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1997 Cadillac Seville SLS.
I traded in a perfectly good (wonderful actually) Toyota Avalon to buy the Seville when with 27,000 miles on the odometer and it was 5 years old.
12 month later almost to the day, I added 13,000 of almost total highway driving and I changed the oil every three thousand miles.
- the car required a replaced mid-plate section of the Northstar engine which is supposed to go for 100,000 miles before service. Who would design an engine block with three sections unless someone wanted to increase the possibility of oil leaks.
- the repair cost estimated originally at $2,700 cost some $1,900 after Cadillac agreed without much prompting to supply the part at wholesale cost. (Not counting the week or so of car rental cost.) Why would a manufacturer offer such largess?
- less than 30 days and 1,200 miles later, (Not counting another week or so of car rental cost.) the rattle, shake, rock and roll of the car resulted (I think) the battery to have a hole which spilled out acid over the wiring harness which prevented the car to start.
- more than $600 later and less than 1,000 later the car had a blown head gasket. Again Cadillac agreed to reduce the dealer estimated cost of $7,000 for an engine replacement to just $900. (Not counting yet another week and half of car rental cost.) Now why would a car manufacturer do this, I wonder?
As indicated in other reviews:
- one does have to be a tiny to get in and out of the back seat.
- the automatic seat adjustment did try to kill my wife at least a dozen times, pushing her into the steering wheels and was stopped only after she opened the door.
- owner's manual and the gasoline spout clearly indicate using premium gas (which I did) but the dealer was emphatic that I start using regular gas only. Did the extra octane blow the supposed great Northstar engine apart? I wonder?
- it is a good looking car, gives an excellent ride form its excellent power from the 8 cylinder engine, but overall the best use for the car is in the driveway.
I for one, won't buy another Seville nor Cadillac.
Your engine must have been a factory dud. I have owned a 1997 Cadillac Seville STS for some time now and put some intense mileage on this car. I got it about two years ago with 72,000 miles on it. Since then I put about 80,000 miles on the thing and after regular maintenance with only three parts failing. The knock sensor, the brake fluid switch sensor, and the O2 sensor. Total cost was about $125.oo. I love the car. It doesn't smoke oil, leak, or anything. It's a dream of a car. The dealer did tell me to put the low octane stuff in, but the car seemed to be hard to start in the cold weather. The compression ratio is way to high to put the low octane gas in. After all this time and mileage the car can still tear up a stock 5.0L Mustang on the road, and look better doing it. Hope this helps to clear the name of the mighty Northstar and venerable Cadillac.
I don't think your car was a dud I have heard this story many times as I myself have a 1994 cadillac sts bought in june of 1999 and sitting with no engine since oct 2000 with the same exact problem 7-10,000 for an engine replacement in a vehicle which the day before the last day it ran won comments at the dealership like " this is the most perfect cadillac I've seen in here in a long time" and it is in such good running condition that it doesn't need it's first tune up yet that was at 108,000 all highway miles with impeccable maintenance. Cadillac would not stand behind it's product at all, and could basically care less. being in new york state I have had to keep the car fully insured due to the fact I still owe over $10,000 on it at 502.00 a MO.
Bought 1998 Cadillac STS used with about 32K miles 2.5 years ago, now 82K miles. Also bought extended warranty from GM-Cadillac dealer.
Experiencing a lot of problems although minor they are annoying. The mayor problem is oil consumption 1 quart per 600 miles. Extended warranty will cover if there is no Carbon deposit.
And need to sign work order that may cost about $4000 if they find carbon when engine is torn down extended warranty will not cover the cost.
What a scary thing to sign an open work order and not knowing how much carbon is normal for an engine with 82K miles.
Did engine leak down test and cyl # 3 is leaking 30% the rest are normal and Compression test is also normal.
Can anybody give comments on this.
Will not buy STS again or maybe GM for that matter.
My old car 1993 Audi 100CSQ has over 200K miles and not use any oil between oil changes.
I own a 1997 Cadillac Seville STS. The car has over 170,000 miles on it. Some highway, some city. My opinion is definitely positive. I have never driven a car as comfortable and dependable. The only problems the car has had are the knock sensor and the brake fluid switch sensor. The car doesn't burn any oil at all. I have driven 3500 miles with absolutely no oil burning. It also does not leak oil. I drive this car hard and if it was going to break it would have done it by now. I am a dedicated Cadillac owner now that I have owned one. Definitely a good buy.
I cannot say anything bad about my seville, in 95 I bought mine new, almost nine years later the only thing I have put into the car is a water pump at around 90,000 miles, I now have 173,000 on it and it runs just as if it were new, I would not get rid of this car for anything, so you people can keep your toyota's and beamers, I like my old caddy!!!
My 97 STS with only 70k on it developed an oil leak. It is above the oil pan and It looks VERY expensive.
I am 6'5", 220lbs, and I fit in ALL 5 seating positions perfectly. This car has tremendous accelleration, and is the most comfortable car I've ridden in.
I am a 39 year old male, and I've had 6 Cadillacs, and after I had the Seville, I won't buy another one. What a shame.
