About to Order, Engine Failure Questions

[CA139]

I sincerely hope this does not annoy anyone. I am a long time enthusiast who has reached financial independence in middle age and because of the rapidly changing environment for cars going to electric and manual transmissions going the way of the dodo I am in the process of picking up a few different performance cars to store, drive occasionally like on weekends or when its nice out and keep for a long time, like decades long past the point when all cars will be not fun as in automatic and especially electric. EV owners rave about one pedal driving, I absolutely adore three (3)!

Am in my late 40's and my objective is to keep these cars the rest of my life to cherish as I enjoy driving. The CT5 V Blackwing is one but the reports of motor failures is giving me some pause. I know it won't be in production much longer so I have two questions.

1. Does anyone especially working at a dealership or in the industry have an idea of how likely this engine failure is? I am looking for approximate likelyhood but I know there's no way to predict because they will go when they go suddenly there's no anticipating the problem AND

2. As production ceases over the next year or two, if my car should fail will there be a reserve of motors? How does it work to get a new engine especially something so bespoke and hand made on an out of production car?

Even though mileage will be very low like a few thousand miles per year 3-4k tops I am concerned if the motor should fail down the line when they stop making them how availability for replacement parts could be.

Thank you for your time

 

[1Evil55]

The motor is more common than you realize. Parts will be just as available as batteries. Don't bogart all the cool stuff. Also FEV

 

[jbawden]

Do you by chance have an excel spreadsheet detailing the cars you're interested in? I'll do my best to nudge you back towards being an emotional buyer like the rest of us here.

Even if you knew the exact historical failure rate, on an individual basis that is nearly irrelevant. It's a mechanical thing, mechanical things fail and if you drive it say another 30-40 years then it could fail, or it won't, no one can predict how good the car you get will be and for how long. A failure is for future CA139 to worry about and there will always be options. Life is short, circumstances change, so save and close that spreadsheet and start looking for allocation!

 

[668LT4]

1. 6 years 70k powertrain warranty
2. There are over 5000 CT5-V Blackwings produced from 22-24. Somewhere you can find a thread on our forum where a guy lists every one he has found on the internet with a motor failure. It is maybe 30 or 35 cars? Out of 5000+.

I'm not worried about mine. If something happens in the next 6 years, I'll get a motor replacement.

If you want the most fun to drive manual sedan ever, it is the CT5-V Blackwing. The overwhelming majority are fine. Many of us here bought one to keep forever and then hand it down.

You might also be hearing a lot about the L87 6.2L V8 motor that has been all over automotive news. It is a fast growing nightmare for GM. Now, if our LT4s have the same parts as those L87s... but so far, the numbers don't bear that out.

 

[ngoni]

If you're concerned and you want to keep the car beyond the initial warranty, the GM extended warranty makes sense if you buy it early on. Just a couple visits to the dealer would probably make you break even on the cost.

 

[CA139]

If you're concerned and you want to keep the car beyond the initial warranty, the GM extended warranty makes sense if you buy it early on. Just a couple visits to the dealer would probably make you break even on the cost.

Thanks for the suggestion I was toying with that idea as this would be a low mileage but very long term car.

 

[CA139]

1. 6 years 70k powertrain warranty
2. There are over 5000 CT5-V Blackwings produced from 22-24. Somewhere you can find a thread on our forum where a guy lists every one he has found on the internet with a motor failure. It is maybe 30 or 35 cars? Out of 5000+.

I'm not worried about mine. If something happens in the next 6 years, I'll get a motor replacement.

If you want the most fun to drive manual sedan ever, it is the CT5-V Blackwing. The overwhelming majority are fine. Many of us here bought one to keep forever and then hand it down.

You might also be hearing a lot about the L87 6.2L V8 motor that has been all over automotive news. It is a fast growing nightmare for GM. Now, if our LT4s have the same parts as those L87s... but so far, the numbers don't bear that out.

Nice to know. Yes am aware this is the most fun sports sedan ever. >600hp, manual tranny, track suspension, supercharger whine is what attracted me to the idea.

 

[CA139]

Do you by chance have an excel spreadsheet detailing the cars you're interested in? I'll do my best to nudge you back towards being an emotional buyer like the rest of us here.

Even if you knew the exact historical failure rate, on an individual basis that is nearly irrelevant. It's a mechanical thing, mechanical things fail and if you drive it say another 30-40 years then it could fail, or it won't, no one can predict how good the car you get will be and for how long. A failure is for future CA139 to worry about and there will always be options. Life is short, circumstances change, so save and close that spreadsheet and start looking for allocation!

I don't have a spreadsheet its only 4 cars.

