2012 CADILLAC CTS Owners Manual

Black plate (1,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-1
Vehicle Care
General Information
General Information . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
California Proposition 65Warning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
California Perchlorate Materials Requirements . . . . 10-3
Accessories and Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-3
Vehicle Checks
Doing Your OwnService Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-4
Hood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-5
Engine Compartment Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-6
Engine Cover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-9
Engine Oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10
Engine Oil Life System . . . . . 10-12
Automatic Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Manual Transmission Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14 Hydraulic Clutch . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14
Engine Air Cleaner/Filter . . . . 10-15
Cooling System . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Engine Coolant . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-18
Engine Overheating . . . . . . . . 10-23
Overheated Engine
Protection
Operating Mode . . . . . . . . . . . 10-24
Power Steering Fluid . . . . . . . 10-24
Washer Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-25
Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-26
Brake Fluid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-27
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-29
All-Wheel Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-30
Starter Switch Check . . . . . . . 10-30
Automatic Transmission Shift Lock Control Function
Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Ignition Transmission Lock Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-31
Park Brake and P (Park) Mechanism Check . . . . . . . . 10-32
Wiper Blade Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-32
Headlamp Aiming
Headlamp Aiming . . . . . . . . . . 10-34
Bulb Replacement
Bulb Replacement . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Halogen Bulbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
High Intensity Discharge(HID) Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
Fog Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-37
License Plate Lamp (Coupe and Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
License Plate Lamp (Wagon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-38
Replacement Bulbs . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Electrical System
Electrical System Overload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-39
Fuses and Circuit Breakers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Engine Compartment Fuse Block (CTS Coupe and
Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-40
Engine Compartment Fuse Block (CTS V Coupe and
Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-44

Black plate (2,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
10-2 Vehicle Care
Engine Compartment FuseBlock (CTS Wagon) . . . . . . . 10-47
Engine Compartment Fuse Block (CTS V Wagon) . . . . . 10-51
Rear Compartment Fuse
Block (CTS Coupe and
Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-54
Rear Compartment Fuse Block (CTS-V Coupe and
Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-56
Rear Compartment Fuse Block (CTS Wagon) . . . . . . . 10-58
Rear Compartment Fuse Block (CTS-V Wagon) . . . . . 10-60
Wheels and Tires
Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-63
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Low-Profile Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-64
Tire Sidewall Labeling . . . . . . 10-65
Tire Designations . . . . . . . . . . . 10-67
Tire Terminology andDefinitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-68 Tire Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-70
Tire Pressure for High-Speed
Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Tire Pressure Monitor System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-72
Tire Pressure Monitor Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-73
Tire Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-76
Tire Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-77
When It Is Time for New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-78
Buying New Tires . . . . . . . . . . . 10-79
Different Size Tires and Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-80
Uniform Tire Quality Grading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-81
Wheel Alignment and Tire Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-82
Wheel Replacement . . . . . . . . 10-82
Tire Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-83
If a Tire Goes Flat . . . . . . . . . . 10-84
Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit . . . . . . . . . . . 10-86 Storing the Tire Sealant and
Compressor Kit
(Wagon) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-93
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit
(Coupe) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Storing the Tire Sealant and Compressor Kit
(Sedan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-94
Tire Changing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-95
Compact Spare Tire . . . . . . . 10-103
Jump Starting
Jump Starting . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-104
Towing
Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . 10-108
Recreational Vehicle Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-108
Appearance Care
Exterior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-110
Interior Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-113
Floor Mats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-116

Black plate (3,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-3
General Information
For service and parts needs, visit
your dealer. You will receive
genuine GM parts and GM-trained
and supported service people.
Genuine GM parts have one of
these marks:
California Proposition 65
Warning
Most motor vehicles, including this
one, contain and/or emit chemicals
known to the State of California to
cause cancer and birth defects or
other reproductive harm. Engine
exhaust, many parts and systems,
many fluids, and some component
wear by-products contain and/or
emit these chemicals.
California Perchlorate
Materials Requirements
Certain types of automotive
applications, such as airbag
initiators, seat belt pretensioners,
and lithium batteries contained in
Remote Keyless Entry transmitters,
may contain perchlorate materials.
Special handling may be necessary.
For additional information, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/
perchlorate.
Accessories and
Modifications
Adding non‐dealer accessories or
making modifications to the vehicle
can affect vehicle performance and
safety, including such things as
airbags, braking, stability, ride and
handling, emissions systems,
aerodynamics, durability, and
electronic systems like antilock
brakes, traction control, and stability
control. These accessories or
modifications could even cause
malfunction or damage not covered
by the vehicle warranty.
Damage to vehicle components
resulting from modifications or the
installation or use of non‐GM
certified parts, including control
module or software modifications, is
not covered under the terms of the
vehicle warranty and may affect
remaining warranty coverage for
affected parts.

