Cadillac Escalade VVT Issues

[ArabianOak]

Hi Gang,

Last year I bought my wife a new escalade that was left over from 2017. It's the ESV model as we have 6 kids.

Car has been flawless for 30k other than a few recall issues that were handled during oil changes etc.

Last week the car was due for another oil change. It came with the maintenance plan which covers tire rotations/oil changes for the first 36K.

I took the car to our local dealer and an hour later I left. The next day I could hear some valve noise from the car...it was very faint but def not the normal. Being that the oil change was fresh I didnt think much of it.

As the day went on and we drove the car more the noise got louder. My first thought was they didnt put enough oil in the truck, so I checked that. It was perfect. I then called the dealer and they said as long as the oil level was good and there was no lights I should drive the car in immediately.

I followed there advice and they gave me a normal sized escalade as a loaner. I explained to them this would be fine as long as the repair wasn't going to take long, as we really utilize the entire space of the ESV version. The normal sized escalade doesnt have any room behind the 3rd row etc and we use that space for groceries/stroller etc.

The next day the dealer called me and told me that the car needed new valves/guides and cam!!!! I was in a state of shock but after talking to some of my close friends (one of which works at cadillac in service) I found out that this is a very common issue with the escalade and the vvt motor. I also found out that there is a national backorder on parts and my friend has been waiting over a month for these parts to fix several escalades in his shop!

The dealer I am dealing with told me he thinks the parts will be in next week, but doesnt have a solid date (which is total BS as there is a national backorder). The dealer also told me that it would be about 2 weeks before they can fix our escalade. I then requested an ESV loaner or anything equivalant and they told me they didn't have one.

I then called GM direct and they were not able to help me.

Does anyone know what I can do in this situation? We rely on the ESV version because it fits our family. Doesn't the dealer have to provide an equal amount of car for this? I don't care what they give me as long as it has the space we need.

Also, I am very concerned about this issue on the escalade...has anyone heard about this? Are they going to be extending warranties or doing recalls etc? From what I have been hearing this is a big issue and they are trying to keep it from the public.

Any advice/thoughts???

 

[03Sssnake]

Lifters, cam, phaser etc are failure point in VvT/DoD motors. I wouldn’t say it’s super common though, but does happen. I don’t like the recommend long intervals on oil changes, could be a contributing factor, also make sure these guys are using synthetic. They should know better, but you can’t ever fully trust the dealer lube monkeys...

FWIW my folks have had the 6.2 vvt in their 18 Denali XL for 2 trouble free years so far...

 

[ford fanatic]

Lifters, cam, phaser etc are failure point in VvT/DoD motors. I wouldn’t say it’s super common though, but does happen. I don’t like the recommend long intervals on oil changes, could be a contributing factor, also make sure these guys are using synthetic. They should know better, but you can’t ever fully trust the dealer lube monkeys...

This. The Service Writer at the Ford dealer where I bought our 13' Explorer Sport had no idea it was a turbo motor, who knows what kind of oil they've been putting in it.

 

[SID297]

@Livernois Motorsports has a kit to delete all of that stuff. Personally, I'd push them to just install a new long block and slip the tech a little cash to install the Livernois kit if you plan on keeping the truck for the long haul.

As for the loaner, see if they can rent a full size Transit van for you.

 

[03Sssnake]

@Livernois Motorsports has a kit to delete all of that stuff. Personally, I'd push them to just install a new long block and slip the tech a little cash to install the Livernois kit if you plan on keeping the truck for the long haul.



As for the loaner, see if they can rent a full size Transit van for you.

Pushing for a new longblock isn’t a bad idea, especially if a lifter has gone down, and or its damaged the cam. Pickup screen on oil pump and oil filter should stop most debris, but still is a concern if bad lifter started to flatten a lobe.

EDIT: just re-read the part about them replacing cam, valve guides, valves, but no mention of lifters? LOL...if you’ve had abnormal cam lobe wear how are you not looking at lifters. As to valve guide wear that’s a little more interesting, though not entirely surprised with the offset exhaust rocker, creates more side load on exhaust valve tip... however that was more of an issue with higher lift, bigger duration cam in LS7s, not to mention LS7 cylinder head valve geometry...not the mild factory truck cams. Why wouldn’t they just replace the heads and lifters along with a cam?

 

[BigPoppa]

Sounds like the ghost of the L62 has returned to claim more souls.

 

[black92]

It's worth asking if they'll cover the expense of you renting an Expedition EL or Suburban until the ride is fixed, assuming they have nothing on hand to loan you.

 

[CompOrange04GT]

Show up in the Mclaren. Tell them you will take your future business elsewhere

 

[03Sssnake]

Show up in the Mclaren. Tell them you will take your future business elsewhere

Sometimes you gotta flex nuts...

 

[RedVenom48]

@ArabianOak looks like you're in the market for a new Ford Expedition Max.

Then again there's always the Tried and true 7.3L Powerstroke powered Excursion.


jk jk jk


Sucks to hear man, hopefully they get their shit together quickly. Is it possible the Cadillac techs used the wrong spec oil? Ive seen 5w-30 wreak havoc in an engine spec'ed for 0w-20, though nothing grenaded. GM needs to get off their ass and make another Hybrid version.

