Help! Check engine light

[Rule62]

How would you possibly know if a dealership really has a "certified XLR tech" anyway? What credentials would you ask for? Would you just take their word for it?

I have a local mechanic who is ASE certified, has two former GM technicians on staff (one from a Cadillac dealer that closed) and, most importantly, has an '06 STS-V with 165,000 miles on it as a daily driver. It works for me!


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[CNC]

Trusted Tec. Great. That's what most people want.

How would you possibly know if a dealership really has a "certified XLR tech" anyway? What credentials would you ask for? Would you just take their word for it?

I have a local mechanic who is ASE certified, has two former GM technicians on staff (one from a Cadillac dealer that closed) and, most importantly, has an '06 STS-V with 165,000 miles on it as a daily driver. It works for me!


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Red Noland Cadillac nearby in Colorado Springs has a 'Certified XLR Tec' on staff. His Certification from Cadillac Division specifically calling him out as "XLR Certified" is hanging on the wall. In fact, I met him and visited with him when he scanned mine recently using his Tec II. This is not to denigrate someone whom you trust and have worked with for some time. Could be they are very competent. However, it is also possible that many on this site do not have your level of confidence and a "Trusted Mechanic".

 

[Rule62]

Red Noland Cadillac nearby in Colorado Springs has a 'Certified XLR Tec' on staff. His Certification from Cadillac Division specifically calling him out as "XLR Certified" is hanging on the wall. In fact, I met him and visited with him when he scanned mine recently using his Tec II. This is not to denigrate someone whom you trust and have worked with for some time. Could be they are very competent. However, it is also possible that many on this site do not have your level of confidence and a "Trusted Mechanic".

Unfortunately I've had little luck "bonding"
with the service staff at the three local dealerships here in my little corner of the San Fernando Valley. I did bring it to the dealer when the pump/module for the top needed to be replaced. But you are right in that I am indeed fortunate to have a trusted local shop within walking distance to my home. Dave handled the replacement of the shocks, the BCM, radiator, A/C condenser, temperature sensor and thermostat, as well as several flash updates to the ECM.

Ultimately my hope for all XLR owners is to find some one competent to work on their rides, because Lord knows they need upkeep!

 

[beaver_jd]

Unfortunately I've had little luck "bonding"
with the service staff at the three local dealerships here in my little corner of the San Fernando Valley. I did bring it to the dealer when the pump/module for the top needed to be replaced. But you are right in that I am indeed fortunate to have a trusted local shop within walking distance to my home. Dave handled the replacement of the shocks, the BCM, radiator, A/C condenser, temperature sensor and thermostat, as well as several flash updates to the ECM.

Ultimately my hope for all XLR owners is to find some one competent to work on their rides, because Lord knows they need upkeep!

Where is your dealer located as I spend my winterish Southern California.
John F.

 

[Rule62]

Where is your dealer located as I spend my winterish Southern California.
John F.

The dealership I've had the most Success with is Parkway Cadillac in Valencia.

But my local guy is Dave at 60 Minute Tune here in Granada Hills.


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[CNC]

Agreed! : )

Unfortunately I've had little luck "bonding"
with the service staff at the three local dealerships here in my little corner of the San Fernando Valley. I did bring it to the dealer when the pump/module for the top needed to be replaced. But you are right in that I am indeed fortunate to have a trusted local shop within walking distance to my home. Dave handled the replacement of the shocks, the BCM, radiator, A/C condenser, temperature sensor and thermostat, as well as several flash updates to the ECM.

Ultimately my hope for all XLR owners is to find some one competent to work on their rides, because Lord knows they need upkeep!

