1990 Cadillac Deville problems & reliability
76 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1990 Cadillac Deville. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
6 complaints report injuries (6 injured).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1990 Cadillac Deville vehicles were involved in 2 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic → | 21 | 28% |
| Vehicle Speed Control → | 21 | 28% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 9 | 12% |
| Air Bags | 6 | 8% |
| Power Train | 6 | 8% |
| Tires | 6 | 8% |
| Electrical System | 5 | 7% |
| Equipment | 4 | 5% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 4 | 5% |
| Steering | 3 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“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. The car stalling while making a left turn got me t-boned by someone while making a left hand…”
Service Brakes · filed Dec 16, 2015
“This problem is intermittent. 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…”
Electrical System · filed Jun 16, 2010
“Car accelerated out of control with speed at 100+ miles per hour. 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…”
Vehicle Speed Control · filed Sep 30, 2009
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA91019 · opened Mar 22, 1991 · closed Mar 25, 1992
- THROTTLE LINKAGE INTERFER
Preliminary Evaluation PE91029 · opened Jan 7, 1991 · closed Apr 16, 1991
- ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
Preliminary Evaluation PE91016 · opened Nov 26, 1990 · closed Mar 22, 1991
Technical service bulletins
1 manufacturer communication (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1990 Cadillac Deville.
Expanded Availability for Remanufacture and Return (R&R) Electronic Control Modules
130089009 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 1, 2013
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
No NHTSA recall campaigns name the 1990 Cadillac Deville in our current data. Recalls may apply only to certain VIN ranges — always confirm with a VIN check.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1990 Cadillac Deville?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.