1998 Cadillac Catera: Reliability Data

267
Total Complaints
60,000mi
Median Mileage
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
Top Issue
9
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

54,250 25th Percentile
60,000 Median Mileage
71,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
20
TIRES
19
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
17
SUSPENSION:FRONT
16
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
13
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
7
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
7
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
7
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
7

Severity Assessment

9
Crashes
1
Fires
11
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"CONSUMER WAS DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT APPROXIMATELY 42 MPH ON NORMAL ROAD CONDITION ALL OF A SUDDEN HAD TO APPLY EMERGENCEY BRAKES, BUT REAR ENDED VEHICLE IN FRONT. IMPACT WAS DONE AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH. NEITHER AIR BAGS OF CONSUMER'S VEHICLE DEPOLYED. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK"
"THIS IS A NEW CAR. THE BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE. THE AIRBAG MODULE HAS BEEN REPLACED. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL ELECTICAL PROBLEMS. I HAVE HAD IT IN FOR REPAIRS OVER AND OVER. I HAVE ASK CADILLAC TO REPLACE THIS CAR,BUT THEY HAVE REFUSED. PLEASE HELP ME."
"THIS IS A NEW CAR. THE BATTERY HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE. THE AIRBAG MODULE HAS BEEN REPLACED. THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL ELECTICAL PROBLEMS. I HAVE HAD IT IN FOR REPAIRS OVER AND OVER. I HAVE ASK CADILLAC TO REPLACE THIS CAR,BUT THEY HAVE REFUSED. PLEASE HELP ME."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE 20 complaints
25th: 49,000 mi Median: 60,765 mi 75th: 72,000 mi
TIRES 19 complaints
25th: 51,797 mi Median: 62,300 mi 75th: 65,200 mi
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING 17 complaints
25th: 35,459 mi Median: 59,000 mi 75th: 63,442 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 39 MI: 34 AZ: 30 OH: 26 GA: 23 AR: 18 MD: 15 FL: 10 AL: 9 TX: 9

Who Files Complaints?

36.3%
Original Owners
63.7%
Second+ Owners

Cadillac Catera — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
199726916
19991405
200010710
2001384

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28