Owners have filed 2,215 complaints on the Cadillac Deville, covering 1982–2005. The system named most often is Electrical System (319 reports). Worst years by volume: 1997, 1998, 2000; cleanest: 1982, 1983, 1984. 183 reports describe a crash, 78 a fire, 25 a death. On average the car was 6.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Cadillac Deville
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 2,215 Deville complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 319 Read
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac deville. While traveling approximately 50 mph, the vehicle suddenly stalled. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a guardrail. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The driver sustained injuries to the breast plate and ribs. The driver and two…
During winter driving, turned on the heated steering wheel, felt the fingers of my left hand begin to burn and noticed smoke coming from the heated steering wheel cover. I immediately switched off the heated steering wheel, the smoking stopped. I have not used that feature since, have not had it repaired. Checked for…
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac deville. While driving approximately 55 mph, the engine seized. The vehicle crashed into a median and the air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained major injuries, including two broken feet and a concussion. The driver required medical assistance. A police report was not filed.…
Engine And Engine Cooling 311 Read
While driving at highway speed engine shut down, causing an accident. Please provide any additional information
Whiled riving vehicle shut off due to engine crank shaft sensor faiure. *jb
While sitting in front of my home my 1999 cadillac deville caught on fire and burnt to a total loss. The car was parked, had not been driven for about 48 hours. The fire started in the engine compartment. The fire occurred at about 2:00pm. Satruday afternoon. Temp about 82 degrees. Something in the cars engine room on…
Service Brakes 241 Read
The contact owns a 2003 cadillac deville. The contact stated while driving approximately 40 mph, the brakes failed to stop the vehicle and the brake lights illuminated. The failure recurred multiple times. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer was not notified. The approximate failure mileage was 150,000
The ABS braking system failed while applying the brakes while driving about 30 mph on the highway. As a result the vehicle had a collision with a parked vehicle. There were no fatalities to report. The dealer was aware of the problem. *ak the brake pedal traveled to the floor while braking. The vehicle was towed to…
While driving 55 mph consumer's vehicle collided with the vehicle in front. Consumer applied the brakes, but consumer's vehicle had already crashed into the other vehicle. Upon impact, both frontal air bags did not deploy driver sustained minor injuries, and was taken to the hospital. Vehicle was towed to the dealer…
Steering 231 Read
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac deville. The contact stated that while driving various speeds, the vehicle swerved and crashed into a fire hydrant. A police report was filed and no injuries were sustained. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and the failure…
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac deville. While making a right turn at approximately 10 mph, the steering wheel became difficult to maneuver without warning. As a result, the contact lost control of the vehicle, drove over a curb, and into a field. There were no injuries nor was a police report filed. The vehicle was…
While driving in rainy conditions, the driver, my dad, exited an interstate highway onto a down-sloped ramp. Near the termination point of exit where it had a left turn and a right turn lane, he attempted to turn the steering wheel to the right to enter the right turn lane. However, the steering wheel locked up,…
Air Bags 187 Read
The contact owns a 2005 cadillac deville. While driving out of a gas station at approximately 2 mph, another vehicle crashed into the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The insurance company stated that the vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer will be notified. The current and failure mileages were…
Airbags failed to open after engine died. Car went dead and steering brakes failed to operate properly. Seat became unlocked. I was jammed under steering wheel. Engine and car dead. Front end and rear end total, never received replacement. Insurer was geico, repaired at their recommended facility. Engine began to leak…
The contact owned a 2005 cadillac deville. While driving approximately 70 mph, the vehicle failed to respond when the brake pedal was depressed. As a result, the contact's vehicle crashed into the rear of another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained neck and shoulder…
Fuel System 165 Read
Pulling into a parking stall three-fourths in, just coasting foot not on brake or accelerator, my car suddenly accelerated and hit the concrete wall at the end of the parking space. This was unintended sudden acceleration. Car towed to anderson cadillac, unsafe to drive. They checked codes and found nothing. Car sent…
On september 1, 2004 while driving the vehicle at 50 mph. The consumer smelled gas and suddenly the vehicle caught on fire. The day before incident, the consumer received a NHTSA recall letter # 04V110000: some passenger vehicles equipped with 4.0l v8 engines have a condition in which the nylon tubing used in the fuel…
- the contact heard a loud pop come from under the hood of the 1996 cadillac deville and also noticed smoke coming from under the hood. The contact turned the vehicle off, and then noticed there flames were coming from under the hood . The fire department advised the contact that cause of the fire was a problem with…
Vehicle Speed Control 116 Read
The contact stated while backing out a parking spot, the vehicle shot out with the brake pedal applied and hit a concrete post. The contact then put the vehicle in drive and the vehicle shot forward. The brake pedal was depressed a few times and the vehicle was driven home. There was minor damage to the rear fender…
(1) angle parking in front of jekyll island pharmacy (2) car accelerated, crossed 12' sidewalk, crashed thru glass window front and skidded 12' to final stop inside pharmacy. (3) car was repaired at cost of $11,518.46 paid by insurance. Cadillac division of general motors was notified, without any response. Cadillac…
While approaching a traffic light driver applied brake pedal and the car continued to accelerate gaining speed. Driver attempted to slow or stop but car accelrated even more. Over a three block stretch two vechiles were hit before car went into a ditch laying on its side. Car a total loss
Power Train 91 Read
The contact owns a 2003 cadillac deville. The contact indicated that the ABS sensor, brake sensor and traction control sensor illuminated intermittently. The contact stated that while reversing out of the driveway, the brakes failed and the pedal sank into the floor. The contact mentioned that the vehicle rolled away…
The contact indicated that the driver owned a 2000 cadillac deville. The driver was involved in a fatal crash. The vehicle was difficult to stop and the brakes failed on several occasions. The vehicle would also jerk violently while traveling at any speed. The contact stated that the driver had the vehicle routinely…
Dt: when the consumer puled into her driveway, she noticed that the disc brake traction stabilizer light illuminated on the dash. She immediately put vehicle into park and exited the vehicle to open her garage door. When she returned to the car it was rolling away. She jumped into it to stop vehicle and she turned the…
Deville years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Air Bags | 10 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 13 | 4 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 18 | 2 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 20 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 22 | 4 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 15 | 3 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 4 | 7 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 8 | 5 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 5 | 5 | |
| 1994 | Air Bags | 4 | 6 | |
| 1993 | Air Bags | 6 | 15 | |
| 1992 | Air Bags | 11 | 8 | |
| 1991 | Air Bags | 7 | 8 | |
| 1990 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 1989 | Electrical System | 5 | 1 | |
| 1988 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 1987 | Electrical System | 1 | 3 | |
| 1986 | Engine And Engine Cooling | 1 | — | |
| 1985 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1984 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 1983 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 1982 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic,vehicle Speed Control | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 730 |
| Average complaints per series | 3 |
| Worst single series | 23 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.4 years |
A model average of 3 hides a worst series at 23. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Deville?
By complaint volume, 1997, 1998, 2000 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Deville years are the cleanest?
1982, 1983, 1984 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Cadillac Deville have?
2,215 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1982–2005. Of those, 183 describe a crash and 78 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.