I currently picked up a GR Corolla, about to pick up a GR Supra, going to order the Blackwing tomorrow and need to save up likely for a Dark Horse Mustang sometime next year. If Toyota does come out with their new MR2/Celica "without electrification" and with a standard tranny I will get the mid engine one when it comes out in a few years.

All are or will be manual because its my favorite. I have automatic vehicles and they are no fun. I've driven EV's and they are even less fun. While they offer eye crushing power (feels like my eyeballs will penetrate backwards into my brain in a way that makes me dizzy when going WOT) they are very monolithic. You only have straight line acceleration, they don't have a complex, multilayered personality certainly not the kind that is brought out by manual. I love the mid gears and just feeling all the whines and resonances and quirks of a powerband from down low to wherever I want. I hate how even the semi-auto gearboxes will kick down if you give it enough power to start hearing and feeling stuff.

I know the type of car I enjoy driving is about to die forever and I am capitalizing on this moment because it shall not pass this way again.

 

[Exia]

Manufacturer have to support a vehicle for like 7-10 years after production ends, I can't remember which. If you motor blows in two years of ownership it will be replaced, you have a 6 year powertrain warranty.

If your scared of the LT4 going I don't want to know what else your considering that you think is a safe bet. Small block performance engines from GMs are rock solid, I would not worry about the engine being a problem or worrying about replacement availability. They just refreshed the car, they aren't going out of production next year.

 

[MookdocOE]

It's hard for somebody like myself to even believe something like this? I mean GM or Cadillac offers probably the most affirmative comprehensive warranty in the business?

GM has been building V8's seemingly forever and will back that engine with drivetrain for what is it 6 yrs 70k miles? You can't be serious about this question?

 

[MookdocOE]

I don't have a spreadsheet its only 4 cars.

I currently picked up a GR Corolla, about to pick up a GR Supra, going to order the Blackwing tomorrow and need to save up likely for a Dark Horse Mustang sometime next year. If Toyota does come out with their new MR2/Celica "without electrification" and with a standard tranny I will get the mid engine one when it comes out in a few years.

All are or will be manual because its my favorite. I have automatic vehicles and they are no fun. I've driven EV's and they are even less fun. While they offer eye crushing power (feels like my eyeballs will penetrate backwards into my brain in a way that makes me dizzy when going WOT) they are very monolithic. You only have straight line acceleration, they don't have a complex, multilayered personality certainly not the kind that is brought out by manual. I love the mid gears and just feeling all the whines and resonances and quirks of a powerband from down low to wherever I want. I hate how even the semi-auto gearboxes will kick down if you give it enough power to start hearing and feeling stuff.

I know the type of car I enjoy driving is about to die forever and I am capitalizing on this moment because it shall not pass this way again.

Never say, Never! There's a new Sheriff in town and by golly the 3 pedal American V8 will live on!

 

[G.Newt]

My personal opinion, I wouldn't touch a GM V8. They're failing so often that GM can't even warranty them. As far as 5BW's, there are a few that have eaten themselves. There's still all the AFM/DoD hardware inside even if the mode isn't activated. Couple that with main bearing issues. Hell even Car and Driver's CT5 BW's engine ate itself.

But the LT4 is not that bespoke. It's been around for a decade. Parts should be plentiful should catastrophe arise.

 

[pmsteinm]

I used to think like that...buy the last "good" car to keep it "forever". But thanks to the miracle of modern mass production, it just isn't realistic to think any car can be kept on the road indefinitely. With old cars (<1970s) you could probably make just about any part that fails in a machine shop (and maybe 3D print someday). Now if some chip in some component fails in 20 years, you really only can hope they are some still sitting on a shelf or in a junk yard. That's the same as if you built a PC back in 2001 and the motherboard died today...you pretty much have to replace everything since nothing is in production anymore or compatible. This will only get worse with newer cars with more tech. Digital hardware is pretty reliable and can last a long time...until it doesn't.

Besides the electronics, you have all the rubber and plastic that is decaying all the time as it ages. A 20-year-old car won't drive like it did when new (but you don't notice as much because the effects of aging happen gradually).

Where I'm going with all this: Buy a 5BW and drive the hell out of it. If it breaks, fix it. If it can't be fixed, then worry about that when it happens. You can't take it with you when you die, and a car that isn't driven is wasted.

I regret that in 14 years I only put 100k miles on my V2. I should have enjoyed it more.

 

[Finally-a-V]

Not for nothing, but I read an article last week about the 6.2L in GM trucks/suvs. Tech at a dealer said they have 4 waiting for engines, and their latest customer was something like 2800th in line for an engine. They are on national backorder. They are making them as fast as they can. Many dealers are just rebuilding them, which GM doesn't want, and so many dealers are trying to beat the system that GM is verifying all VIN's prior to putting them in the cue. Sounds like another shit show.

