1994 Cadillac Seville: engine overheating

Filed Mar 25, 2005 · Engine · OH

Oil was leaking out the lower crank case, which could cause the vehicle to overheat and cause the engine to fail. Manufacturer was contacted by consumer, and was aware of the problem.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Brakes, Tires · 11,900 miles · DC

I call the dealership about the system overheating after a few weeks of purchasing the vehicle. The dealership said they could not doing anything in helping me with the vehicle, not even towtruck. I call the dealership again before my warranty is about to expired and he said he could not do anything to help me. The brakes were bad on the car and the cooling system had a hole in it.

Filed Aug 18, 2002 · Engine · CA

On 7/25/01, engine overheated as per engine screen. 255 degrees. Replaced "failed thermostat" topped off coolant and rechecked. Car smelled like engine hot. Vehicle lost coolant. Called putnam cadillac/buick. They changed oil & checked. No detection of overheating. 7/23/02 car driven to putnam cadillac. $5,153 charged to tear down heads & found 5 stripped head bolts on front bank and one on rear bank. Six total thread repairs. Cylinder head pressure tested. Resurfaced & reset valves. 6 heli coils installed. Reinstall cylinder heads after machine shop repairs. Heads were checked for warpage due to extreme heat caused by manufacturer's over-torquing the head bolts and spinning them in their threads. New valve seals added. Replaced water pump. Cadillac servicing center revealed that numerous other 94 sls cadillacs have been reported at other service centers to have the same flaw of "loose headbolts coming loose from the engine block causing head gaskets to leak & overheating." this is dangerous and expensive because the computer in the engine states "shut off engine" this occurred july 23, 2002 while driving at night . We had to pull off the shoulder of the freeway and allow the car's temperature to decline. We limped home dangerously by having to drive slowly and stop several times to keep the temperature down.

Filed Mar 2, 2002 · Engine · VA

Engine shut down while driving up mountain road due to overheating. Problem diagnosed by dealer as blown head gaskets due to loosening of head bolts. Problem is use of steel bolts directly in aluminum block which vibrate loose over time, causing loss of engine coolant. Widely recognized problem by repair shops and there is a technical sevice bulletin addressing this repair; nevertheless cadillac claims it is not aware of any design defect and refuses to assist with repair. Repair cost $4,600 to rebuild engine or $7,800 to replace engine. Problem developed with no warning and caused occupant and family to be stranded.

Filed Jan 14, 2001 · Engine · CA

Engine bolck threads for head bolts failed, resulting in blown head gaskets and loss of engine coolant, causing engine to overheat.

Filed Mar 11, 1999 · PA

Design of keyless entry system failed resulting in the system overheating.