1998 Cadillac Catera

I OWN A 1998 CATERA. WHILE DRIVING AT 45 MPH ON A CURVED ROAD THE ENGINE AND POWER CUT OFF . I LOST POWER STEERING AND HAD TO STRUGGLE TO STOP. THE CAR ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. IT HAPPENED IN A MATTER OF SECONDS. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE CADDY DEALER, AND THEY SAID THE CRACK SENSOR WENT BAD. I REVIEWED THE INTERNET AND SAW THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM. I WAS NOT HURT, BUT I WAS VERY CONCERNED. IF MY SON WAS DRIVING I BELIEVE WE BOTH WOULD NOT BE HEAR AND NO ONE WOULD KNOW WHY WE CRASHED HEAD ON. THIS WAS THE SECOND TIME I HAD TROUBLE WITH THIS CAR. THE FIRST TIME THE CAR STARTED TO SPUTTER AND SMOKE CAME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. I PULLED OVER AND HAD IT TOWED. THE VALVE COVER WAS LEAKING INTO THE SPARK PLUG HOLE AND BURNING THE RUBBER BOOT. IT GOT SO HOT THE PLUG MELTED, CAUSING THE SMOKE TO COME OUT. ALSO, I FOUND OUT IT WAS A COMMON PROBLEM. THIS CAR NEEDED SOME IMMEDIATE ATTENTION BEFORE SOMEONE WAS SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED. I WA TRYING TO GET RID OF THE CAR. IT DROVE IT TO THE DEALER, WHO TOLD ME THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HELP. *AK

I'M REPAIRING THE BLOWN HEAD GASKET ON THE SAME ENGINE FOR THE THIRD TIME IN LESS THAN 50000 MILES, 100000 TOTAL MILES. THESE CARS WERE LEMONS! CADILLAC KNOWS IT, BUT DOES NOT FEEL THE NEED TO RESPOND TO THE THOUSANDS OF CATERA OWNERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED THE EXPENSE OF REPEATED REPAIRS, TOTALING $10,000 WITH TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT, MAJOR ENGINE REPAIR, TIMING BELTS, COOLING SYSTEMS, WATER PUMPS,AND OH YEAH...ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILURE!!! GIVE ME A BREAK! AND ANY ADVICE BESIDES THE OBVIOUS. *AK

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 50 MPH ON THE HIGHWAY, THE ENGINE STALLED AND THERE WAS A LOSS OF ALL VEHICLE POWER WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT MANAGED TO PULL THE VEHICLE OVER WITHOUT INCIDENT. THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RESTART. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A DEALER WHO DETERMINED THE TIMING BELT SEPARATED INTO AND DAMAGED THE ENGINE. DUE TO THE BELT SEPARATION, THE ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED.

CAR OVER HEATING, SMOKING, STEAMING. TOOK TO MECHANIC, WAS TOLD THAT ENGINE BLEW, LATER TO FIND OUT OIL COOLER WENT. ALSO JUST FOUND OUT MY TRANSMISSIONS NEEDS OVER HAULED, NO WARNING, NO LEAKS. HEAT REGULATOR HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE, IGNITION COIL HAS BEEN REPLACED, ALL WIRES HAVE TO BE REPLACED. ENGINE HAS AND STILL DOES RUN TOO HOT, CAUSING CONTINUOUS PROBLEMS WITH ENGINE PARTS. ETC. I PURCHASED THE CAR IN 2001, PURCHASED EXTENDED WARRANTY, THAT HAS SINCE WARE OUT. MY SUN ROOF DOES NOT WORK, MY KEYLESS ENTRY DOES NOT WORK, HERE IT IS 2005 AND THE CAR ONLY HAS OR AROUND 65,000 MILES ON IT, WHEN PURCHASED ONLY HAD 23,000, I ONLY DRIVE THE CAR TO WORK AND BACK, AND TOO RUN ERRANDS. WHY AM I HAVING SO MANY PROBLEMS WITH IT, I CAN'T EVEN GET A DEALER TO TAKE IT AS TRADE IN. *JB

MID-JUNE ABS TC WARNING LIGHTS APPEAR IN 1998 CADILLAC CATERA. EBTCM DIAGNOSED AS FAILED. DEALER ORDERED NEW EBTCM, NOT AVAILABLE. CADILLAC CUSTOMER SERVICE CONFIRMS "NATIONAL BACKORDER" NOT A SINGLE ONE OF THESE PARTS IN GM WAREHOUSE SYSTEMS, DEALER SYSTEM, ETC. TOOK CAR TO CHEVY (GM) DEALER (7/9/05) TO DIAGNOSE. CONFIRM FAILURE OF EBTCM; PART NOT AVAILABLE. CALLED CADILLAC CUSTOMER SERVICE, E-MAILED MULTIPLE TIMES. RESPONSE REMAINS CONSTANT...NATIONAL BACK ORDER, NO KNOWLEDGE WHEN PART WILL BE AVAILABLE. WE MUST DRIVE CAR WITH NO ABS, TC, OR SPEEDOMETER (WHICH DOESN'T WORK WHEN ABS TC ARE NONFUNCTIONAL) AND STIFF POWER STEERING WHICH IS ALSO A RESULT OF NO ABS TC. NEITHER CADILLAC NOR GM CAN SPECIFY WHEN SUCH PART WILL BE AVAILABLE, NOR HAVE THEY PROPOSED A LOANER CAR TO DRIVE UNTIL PART ARRIVES. WE ARE DRIVING A CAR THAT, IN MY OPINION, IS UNSAFE SHOULD WE FIND OURSELVES IN A SITUATION THAT REQUIRES THE ABS OR TRACTION CONTROL. THE SPEEDOMETER IS NON-FUNCTIONAL AND STEERING BECOMES STIFF DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THIS MODULE. GM NEEDS TO REMEDY THIS SITUATION. HOW CAN THEY SELL CARS THAT THEY CANNOT PROVIDE PARTS FOR. SAFETY SEEMS TO BE MY PROBLEM, NOT THEIRS AS IT IS "MY" EBTCM THAT HAS FAILED NOW THAT IT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *NM