1998 Cadillac Seville SLS from North America - Comments

So far nothing wrong with the car.

The car is great. Fast, handles well, drives smooth and is comfortable. I have just purchased it (an immaculate used 1998 Seville, 72,000 miles) from my neighbor. Very happy with the car, he took impeccable care of it. He just purchased a brand new Seville. When he got the 98’, he went through the same tire vibration as everybody talks about (dealer replaced parts and pieces, but to no avail). Using the dealers Hunter GSP9700 balancer (that is able to account for road force) they solved the problem with new “hand picked” tires. The car has no vibration now.

He picked up his new Seville in Cleveland, OH and drove it back to Memphis, TN. Yes, the vibration was present! Went to the dealer and the Hunter, after 3 tires or so he has no vibration. Both cars run on Michelin's.

To say these cars don’t have a problem with delicate/critical tire balance would be an omission of obvious facts (far too many postings of the same problem). I don’t believe it has anything to do with tire brand… I still love the car, and for the $10,000.00 that I paid for it, I feel I got a great deal.

Now, what will I do when I need new tires (in about 15,000 miles or so)? I will go to my local tire shop (that has a Hunter or other balancer that can account for road force), explain the issue, and make sure they will stand behind the tires. Other than waiting for GM to do something about it, what else can I do? I am open to suggestions…

Bottom line, (from what I have gleaned from the info available) this is a suspension design problem that presents itself when tires do not roll with equal pressure (road force) against the pavement. The analogy being that you can balance a football to spin true around an axis perpendicular to its length, but it certainly will not roll on the ground this way. Keep in mind; road force will not only be caused by a tire being out of round. A “hard” spot in the tire composition will also cause this. In this regard a tire company with a better Q.C. System in place will likely have a better tire…

By the way, mine also uses just over 1qt of oil per 1,500 miles. I can deal with that.

I agree with that last report and I say that I love my car very much. it's a 1998 cadillac seville with about 119000 miles on it and I also have to add about 1 quart every once and awhile, but I can do that. the tires seem to shake once and awhile, but if you clean them out I have found that to help. other that that the car is great and I will always drive a cadillac.

It is true. People are complaining about Cadillac's front end shake. Stop complaining. The tires are at fault. Change the tires and you will see no bumping around. Today's quality tires are at question.

My 2005 Deville suffered from a vibration that would come and go at any constant speed above 62 mph. After numerous wheel balances and tire replacements, the dealer checked and replaced the hubs (wheel bearing assemblies). Now it's smooth as silk.

Have the dealer check the front and rear hub tolerances.

I own a 1999 cad, sts and I've had absalutely no problems with mine. Its diamond white and the paint has shown no signs of flaws. It does use a quart of oil every thousand miles and I run the Mobile 1 Synthetic oil in it, but it does run ultra smooth and quiet. It scares me to read about so many problems people have had so I'm praying I maybe got a good one!The perfomance is fine and the everyday comfort is excellant for me. All my buddys love this car and wish they had one.I'm 54 and have always had musclecars my whole life. A 72 GS 455 buick I've had 20 years. So just a note for the positive on the 99 sts, thanks.

To the last commenter... I don't know if you will get this, but this can apply to just about anybody. I used to swear by synthetic oil and still use it in my Grand Wagoneer, just not the Northstar. I silly as it may sound, good old fashioned mineral causes less oil consumption than synthetic in the northstar. Also, another key to reducing consumption on these engines is to literally beat the snot out of them. The northstars are a high performace racing engine, they don't like to be babied. In caddy circles it's known as a therapeutic WOT - wide open throttle. The engine likes hitting the redline, it helps clean out carbon buildup and helps to seat and lubricate rings, seals, and gaskets. Once a month or so throw her into second (so to keep her within legal speeds) and redline her for mile or so, your engine will thank you for it.

As an introduction I was the guy that originally started this comment. Well, with 140K on the odo I sold my Seville. Reason for the sale was as follows. AC went out, approx $2K to get it fixed. ABS light kept coming on, no idea what it was or wasn't. Check engine light on off, on off don't know? Seat memory would sometimes work, sometimes not. Finally, I had the opportunity to buy my buddy's mom's Civic (w/ 56K miles) for $5K. I sold it for $2K. Cost me $8K to drive it for 70K miles, well worth it in my opinion. Would I get another one? First let me say I would drive just about any car if I could get a good enough deal on it (hence the Civic). Few cars are worth the money new. So in the end, no, I would not buy another Caddy (unless the fantastic deal). Good luck with your cars. But boy, it sure did drive nice!!