1997 Cadillac DeVille Sedan de Ville from North America - Comments

Uses 1 quart of oil per 678 miles and the dealer won't honor the service contract.

I purchased my 1997 Cadillac Sedan De Ville with 89K+ miles a few months ago. It now has 94K+ miles and it if it wasn't for the high oil consumption, it would be a great car. But it does have a major oil consumption problem and that has just ruined my experience of buying a car I thought was really special. Cadillac has put all their money into commercials, not cars.

After buying my 97 Cadillac I drove it normally and then 3-4 weeks after the purchase, the

The oil consumption you describe sounds within "normal" limits. Most car manufacturers state that up to 1000 miles per litre is OK.

You've got to be kidding. "Normal" my foot. This isn't the 1970s. Your expectations are way too low, for any car, let alone a top dollar luxury car!

The oil usage is excessive even by the one litre per 1000 mile measurement as this would be almost 2 litres use per 1000 miles. I'm not sure what the other commenter was thinking. Maybe he got mixed up & thought a litre was larger than a quart. You are really getting a run around if they told you the only way to check for a bad engine was to tear it apart. Common tests will tell you almost exactly what the problem is before having to tear it apart and any good fair mechanic would tell you this. Perhaps you need to consider pressing the dealership through the BBB, a consumer group, state or local legal office, etc. Arm yourself with the facts.

I purchased my 1997 De ville roughly 2 years ago with 82,000 miles on it. The car was a 1 owner and well maintained. After having the car for 6 months the blower motor went out. Luckily at that time I was covered on a service plan that I purchased for an additional $1500.00. This service plan carried a $100 deductible per occurrance. Had I not purchaed this plan it would have been $500.00 to replace. This is not dealer price either. This is my mechanics price. Shortly after, the car would idle rough with a distinctive lope. I took it to my mechanic again and was told the plug wires were shot and needed to be replaced. This was out of my pocket and not covered under warranty. This set me back $324.00. Shortly after that, the car would at certain times not start and would tell me "Security system" on the digital read out. If it did start, when I would be driving down the road the radio, a/c and all dash componets would shut off. I came to find out that using the door key to unlock the door too many times would do something to the security system. I guess it recognizes the keyless entry as some sort of safety device. Once I replaced the battery and began using keyless entry that problem went away. The round speaker in the passenger door fell out and was hanging by the wires when I picked up a friend of mine. All he did was shut the door normally. The back of the drivers seat was hanging off because the clips broke. When I contacted the dealer about this obvious poor quality in a luxury car, I was told the clips were $75.00 and the speaker would be $100.00. I paid to have the speaker replaced and got the clips from a local wrecking yard. The plastic strip that goes across the dashboard (on the top with the red eye sensor" is popped out of place and teeter totters left and right and won't snap back in to place. Today, I am replacing the front struts as the car is a low rider in the front and bottoms out on the smallest dip and chews tires. I called many parts houses around and nobody seems to carry these struts. My particular car is non-electric struts. I found 1 company outside of OEM that makes the struts for my Cadillac. I purchased both of them for $177.00 with shipping and tax. I am putting those on today 4/1/2004 and selling this car as fast as I can. There are only two good things I can say about this car. They would be; The performance of the North Star engine is impressive and the car will get up and run, and of course, the smooth ride of the Cadillac. Everything else is a big thumbs down. If you're thinking of purchasing a used De ville run away. You may send me an email if you like to; subzeroscb@sbcglobal.net.

I too purchased a 97 De ville in Aug 2003. After 3 months of check oil level and the dealership saying this was normal between oil changes-the coolant kept running low. I had to have $8000 in engine work done. All the seals, gaskets and heads were leaking. I only pd 10000 for the car originally. Thankfully 7500 of that was covered by the warranty. The next oil change I am told that I need another 300 in work done for spark plugs/wires. When I left the dealership for that oil change I had paid another 500. 3 weeks later I take the car back to the dealership because of a ticking noise. I left that day paying another 500 for a alternator and had a new rough noise they said was my air compressor (funny if it had been sounding this rough the week before I never would have heard the little ticking noise in the alternator) plus a plastic burning smell when I turned on the a/c/defrost. Yes, 40-50 days from getting the alternator done, the air/heat/defrost does not blow. I am totally disappointed with this car and my dealership. I vow to never own another Cadillac. Can anyone maybe help me with what may be wrong now with my ac/heater/defrost so I will know what to expect when I go have it fixed. Thank you

I recently had a problem of coolant loss with my 1997 Cadillac (4.6 Northstar engine). The Cadillac dealer did a poor job in analyzing the problem, or ignored telling me there has been a problem with the head bolts for sometime. They charged me for a radiator which in all likelihood was never replaced. However, they ignored providing information regarding experiences with the 4.6 L Northstar. Another dealer told me of the problem which they had been aware of for sometime. An individual certified repair shop verified the head problem due to head bolts failing. Cadillac Customer Service ignored my complaint and basically ignore the problem they are aware of. This is what prompted me to explore the internet regarding this problem.

