2001 Cadillac Catera from North America - Comments

The check engine light has come on at least 10 times! It costs a ridiculous amount of money to take it to the dealer and have them just turn it off.

The engine is now making a weird squeaky noise and my mechanics don't know what it is.

The brakes absolutely suck. I have had two sets of brakes replaced in a year. I rarely use my brakes and I never have made them lock up. The day after I got my last set replaced, they started squealing and then a week later the right front brake locked up and almost caused an accident while I was driving. (I wasn't even braking at the time)

I believe GM and Cadillac are great car companies, but this car is crap. I thought mine was a lemon until I test drove another Catera and noticed the engine light was on, I asked the salesman about it and he said it keeps coming on and they don't know why either.

I would definitely rather have a BMW and that is what I am currently looking for.

The only positive things I have to say about my car is that the Bose stereo seriously bumps and the inside is comfortable.

I have yet to drive a car where the check engine light doesn't come on. Ignore it unless you find the car acting differently.

First I want to say ditto to the 1st comment. Virtually every car I've had in the last 20 years has had the check engine light come on at least once. These included the Toyota Camry, BMW 535i, Isuzu Trooper,, Mercedes 300 SEL, Mercury Villager... all cars with excellent reputations. I frequently got "I don't know why" or something vague explanation from the service dept. Once it was just a sensor gone bad.

I bought my 2001 Catera last year with about 54K miles. and I'm currently at almost 78K. Check engine light never comes on. I had the alignment done at the first sign of tire wear and have had no problems in the following 7K miles. Just this past week however, I've been noticing the faint odor of coolant when I close the garage. I couldn't find any leaks or telltale steam trails, and until today the temp gauge was fine even in 90 plus degree midday heat. Today in the course of about 12-14 miles the gauge got very near the red. I checked underneath and it dripped a little fluid. I talked to the dealer service rep. and he told me it is most likely the water pump, if I wasn't seeing anything from the hoses. He also told me it takes $8-900.00 to replace the water pump. I swallowed hard and mumbled something about how I've owned plenty of German cars before and was not too shocked. So I'm topping it up with coolant and going shopping for a new car this afternoon. With so many scary scenarios posted here I'm afraid my time arrived today. The new owner can post the horrors for me. I love this car more than any of my others except the BMW 535 (Catera a close 2nd). I got rid of the BMW too when it started to $500.00 and $1,000.00 me into bankruptcy. In fact, the BMW once it started going bad, was a lot like the Catera tales posted here. It started leaving me stranded at around 120K miles. There must be other lovable cars for fair prices that are more up to date and probably faster. I doubt any US built Caddys will feel as solid as the Catera, though. I'm gonna find out today.

I bought a 2001 Catera with 37,000 miles on it, and now have 54,000. The engine check light comes on after the car has been sitting in a parking lot or in my garage. I have spent an untold amount of $ on that problem, and the dealer's answer was to change the gas cap.

The light continues to come on, so I disconnect the battery, wait an hour, reconnect it, then drive another week or two to have the same thing happen. I don't notice any difference in performance. I will be trading this car off -- how can I resolve this problem when a dealer can't?

I have a 2001 catera and the check engine light came on at 78,000, no noticable change in perfprmance then the ABS and tc lite came on and I lose the speedometer and cruise. then sometimes it works this is annoying, my MC says a lot of diagonstic and maybe $600 in censors that is BS. any comment on how long you can run with these lights on??/

Will the car shut down? thanks.

Fcovich@earthlink.net.

It is the speedometer sensor I am just driving mine and dealing with it. It is expensive to fix. My 2000 catera is been a piece of junk since my wife got ripped off buying it. She paid way to much cause she tends to think most people are honest because of this I will not ever buy a GM product as long as I live I finally bought her a Ford F150 and have NOOOOO trouble with it I will drive the crappie catera till the wheels fall off knowing this car it could be anytime.

I regret ever buying a Catera. I have a sensor for the coolant that does not work. It leaks an unbelieveable amount of fluids, nor can I find where. I have been told that it would likely cost a few thousand to stop the leaking. I am disappointed that a luxury car would be built so poorly. I tried to trade it yesterday and was only offered $2500 for it, so I will be stuck with it for a while.

I wasn't thrilled but was pleasantly surprised with my Catera for about the first year, then everything started to go wrong. A common problem with these GM cars are that they are manufactured cheaply but are expensive to repair. My sunroof opens automatically on its own, the ac and heater are not functioning, odors of coolant are forever present with no visible leaks, and the check engine light is a constant problem. The catera is full of sensors that regulates everything from engine start up, to automatic transmission shifts and I have experienced the worst of what this car does when its not working properly. I can't wait to dump this P.O.S!

I have 2 Cateras, and they are like most German cars and require a lot of regular maintenance, and have their quirks.

As for anyone experiencing the coolant smell, the heater control valve is what my guy finally found -- after a huge amount of effort to figure it out. Cost me about $400 to replace.

We bought a 2001 Catera new. My wife's comute was 14 miles a day. Total mileage is 44,000. Problem now is that the speedometer is intermittent, the check engine light comes on and goes off periodically, the ABS light comes on periodically and the engine has a minor oil leak. Cost us $500 to attempt to cure this. Any suggestions to causes and repair?

Needless to say we won't buy a Cadillac product again!

I purchased my 2000 Catera brand new and have 140,000 miles on her now. My major complaint with the car is that each and every year, like clockwork, I have to replace the engine oil cooler b/c of coolant mixing with the oil (when you take the oil filler cap off you see the tell tale white milky residue in the filler tube.) After the warranty expired it cost me $1,000 a shot - and, of course, the cooler goes bad just as the replacement warranty expires. I've complained and complained and have gotten nowhere. GM does not stand behind anything - perhaps that's why GM stock is hovering around $10/share (what goes around comes around!) Otherwise, the car has been comfortable, quiet, powerful, etc.

This past year I've been driving my Land Rover Discovery and the Cadillac has been sitting. I started her up the other day and the check engine light is blinking.. who knows what's going on. I also smell coolant and there is oil and trans fluid in the garage under the car. I'm afraid that letting her sit was not the right thing to do. I guess I'll sell her on ebay...I'd hate to do it but I'm not going to spend thousands to repair her PLUS the timing belt needs changing... its the original. Sigh...