Cadillac ATS owners are reporting that there is a stalling issue with vehicles equipped with a manual transmission. Seems while coasting when approaching a stop, the engine will stall. The vehicle either doesn’t attempt to idle at all once the clutch has been depressed, or it seems to get to a lower RPM than normal (less than 500 RPM) and then the engine abruptly shuts off.
Stalling on the road, especially unexpectedly, is creating unsafe situations, as you can imagine. According to one owner on CadillacForums.com, “When I’m driving, I’ll start to feel a weird shudder. Once it gets to a certain point, it will lose speed and not let me accelerate. It will eventually shudder and die. Most of the time I manage to get it pulled over, but yesterday I got stuck in the middle of an intersection. My husband and daughter were following me and managed to get videos of a couple of sputters and stalls.”
She claimed that she called General Motors three times to address the issue, plus her car had spent 20 days in the shop in the seven months that she owned it. She experienced no special codes and no check engine alerts, and the dealership could not replicate the problems she was having. They even did the rough idle computer update, to no avail.
But, to Cadillac’s credit, they have been responding to the owners in the forum: “I apologize that you have been experiencing this concern as well. Have you reached out to our Customer Care team so this could be documented in our database as well? If not, could you private message me with your name, contact info, VIN, mileage, and dealership that you have been working
 with? Thank you very much for your time and I hope to hear from you soon.”
There also have been numerous complaints to the NHTSA. In turn, Cadillac has been able to hone in on the problem and has initiated a recall to offer a software fix for all applicable ATS owners. Apparently, there seems to be some correlation to a protection feature that is designed to prevent damage to the dual mass clutch unit if engine speed falls below 500 RPM when coming to a stop and the transmission is in 3rd gear or above. One owner has described the fix to be “…programming that killed the engine to protect the dual mass flywheels from damage if RPMs dropped so low in some gears that the car would start bucking. Unfortunately, it did that even if the car wasn’t in gear or if the clutch was depressed. The fix, at least in part, was to raise idle speeds so that temporary dips wouldn’t drop RPMs enough to trigger the kill. The problem didn’t affect all manual trans cars because most never had temporary RPM drops low enough to trigger the kill.”
As a manual transmission ATS owner, I have been following this for many months. If it hasn’t been mentioned, the cause of the stalling appears to be programming that killed the engine to protect the dual mass flywheels from damage if RPMs dropped so low in some gears that the car would start bucking. Unfortunately, it did that even if the car wasn’t in gear or if the clutch was depressed. The fix, at least in part, was to raise idle speeds so that temporary dips wouldn’t drop RPMs enough to trigger the kill. The problem didn’t affect all manual trans cars because most never had temporary RPM drops low enough to trigger the kill.
Comments
Just what GM needs right now: more quality issues to address…….At least they’re actually communicating with customers and are taking the necessary steps to provide a correction to the problem. For GM’s sake I hope this doesn’t balloon into a mass recall of their best brand……..
Seems 2014 Silverados don’t like to start when it’s cold:
http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/157241-2014-silverado-starting-problems/page-2
Maybe that is safety feature as they tend to catch on fire when left idling in the cold.
Or GM simply forgot to try to start one in winter during the millions of miles of real world testing.
I have a 2013 Cadillac ATS which after I drive for approximately one hour there is a clicking sound in the steering wheel when I turn the wheel or if I go over a significant bump. It is as if something is loose inside the steering wheel. I read some messages on the Cadillac forum and I am not the only one with this problem. On you tube one owner made a video and recorded the sound. The clocking spring might be the issue. Other than this issue the car has been great and honestly is the best car I have ever owned.
is “normal” that the first models of new generations casting failures, what matters is that GM will take care of this quickly and gradually these errors stop appearing
Regards from Spain
Stalling while coasting isn’t a big deal. Back in the day, it seems like about every car or truck I had a problem with the idle. GM will fix is with a software upgrade.
That’s an ignorant statement. I had an ATS that did this. It did not ever shudder or give an indication that is was going to stall. The electric power steering kept working so you had no idea the car was not running. Mid-left hand turn or round-about you need power to get through the interchange. Coasting through a cross traffic turn will catch up with you eventually.
