Owners filed 19 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the vehicle speed control. It has been recalled 3 times.
| Component | Reports | Crashes | Fires | Injuries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle Speed Control | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control › Linkages | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vehicle Speed Control › Accelerator Pedal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Unknown or Other | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tires › Tread/Belt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seats › Front Assembly › Head Restraint | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Seat Belts › Front › Buckle Assembly | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Parking Brake › Conventional | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Defect. THREADED INFLATOR COMPONENTS MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGED DURING ASSEMBLY WHICH MAY ALLOW COMPONENTS TO SEPARATE WHEN INFLATOR RECEIVES A SIGNAL TO DEPLOY THE AIR BAG.
Risk. INFLATOR COMPONENT SEPARATION ALLOWS HOT COMBUSTION GASESTO ESCAPE INTO THE PASSENGER COMPARTMENT WHICH COULD RESULT IN INJURIES TO VEHICLE OCCUPANTS.
Remedy. REPLACE AIR BAG MODULES CONTAINING POTENTIALLY DEFECTIVE INFLATORS.
Defect. TRANSAXLE SHIFT CONTROL CABLE MAY DISENGAGE FROM THE FROM THE FLOOR SHIFT CONTROL WITH LOSS OF GEAR INDICATOR REFERENCE AND SHIFT SELECTOR OPERATION.
Risk. DRIVER WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DETERMINE ACTUAL GEARPOSITION THE TRANSAXLE IS IN, WHICH COULD RESULT IN UNEXPECTED VEHICLE MOVEMENTAND AN ACCIDENT WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING.
Remedy. INSTALL A TRANSAXLE SHIFT CONTROL CABLE RETAINING CLIP TO PREVENT CABLE DISENGAGEMENT.
Defect. MISALIGNED REAR SEAT SAFETY BELT SHOULDER RETRACTOR ASSEMBLIES COULD CAUSE PENDULUM INTERFERENCE, CAUSING THE BELT TO REMAIN IN LOCKED POSITION OR TO TRAVEL FREELY WITHOUT LOCKING.
Risk. IN THE EVENT OF A PANIC STOP OR ACCIDENT, IF THE BELT RETRACTOR INERTIA LOCK DOES NOT ENGAGE, THE REAR SEAT OCCUPANT WOULD HAVE AN INCREASED LIKELIHOOD OF INJURY.
Remedy. REALIGN REAR SHOULDER BELT RETRACTOR ASSEMBLY.
I BOUGHT A NEW 1990 CADILLAC FROM CADILLAC DEALER IN 1990 THAT I HAVE DRIVEN ONLY 53,678 MILES, WELL CARED FOR AND GARAGED. .THE ABS MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER HAS BEEN LEAKING FOR SOME TIME AND I HAVE CONTACTED NUMEROUS CADILLAC DEALERS AND BRAKE MECHANICS AND CANNOT FIND ANYONE TO REPAIR LEAK. I HAVE LEARNED THAT MASTER BRAKE CYLINDER (COMBINED PUMP BOOSTER AND ABS MASTER CYLINDER WAS ONE UNIT MFG BY ATE FOR CADILLAC AS PER CADILLAC'S SPECIFICATIONS AND PLANS AND WAS USED IN 1989 AND 1990 CADILLACS AND DISCONTINUED THEREAFTER) ADDITIONALLY I HAVE LEARNED THAT CADILLAC MADE CHANGES/REPAIRS OF SOME KIND TO ABS BRAKE SYSTEM, UNANOUNCED PUBLICALLY, WHEN SEVILLES WERE BROUGHT TO CADILLAC FOR OTHER SERVICING. MY PRESENT AUTO MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT PART OF THE MASTER CYLINDER IS NEWER THAN THE REST OF THE UNIT. CADILLAC NEVER OBTAINED MY CONSENT TO MAKE CHAGES TO MY CAR NOR WAS I EVER INFORMED BY CADILLAC OR CADILLAC DEALER OF SUCH WORK. THE DEFECT IN THE ABS MASTER BRAKE SYSTEM IS A LATENT DEFECT AND THE OBLIGATION AND WARRANTY BY GM OF THE SERVICABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS NEVER EXPIRES. I RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT CADILLAC, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CAR'S AGE OF 21 YEARS BE INSTRUCTED TO FIX THE DEFECTIVE LEAKY ABS MASTER BRAKE SYSTEM. THIS LEAK HAS NOT RESULTED FROM USE AND WEAR IT IS THE RESULT OF A INHERENT LATENT DEFECT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE CAR. *TR
THE DRIVERS INFORMATION SCREEN IS INOPERATIVE. NLM