Also, we Ford folk better hope the VCT system on the new Godzilla is bullet proof.

 

[Coiled03]

Shows up for an oil change.

Leaves with a new long block.

Gotta love GM.

 

[Blk04L]

Shit happens. Good thing it was still under warranty.

Maybe see if they or a sister dealership has an suburban?

Buy an extended warranty if you like the truck and want to not worry about another possible failure.

It's not like the 3.5L Eco Ford/Navigator offers doesn't have any issues, either

 

[AustinSN]

Can you get them to offer you a decent trade dollar on it and pick up a new one on the lot?

It looks like the 2019-2020 ESVs have $8000-$9000 off in incentives right now.

 

[me32]

My understanding with loaners or rentals on warranty work is that they are only required to provide with a vehicle thats in the same category. So unless Cadillac has a special warranty feature that guarantees equivalent or better loaner im not sure youll be able to get one if they dont have one available to use.

 

[svtfocus2cobra]

Pushing for a new longblock isn’t a bad idea, especially if a lifter has gone down, and or its damaged the cam. Pickup screen on oil pump and oil filter should stop most debris, but still is a concern if bad lifter started to flatten a lobe.

EDIT: just re-read the part about them replacing cam, valve guides, valves, but no mention of lifters? LOL...if you’ve had abnormal cam lobe wear how are you not looking at lifters. As to valve guide wear that’s a little more interesting, though not entirely surprised with the offset exhaust rocker, creates more side load on exhaust valve tip... however that was more of an issue with higher lift, bigger duration cam in LS7s, not to mention LS7 cylinder head valve geometry...not the mild factory truck cams. Why wouldn’t they just replace the heads and lifters along with a cam?

I see it regularly on just about every brand of vehicle that has a VVT engine. One of the biggest issues is oil changes and then not wringing the engine out frequently enough to keep those VVT solenoids from staying stagnant for too long. In the past few weeks I have had a Mini Cooper, Infiniti FX35, and various BMWs experiencing issues with the VVT solenoids. OP unfortunately is to the point where he has physical damage but typically the first order of business is running a 2 part oil treatment through it where you dump in the first part and let the motor run for 30min and then do an oil change using a Euro spec synthetic oil with all the good detergents and additives along with the second part of the treatment and hope that loosens things up, but most of the time the VVT solenoids need to be replaced. This was a really common problem on S2000s also back when they were new and part of the repair was taking it down the street and running it as hard as they could for a few minutes to try and clear things out. If you have VVT you need to run your car hard!

 

[nxhappy]

tell them to cut you a deal on a new one lol. Once you have issues ....shit goes down hill FAST ....you fix the ****ing motor and the next thing is the transmission ....

 

[03Sssnake]

I see it regularly on just about every brand of vehicle that has a VVT engine. One of the biggest issues is oil changes and then not wringing the engine out frequently enough to keep those VVT solenoids from staying stagnant for too long. In the past few weeks I have had a Mini Cooper, Infiniti FX35, and various BMWs experiencing issues with the VVT solenoids. OP unfortunately is to the point where he has physical damage but typically the first order of business is running a 2 part oil treatment through it where you dump in the first part and let the motor run for 30min and then do an oil change using a Euro spec synthetic oil with all the good detergents and additives along with the second part of the treatment and hope that loosens things up, but most of the time the VVT solenoids need to be replaced. This was a really common problem on S2000s also back when they were new and part of the repair was taking it down the street and running it as hard as they could for a few minutes to try and clear things out. If you have VVT you need to run your car hard!

Infinity are some of the worst too.

I also change oil sooner than mfr intervals...

 

[Bronze123]

Can they can outsource the rental car? Several dealers I know will user normal rental car places for their rentals. Enterprise or Hertz. And gm will cover the rental as long as it’s a GM vehicle, no competitors. It’s worth asking, especially with six kids.

good luck. Hopefully the backorder parts are much sooner than later

 

[SHOdown220]

Well there is a difference between a loaner and a rental. For instance, all of our cars are rentals, which means every one has a bill that goes along with every day it is out, regardless of who is paying the bill its there. The reason I bring this up is if the dealer is offering a loaner car and no one is paying for it, they can offer you pretty much whatever they have and there's not much you can do about it. If GM is paying for a "rental" then they should be able to outsource the rental to an outside company such as enterprise/hertz. Manufactures will not always authorize payments for rental cars unfortunately, (although they should since its a back ordered part).

As far as the back ordered part goes, who knows when it will actually show up. I've had back ordered parts show up next day when upgraded to critical order status, and I've had others take a week or more to come in. I've heard getting GM parts at the moment is difficult though. Good luck to you and hopefully GM is footing the bill for a rental and they can outsource it and get you something larger.

 

[SSSSSSSSSSSSVT]

Infinity are some of the worst too.

I also change oil sooner than mfr intervals...

How many miles before Oil Changes?

This def sounds like an issue of wrong oil used by the dealer. Too much of a coincidence that it happened right after. I had a similar thing happen to me with a NorthStar Engine. Spun a bearing right after oil change.