 

[FLYARMY]

I fell for the GM propaganda that they were only going to build the CT5 BW's for 1-3 years. 2021-2023. I bought my 2022 and now the 2025's are here. I bet they will keep building them as long as they can sell them. I got snookered...but in a good way.

 

[T.O.Blackwing]

Where I'm going with all this: Buy a 5BW and drive the hell out of it. If it breaks, fix it. If it can't be fixed, then worry about that when it happens. You can't take it with you when you die, and a car that isn't driven is wasted.

Absolutely, and so well said.
Also, if I might add about “if it breaks, fix it”, that it comes with a long and decent powertrain warranty.
Which means you don’t have to worry about the cost of fixing it for longer than most of us are likely to own it in any event.
And if the engine holds out until the warranty runs out and you want to keep it instead of trading it in for the latest shiney new thing on wheels, it likely will endure long past that, too.

 

[MookdocOE]

I fell for the GM propaganda that they were only going to build the CT5 BW's for 1-3 years. 2021-2023. I bought my 2022 and now the 2025's are here. I bet they will keep building them as long as they can sell them. I got snookered...but in a good way.

I don't believe they said 1-3yrs what they did say is no more than 2500qty per model per year. I think they really only got close to around 2k units per year. It probably has even surprised GM they are still building it honestly. Don't expect the car to be built in 2026 either.

 

[shbox]

2026 info in another post

 

[T.O.Blackwing]

I don't believe they said 1-3yrs what they did say is no more than 2500qty per model per year. I think they really only got close to around 2k units per year. It probably has even surprised GM they are still building it honestly. Don't expect the car to be built in 2026 either.

All bets that there will be an ‘26 are off with the tariffs being implemented on Tuesday.
All cars built in North America contain numerous parts and raw materials (steel, aluminum, oil and petroleum products) that have crossed either or both the Mexican and Canadian border before they are assembled into a vehicle.
Some of the parts cross several times during the production process.
E.g., the Bullitt I owned before my first Blackwing was assembled in Michigan but its engine came from Canada, as many Ford engines have for more than half a century.
That engine no doubt itself contained parts from the US, not to mention the rest of the world.
The LSA engine in the V Wagon I owned before the Mustang had an engine that was assembled in Mexico which similarly very likely contained components that originated in the US as well as many other parts of the world.
That whole integrated long-standing production industry will now require reorganization, retrenchment, and mitigation of costs and losses unless an exception is made for cars and car parts. (For those that don’t know: there has been free trade in the auto sector between Canada and the US since the sixties, so the connections are deep, long-standing, and complex.)
Without such an exception, which I’m becoming less hopeful about every time your president speaks about the issue, I believe that we will soon see factories closing, huge layoffs on both sides of the two borders, and the discontinuation of numerous models of cars as part of the retrenchment.
I expect this will include all the CT5s as they can’t be making GM much money given their low sales volumes.
In other words, and I hope I’m wrong, it’s over after the ‘25, and they may even cut production of that model year short.
There’s one good thing that may come out of all this: some leading politicians here are advocating for a 100% retaliatory tariff on Teslas that are shipped to Canada.
Please God make it so!

 

[dinkman]

All bets that there will be an ‘26 are off with the tariffs being implemented on Tuesday.
All cars built in North America contain numerous parts and raw materials (steel, aluminum, oil and petroleum products) that have crossed either or both the Mexican and Canadian border before they are assembled into a vehicle.
Some of the parts cross several times during the production process.
E.g., the Bullitt I owned before my first Blackwing was assembled in Michigan but its engine came from Canada, as many Ford engines have for more than half a century.
That engine no doubt itself contained parts from the US, not to mention the rest of the world.
The LSA engine in the V Wagon I owned before the Mustang had an engine that was assembled in Mexico which similarly very likely contained components that originated in the US as well as many other parts of the world.
That whole integrated long-standing production industry will now require reorganization, retrenchment, and mitigation of costs and losses unless an exception is made for cars and car parts. (For those that don’t know: there has been free trade in the auto sector between Canada and the US since the sixties, so the connections are deep, long-standing, and complex.)
Without such an exception, which I’m becoming less hopeful about every time your president speaks about the issue, I believe that we will soon see factories closing, huge layoffs on both sides of the two borders, and the discontinuation of numerous models of cars as part of the retrenchment.
I expect this will include all the CT5s as they can’t be making GM much money given their low sales volumes.
In other words, and I hope I’m wrong, it’s over after the ‘25, and they may even cut production of that model year short.
There’s one good thing that may come out of all this: some leading politicians here are advocating for a 100% retaliatory tariff on Teslas that are shipped to Canada.
Please God make it so!

lets make it interesting. $50 says there is a '26 MY 5BW. you in?