WHILE DRIVING, RIGHT REAR FIRESTONE TIRE P205/70R15 DOT VD080A1124 EXPERIENCED TREAD SEPARATION, CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE VEHICLE. *SLC
ON THREE DIFFEERENT OCCASIONS VEHICLE HAD SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WHILE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEED OF 45-50 MPH. CRUISE CONTROL WAS ONLY USED ON ONE OCCASION. DEALER / MANUFACTURER NOTIFIED, AND INFORMED CONSUMER THAT BECAUSE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY NOTHING ELSE COULD BE DONE. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS. *AK
INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE. WHEN THE FOOT IS OFF THE GAS PEDAL IT KEEPS ACCELERATING, AND RPMS GO UP. BRAKING SYSTEM DOES NOT WORK. ONCE ALMOST RESULTED IN A CRASH. HAD TO TURN OFF THE VEHICLE IN ORDER TO STOP. DEALER COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, BUT THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A FAULTY GROUND STUD AT THE STARTER. OWNER HAD THEN REPAIR IT AND THERE HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEMS SINCE. *AK.ET.
ACCELERATOR ARM GOT STUCK CAUSING THE VEHICLE TO SUDDENLY ACCELERATE.
FRONT PASSENGER'S AND THE REAR PASSENGER'S SEAT BELTS DO NOT OPERATE CORRECTLY. WHEN PUTTING THE SEAT BELT INTO THE BUCKLE, THE BELT WILL COME BACK APART, CAUSING THE PASSENGER TO BE FREE OF SEAT BELTS. *AK
THROTTLE STUCK OPEN, CAUSING AN ACCIDENT.
ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON DUE TO CONTAMINATION OF THE AIR PUMP WITHIN THE EXHAUST SYSTEM.
VEHICLE PULLS SEVERELY TO THE LEFT WHEN ANTI LOCK BRAKES ARE APPLIED.
SLAMMED ON BRAKES, VEHICLE STARTED SLIDING, CRASHED INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE, HAPPENED AGAIN, MAY 29, 1997, NOT CHECKED BY DEALERSHIP. *AK
THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED WHILE DRIVING. PLEASE DSECRIBE. *AK
ENGINE STALLED AND WHEEL LOCKED UPON TURNING. DIAGNOSIS: COMPUTER CHIP CAUSING ENGINE IDLE SPEED TO BECOME LOW. *AK
VEHICLE STALLS. ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS CAUSES CAR TO SHUT DOWN. *AK
DRIVER'S SIDE SEAT HEAD REST BROKE WHILE INVOLVED IN REAR END COLLISION. TT
CARBON WAS STUCK IN THROTTLE AND VEHICLE ACCELERATED AT HIGH SPEED AND COULD ONLY BE STOPPED BY PUTTING IT IN PARK. TT
ACCELERATOR PEDAL STUCK WHILE DRIVING. FOUND CARBON IN THROTTLE WHICH MADE IT STICK. TT
PARKING EMERGENCY BRAKE FAILED TO RELEASE WHEN ENGAGED OUT OF PARK. FINGER SMASHED BETWEEN (2) GEARS W/PART GOING THROUGH FINGERNAIL. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS.
CRUISE CONTROL WAS STUCK IN OPEN, CAUSING ENGINE TO SURGE. *AK
19 of 19 complaints, reproduced as filed.
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Fires | Deaths | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2003 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2002 | 45 | 2 | 1 | 0 | Routine |
| 2001 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 2000 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1999 | 73 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Routine |
| 1998 | 65 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1997 | 95 | 2 | 6 | 2 | Fatalities reported |
| 1996 | 122 | 2 | 7 | 1 | Fatalities reported |
| 1995 | 74 | 2 | 10 | 0 | Routine |
| 1994 | 50 | 2 | 5 | 0 | Routine |
| 1993 | 42 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Routine |
| 1992 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
| 1991 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Fatalities reported |
| 1990 — this page | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Routine |
No unusual pattern of severe incidents in the complaint record.
Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.
Recall repairs are free for as long as the recall stands. Check whether a specific car still has open work at NHTSA's VIN lookup.
Most recent recall on file: Oct 30, 1990. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.