1998 CADILLAC ELDORADO — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 38 complaints · 1 recalls
Most-reported system: FUEL SYSTEM (8 complaints · 21.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 2
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution FUEL SYSTEM appears in 8 of 38 owner complaints (21.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. FUEL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 21.1% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 8 · 21.1% ENGINE: 6 complaints, 15.8% of reports ENGINE 6 · 15.8% SUSPENSION: 4 complaints, 10.5% of reports SUSPENSION 4 · 10.5% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 3 complaints, 7.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 · 7.9% SERVICE BRAKES: 3 complaints, 7.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 3 · 7.9% WHEELS: 3 complaints, 7.9% of reports WHEELS 3 · 7.9% AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 2.6% · 1 crash reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 2.6% POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 2.6% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 2.6% · 1 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 28 complaints, 73.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 28 · 73.7% · 1 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
FUEL SYSTEM 8 21.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 6 15.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 4 10.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 3 7.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 3 7.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
WHEELS 3 7.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 2.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 2.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 2.6% 1 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 28 73.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Apr 1998; the first recall shown was reported in Oct 1997. 1998-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1997 Jul 2018 Recall campaign 97V183000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V183000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1998-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 9
1999-Q4 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 1
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 97V183000
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (1)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V183000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE HARNESS COULD INTERFERE WITH THE CRUISE CONTROL AND THROTTLE LINKAGE PREVENTING RETURN TO A CLOSED THROTTLE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE VEHICLE FOR PROPER ROUTING OF THE HARNESS, CORRECT AS NECESSARY, AND INSTALL A PLASTIC TIE STRAP TO THE HARNESS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 38 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources