Why Cadillacs suck!...Comments expected and welcome!

[David #19063]

To all,

Yes, I am a little frustrated...but below is an example why Cadillacs suck.  Now, this could be any modern car, but since it is our car...and it is a Cadillac...

We went to leave this morning from NW Indiana to drive to western Wisconsin near the Minnesota border on I94.  My wifes 96 Concours would not start.  Or to be correct...it would start, but only run two seconds and then shut off.

The culprit...I believe it is the digital dash.  You see, the dash would not light up when you turn on the ignition ot try to start it.  Now the brake light and security lights on the top of the digital dash did light up, but not the speedo, fuel gauge, tach, etc.  We tried a bunch of times, but no dash lights...it starts, then shuts off after a second or two.

This identical thing happened 23 months ago in April of 2003.  The entire digital dash had to be replaced.  And...Cadillac will only supply you with a remanufactured digital dash.  So the dash was replaced.  That was the 2nd dash replaced.  

Back when the car had 35,000 miles, the orginal digital dash was replaced at the Cadillac dealer back in 98/99.  And yes, a remanufactured dash was supplied by Cadillac.

Now, the 1st time, it was under the original warrant.  The second, it was under the extended warranty we purchased.  WEFULLY RECOMMEND ANY CADILLAC OWNER TO BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANY!!!

Now, there is no warranty as the car has 105,000 pampered miles.  It has always been service regularly.

I have written before about all the repairs this car has had, but in a nutshell, two fuel pumps, vacuum booster, master cylinder, 2 chrome wheels pealing off chrome, oil engine seal (big job - 16 hours labor at the dealer), ECM, BCM, pluds and wires at 81,000 (so much for the 100,000 miles between tune ups, eh?), passenger seat power switch, etc.  Most everything was under warranty or the extended warranty.

Oh yeah, and the car has a major safety recall because some idiots built the fuel rail out of plastic instead of stainless steel.   We need to get that fixed yet.

Now, I just got the car out of the shop yesterday as it needed a new harmonic balancer (the old one started to shimmy) and it needed brake shoes all the way around and new front rotors.  All Cadillac parts were used as it was when the brakes were done at 59,000 miles - $948.  Like I said, we pamper the car and keep the car in top running order.  

Truely, I doubt the brand new ones are any better...just newer and have not had the problems yet.

Now as far as the engine & trans goes, it is a great car.  But too many problems.  

Now, I just feel that I should not have to pay for a 3rd digital dash to be installed in this car...or at least, Cadillac should reimburse me the full cost.  

And also if the $632 installed fuel pump goes out a 3rd time soon...Cadillac should reimburse me for that too.

No wonder Cadillacs (or most cars) depreciate so fast.  

Thanks for letting me vent.

David

[Bruce Reynolds # 18992]

David,

Was there any GM Warranty on the replaced parts?

If not, there should be.

Sorry to hear about your troubles, and hopefully, it wont take too much to fix it.

Bruce,
The Tassie Devil(le),
60 CDV

[JIM CLC # 15000]

03-23-05
David, check your states "lemon law".
I dont know if it ends with the warrenty or not.
Also, I think there is a Federal Leamon Law.
Also # 2, Cadillac replaced the two front door windows in one of the Cadillacs I/we owned after the warrenty run out, probably two years later.
Good Luck, Jim

[George]

I suppose everyone has had a problem with everything at some time,

[Porter 21919]

Bulletins for 1996 Cadillac DeVille Concours V8-279 4.6L DOHC VIN Y SFI

638102         JAN 96       No Crank After IP Cluster Replacement, DTC IP2750 Set


http://www.alldata.com/TSB/08/960813FS.html TARGET=_blank>http://www.alldata.com/TSB/08/960813FS.html

[Ed Dougher]

My lowly, daily-driver 92 Mazda Protege LX is now at 129,000 miles and has never had a single problem since the day it was brand new, other than normal, expected maintenance.  And its still as healthy as a horse!  Ive never had a car with that many miles before on which the original struts are still good!

My point is that if Cadillac is to be the "Standard of the World", and wants to compete with the likes of Lexus, let alone a lower line like Mazda, then such problematic cars just arent going to cut it - especially when still trying to overcome the horrible reputation established by some of the unmitigated crap they built during the 80s.