I concur. Therein lies the problem. I.e., 'finding out who and where'. Possible one finds out after spending money that they then need to spend again. Let alone their wasted time. Ouch! So kind of important to "get this choice right the first time". Also sometimes "trust" can be misplaced. EX., The guy I bought my Eldorado Convertible from, a really nice guy, but clueless about the mechanics of vehicles. When he needed work done, he'd have it loaded onto a Flat Bed Towing Service Truck and hauled to Marina Del Ray. About 150 miles from where the car was stored. To him "they were the best". When I got wrenching on the car doing all essential services to establish a 'base line', I ran into their work. Not good! It was 'sub-standard'. Ex. When they replaced the starter motor they left the flywheel shield off the car. Not there! If he had picked up a rock and it got jammed between the starter and the flywheel, lots of carnage would have ensued. This but one example. Missing fasteners. Wires spliced with scotch locks. Wrong wiring of the trunk mounted CD Player resulting in disabling the Aux Position of the Ignition Switch. Bolts twisted off. Totally sloppy workmanship. Whatever they touched, they messed it up. In short, they had him 'snowed'.

FYI, I used to live in Westlake Village and was for some years part of the 'sub-culture' on the #5 and #405 going into Civic Center 2X's per day. Ugh.

 

[Rule62]

I concur. Therein lies the problem. I.e., 'finding out who and where'. Possible one finds out after spending money that they then need to spend again. Let alone their wasted time. Ouch! So kind of important to "get this choice right the first time". Also sometimes "trust" can be misplaced. EX., The guy I bought my Eldorado Convertible from, a really nice guy, but clueless about the mechanics of vehicles. When he needed work done, he'd have it loaded onto a Flat Bed Towing Service Truck and hauled to Marina Del Ray. About 150 miles from where the car was stored. To him "they were the best". When I got wrenching on the car doing all essential services to establish a 'base line', I ran into their work. Not good! It was 'sub-standard'. Ex. When they replaced the starter motor they left the flywheel shield off the car. Not there! If he had picked up a rock and it got jammed between the starter and the flywheel, lots of carnage would have ensued. This but one example. Missing fasteners. Wires spliced with scotch locks. Wrong wiring of the trunk mounted CD Player resulting in disabling the Aux Position of the Ignition Switch. Bolts twisted off. Totally sloppy workmanship. Whatever they touched, they messed it up. In short, they had him 'snowed'.

FYI, I used to live in Westlake Village and was for some years part of the 'sub-culture' on the #5 and #405 going into Civic Center 2X's per day. Ugh.

Yeah...that's a tough commute. My wife has the 118-5-170-134 commute which is all of 13 miles that she can generally accomplish in under 20 minutes depending on red lights.

I met Dave in our local Trader Joe's and we started talking about our "V's". Said his mom used to drive it but when it hit 100k she wanted a Lexus, so he took as his daily driver. I researched his shop's ratings and found them to be very well liked locally.
So I'm a happy camper.


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[Sandy]

How would you possibly know if a dealership really has a "certified XLR tech" anyway? What credentials would you ask for? Would you just take their word for it?

I have a local mechanic who is ASE certified, has two former GM technicians on staff (one from a Cadillac dealer that closed) and, most importantly, has an '06 STS-V with 165,000 miles on it as a daily driver. It works for me!


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You'd think! Course my repair guy drives a 2006 xlr and he can't seem to locate the problem, short of replacing both 02 sensors! Didn't work

 

[CNC]

You didn't hold your mouth right. : ) (Joke)

My light came on. Code 0139. Set up a time for my repair shop to change the 02 sensor. Right after I scheduled the repair, the light went off. I cancelled the repair. Has anyone else experienced an intermitant problem? What did you do? What was the result? Appreciate any input. Thanks

