1996 Cadillac DeVille from North America - Comments

Replaced water pump 112,000 miles $300.

Replaced heater blower motor (twice) at 116,000 miles. Second time was under warranty at least... $400.

Replaced fuel pressure regulator at 130,000 miles. $200.

Replaced both front wheel bearing hub assemblies at 165,000 miles -- one was shot the other was getting there. $900.

Car eats brakes... I drive 100 miles/day to and from work, 99% highway. Brakes last about a year. Bizarre.

CVRSS (Continuously Variable Road Sensing Suspension) Module died about a year ago. Doesn't seem to do all that much, except cause static on the AM radio. I pulled the mini fuse to the CVRSS module (fuse and module both located in trunk) ; now I get a SERVICE RIDE CONTROL message, but the static is gone. Not worth the $800+ bucks to replace the CVRSS module.

Despite the several costly repairs above, this really has been a fine car for me. I bought it for a song ($10K) at 102,000 miles / 3 years old (obviously they were mostly highway miles to put that many on in just 3 years), and considering the cost of a new DeVille vs. putting cash into this one, it's been a pretty easy call.

For a highway car, nothing beats it. I love the smooth ride.

Northstar engine is awesome. Cannot believe the power it still has after 168,000 miles.

Any kind of service on this car will lead to some serious bucks (I mean, $321 for the part alone for a blower motor almost made me blow my stack), so if you buy one just make sure to have cash in reserve for those big whacks.

Considering that replacing it would run close to $50K, I'll run this one into the ground.

Forgot to mention... it gets GREAT gas mileage considering the size & power. Combined highway/town about 22 mpg; highway only 25+ mpg.

My wife and I own a 1996 Cadillac DeVille D'Elegance. We bought it as a used car. It was a leased vehicle. We bought it in the spring of 1998 when it had about 27,000 miles on it. It now has 86,000 miles on it. It's a beautiful, comfortable vehicle, but we've had our share of problems with it. For example:

I am having trouble with my 1996 Cadillac DeVille. The ignition does nothing when I turn the key. After trying both keys, nothing helps. If I keep trying sooner or later it makes contact and starts and does okay the rest of the day. This doesn't happen every day, but usually the first time it is started for the day. Any suggestions?

For the difficult start:

This sounds like a problem I recently had with my Buick LeSabre. I had a short in the starter.

RE: Difficult start. You have a short in your automatic door locks - security. Use key to lock and unlock front doors. Rear doors lock and unlock manually.

I got my 1996 Cadillac Concours from my mother-in-law in Feb of 2004 (Yes, she was the stereotypical octogenerian in Florida who gave her car to her favorite son-in-law). I LOVE driving the car on the freeway to/from work (27 miles each way, average 25 mpg on freeway) with its outstanding ride here in the San Francisco Bay area. When I got the car, it had only 50,000 miles on it. I had to replace the wheel bearings and the plastic housing around the air conditioner (it was crumbling, due to the heat according to the mechanic) and replacing a leaking valve in the A/C. This cost me about $2500 getting it fixed up. Now, at 60,000 miles, I am getting a "service ride control" message. I am afraid to take it to the dealer. According to my mechanic, if I take it to a dealer, nothing can be done on this car for less than $1,000 (Bay area prices). I love the Northstar engine, great power for passing. Even though I got this car for free (I did pay $800 for transport), I am wondering when this car is REALLY going to start costing me big money to keep. Any suggestions, comments?

RE: difficult start.

This could be because of bad battery contact. I had the same problem on my 1996 Deville. It cost me 10$ at a car shop.

1996 Sedan De ville.

Water getting in, ran a water hose on drivers side windshield, after about 60 seconds water appears in the foot well, left rear passenger side.

Can enyone help.

I own a 1996 Cadillac Eldorado/SE. A fine vehicle until 3 months ago when the Traction Control light lit and the car started stall at idle or when slowing down.So far I have spent $ 1500 at GM dealership to find the cause and repair. After being in the shop for 4 weeks this time, I picked it up and decided to live with it. I am concerned as the stall occurs more frequently and could become a safety problem. Can anyone suggest further steps I can take to correct this problem?