[Barry Wheeler #2189]

Hi David, I did not read any of the rest of the posts, so if someone else has suggested this, I apologize. Simply get together all of your facts, and then call the Cadillac service hotline. Ask to whom you should send facts, bills, etc, to, and get a case # before you hang up. Then send all of the copies of these items to the person indicated, stating the facts, and what you want firmly, but not "losing it." Also send a copy to the Better Business bureau in Detroit, and perhaps the Attorney General of your state, or even the Federal one. They are required by law to investigate such complaints. (Note on your cover letter that you have sent copies of the correspondence to these agencies.) By keeping your cool, you might be surprised at what results you will get. I recently had a one year old TV/VCR/DVD player that went out slightly after warranty. I ended up getting the thing fixed for only $62.00 which was a labor charge.
P.S. Years ago, I got a LH armrest on an 86 Fleetwood replaced by pointing out faulty design. When the seat belt was "let fly," it would smack into the armrest and cracked it prematurely. (Car had 20K.) The local service manager shook his head and said that hed never seen Cadillac replace a "soft" item in some twenty five years of service. Simply be firm and polite, and dont give up easily. AND, if they give a reasonable settlement, such as 1/2 or 3/4 of the dash cost, you might consider taking it.

[John Tozer #7946]

I stumbled on this surfing the news this morning. Are this guys arguments on the money?

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P113050.asp TARGET=_blank>http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P113050.asp


John Tozer

[George]

Funny how this discussion came round to comparisons. Like everything some things are good some are bad. The fact that a Mazda does 100 plus thousand miles with the minimum of trouble would indicate that a Mazda is a better car to own than other makes. I live in Europe, I have never had a Euro or Jap car. I own 3 Cadillacs 59, 75, 73. When I get in them, the world changes. They are far from trouble free,(but almost thanks to this site) other people with new trouble free Euro boxes, stop to look at them drive by.
 Everything in the world is now so perfect that to succeed, everything we do must also be perfect. Otherwise it will fail.
Look around.
  Modern Music is clinical, no scratches on recordings,perfect mechanical time.
  Films we now watch are crystal clear on the screen, perfect sound.
  I used to be in the stained glass business. I stopped making them because now we have wonderful imitation stained glass from Japan in draught free plastic windows. Perfect.
 Unbreakable plastic has replaced steel. Black plastic has made chromed parts obsolete. It is normal to get angry because of the problems with a company.
 Wait till all choice has gone and cars are as perfect as everything else.

[Porter 21919]

http://autos.yahoo.com/consumerreports/article/holding_up.html TARGET=_blank>http://autos.yahoo.com/consumerreports/article/holding_up.html

[Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397]

I think the reason that so many of todays cars, Cadillac certainly included,are troublesome is that they are extremely complicated electronically. Your good service with your Mazda reminded me of a conversation I had on one of the GN2002 tour buses with a couple who said they had an old Subaru wagon with about 150,000 trouble-free miles on it and were suffering with a new $40,000 Volvo Cross-Country wagon which was giving them fits with the electrical system and was at the dealers more than in their garage. My 96 Sedan de Ville was much like their Volvo. Before I finally traded it in on a 97 Seville (which was much better, but not trouble-free), it had been at the dealer 14 times (once for a solid month)while they tried to figure out why several electronic components failed repeatedly. I went by to check on it during the month-long stay and there were wires out from under the hood, from under the dash, and in the trunk. I wondered if they would ever get it back together. They did and a week later the dreaded "Service Ride Control" message appeared again and back it went. Im keeping my fingers crossed with my 2004 VW Jetta (which has a less than stellar reliablity rating). Ive got 23,000 miles on it and, so far, its been the only completely trouble-free new car Ive owned.