Sometimes they will just throw a code, and it's not critical. But certainly not something that one should ignore. Sometimes a tiny piece of carbon will get stuck somewhere and cause a code, and the check engine light will come on. Cause for concern when the check engine light (CEL) comes on? Yes, absolutely. Check all your gauges immediately. Oil pressure drop? Pull over and turn off the engine ASAP. Do not restart the engine if this occurs! Look for leaks. Overheating? Pull off ASAP, turn of the engine. Open the hood. Let it cool and look for leaks on the pavement. --- Disconnecting your Negative Terminal Battery Cable will erase any codes (until the ECM throws another one). Yes, you loose all programmed presets (radio, mirrors, etc.). EX. On The Montana Rocket Run my CEL came on. Looked immediately at my gauges. Fuel gauge had stopped working with close to a full tank. Not immediately critical. Ran some Gumout Injector Cleaner through it in the gas tank, and after a bit of driving, 'Walla', started working again. Has not occurred since. Message here? Occasionally put fuel injection cleaner in your gas tank to dissolve any varnish, cleaning the gas level sending mechanism.

 

[CNC]

Is The CEL Still On?

My light came on. Code 0139. Set up a time for my repair shop to change the 02 sensor. Right after I scheduled the repair, the light went off. I cancelled the repair. Has anyone else experienced an intermitant problem? What did you do? What was the result? Appreciate any input. Thanks

Is the light still coming on and code 0139?

 

[Sandy]

Is the light still coming on and code 0139?

With no luck at the local repair shop, I bit the bullet and took her to the Cadillac dealer. They checked the codes and came to the conclusion that dispite replacing the 02 sensors, the car was reacting unfavorly to the Corsa exhaust I had installed. The dealer said the car needed to be re-tuned to match the conditions created by the Corsa exhaust. They referred me to a local shop specializing in engine analysis and tuning. Spent the day at this shop. Result: they could not access the software. Apparently the 2004 and 2005 xlr software was outsourced to a third party supplier, and the computer software provided, cannot be tuned by GM. Does this make sense? Where I am now is driving around with a great car - with the check engine light lit. As bad as it sounds, I guess I'll attempt to disconnect the light, or remove the bulb. Anybody else ever get in this fix?

 

[Rule62]

With no luck at the local repair shop, I bit the bullet and took her to the Cadillac dealer. They checked the codes and came to the conclusion that dispite replacing the 02 sensors, the car was reacting unfavorly to the Corsa exhaust I had installed. The dealer said the car needed to be re-tuned to match the conditions created by the Corsa exhaust. They referred me to a local shop specializing in engine analysis and tuning. Spent the day at this shop. Result: they could not access the software. Apparently the 2004 and 2005 xlr software was outsourced to a third party supplier, and the computer software provided, cannot be tuned by GM. Does this make sense? Where I am now is driving around with a great car - with the check engine light lit. As bad as it sounds, I guess I'll attempt to disconnect the light, or remove the bulb. Anybody else ever get in this fix?

Is the CEL on continuously? I have a Corsa kit and a Volant CAI which throws an occasional code, but the CEL goes out after two or three ignition cycles and doesn't return for weeks. I do believe that reprogramming the ECM would cure the problem, but I do not know anything about the third party software issue.


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[XLRATING]

I call shenanigans on blaming it on the Corsa. I haven't heard of that as a problem before. Hasn't been a problem on my '06 with Corsa, know some folks on here with '04's & '05's that haven't had problems (& one I'm thinking of has a 200,000+ miles on it). Also have Billy Boat exhaust on the XLR-V, no CEL's. Doesn't mean it's not possible, but I'm not sure I'd mess with the tuning at this point (even if you could) on that basis.

I know this doesn't solve your problem, but might help avoid making it worse.

 

[05xlr]

Is the CEL on continuously? I have a Corsa kit and a Volant CAI which throws an occasional code, but the CEL goes out after two or three ignition cycles and doesn't return for weeks. I do believe that reprogramming the ECM would cure the problem, but I do not know anything about the third party software issue.


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I have a 2005 XLR , what can the dealer do to service the XLR S' ?


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[Sandy]

I have a 2005 XLR , what can the dealer do to service the XLR S' ?


