1998 Cadillac DeVille problems
Owners have filed 310 complaints about the 1998 Cadillac DeVille with NHTSA. Exterior lighting accounts for 14.2% of them — narrowly the most common, ahead of air bags at 12.6%.
Complaints310
Crashes19
Fires3
Injuries22
Deaths3
What owners report breaking
Exterior lighting 14.2% · 44
Air bags 12.6% · 39
Service brakes, hydraulic 11.9% · 37
Engine and engine cooling 11.0% · 34
Electrical system 8.1% · 25
Visibility 5.8% · 18
Steering 5.2% · 16
Suspension 4.5% · 14
Severity
Of those complaints, 19 describe a crash, 3 describe a fire, 22 report an injury and 3 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 16 model years of the Cadillac DeVille in this data, 1998 ranks 3rd by complaint volume — 1997 draws the most.
Filings are rising — 9 in the last three years against 7 in the three before. For a vehicle this age that usually points to a wear-related failure owners are hitting now.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 73,000 miles.
In owners' own words
- The contact has a 1998 Cadillac DeVille with an odometer reading of 133000 miles and both headlight units are cloudy. The contact said that the visibility is very poor an there is no way to clean them to improve visibility. When making a left turn it becomes difficult to see. The contact took the car to the dealer (caramgo Cadillac) and he was told that both head light units need to be replaced. Exterior lighting · reported at 133,000 miles
Noticed that one passenger side headlight was out, but I still had the high beam. A few days later both were out. Went to auto parts store to have them put in new bulbs and they noticed the that plastic cover was missing and they said that caused the bulbs to short out. From reading other complaints I'm afraid I will have to pay hundreds for a new assembly when all I need is a plastic cover. Exterior lighting · reported at 100,520 miles
No noted event. The headlight lens for 98 cadillacs, (not sure if this applies to other years as well) comes lose and leaves the inner elements exposed. This seems to be a problem with many cadillacs during this period. I had to purchase 2 headlights. What guarantee do I have that this will not happen again. Why are they using substandard material. Exterior lighting
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…