10.0
really awful
engine problem
I once owned a Chevy Vega (with a part Aluminum engine) ,I ending up JUNKING it I didn't know the Northstar had Aluminum until I took it to have a new thermostat put in after it heated up for the umpteen time. The mechanic who installed the new thermostat said he thinks the head gasket is bad, I checked around and looked on the computer, as near as I can figure out from what I heard and read, it'll cost around $3,000 more or less to fix... I'm retired and do not have that kind of money. I'll have to junk this car that looks like new, because I can't afford $3,000 to fix it !!! All I had heard about the Northstar engine BEFORE I bought mine was good... NO ONE TOLD ME IT WAS PART ALUMINIUM and prone to have blown head gaskets that had to have bolts HELI- COILED back in... NOW I have a 1998 Cadillac Deville that looks like new, and I'll probably end up JUNKING it... it
- John K H., Port Washington, OH, US
every mechanic i speak to refuses to mess with this problem,except the G M dealer. They want $2,200.(estimated) to repair head gaskets. Car is only worth appx $4,500. Most mechanics claim head bolts twist off during tear down due to alluminum block and must be drilled out and tapped. the car is in pristine condition,but is worthless without an engine that you can rely on.Has 99,000 miles on it, Looks like it has 25,000 miles, but sits in the driveway while I try to figure out what to do with it!! Wanted to buy another caddy, but will make sure it doesn't have the northstar v8.
- sdarrell, Lake St Louis, MO, US
With only the 82,000 miles on this Cadillac, and the much touted Northstar engine that Cadillac was so proud of. The engine is useless with a cracked cylinder or a cracked head. General Motors should stand behind their products or they will fall even farther behind Toyota. I had a Toyota with a similiar problem and they fixed it at no expense to me and the Toyota had over 100,000 miles on it. This was my first and last Cadillac, I am buying a Toyota next week. Also the headlight lens fell of and the Cadillac people wanted $1500 to fix that problem. $1500 to fix a headlight problem! Talk about a ripoff!!!
- Bill P., Camarillo, CA, US
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OK I bought this caddy around 6 months ago. At first it was losing antifreeze and I just thought it was low. So one day I was sitting in the drive through at DQ and It alerts me that engine is hot please let idle... I was IDLING! other than that problem there is nothing else much wrong with it. For what they are they are still a nice luxury ride.
- atroske, Meadville, PA, US