I purchased the 2005 CTS new and kept it for 7 years and 11 months. I sold it to a friend (approx. 86000 miles) because we both thought this was such a "good" car. I had all regular and GM recommended maintenance done on this car and only had minor problems with it. Before I turned over the car, I had the oil changed, replaced the brakes and had the dealership check the car over to make sure it was in good shape. Apparently they just looked at it and determined I kept it waxed. They told me it was in excellent shape and I should be able to drive it to at least 125,000 miles with out any problems provided I continued the routine maintenance. Within 6,000 miles the engine failed going 55MPH. No engine noise, no warning lights. Fortunately my friend was able to safely pull the car over to the shoulder and call a wrecker. The engine was blown and the estimate to fix it was almost $12,000.

After much research I have determined the recommended oil changes every 10,000 miles was what probably caused the engine to fail as oil just doesn't last this long. GM or my dealership, Sewell Cadillac of Grapevine, never once advised me that I should start changing my oil at 5 - 7 thousand miles as (I have found out now) that is recommended by the manufacturers of the synthetic oil. Of course GM takes no responsibility for this and they have had to know about this for several years as I have noted on the net there have been other owners of the 2005 CTS that has had this same problem. As far as I am concerned, this is a safety hazard. If this would have happened to me pulling on the freeway to blend in with 70MPH traffic where there is no shoulder to pull over to and coast to a stop, I could have caused a serious accident with potential loss of life - mine, and the accident would have been filed under being caused by a stupid, careless driver. I think GM should notify all the owners of any vehicles that have recommended 10,000 oil changes to have it changed at 5,000 miles and to compensate the owners who have lost their investment in their cars or to repair these cars free of charge.

GM has been contacted about this by my friend and I have talked with them, but they could care less. As of today, GM has done nothing to compensate my friend for the car or the repairs and I am sure they do not intend to.