Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1973 Eldorado.
The 1973 Cadillac Eldorado enters the reference record as a notably quiet model year, drawing just two owner complaints and a single recall across the 1990–2002 reporting window, with tires standing as the lone complaint category. That footprint is striking when set against the broader Eldorado complaint history of the same period, where annual tallies ranged from a low of 13 in 1991 to a peak of 81 in 1996. For a researcher tracking the model's reliability arc, the 1973 effectively functions as a low-mark benchmark, the kind of clean data point against which heavier-complaint years can be measured.
Engine, drivetrain, dimensions and economy.
| Overall length | 220.9 in |
| Overall width | 79.1 in |
| Overall height | 53.5 in |
| Wheelbase | 126 in |
0–60 mph, quarter-mile, horsepower and torque from independent road tests.
Independent road tests for the Eldorado of this era, listed by trim and engine — this page spans more than one engine, so no single horsepower figure is shown.
| Year | Trim / engine | 0–60 | ¼ mile | HP | Drivetrain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Coupe 8.2L V8 | 10.90 sec | 17.60 sec | 190 hp | FWD |
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
The federal record provided covers 1990–2002 model years, which does not include the 1973 Eldorado; therefore, no year-over-year trend for the 1973 model can be derived from this dataset. For the 1973 model year specifically, the data shows only two complaints categorized under Tires, with zero crash or fire complaints reported. The 1990–2002 arc shows complaints peaking at 81 in 1996 before declining to 16 by 2002, while recalls remained low (0–4 per year) and TSBs rose sharply after 1999, but this pattern reflects a completely different vehicle generation. Because the supplied federal record does not contain any 1973 data points beyond the two tire complaints, the 1973 Eldorado's reliability profile cannot be benchmarked against its contemporaries using this information. Concrete takeaway: the available federal data is insufficient to assess the 1973 model year; a purchase decision should rely on mechanical inspection and marque-specific historical knowledge rather than this record.
All 2 complaints on record, top 1 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
Showing 1 of 1 campaigns on record for this vehicle.
Remedy:
The most common OBD-II codes for this vehicle's emissions system. These are standardized SAE J2012 definitions, not vehicle-specific fault reports.
Decode factory build data for a specific vehicle by VIN.
Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.
NHTSA lists 1 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.