Repair-It

On June 10, 2014, GM received a Speak Up For Safety report that a 2004 Cadillac CTS-V with approximately 130,000 miles was leaking fuel. According to that report, a certified mechanic observed a hole in the fuel pump module, possibly caused by the fuel pump module’s electrical connectors overheating and melting through the module’s flange material. GM initiated an investigation on June 16. Between June 6 and June 15, 2014, GM obtained and analyzed the suspect fuel pump module. From a visual inspection, GM confirmed there was a hole in the flange material surrounding the terminals on the fuel pump module. Fuel could leak from the pump to the ground through the hole.

From June 16 through August 19, 2014, GM investigated the root cause of the fuel leak. GM analyzed relevant TREAD data, warranty claims, and GM’s Problem Resolution Tracking System (PRTS). GM discovered a PRTS report from September 22, 2006, that determined the electrical connectors on the STS-V’s fuel pump could overheat and deform. According to the PRTS, the overheating of the fuel pump module terminals was caused by fretting corrosion due to motor vibration. GM resolved the PTRS report in 2007 by replacing the electrical connector contacts with contacts containing Beryllium copper and by reducing the stiffness of the wire sheathing to reduce transmitted pump vibrations. The new Beryllium contacts and flexible wires were used in all new CTS-V and STS-V vehicles built on or after March 15, 2007.

So tonight as I am dropping it off and speaking with the service adviser, I casually mentioned how frustrated I was that I had not thought to purchase the cradle bushings from CS ahead of the recall work so that they could just swap out the old for the new. To my great surprise the service adviser informs me that they were not going to be dropping the cradle to perform the service.

I said back to him that I was aware of what all had to be done and it required the removal of the fuel tank to gain access to the pump/module and he said, "yeah, we will just go through the access door inside the car to get to it". I replied by telling him that there was not a factory access point which is why dropping the cradle was required to perform the work, and then told him I did not expect for them to "add one" to my car to shave off a few minutes of service time. I asked that he check this with the tech that would be performing the service and get back to me. I have to be honest I am nervous right now and will be calling the dealership in the morning to confirm they will do it the correct way or not do it at all.

Has anyone else run into this?

It took the dealer 3 days to do mine since it was their first one ever. I highly doubt they cut a hole in the car since they took so long to do it. Car seems to start a little quicker now, I'm pretty satisfied.

Guys, be clear here... the Tech's instructions SPECIFICALLY say that they need to drop one end of the cradle 3 inches in order to access the strap bolts on the fuel tank. They will NOT be completely removing the rear cradle, so brake line bleeding, e-brake disconnection, fuel lines, etc are not a concern. I've looked into this quite in depth because I wanted to see about having diff and cradle bushings done if they were going to be completely dropping the cradle. I've had it confirmed a number of times that this is NOT the case.

Also, GM's instructions for the Techs STRICTLY PROHIBIT the creation of an access door in order to access the fuel pump. If your shop is telling you that's what they have to do, I'd go RUNNING out that door to find another place to go.

Well guys the dealer here got mine done but I got a voice mail while at work that said I needed to call them because there was a mishap with my car. Come to find out while putting the cradle back into place they some how the the lift arms kick out on the passenger side crushing the rockers in front of the rear tire and behind the front. So now they will have it longer fixing their screw up..