Cadillac Deville Problems by Model Year
NHTSA recorded 2,708 consumer complaints across the 23 model years of the Cadillac Deville (1983–2005) that have at least 5 complaints. 1997 has the most, with 269. Across all years, the part named most often is electrical system (461 mentions). Pick a model year below to see its parts, mileage, recalls and service bulletins.
Best and worst Deville years →
All Deville model years
Years with fewer than 5 complaints are not listed. The score compares years of the same model, allowing for the era and for how long each year has collected complaints: 50 is a typical year, lower means fewer complaints. It is not adjusted for sales volume.
| Year | Complaints | Median mi | Recalls | TSBs | Score (50 = typical) | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 95 | 75,500 | 1 | 529 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 2004 | 167 | 68,686 | 1 | 404 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2003 | 145 | 68,500 | 4 | 384 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2002 | 176 | 59,000 | 5 | 334 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 2001 | 175 | 74,238 | 4 | 292 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 2000 | 225 | 70,000 | 5 | 255 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1999 | 187 | 65,555 | 1 | 31 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1998 | 237 | 74,211 | 3 | 26 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1997 | 269 | 82,000 | 2 | 23 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1996 | 218 | 85,575 | 2 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1995 | 129 | 104,000 | 2 | 15 | Not compared (before 2008) | Falling |
| 1994 | 127 | 88,690 | 0 | 4 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1993 | 92 | 113,000 | 1 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1992 | 135 | 110,000 | 1 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1991 | 87 | 97,000 | 1 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1990 | 76 | 100,000 | 0 | 1 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1989 | 48 | 143,000 | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1988 | 28 | — | 0 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1987 | 40 | 108,100 | 1 | 0 | Not compared (before 2008) | Stable |
| 1986 | 22 | — | 2 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1985 | 19 | — | 1 | 0 | — | Stable |
| 1984 | 6 | 90,995 | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
| 1983 | 5 | — | 0 | 0 | — | Not enough data |
Parts named most often, all years
Counts add up complaint mentions across the listed years. A complaint can name several parts.
- Electrical system461 19%
- Engine cooling456 19%
- Brakes375 15%
- Air bags297 12%
- Steering274 11%
- Fuel system247 10%
- Vehicle speed control179 7.3%
- Transmission and drivetrain162 6.6%
Example complaints
One per model year, chosen for length and detail. Personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
2004: “I was driving the car it was doing just fine once I parked the car came back to start the car the engine would turn over but it would not start once I had tried about 12 times it decided to start and there was something blowing sounding like it just might be the air on sometime I would come to the start the car battery would be dead”
NHTSA complaint #11208515, filed 2019-05, 164,000 miles2002: “My car was parked in my garage when the horn sounded extremely loud and would not stop I could not stop it so I took it to shop. The dealer says that airbag shorted out and shorted out the horn. They want to replace airbag and horn at a cost of $1109 was this airbag recalled?”
NHTSA complaint #11394334, filed 2021-02, 164,000 miles2005: “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 recalls on this problem, did not find any.”
NHTSA complaint #10695371, filed 2015-03, 103,000 milesOther Cadillac models
3,265 complaintsCadillac CTS
2,219 complaintsCadillac Escalade
1,723 complaintsCadillac Seville
793 complaintsCadillac Escalade ESV
529 complaintsCadillac DTS
527 complaintsCadillac Catera
463 complaintsCadillac STS
423 complaints
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 27, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate. Methodology