AI Damage1990 Cadillac Deville: common problems
Owners of the 1990 Cadillac Deville filed 76 complaints with NHTSA, most often about service brakes and vehicle speed control. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 76
- involving a crash
- 10
What fails most often
- 1 Service brakes 29% of all complaints
- 2 Vehicle speed control 28% of all complaints
- 3 Engine and cooling 12% of all complaints
- 4 Air bags 8% of all complaints
- 5 Powertrain 8% of all complaints
- 6 Tires 8% of all complaints
- 7 Electrical system 7% of all complaints
- 8 Equipment 5% of all complaints
- Service brakes: 22 complaints (29% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Vehicle speed control: 21 complaints (28% of all), 5 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 9 complaints (12% of all).
- Air bags: 6 complaints (8% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Powertrain: 6 complaints (8% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 76 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 21 | 5 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Air bags | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Tires | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Equipment | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Steering | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wheels | 2 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The car while turning intermittently dies and looses any acceleration stalls and most of the time starts back up when lifting foot of the gas and sometimes dies. Also the car accelerates on its own sometimes very quickly.
After starting vehicle and placing it into neutral vehicle jumped out of gear into reverse, crashing into a picnic table. Please provide any further details.
Parking brake would not release. Took out owners manual, and it stated that brake may freeze up at times. Consumer put car in park and got out to reach lever, when consumer pulled lever, vehicle lurched shifting into reverse, right front tire rolled over consumer's leg, and vehicle hit a parked car before coming to a…
While driving at 55 mph vehicle was in an head-on collision ,and the air bags did not deploy. Dealer has been contacted.
Involved in an accident and the seat belt did not hold the driver and she was thrown all over the car. Tt an officer stated that the force and angle of impact were not enough to engage seat belt, consumer was injured in accident.
Right front tire fell off, causing loss of control/accident. (new jersey state police report)
On warm days, when driving with airconditioning.turned on, the car stalls and then quickly starts up again. No notice from computer problem light. Note other owners of this car have had similar problems even after dealer check.........one dealer informed me that it is the baffle around the fuel take that cuts the…
The brakes failed/ would not move. The accelerator moved away from my foot. This happen a total of 4 times with my car. Each time the dealer said it was a different problem. My car was a 1990 cadillac sedan deville, 4 door. The toyota recall described exactly what happen to my car.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 4,234 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 12% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Deville has 83 complaints (33 years in the data). This year has 76, about average.
What to check before buying
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Air bags. Check the SRS light, stored codes and airbag/curtain status after any impact.
Other years of this model
- Deville 19763 sources
- Deville 19784 sources
- Deville 19823 sources
- Deville 19835 sources
- Deville 19846 sources
- Deville 198519 sources
- Deville 198622 sources
- Deville 198740 sources
- Deville 198828 sources
- Deville 198948 sources
- Deville 199187 sources
- Deville 1992135 sources
- Deville 199392 sources
- Deville 1994127 sources
- Deville 1995129 sources
- Deville 1996218 sources
- Deville 1997269 sources
- Deville 1998237 sources
- Deville 1999187 sources
- Deville 2000225 sources
- Deville 2001175 sources
- Deville 2002176 sources
- Deville 2003145 sources
- Deville 2004167 sources
- Deville 200595 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1990 Cadillac Deville?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: service brakes, vehicle speed control, engine and cooling. Total complaints: 76. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: smoke, burning smell, fire (7%), brake failure (5%), stalls while driving (5%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1990 Cadillac Deville?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1990 Cadillac Deville from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1990 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.