1990 Cadillac Fleetwood 4dr Sedan 4.5 liter V8
Summary:
I miss driving my Caddy, but not fixing it
Faults:
Fuel pump went out without warning.
Exhaust system came apart after going through a deeper than expected puddle.
Anti-lock brakes stopped working at 120k miles.
Emissions belt went bad - replaced.
Alternator belt went bad at 150k miles.
Parking brake became locked in place - then line broke on the way to shop fixing the problem (though the parking brake no longer works).
Seats (leather) are full of ugly creasing and folding.
Car stalls when low on fuel or going around a long/sharp curve in road.
Fuel tank leaked and needed to be replaced - twice.
Fuel system needed to be replaced at 140k miles.
Power door locks went out on all doors, but driver door.
Power window motor died in front passenger window - was slow in front driver window - worked when it wanted in the passenger rear window (it helped to slam the door, so probably just a bad wire).
The wiring of this car is just plain bad.
General Comments:
I really liked my Fleetwood. It might be an ugly car, but boy was it faster than it looked. With a puny 170 (I might be a little off, but not much) horsepower I did not think this boat would move like it did. It did a quarter mile in about 16 seconds (with all four gears on the stick), and got up to 60 mph in under 10 seconds. Its handling was terrible, lots of lean on turns, and HORRIBLE brake power (even before the ABS went out). But that's to be expected from such a boat. Unfortunately the '90 Fleetwood is front-wheel drive, another thing I didn't like... but I loved how well my Fleetwood could scorch the tires. The interior of the car is pretty boring, but luxurious... Leather seats, power front seats (2 position driver memory), HUGE rear seats, power everything, cigarette lighters/ashtrays in the back doors, an excellent stock speaker system once I put in a more powerful CD player (the two 6 by 9's in the back pounded pretty well for their size), and the surprisingly convenient "de-icer" for the front windshield -- this does mean that there is metal in the windshield which made my radar detector useless unless the cop was behind me --... In fact there aren't many options that my '98 Lincoln has that my '90 Caddy didn't have.
The air ride and engine of this car stood up to the worst possible conditions - teen driver, dirt roads, and lots of miles in a short time. But eventually I got sick of replacing all the little things that would go wrong with the car and moved up to a beautiful Lincoln Continental... But since Lincoln has discontinued the Continental and the Mark VIII, I think I'll return to Cadillac for my next vehicle.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th November, 2004
28th Oct 2005, 16:47
The fleetwood front wheel drive is not the same fleetwood that is a rear wheel drive. All together a different car.