My 96 Deville has 150,000kms on her and the only thing I have had to do is replace the thermostat. Other than that one minor repair this beast has treated me well. I would buy the DTS after my experience with my Deville. 10 years old and still great performance from the northstar too.

Man the Cadillac De Ville is a really GREAT SMOOTH ride. oh my god. today I test drove a 96 De Ville and fell in love! I'm going on Saturday to pick it up! I am getting kind of spooked after all these problems you all seem to have and the high cost $$$ to repair them, but I mean IT IS A CADILLAC =)

1996 Deville with 100,650 miles. I purchased in 1999 with 23,000 miles on it. It did not give me any major problems until recently. It started it with air condition compressor and then the water pump, EGR valve, fuel pressure regulator. I had to replace them respectively. I am not mechanically inclined so all the repairs are done at the local garage or the dealership which the repair costs are very expensive. I enjoy driving this vehicle and expect the repairs as the vehicle gets older, but here are my problems.

1. The front end shakes when apply brake at 40 + mph – Brake discs and pads checked by certified mechanic.

2. Engine stalls when drive through a puddle. - The local mechanics say nothing wrong with vehicle.

3. Rough idle and hard to start when warm - OBDII Scanner does not show any error codes.

4. Sometimes check engine or service soon warning indicator comes on and goes off. - OBDII Scanner does not show any error codes.

Stop taking it to the dealer for repairs, (i am a mechanic) to much over head... get your parts at auto zone or o'riely's, buy the best they have, a 1/3 or 1/4 of what they cost at the dealer... also find a decent mechanic near by or mechanic from a friend or family member,,,, good luck.

I bought my 1996 Cadillac De Ville over a year ago for the sweet tune of $5000 cash from a used dealer and it had 105,000 miles on it. I have had no problems with it at all. I love the car. It had one owner before me; kept ALL the receipts for work done on the car. The problem I have now is that the "service engine soon" light comes on AND "theft system problem - car may not restart." I have ignored this for about 5 months now. I know that it's not the right thing to do, but I don't make all kinds of money. I guess I should have thought about that before buying a Cadillac, but it was a sweet car for an excellent price (the money was a gift to me anyway from my mom). So the car was free to me. However, after reading all these stories and pro's n con's. How do I deal with the above problems. Other than that, the car is still in mint condition, set aside the somewhat worn leather seats. This car has been amazing; driving it all over the United States. If anyone could give me information on how to deal with the above problems without paying out the wazoo!! Thanks!!!

This my opinion to the person who got 5 grand as a gift from there mom for the 105,000 mile 96 deville. enjoy it and sell it this spring and get the most of you money back or at least $3000 or more and find a better car of the same year or slightly newer or drive and enjoy it and do basic fluid services such as engine oil every 2,000 miles like a religon, tranmission fluid every 10,000 to 15,000 miles maximum,and flush radiatior and change anti freeze every 20,000 miles or every spring before summer time and sell it in a few years. I owned plenty of caddys and speak from experience and have basic mechanical knowlege and basic electrical knowlege as well. been down this road before, however the choice is ultimatly yours to decide what you feel is the right decesion is to do with this 96 caddy. when it comes to electrical problems such as false readings on service and repair or any other electrical glitchs and i see its an easy afordable fix like $500 to under a grand than ok take a chance but if youn see these electrical promlems come up imediatly after repairs then i go back to the person who repaired your electrical problem and make it clear to them that they must stand behind the the job they tried to takle in the first place and you are not satiesfied [do this of course in a cival manner]and you are not going to pay for it again. if they try to fix the problem and they is sucess great,if they try to fix a second time and still no sucess than in my opinon sell car and find abetter one for the money or use and enjoy as is for as long as you can afford to and DO NOT NEGLECT SERVICE ON OILS AND FLUIDS LIKE IMENTIONED EARLIER. I HOPE I HAVE BEEN HELPFUL IN SHARING THIS WITH YOU TAKE CARE AND GOOD LUCK.