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My check engine light is still on. Steady light. Thanks for the input. I haven't seen trouble reports re Corsa exhaust either ( or I would not have got one ) but this is what two different shops are telling me.
I'm thinking about the four step method Suggested on YouTube: 1. Get roll of duct tape. 2. Measure size of trouble light. 3. Cut tape the right length. 4. Install tape over light.

 

[Sandy]

I call shenanigans on blaming it on the Corsa. I haven't heard of that as a problem before. Hasn't been a problem on my '06 with Corsa, know some folks on here with '04's & '05's that haven't had problems (& one I'm thinking of has a 200,000+ miles on it). Also have Billy Boat exhaust on the XLR-V, no CEL's. Doesn't mean it's not possible, but I'm not sure I'd mess with the tuning at this point (even if you could) on that basis.

I know this doesn't solve your problem, but might help avoid making it worse.

I agree. I've spent enough money on the problem. I plan on just keep driving and see what happens to the light. BTW, the tune shop called GM and got a long winded discussion concerning the software in the 2004 and 2005. They said for those two years they had another company supply the software, and it can't be accessed for diagnostics. Anyone know anything about this issue? True, false?

 

[PAK XLR8]

Pre 2006 ECM Software

I agree. I've spent enough money on the problem. I plan on just keep driving and see what happens to the light. BTW, the tune shop called GM and got a long winded discussion concerning the software in the 2004 and 2005. They said for those two years they had another company supply the software, and it can't be accessed for diagnostics. Anyone know anything about this issue? True, false?

I can verify that the 2004 and 2005 Northstar ECM (Engine Control Module) is hard to crack, and both D3 and West Coast Corvette could not crack my 2005 software. The diagnostic codes can still be accessed, as mentioned above, you just can't solve the problem with a software tweak to the computer.

I was able to find a guy who could do a power tune on the older ECM's, but you had to ship your ECM to him and it was not optimized with a real time dyno type tune. I assume he is still around - Alex Rutenburg - vectorbundle@gmail.com He did mine back in 2014.

I hope this helps!

 

[Rule62]

I can verify that the 2004 and 2005 Northstar ECM (Engine Control Module) is hard to crack, and both D3 and West Coast Corvette could not crack my 2005 software. The diagnostic codes can still be accessed, as mentioned above, you just can't solve the problem with a software tweak to the computer.

I was able to find a guy who could do a power tune on the older ECM's, but you had to ship your ECM to him and it was not optimized with a real time dyno type tune. I assume he is still around - Alex Rutenburg - vectorbundle@gmail.com He did mine back in 2014.

I hope this helps!

Is it the general consensus then,that 2006 and up models have ECM's that can be easily accessed and reflashed by a competent and experienced mechanic?


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[beaver_jd]

I agree. I've spent enough money on the problem. I plan on just keep driving and see what happens to the light. BTW, the tune shop called GM and got a long winded discussion concerning the software in the 2004 and 2005. They said for those two years they had another company supply the software, and it can't be accessed for diagnostics. Anyone know anything about this issue? True, false?

Sandy, My Cadillac dealer told me if the light was on I could just keep driving it. In my case the problem was an 02 sensor. I was also told by the dealer if the engine light started flashing that was a problem and to turn the engine off. I am going to buy one of these scanning tools to turn my light off because the car needs to pass a California smog. If the car didn't need to be tested I wouldn't worry about it as I know it's a sensor problem.
John F.

 

[Sandy]

I can verify that the 2004 and 2005 Northstar ECM (Engine Control Module) is hard to crack, and both D3 and West Coast Corvette could not crack my 2005 software. The diagnostic codes can still be accessed, as mentioned above, you just can't solve the problem with a software tweak to the computer.

I was able to find a guy who could do a power tune on the older ECM's, but you had to ship your ECM to him and it was not optimized with a real time dyno type tune. I assume he is still around - Alex Rutenburg - vectorbundle@gmail.com He did mine back in 2014.

I hope this helps!

PAX. Did you send your ECM to the guy? If so, what did he do for you?