I bought a 1996 Seville SLS in 1997 for 39k in Houston. The car had 40k miles on it. I had the car for two weeks, and brought it back to the dealership where I bought it because the engine burned 2 quarts of oil in 1000 miles. The dealership didn't want to put a new engine in the car and rebuilt the existing engine. Once I got the car back, the same thing happened. Thank goodness I bought the extended warranty. The engine was replaced, after I'd written several letter to the dealership, GM, and the Better Business Bureau.
I drive the highways often due to work and family trips. This car and engine has a ton of power. It's fantastic on the highway as well as in the city. This is one comfortable car. This car can beat anything on the street, and believe me I've tried. This is a luxury Cadillac with a very powerful motor.
I've had normal wear and tear experiences with this car, and normal maintenance issues, after the new engine was installed. I didn't really have anything major happen for several years until 2004, when the car hit 100k miles. I spent over 4000 dollars on this car in 2004. All at once many "switches" and electronics went bad. The oil pump, oil sending unit, oil switch, transmission switch, O2 sensors, a/c blower motor, a/c, wiper motor all went bad in April of 2000. It was awful. It seemed that as soon as the car hit 100k miles, the entire thing fell apart.
There was a trans switch that went bad, and the car shifted really hard, like the trans was going bad. It took them 3 weeks and 3 trips to the shop for them to figure out what was wrong. They had to pull the transmission out of the car to get to the switch - what a bad experience.
Once I got the car out of the shop, the car began burning oil again, as it did when I bought it. I decided to get rid of the car and trade it in for a non-Cadillac.
What a beauty of a car. I am a Cadillac lover, but I'll only be looking at them from a distance after my experience with the Seville SLS.
Sorry GM and Cadillac - you lost me.
Frank in Atlanta.
22 year old ale here who bought a 97 SLS three months ago and have had no problems with it. It was suggested to me run run the throttle wide open at least once a month to blow out a lot of the carbon or what not and to reseat the aluminum parts of the engine to STOP POSSIBLE OIL LEAKS. Northstar engines are racing engines and are meant to be ran hard. When people drive it like they were driving Miss Daisy 24/7, they actually hurt the engine more than they help it. Yes I do abide by the speed laws, but once in a while I'll find an Audi or sooped up Euro type car and give them a race to remember.
The power behind this car has actually saved my life a few times already when I have to dodge an accident happening or flying around semi truck tires that somehow get left in the middle of the freeway.
I was a born and raised Ford family guy who has officially converted to the Nation of Cadillac. One more thing, sometimes it isn't the car, sometimes it's the mechanics who need you to come back ASAP so that they can pay their bills on time. It's sad, but sometimes true.
As a 33 yr old male I bought my 97 SLS 3 years ago in 2002 with 55 k miles. After replacing the rear rotors (warped), alternator and battery, the car has been a good daily driver. I am getting alittle worried as I rack up th mileage reading the past entries, I to burn oil at about 1 qt. per 1000 miles. AND the front struts are on their way out. excessive bounce on the front. Besides that not to much to complain about. Yes expensive to repair, but fun to drive. I to use the low octane gas from the recommendations from a Cadillac posting board and my MPG have not been effected greatly, about 1 mile loss. Some hard starts in cold weather, but after that no issues. As of this day the car has 85,000 miles and runs strong. Looking at a vette as next car. Anyone looking for a used low mileage caddy?
One comment on driving the engine hard. If the engine is hot and you drive at high RPM's, you can blow your head gasket. I've done it. If you start seeing your engine temp doing wierd things and start finding your coolant mysteriously disappearing, you could be on your way.
My recommendation is that if you don't want to cough up 3 to 5K, don't drive it hard under hot conditions (which implies AC on).
Well well well the great Cadillac has defects. I just bought a 97 SLS with 130,000 miles on it. After no oil leaks or other problems it started giving off white smoke from the tailpipes. Took it to a mechanic and he said somewhere along the car had overheated and caused a blown head gasket. Who would have knew that with nothing else going wrong. End case. the dealer says a new gasket would be about $2000.00 and a new engine about $5000.00-$7500.00. That is psycho!!! Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I just bought a 97 Deville--with 145k on it--I use to own a 1993 and sold it when it had over 200k--I wish I still had it--I sold it 2 years ago and the buyer still drives it--back to the 97--I bought it drove it for 2 days and my garage floor was covered in antifreeze--the car was bought as is from a local small lot--I'm in real trouble--it costs over $2,000 to fix the head gaskets or $4,000 for a used motor... buyer beware--buyer beware--I'm 53--I should have taken the car to a mechanic to look at it... shame on the sales lot and me...
My 97 Cadillac Seville is at the mechanics as I write this. It doesn't seem to have an oil leak that I could see, but it runs low on oil fairly quick. It has started overheating way too much and all the dash says is "change engine oil", which I just did. Overheating, burning oil, and on top of it all the drivers side window Won't roll up for several minutes after I roll it down.
Update: just got off the phone with the mechanic. It seems the car has a leaking water pump = overheating and burning up oil. So, that answers that.
Just bought a 1997 Cadillac Seville STS, 104,500 miles... within a few days the check coolant level warning started... had hoses replaced, water pump, anti freeze reservoir replaced... anti freeze cap replaced... yesterday it overheated and left anti freeze all over... today themechanic calls and says blown head gasket.. piston #4...$2,000.No anti freeze in oil. I sthere a code that could have told us this was about to happen? Dealership says you just never know when this might happen...