Also been saying that the CUE system needs more RAM to be more agile and quick in their response.
I am passionate about new Cadillac, I hope that GM fix these little details
Regards from Spain
This is a kind of issue that is becoming not all that rare in all makes and brands. The cars have so much electronics anymore that they can often have issues that are hard to track down. If one sensor is just a little off it may not set a code and can lead to issues.
Often most MFG has new flashes for the computer to make it compensate for the issue to either set a code or fix the problem.
This is not a first gen or even just a GM issue as it happens to all of them.
With progress we just trade old issues for new ones. Welcome to progress.
I just was reading how Porsche has yet to finally have a fix for the big buck 911 GT3. It was bad enough they told all the owners not to drive them and the cars are sitting in dealers globally waiting for a fix that they are still working on.
I think up to 5 have burned to the ground out of just 700 cars.
Definitely a good point Scott. I too am inclined to believe that all the computer components and sensory devices are simply not calibrated well enough and is the core reason why there are many issues arising with vehicle operation. The only thing that can be done is to keep updating each new system already on the market and THOROUGHLY test the technology yet to come as best as possible, to ensure as few issues as possible at launch.
It all goes to show the imperfections in modern technology. When you read about prestigious brands such as Porsche experiencing issues with the 911 GT3, reliable brands such as Toyota and Honda having to issue recalls with some of their top vehicles, and even the occasional BMW or Mercedes Benz owner experiencing problems with their vehicles, it proves one fact: IF IT’S MAN MADE, IT’S NOT PERFECT!!!!! I’ve been voicing my share of criticism towards GM lately in regards to issues concerning quality and appeal of products, and rightfully so, but I’m willing to cut them some slack. Yes, it’s unfortunate consumers have to suffer from the imperfections, even at the cost of their lives. But because we demand technological advances, companies are gonna keep bringing them to the market; but they will not come without flaws……I guarantee that!
Sorry to get a bit “preachy”. I just want to make sense of these problems, and attempt to ease the sting of anti-GM, brand biased critics who think they have the final say so on the matter…….
Jamel
Electronics can have issues for the oddest reasons and they are the most difficult to fine. just a issue with a wire harness where one wire may have more resistance can set off a sensor to a point that it is not detectable by the computer but enough to send the whole system into a stall etc.
I have seen a lot of connectors and harnesses issues with many cars. Some are with the belt tensioners after a crash repair. If the system worked sometimes the harness can have more resistance.
One I had to deal with worked fine when It was cold and would set off the light on the dash when warm. But it never set a hard code. We have to keep it till it recreated the issue with the lights.
I know some GM dealers in trying to solve issues will put a tech tool or recording device in the car and give it back to the owner to drive till the issue happens again and it can take two weeks of messing with to find it.
Just like a home computer there are issues and in cars the biggest area of issues seams to be the harness I most cars.
I have seen some older Honda and Toyotas have harness issues and the cost to repair is often more the car is worth.
I would really hate to be a service writer and have to tell someone on a new car We can’t find the issue in some of these new cars.
In years fast everything was mechanical and you could see the issue. Today electrical issues are made to self diagnose but you still get that issue that is just not bad enough to set a code and then you have to look for something that is wrong that you can not see broken.
I hear they are looking at ways in the auto industry to cut back or eliminate many parts of a the cars harness to fix this issue and cut weight. The harness is one of the heaviest items in the car out side the driveline.
My 2014 ATS, Automatic, stalled and shut off on me today. Currently Cadillac roadside assistance is having it towed to my dealership, but after a few tries, the car will no longer duplicate it. Luckily I wasn’t in traffic but was pulling into my garage when my car started to hard idle, smelled like exhaust fumes, and then proceeded to completely shut off, while in drive. I put it in reverse and lo and behold, it did it again. Definitely NOT a good feeling, especially since i JUST got it back at 10:30 this morning (its current 4pm). I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one experiencing the issue and I HOPE that GM sends a recall out for it.
Had same issue and dealership told me i needed a oil change the car stalled while driving in traffic and they was not able to duplicate the issue and saying nothing is wrong
I had my car stall out 3 hours away from home. My 2014 Cadillac ATs has been rewired, code read the whole 9. They need to issue a recall because this is very unsafe and I am very unhappy