Black plate (4,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
10-4 Vehicle Care
GM Accessories are designed to
complement and function with other
systems on the vehicle. See your
dealer to accessorize the vehicle
using genuine GM Accessories
installed by a dealer technician.
Also, seeAdding Equipment to the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on
page 3‑32.Vehicle Checks
Doing Your Own
Service Work
{WARNING
You can be injured and the
vehicle could be damaged if you
try to do service work on a vehicle
without knowing enough about it.
.Be sure you have sufficient
knowledge, experience, the
proper replacement parts,
and tools before attempting
any vehicle
maintenance task.
.Be sure to use the proper
nuts, bolts, and other
fasteners. Metric and English
fasteners can be easily
confused. If the wrong
fasteners are used, parts can
later break or fall off. You
could be hurt. If doing some of your own service
work, use the proper service
manual. It tells you much more
about how to service the vehicle
than this manual can. To order the
proper service manual, see
Service
Publications Ordering Information
on page 13‑17.
This vehicle has an airbag system.
Before attempting to do your own
service work, see Servicing the
Airbag-Equipped Vehicle on
page 3‑32.
Keep a record with all parts receipts
and list the mileage and the date of
any service work performed. See
Maintenance Records on
page 11‑17.

Black plate (5,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-5
Hood
To open the hood:
1. Pull the hood release lever withthis symbol on it. It is located
inside the vehicle on the lower
side of the instrument panel.
2. Go to the front of the vehicle andfind the secondary hood release
lever. The lever is located under
the front edge of the grille near
the center. Lift the release lever
up and raise the hood.
Before closing the hood, be sure all
the filler caps are on properly. Then
pull the hood down and close it
firmly.

Black plate (6,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
10-6 Vehicle Care
Engine Compartment Overview
CTS 3.6 L V6 Engine Shown, 3.0 L V6 Engine Similar

Black plate (7,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
Vehicle Care 10-7
A. Windshield Washer FluidReservoir. See Washer Fluid on
page 10‑25.
B. Engine Compartment Fuse
Block (CTS Coupe and Sedan)
on page 10‑40 orEngine
Compartment Fuse Block
(CTS V Coupe and Sedan) on
page 10‑44 orEngine
Compartment Fuse Block
(CTS Wagon) on page 10‑47 or
Engine Compartment Fuse
Block (CTS V Wagon) on
page 10‑51.
C. Remote Positive (+) Terminal. See Jump Starting on
page 10‑104. D. Remote Negative (−) Terminal.
See Jump Starting on
page 10‑104.
E. Passenger Compartment Air Filter. See Passenger
Compartment Air Filter on
page 8‑6.
F. Engine Cooling Fan (Out of View). See Cooling System on
page 10‑18.
G. Power Steering Fluid Reservoir. See Power Steering Fluid on
page 10‑24.
H. Engine Oil Fill Cap. See Engine
Oil on page 10‑10. I. Engine Oil Dipstick (Out of
View). See Engine Oil on
page 10‑10.
J. Hydraulic Clutch Reservoir (If Equipped) (Not Shown). See
Hydraulic Clutch on page 10‑14.
K. Brake Master Cylinder Reservoir (Out of View).
See Brakes on page 10‑26.
L. Engine Coolant Surge Tank and Pressure Cap. See Engine
Coolant on page 10‑18.
M. Engine Air Cleaner/Filter on
page 10‑15.

Black plate (8,1)Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owner Manual (Include Mex) - 2012
10-8 Vehicle Care
CTS-V 6.2 L V8 Engine