2005 Cadillac SRX Work

Submitted by crowbar on Wed, 03/23/2016 - 20:54

My wife drives a 2005 Cadillac SRX V6 (3.6L) AWD. We bought the car when we expecting our first child. It has certainly been a roller coaster. I like the AWD feature and have driven it through the snow and rain and it felt very stable. Mechanical issues have plagued us almost from the beginning. Some of the things that have been done to the car include:

  • Replace DRL bulbs every ~18 months. Thay are a pain and the dealer wants $90 each time! I can do the job in under and hour. The bulb is ~$8.
  • Replace power steering high pressure lines (~40,000 miles)
  • Replace catalytics converters (~60,000 miles) under EPA mandated extended warranty
  • Rebuilt transmission (~85,000 miles)
  • Rebuilt transfer case (~125,000 miles)
  • Replace timing chains (~125,000 miles)
  • Replace water pump (~125,000, not required, but when doing the timing chains it makes sense)
  • Replace front wheel hubs (~150,000 miles)
  • Replace water pump (~157,000 miles)
  • Replace fuel injector 1 (~160,000 miles)
  • Replace several cylinder ignition coils. 4 replaced so far.
  • Replace tires every ~45,000 miles. We have used Michelin Touring HP or Elite for the last 3 sets. They are 70k rated and we only get ~45k out of them. Possibly due to the AWD and the fact that front and rear are different sized tires.

Some items that I have not yet fixed:

  • With headlights on, right turn signal turns on the high beams. Common issue. Replace combination switch. ~$40 + 1 hour of work
  • Gear shift cable grommets worn away. Metallic clanking sound when shifting from Park to Drive. GM Part is ~$120. + 1 hour of work
  • Reverse Lights not functional. I have traced wire and verified power from the fuse block in front of the left rear seat. Wiring issue between fuse block and rear liftgate. Most likely will never fix.

This brings me to the current troubles that I need to fix. For several months the check engine light has been on with a P0443 Evaporative Emission (EVAP) Purge Solenoid Control Circuit code. I replaced the solenoid once and the code went away. It came back about a year later. Replaced the solenoid again and the code remains. Requires a GM Tech II computer diagnostic to work through the GM service manual steps. For now I am ignoring this code.A couple weeks ago the car began to run rough and the MIL light was on. Pulled the codes and had a P0204 Injector 4 Control Circuit. I had previously corrected a P0201 by replacing the inhector. Did that first and the code appeared to go away only to return the next morning. There are only 3 connections between the Engine Control Module (ECM) and the injector. 1 connector is on the ECM, 1 is on the injector, and the 3rd is in the middle. The connector in the injector was replaced because it was cracked. I soldered in a replacement. The other two appear fine. I am beginning to suspect the ECM is going bad, but have no way of verifying that without purchasing a new one (and having it programmed to match the car!). That is a ~$500 diagnostic issue. At this point I am still searching for answers.

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