You cannot make judgment of a manufacturer when buying a used car. Who knows what the previous owner did to the car to maintain it (or abuse it)? I purchased my '98 deVille when it had 91,000 miles on it in June of 2003 and it has 114,000 miles on it now. Yes, it uses a little oil, but not nearly the amount you are claiming. My point is that your derogatory comments need to be aimed at the previous owner, not the manufacturer. The deVille (and Northstar engine) makes for a reliable automobile and that is why I bought one with so many miles. I plan to drive it to 200,000 miles as I have with my other GM cars. Cadillac's quality is as good as any other luxury car. Tim, PA.

I also have a 1997 Deville D'elegance that I have had for two years now; got it at 61,000 miles. The car looked and performed perfectly until last year this time. I had a complete tune-up and oil change done and then took it on a road trip (approximately 800 miles). I checked the oil at the end of trip and it was extremely low. From that time until the present I put at least 3 quarts of oil in the car between changes. Someone suggested it was because I switched from regular to synthetic oil, but this did not seem to have an adverse effect in my other cars. When I checked with the Alldata website it appears that this is not an uncommon complaint for this car. I don't have extended warranty on this car and it looks like it will cost me upwards of $500 to have the engine taken apart and "cleaned". I won't say that I won't ever get another Cadillac again, because I enjoy the car. However, this problem is going to make me do a considerable amount of homework before I purchase.

The possibility exists that there is a problem with the PCV valve operation. Suggest that the PCV valve be checked by part number to be sure it is the correct one. Then, just to be sure, purchase and install a new PCV valve.

After doing the above, suggest that you have the computer (Engine Control Module) scanned for trouble codes. If none are found, suggest the ECM itself be removed and tested.

It seems to me to be likely that the excess oil consumption is due to the ECM/PCV/EGR combined functions, and not wear of the rings, at the stated mileage. Tom White.

The possibility exists that there is a problem with the PCV valve operation. Suggest that the PCV valve be checked by part number to be sure it is the correct one. Then, just to be sure, purchase and install a new PCV valve.

After doing the above, suggest that you have the computer (Engine Control Module) scanned for trouble codes. If none are found, suggest the ECM itself be removed and tested.

It seems to me to be likely that the excess oil consumption is due to the ECM/PCV/EGR combined functions, and not wear of the rings, at the stated mileage. Tom White.

I've just bought a 1997 Cadillac De-ville, 109000 miles, it needed a new battery, alternator, oil pressure sensor, all this done by the used car dealer, I replaced the hoses, radiator flush, new coolant, power steering fluid flushed and changed, new fuel filter, oil change, air filter at Mobil oil change $271.00, four new tires $389.00, I need the remote battery installed to fix that problem, I love the car, it is wonderful so far.

I have a 96 sedan deville and have been told by other owners and oil service techs that it is normal for these vehicles to use a quart or so of oil in between the 3000 mile oil changes... so I take mine to havoline and they will "top off" your oil in between changes for free. anyway that's my solution..thanks.

I agree with another who said if buying used, one needs to complain about the previous owner...

I have had to repair or replace several typical things that go bad in all cars. Power steering pump, fuel pump, brakes only once in four years. Whoever had to replace them so often must be buying cheap crap. Otherwise its been a dream.

I got it with about 54,000 miles. For a high compression high power high temperature (200 degrees. Engines back in the 70's used to use 170 or 180 degree thermostats) engine, I do expect some oil consumption.

I did have to get a transmission rebuilt, but I blame the previous owner and their shady trans mechanic.

Never had to put more than a quart between changes. At 102,000 miles it's still going strong.

'97 Cadillac De Ville (Concours, 300HP) with oil consumption problem. My Northstar powered Caddy used to drip a tiny amount of oil due to common oil seal failure. I had that fixed just after the warranty expired, but still at only 39,000 miles (Grrr). Since then I have had to bring the car back every few hundred miles, and always for something different. Now, at 42,500 miles this car is "losing somehow" a quart every 500 miles. It doesn't drip any, and I don't see any smoke exiting out the back. My A/C compressor failed next, then the engine mounts failed, the water pump failed right after that, and a few other things all since the repair at 39K (less than a year ago). Makes ya' kind of wonder doesn't it???

I've noticed a drop of 4-6 MPG in highway driving lately too. Also, sometimes the trunk refuses to open. The remote, the push button and the trunk key all have no effect. Starting/moving shutting off/restarting and then pushing the trunk button will work though.

As for my feelings about the Northstar engine... I really wanted to keep this car for sentimental reasons. It has been serviced at regular intervals by the dealer since new, and has never been abused or wrecked. I'm about $8,000, out-of-pocket, spent since the oil seals were replaced; and am thinking I've learned my lesson about owning another Cadillac too. It's a shame since the Japanese won't build really big, roomy, powerful cars like this. Japanese cars, like my son's Nissan, are too fragile, too narrow, and don't fit large and extra large American adults very comfortably.

Cadillac take note: If your hot new 400 horsepower, Chevrolet-Corvette powered CTS IV had an automatic transmission option you could sell them by the truckload!

Skip Wilson

We've had about 6 sevilles and devilles ranging from 1995 - 2004 in the last year and all of them have oil consumption problems. Everytime we put gas we have to add a 1/2 - 1 quart of oil. If we don't the oil light comes on and that's not good... They are CRAP CRAP CRAP... A law suit needs to be filed against GM regarding this.