Total Complaints
3 filings
CADILLAC SEVILLE · model year
3 NHTSA complaints for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1978CADILLACSEVILLE carries 3 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.
Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1978 SEVILLE is exterior lighting:headlights:high/low beam dimmer switch with 1 filings, followed by interior lighting (1) and fuel system, gasoline (1). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.
NHTSA currently has 10 investigation files overlapping the 1978 SEVILLE, and 1 remain open. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.
Total Complaints
3 filings
Crashes Reported
0 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS:HIGH/LOW BEAM DIMMER SWITCH | 1 |
| INTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE | 1 |
TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1978 CADILLAC SEVILLE. THE CONTACT SMELLS GASOLINE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, AND OCCASIONAL NOTICES GASOLINE ON THE GARAGE FLOOR. SHE CALLED THE DEALER, BUT HAS NOT RECEIVED A RESPONSE. NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 79V197000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM:FUEL RAIL) WAS REFERENCED; HOWEVER, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT WERE WAS NO SAFETY RECALL. IN 2006, WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS PURCHASED, THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THERE WAS A GAS LEAK IN THE VEHICLE. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 51,785 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,488.
Mileage: 50,488
PLUGS TO DIMMER SWITCH ON FLOOR ARE CORRODED AND MELTING.
INTERIOR LIGHTS ILLUMINATED DUE TO DELAYED ENTRY SYSTEM.
Electronic Brake Module Component Failure
Rear-View Camera Failure
Roof Skin Separation While Driving
IEE Passenger Sensing System Mats
REAR DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT FAILURE
Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.