Factory specifications, fluid capacities, torque values, EPA fuel economy and the federal safety record for the 1983 Seville.
The 1983 Cadillac Seville was a full-size luxury sedan built on GM's body-on-frame platform, and it required 4.5 quarts of engine oil with viscosity recommendations of 20W-20, 10W-30, or 10W-40 for maintenance; the vehicle's limited owner complaint data for this model year shows only two recorded issues overall, with engine and engine cooling representing the primary concern area, and it was subject to three recalls during its production cycle, positioning this particular model year toward the lower end of the complaint spectrum when compared to the Seville's later history, which saw complaint volumes peak at 131 in 1996 before declining to a low of 17 by 2004.
Fluid capacities, tune-up values and fuel economy at a glance.
Engine, drivetrain, dimensions and economy.
| Overall length | 204.7 in |
| Overall width | 70.9 in |
| Overall height | 54.3 in |
| Wheelbase | 114.2 in |
| Curb weight | 3803 lb |
0–60 mph, quarter-mile, horsepower and torque from independent road tests.
Independent road tests for the Seville 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Elegante Diesel Sedan 5.7L Diesel V8 | 19.70 sec | 21.50 sec | 105 hp | FWD |
| 1986 | Elegante Sedan 4.1L V8 | 11.70 sec | 18.20 sec | 130 hp | FWD |
| 1979 | Diesel Sedan 5.7L Diesel V8 | 16.80 sec | 21.10 sec | 120 hp | RWD |
| 1989 | STS Sedan 4.5L V8 | 8.90 sec | 16.80 sec | 180 hp | FWD |
| 1976 | Sedan 5.7L V8 | 14.00 sec | 19.00 sec | 180 hp | RWD |
| 1990 | STS Sedan 4.5L V8 | 9.20 sec | 17.00 sec | 180 hp | FWD |
| 1992 | STS Sedan 4.9L V8 | 8.60 sec | 16.80 sec | 200 hp | FWD |
Capacities, torques and tune-up values from the factory service manual.
This engine holds 4.5 qt of 20W-20 / 10W-30 / 10W-40 engine oil, 80W-90 · GL-5 in the differential, DOT 3 brake fluid.
| Brake Fluid | DOT 3 |
| Differential Gear Oil | 80W-90 · GL-5 |
| Differential Gear Oil Capacity | 4.3 qt |
| Engine Coolant | ETHYLENE GLYCOL |
| Engine Oil | ABOVE 40 degrees F |
| Engine Oil Capacity | 4.5 qt |
| Engine Oil | 20W-20 · 15W-40 · 10W-30 |
| Engine Oil Capacity | 4.0-5.0 |
Owner-reported issues, recalls, investigations and service bulletins on record with NHTSA — an unfiltered look at what owners actually experience.
The 1983 Cadillac Seville sits outside the provided federal record, which begins in 1990, so the year-by-year arc—complaints rising to a 1996 peak of 131, investigations clustering in 1995–1996, and TSB volumes surging in the 2000s—describes later model years rather than the 1983. For the target year itself, the data shows only one Engine & Engine Cooling complaint and one Suspension complaint, with zero crash and zero fire complaints, giving it a very small documented federal safety footprint. There are no 1983 recall, investigation or TSB figures in the record, so we cannot place this year on the generation’s reliability curve or compare it directly to adjacent model years; it simply predates the dataset. That absence does not indicate a clean bill of health—it means age-related wear, maintenance history and rust are the dominant risk factors, not federal defects. For a buyer, the 1983 is not demonstrably better or worse than later years in this record; it is an older, lightly documented car whose value depends almost entirely on condition and provenance, making it a risky but not red-flagged choice based solely on these federal numbers.
All 2 complaints on record, top 2 components.
Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation complaint database.
Showing 2 of 3 campaigns on record for this vehicle.
THE FUEL FILTERS WERE PRODUCED WITH AN INCORRECT THREADED FITTING. THE INCORRECT FITTING IS SIMILIAR ENOUGH IN SIZE THAT THE FUEL FILTER MAY APPEAR TO BE CORRECTLY THREADED ONTO THE FUEL LINE. Remedy: THE IMPROPER THREADING COULD CAUSE A GASOLINE LEAK WHICH MAY RESULT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE WHEN EXPOSED TO A SOURCE OF IGNITION.
THE FUSIBLE LINK, WHICH PROTECTS ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS CONNECTED THROUGH THE IGNITION SWITCH, COULD COME OPEN WHILE REAR WINDOW DEFOGGER IS IN OPERATION. IF TWILIGHT SENTINEL SWITCH IS ON AND HEADLIGHT SWITCH IS OFF, AN… Remedy: DEALER WILL REPLACE DEFECTIVE FUSIBLE LINK WITH AN IMPROVED TYPE.
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.
Find every vehicle that shares this one's battery, bulbs, oil capacity, platform or parts.
Cross-vehicle references for the kinds of data on this page.
4.5 qt of ABOVE 40 degrees F: 30, ABOVE 20 degrees F: 20W-20, 10W-30, 10W-40, 20W-40 OR 20W-50, ABOVE 10 degrees F 15W-40, BELOW 20 degrees F: 5W-20 OR 5W-30, per the factory manual.
NHTSA lists 3 recall campaign(s) for this model year. Check your specific vehicle by VIN.