What breaks most · 1990 to 1998 model years
Cadillac Fleetwood problems by year
Owners have filed 130 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Cadillac Fleetwood across model years 1990 to 1998. Three years stand out: 1993 for seat belts complaints, 1990 for brakes (hydraulic) complaints and 1995 for suspension complaints. The quietest years are 1992, 1991 and 1994.
- Years to check closely: 1993, 1990, 1995
- Fewest complaints: 1992, 1991, 1994
- Complaints on file
- 1301990 to 1998, all trims
- Worst year
- 199332 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 189 fires · 25 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 109kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 22Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 3 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (12) | |
| 14 | 1 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (5) | |
| 8 | 1 | 2 | Electrical system (3) | |
| 32 | 5 | 3 | Seat belts (9) | |
| 16 | 4 | 5 | Engine and cooling (6) | |
| 18 | 2 | 5 | Suspension (3) | |
| 17 | 2 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (4) | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (1) |
What fails on the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat belts | 28% |
9 | 0 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Brakes (hydraulic)Brake pads, rotors and calipers | 19% |
6 | 2 | Shop brakes (hydraulic) parts for the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 13% |
4 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood |
| Air bags | 13% |
4 | 4 | Check recalls for air bags on NHTSA.gov |
| Tires | 9% |
3 | 1 | — |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 9% |
3 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood |
| Seats | 6% |
2 | 2 | — |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 6% |
2 | 0 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1993 Cadillac Fleetwood |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
Transmission slipped out of park and rolled down the driveway, anti-lock brake failure/power seat bolt securing seat broke, causing seat to wobble back and forth/ replaced michelin tires, also no deployment of driver's and passenger's air bags. *ak*ak
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While driving 35 mph consumer applied brakes and brakes failed, ABS light had come on. Dealer replaced 1 module, accumulator and pump.*ak *slc
-
Vehicle was not moving when driver's side of vehicle dropped. Lower ball joint had broken. Repaired at dealership.*ak consumer stated that the tapered part of the the ball joint was never pulled tight in the taper in the spindle, the taper in the spindle is egg shaped and hollow from moving around. *slc
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Cadillac Fleetwood years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1993, 1990, 1995 carry the most filings on the Cadillac Fleetwood. The 1993 alone has 32 complaints, led by seat belts.
What is the most common Cadillac Fleetwood problem?
On the 1993 model year, the most-reported component is seat belts with 9 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Cadillac Fleetwood problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Cadillac Fleetwood complaints that include mileage is about 109,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.