[Lou]

Is it possible that maybe just your car is a "lemon"? My brother has a 2000 DTS loaded, even has the night vision.I just called him ,he has 79000 trouble free miles.My other brother has a 2001 STS also trouble free(yes we love Cadillacs).Your car is just about ten years old and from your post ,you had a lot of problems with your car but most of it was covered under warranty.You have a 10 year old car with 80000+ miles on it, that has given you fits from day one.It is not going to break down less as it ages!Sometimes it just isnt meant to be...Fix it,sell it and buy another Cadillac....... P.S. I do feel your pain though.Ford bought back my truck last year because it was a lemon.I didnt think that all Fords sucked,just my truck did..End result,theres a brand new Ford truck in the driveway and it is perfect:)

[JIM CLC # 15000]

03-24-05
David, Ive been thinking about the problems that you have been having and I have a couple of question. Do you by any chance have a big black cloud that seems to constenly hangs over your head?
Do you believe in "Murphys Law?
The same reason that money never comes-in at a bad time, all auto. problems happen at the most inopertune time.
Good Luck, things will work out, Jim

[Todd Rothrauff]

Hello David,

Im sorry to hear about your bad experience with your Cadillac.  However, making a broad generalization based on your experience is not right.  As many readers of this forum know, the modern Cadillac is, generally, a good quality car.

As a Ford Technician, I have seen several "problem children" come through the shop. These are the vehicles with the very long repair history, that always seem have something wrong with them.  But, for every "problem child," there are many, many more good performing, reliable vehicles that are in the shop only for normal maintenance.  Any service writer or service manager will tell you that those who are unhappy with their vehicle are much more vocal than those who are happy.

By the way, in Ford-speak, what you are describing sounds like a PATS problem (Passive Anti Theft System).  On a Ford, your ignition key contains a computer chip that is mated to a transceiver in the ignition switch.  One must recognize the other in order for the vehicle to start.  When the transceiver does not recognize the key, the ignition and fuel systems are disabled by the security module (it may start, but will shut off right away because there is no fuel).  Thats how it works on a Ford.  GMs are probably different.  This may be a question you can pose to your dealer.

And, a reply to Lou:  If I had to lay money on it, I would guess that the subject of the previously mentioned buyback is a 6.0 liter diesel.  There were numerous problems with the early production 6.0 Super Duty, which has since been solved.

Happy motoring,

Todd Rothrauff

[David #19063]

Bruce,

They were thinking it was a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty on the part, but they were going to check.

David

[David #19063]

Porter,

The shop did look at this one, but it did not truely apply.  My car will start, but only run for a couple seconds.

However, ever since the tow truck showed up, it now starts and the dash is working fine.  And we have now driven it up to western Winsconsin...along with my 94 Fleetwood Brougham.  

This is what happened 2 1/2 years ago.  From when he dash first started acting up until it happened enough for it to be diagnoised was several months.  It should only happen now once a month for the next few months and slowly get worse.

David

[David #19063]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the encouragement.  

From my understanding, the Lemon Law is hard to enforce and usually more applicable to a nearly new car.  However, I will look into it.

I will be contacting Cadillac regarding this issue, but I do not believe they will do anything...until GM or al least Cadillac has a philosophy change and decides it wasts to be in business 10, 20, 50 years from now.

But that discussion is for another thread at a later time...LOL!

David

[David #19063]

Yes, this is what I am alluding regarding the amount of problems.  

Also, every GM division does not need an SUV, a minivan, etc.

But I am saving this discussion for another thread...LOL!

David

[David #19063]

Hello Barry,

Yes, I will keep the BBB in mind.  I will first contact Cadillac and see if I can get anywhere with them.  

The problem now is that the problem has only happened once again and even the shop cannot pinpoint it.  Nor does it show up in the computer...yet.  The problem will have to get much worse and repeat a lot, so it can be diagnosed by a shop.  But I do know this is exactly what happened last time.

David

[David #19063]

Hello Lou,

Actually, I would like a DTS with Night Vision myself.

Yes, my wife thinks she did get a lemon.  But I think electrical problems are going to be more and more concern in the newer cars.

Yes, the warranty cover most everything up to 50,000 miles...we bought the car in 98 when it was barely 2 1/2 years old with 27,000 pampered miles.  Most other problems were covered by the $0 deductable 36,000 mile/year year warranty we paid a pretty penny for.  And it was a good investment...but the fact is, we should have had to buy an extended warranty on the "Standard of the World".

Yes, it is almost 9 years old, it was originally delivered in late Spring 1996.

Yes, I have learned that many times with cars, it is better to cut your losses and get out of them.  I see you have learned that lesson as well.

We are discussing this now but finances are tight at the moment...well see...

Thank you.

David