on it; the way the oil life meter is dropping, I'll probably do the next oil change around 5000 miles. I am a strong believer in doing a couple of early oil changes on any new engine.

I did three before 7500 myself. One thing they were explicit about is GM will not authorize the new motor unless the ecm data is uploaded and shows no tuning. I’m EXTREMELY curious to see how quickly they get the engine turned around. Because they are absolutely up against it with the lemon timeline

 

[FLYARMY]

Oh they also had to replace the battery and starter,

The car was still under warranty. The oil was the oil put in by the factory. Sewell Cadillac of Dallas, ordered a new engine from Cadillac. The Sewell mechanics, removed the engine and installed the new one. I assume Cadillac had to eat the cost of the removal and installation. I don’t remember what it cost but I think it was around $50,000 + or -
I was out $75, which is what I paid to have the car brought from the engine failure point to my house. Sewell would have picked it up at the road side park where it failed, but I wanted to go back to my house. Sewell sent a wrecker to my house, brought me a (CTS sedan) loaner, and installed the new engine. When the new engine was installed, they brought the car back and picked up the loaner. From engine failure to car return was less than 2 weeks. Most of which was the time it took to ship a new engine from Detroit to Dallas. My car was not the only one that had an engine failure. Not sure of how many. Probably 3 or 4. It was a bad batch of parts from whoever made the parts.
Sewell could not have been nicer. I live 5 miles south of Waxahachie TX, which is about 40 miles south of Dallas. Go to Google Earth and search for 54TA, which is the designation the FAA assigned the grass airstrip at my house. (Yes, I have my own airstrip. Doesn’t everyone?) Hope this is helpful.

I'm sure that you have seen John Travolta's house with his planes and attached runway.

 

[RS49]

That’s what the speculation was from the dealer. The point is that who built the engine likely has zero impact on failure rates. It’s probably going to be a part failure not something a builder messed up on whether that part is in the engine or outside the engine. There is a lot of automation and check scanning on a build so it would be difficult to really mess something up & it not get caught.

I'm with you on this. My thread on my failure devolved into "It's the builders fault" but multiple times I've said it was purely a defect in my crankshaft that caused one of the bearings to spin.

That's actually not true. For example; the pistons are fracture split. If one builder were mismatching caps or putting them on backward, mayhem could ensue.

Fracture-split Connecting Rods – No, That’s Not a Broken Part

Fracture-split Connecting Rods – No, That’s Not a Broken Part Actually, a fracture split connecting rod is a technology used in some of the very latest engine designs on the market. Usually, connecting rods and their adjoining end caps are separately forged and machined. Rods may also be forged...

mitchell1.com

 

[AACaptRet]

The battery and starter were toast because… ok, I’ll start from the beginning. I was driving along. Cruse control was engaged at 55. All was right with the world. Then the car started to slow down. My first thought was that the cruise control had disengaged. As luck would have it there was a roadside rest stop area and I coasted into it. I was confused. I didn’t have any bells or whistles or anything. It just quit. There was no “Engine has seized” light. I sat there and tried to restart the engine, to no avail. Apparently my efforts to restart the engine, which I now know had seized, burned out the starter and battery.

It was ironic. After 50 years of messing with airplanes, the only forced landing I had was in a car. The whole experience was bizarre. If I had been on the interstate or in heavy traffic it would have been a different experience. I was in a 2 lane road with no traffic. Dame Fortune was on my side.

 

[revvhigh]

The battery and starter were toast because… ok, I’ll start from the beginning. I was driving along. Cruse control was engaged at 55. All was right with the world. Then the car started to slow down. My first thought was that the cruise control had disengaged. As luck would have it there was a roadside rest stop area and I coasted into it. I was confused. I didn’t have any bells or whistles or anything. It just quit. There was no “Engine has seized” light. I sat there and tried to restart the engine, to no avail. Apparently my efforts to restart the engine, which I now know had seized, burned out the starter and battery.

It was ironic. After 50 years of messing with airplanes, the only forced landing I had was in a car. The whole experience was bizarre. If I had been on the interstate or in heavy traffic it would have been a different experience. I was in a 2 lane road with no traffic. Dame Fortune was on my side.

I understand you were only billed $75. But was there anything in the paperwork which showed what the total cost was that Cadillac ate, and which you would have been charged if the car were out of warranty?

I'm nervous about this because my 5wing is a 5th car, purely a weekend toy. It's a 22 and I've got about 1800 miles on it so far. I will probably not hit 10k before the warranty times out, then I suppose I'll be on my own to eat the cost of a new engine.

 

[AACaptRet]

The $75 was only because I wanted to take the car to my house. If I had wanted to wait for the dealership to send a wrecker from Dallas, I would not have had to pay anything. I think there was a total cost somewhere in the paperwork but I don’t remember the exact amount. It was about $50,000 which was half the cost of the car. If the warranty had not covered it, I would have parted the car out. Otherwise I would have been paying $150,000 for a $100,000 car. I completely understand your concern and frustration. I had a similar experience several years ago with a small Kubota tractor that I got from the dealer. It was used and there was no warranty. The first time I used it the engine came apart. I had to eat the cost. The dealer gave me a good deal on a new tractor because I had been a good customer, but he didn’t have to. It seems that you are going to have to make a tough decision. I don’t envy you that. May be time to get a consumer advocate group involved. Let us know how it turns out.

 

[Super Saloon]

Couldn’t you get an extended warranty?

 

[AACaptRet]

I suppose so but I didn’t.