1999 Cadillac DeVille DTS 4.6 Northstar from North America
Faults:
I purchased this car because the body looked great. I thought all I had to do is put $500 into head gaskets, and install them myself because I am a good engine builder. I found out on the Internet that the engines in this year were not drilled properly, and a customer satisfaction recall was created by GM. My engine was measured through the procedures as laid out by GM, and they will not honour their own recall. This is a disgrace to the manufacturer, and with our consumer protection laws, how can they get away with this? This is misrepresentation of the product, and should never have been sold in this condition. GM knows the error is drilling the block holes that are improper, and still does not want to fix the garbage they made. The customer satisfaction recall is campaign number 99086.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 30th July, 2010
31st Aug 2012, 21:17
The 8-6-4 was actually a good engine, using the same tooling as the big reliable 500 and 425 CID engines.
If the cylinder deactivation system started to misbehave, simply unplug it and you had a solid cast iron engine that was reliable and got about 14 MPG.
30th Aug 2012, 15:04
How they get away with it is the easy part. They buy and sell policy makers like people buy toilet paper.
Don't give up, and let them know you mean business, and hopefully more people will jump on board.
They knew about the problem with that engine since they first started using Northstar engines, since it was Allante exclusive engine. Since not many people bought the Allante, they had nothing to worry about. Then they took those same engines, and by 95 every model had it, and the last one that didn't, the Fleetwood, they discontinued it in 96.
Only way to get these people to change is to buy from some other maker. If people keep complaining, but still buy the products, they ain't going to change a single thing until they get around to it, which they supposedly did in 2002-2003 time period, over a decade after the problem was noticed.
And don't get me wrong, I love Cadillac cars, and their designs from the 1920s all the way up to now, but that early Northstar was crap. In the past though, they usually fixed a problematic engine swiftly, i.e. the 8-6-4 engine, the diesel, the early 4.1. When they were outed as problematic, they didn't stay in production very long. I guess when the bean counters took over, that quality assurance went out the window.
Good news though, I heard they are ending Northstar, so now I can enjoy the modern Cadillacs without worrying about that engine. Thought I would have to stick with the 95 Fleetwood forever, which ain't a bad car at all, last of the classic Cadillacs, but of course not up to modern standards. It still rides better, but it's getting gray around the muzzle, and is ready to be a pure every 8th Sunday car, and sit pretty in the garage.