Cadillac CTS-V

Whitetail Addict

Rockin' the stock tune
May 8, 2008
2,350
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South Central Pennsylvania
I know Kat had one of these, as well as Jerry? (OSUbeaver), maybe more of y'all that I can't remember.

I'm looking for input on them. Years to stay away from, problem areas, general input, etc.

If anyone knows where there's an 2009+ white CTS-V 6 speed manual sedan, please let me know.
 

carter_44

...
May 11, 2010
575
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AZ
I have casually shopped them myself for a little while. I have heard that on the early models the stock rear end was notoriously weak. I have also found that a manual trans sedan is very rare, especially colors that I would want...white, black, silver. Not to mention one that hasn't been absolutely ragged on.
 

TLyons90

New member
Apr 22, 2013
1,631
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Greenville, SC
I had an 05 V and it was an absolute dream car. Wish I would of never sold it, but I did so wanting to get an 09+ as well. As far as the 09+ cars I have done quite a bit of looking around and research and not come up with much on problem areas. Like said above with the 09+ cars, a manual is hard to come by where as the 04-07s all came with one. Most guys that have the V cars IMHO take care of them. Their are a few out there that have been used and abused but a lot that I saw when shopping were stock and seemed clean. Keep an eye out for certain options like sunroof, recaro seats, and I believe AC seats only came in certain years. With that note my next car will be a 12-14 Vagon with a 6 speed (Unicorn) :D:thumb:
 

036.6turbo

Active member
Jan 17, 2014
747
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28
My youngest son has a 12 sedan, it spent the winter in my shop. I have a fair amount of time working on it. His is the LSA supercharged motor.

Sweet car, it never ceases to amaze me.
 

Whitetail Addict

Rockin' the stock tune
May 8, 2008
2,350
0
0
South Central Pennsylvania
Thanks for the input, y'all, I appreciate it.

I found a couple '09+ stick cars but they were red, silver, and, of course, black. I found a white one close to me advertised as a stick car but it was an automatic car.

I haven't found much bad about the cars during my research either. I figured I'd ask for unbiased info here.
 

onebaddmaxxx

Active member
Feb 22, 2009
1,212
1
38
Cecil County Md
A friend of mine has a coupe with an lsa and with a very small cam and stock manifolds etc has went 9.9s. fun car! Evan the automatic cars with GOOD trans tuning are awesome. Rick Crawford seems to be the man to go for on tuning them.
 

Whitetail Addict

Rockin' the stock tune
May 8, 2008
2,350
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0
South Central Pennsylvania
Thanks for the info, Kat! I hope Jason chimes in.

Onebadmaxx, I saw a blue coupe with "Rick Crawford" on the side of it in OC last weekend at Cruise Week.

I just can't bring myself to have such a cool car that shifts itself. I want control. But if I look long enough and can't find a white stick car I may have to settle for an automatic, or wrap a stick car white.
 

Osubeaver

Professional Grade
Aug 30, 2008
696
0
16
Oregon
Yep I had an '11 that I bought new and just traded it November. It was an auto and loaded up with Recaros and all that. It was a really great car. I loved it and put 84,000 miles on it. I commuted about 70 miles round trip a day in crappy traffic when I bought it, hence the auto.

The rear end did suck. I tracked it a few times (road course) and had to replace the rear once. Probably my fault for not immediately addressing it. Near the end of a 20 minute track session some overheat rear diff BS message came up on the DIC. I didn't stop....didn't change the fluid for thousands of miles. It started grinding and howling when turning. Bearings were toast. You can do an aftermarket cooler or there was a GM one for sale as well...or if you just drive around on the street don't worry about it.

With drag radials it went, if I recall correctly 12.02 @ 115 or 16.

There was a recall on the supercharger for rattling like it was full of marbles. Mine did that for a long time, had it fixed under the recall warranty before i traded it in. They said worst case it would seize and prevent the car from starting.

I traded it in on a '15 Jaguar F-Type R. The Jag is bad ass car for sure, but way different. The Caddy was an absolute everyday car, 4 doors, super practical, super fun, I kind of miss it.

It's in your neck of the woods somewhere. A guy that owns a performance shop in the NE bought it from the dealership I traded to and said it was going to be putting around 1k HP to the tires soon. I'm happy it went to a good home.
 

Whitetail Addict

Rockin' the stock tune
May 8, 2008
2,350
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0
South Central Pennsylvania
Thanks for input, Osubeaver, I appreciate the in-depth review.
The info on the rear end, and the supercharger, is something I didn't know but I'll definitely ask to see service records to see if either was addressed. I would like to track the car at some point.

It's good to know the car was a good daily driver.

I'll look out for your old car in my area.
 

Osubeaver

Professional Grade
Aug 30, 2008
696
0
16
Oregon
There isn't necessarily anything wrong with the rear end in general. It could just use a cooler if you're going to flog on a 4300lb car at a racetrack.

And the supercharger thing only affected some cars, so just because it didn't get addressed doesn't mean there is a problem. It it has bad bearings in the supercharger it's very obvious if you stand outside the car at idle. It really sounds like it's full of rocks and a shaft is banging around. I had an oil change place have me come out the bay and make sure I knew it did it so I didn't blame it on them lol.
 

KyleC4

Tech
Dec 30, 2016
470
48
28
Bay Area
There is a special coverage on the superchargers just so you know. Covered under warranty. If you find one you like pm me the last 8 of vin and I can get you warranty service records for it. The 09-14 model years needed better rear diff fluid in them and that's why they changed it to the LS Gear oil. It was one with friction modifiers already in it. This helped with that humming noise from rear end during turns. And then the pinion bearings were a problem area on some of them. Also, vehicles that have sunroof are good about rear drain tubes clogging and then you get a lovely water leak in to interior.

Those 3 things I'd says are most common. The auto's in them are good and so are manuals. I personally like the paddle shifting.
 

onebaddmaxxx

Active member
Feb 22, 2009
1,212
1
38
Cecil County Md
Thanks for the info, Kat! I hope Jason chimes in.

Onebadmaxx, I saw a blue coupe with "Rick Crawford" on the side of it in OC last weekend at Cruise Week.

I just can't bring myself to have such a cool car that shifts itself. I want control. But if I look long enough and can't find a white stick car I may have to settle for an automatic, or wrap a stick car white.

That's him lol