2002 Cadillac Deville problems & reliability
176 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 2002 Cadillac Deville, alongside 5 safety recall campaigns. 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.
13 complaints report injuries (17 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 2002 Cadillac Deville vehicles were involved in 15 fatal crashes with 10 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 45 | 26% |
| Air Bags | 26 | 15% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 24 | 14% |
| Steering | 18 | 10% |
| Engine | 17 | 10% |
| Power Train | 15 | 9% |
| Visibility | 14 | 8% |
| Tires | 11 | 6% |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 11 | 6% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 6 | 3% |
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.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 60,000 miles (middle 50% between 30,440 and 99,250 miles), based on 112 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“The contact owns a 2002 Cadillac Deville. The contact stated that while driving approximately 7 MPH and making a left turn, the vehicle suddenly shut off, causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into a tree. During the crash, the vehicle sustained front-end damage, but no air bag had deployed. No…”
Air Bags · filed Apr 7, 2025
“My car was parked in my garage when the horn sounded extremely loud and would not stop I could not stop it so I took it to shop. The dealer says that airbag shorted out and shorted out the horn. They want to replace airbag and horn at a cost of $1109 was this airbag recalled?”
Unknown OR Other · filed Feb 2, 2021
“I was going to drop off some trash bags in dumpster around the block from my house.and was parked next to it at aptments street.I put the car in park turned off engine and removed the keys popped the trunk removed trash bags closed trunk and got back in driver seat placed key in just as always real easy going and…”
Engine · filed May 26, 2020
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Technical service bulletins
464 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 2002 Cadillac Deville. The 10 most recent:
This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.
PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 18, 2025
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. Technician should get record a sound clip or…
PIP5358D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 20, 2025
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Oct 25, 2024
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the Heater-Vent-Air Conditioning blows warm air. Before calling General Motors Technical Assistance Center technician…
PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 12, 2024
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the Heater-Vent-Air Conditioning blows warm air. Before calling General Motors Technical Assistance Center technician…
PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 12, 2024
Vehicle Wide Programming (VWP) is a new process to update software on GM Vehicles. It provides the ability via a single selection within Techline Connect to first identify which modules need updating and then proceed to…
General Communication · Service Campaign · issued Aug 26, 2024
GM is receiving damaged (cracked or broken) transmission cores returned to the reman facilities. The damage is being caused either in the removal process by the technician, or inadequate packaging or shipping. This…
24-NA-141 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jul 24, 2024
This service bulletin advises of a new fuel injection cleaner kit used for decarbonizing the intake valves to correct conditions of rough idle, Crank no start, extended crank or misfire, MIL with DTCs, and explains how…
16-NA-383 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 28, 2024
This bulletin provides information for use on a Product Assistance Claim (PAC), which is formerly known as a Product Allegation Resolution (PAR) claim.
18-NA-099 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 17, 2024
This service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Service Programming System (SPS) Error Codes E4398, E4399, E4401, E4403, M4404, M4413, M6954, M6955, E4414, E4423, E4491, E4492, or E6961 and…
24-NA-098 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jun 6, 2024
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
The 2002 Cadillac Deville has 5 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
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 2002 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.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 60,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.