Cadillac DeVille Tires/Wheels

04cad04cad Member Posts: 131
My Deville is a base sedan with the 225 60 16 Michelin Symmetry tires. With 44,5xx miles on them they are advertised to go for many more miles. I have found the exact same tires for $107.00 each plus disposal, mounting and balancing at Walmart or Sam's club. I have checked Big O and they quoted $56x.xx may not have included tax. There are several companies with comparable tires at $7x.xx each plus disposal, mounting and balancing. I have had good luck with Goodyear, BF Goodrich, Firestone, Sears, and others on past vehicles. We put tires from a local non chain tire supplier on our last Deville and they worked fine at no more than $300.00 for the set. I was curious if anyone had tried any other brands on the 04 model and how they liked the ride and noise levels with other brands. Thanks for the reply... Bob

Comments

  • 04cad04cad Member Posts: 131
    Hi we have 44,5xx miles on our 04 Deville and the original Michelins have lots of tread in the center but the edges are feathered a little and we are thinking of putting on a new set prior to vacation. Has anyone had any experience with tires other than the Michelins on this year and model? $500 plus dollars seems ridiculous for 4 tires, mounting and balancing for car tires. There are several reputable tire companies with tires that would fit and we would like feedback from anyone who has tried other brands and how they liked the ride and noise levels of the other brand tires. Thanks
  • bremertongbremertong Member Posts: 436
    I too own a 2004 Deville, mine with 31,000 miles on it. I understand that the tires for this car are more like $150 each for a good quality replacement, if correct your $500.00 figure is on the low side. I will be looking more intensely
    when the car reaches around 40,000 miles, as I still have a fair amount of tread left. Unless you have a local tire store that you have done business with I would suggest you begin the search process by talking with someone (you trust) at the local dealership. I live in the west and we have a chain of stores called Schwab Tire Center, if they are also
    in your area suggest you consider the available replacement
    options there as a part of your search.

    Unless you plan to replace the car in the next year or two I would suggest spending for a good quality tire as the tires are an important component of the performance of this car.

    Hope this will help get your started with the replacement process, please let us know what you decide and any important aspects of your selection of the new tires. Best wishes.
  • geo9geo9 Member Posts: 735
    ME? It depends.............I would purchase a similar
    tire with the same load range/tread wear rating/size/ply
    etc. that came with the car. For me it would all come
    down to price...............

    Lets face it.......Most tire brands are made by the SAME
    company at the same factories. Most likely you are only
    paying for the name.

    I have put a set of cheapie Pep Boys tires on some of my older cars that were due to be traded soon for less than $200 OTD installed..............
  • bremertongbremertong Member Posts: 436
    My car is also the base model and has the same tires on it.
    When ready I would like to find a more quiet tire with the same handling characteristics. Have found the present tires a little noisy at speeds of over 60 MPH (freeway driving), I don't have a Sams club near but do have both a Walmart and Costco. Please post when you purchase as this will be valuable input when it's time to replace present tires, Thanks.
  • dispencer1dispencer1 Member Posts: 489
    I figure that Cadillac knows more than I do about a tire that is suitable for a particular model. When my Michelins wear down I intend to replace them with the same tire and model unless Michelin doesn't make the Symmetry by that time. Then I'll put on what they consider a replacement for it.
  • 04cad04cad Member Posts: 131
    Well we decided on BF Goodrich tires to replace the Michelin's on our 2004. They are 70,000 mile rated, made by Michelin, include road hazard and free rotation and balance every 6,000 miles and saved over $200.00 buying them at Sam's club. The ride and handling is as good or better (could also be because they are new)and only time will tell about how they wear and handle the snow. We are about to road test them on our vacation to Florida. If we have any issues I will post them when we get home.
  • jlb2jlb2 Member Posts: 18
    Never Walmart or Sams. :sick:
  • bolivarbolivar Member Posts: 2,316
    You said 'Never Walmart or Sams'.

    Why?

    Are you like my MIL, who thinks the billions of dollars of things sold out of Walmart are all 'seconds', things 'quality control' caught on the production line and channels into the distribution systems of Walmart?

    If you are looking at Michelin, Goodyear, Bridgestone, etc, the tires at Walmart are just .... tires.

    Now maybe their workers mounting the tires are a step down from the local Goodyear shop, but how do you really quantify the difference between dumb and dumber? Or maybe it's 'don't give a durn and seldom gives a durn'.
  • imidazol97imidazol97 Member Posts: 27,448
    Agree that tires are the same. I think the worker quality may be better or worse than a local brand tire store. It just depends. You get a sense of how a department is run when you go in a couple different times of day and ask about tires or batteries. Frankly I trust the local, new Superstore more than a brand name store where I bought my Michelins. But I watch what local brand store is doing as far as torque and rotation pattern and all. It's a store chain- not a brand like Firestone or Goodyear store.

    2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,

  • 04cad04cad Member Posts: 131
    The Sam's club tire techs were very professional and put the old tires into plastic bags and into the car for me. I did notice they used the same technique the other tire places I have visited use to tighten the wheels, which I think is wrong. They run the nuts up with an impact wrench one at a time in the cross pattern and then check with the torque wrench. If I am doing them myself I run the nuts up to touch with the cross pattern, then I tighten them with the cross pattern, then I final tighten them with the torque wrench which requires me to move the nut until the torque wrench clicks. The way most tire stores tighten them with the impact can and will occasionally warp the rotors. When they put the torque wrench on and pull it until it clicks (which is almost always immediately) all they are doing is ensuring the impact wrench has at least tightened them to the required torque. They may be overtorqued on some and barely torqued to spec on others. Watch them the next time they do yours, if it clicks almost as soon as they pull on the wrench then the impact has set the torque, not the torque wrench. Sadly, in my experience this is the norm for tire store installations. By the way the Goodrich tires performed fine on the trip to FL and we averaged 27 mpg both ways in all kinds of traffic. Noise seemed to be the same as the original tires, handling and ride were very good also.
  • bremertongbremertong Member Posts: 436
    The one time I bought tires from Walmart
    they over torqued the lug nuts causing rotor damage to a Chrysler LHS. The Chrysler dealership said the damage was likely a result of the over torquing but was not 100 percent provable. On presentation of the letter from the dealership and in discussion with the store manager, Walmart agreed to pay half the cost of the repair. My 2004 Deville now has 32,000 miles on it and am expecting I will need tires in the next year. I probably will either use Costco since there is someone in the tire shop that has been friendly and helpful in the past. Just as likely I will use a local tire shop with a long and good reputation for quality work in my small community. I was having a wheel vibration last year after a tire rotation and the small shop did a good job of resolving with a spin and balance. They also did an alignment earlier in the year with good results. If I use the small shop I expect to pay more but it is important to me that the likelihood of poor workmanship or damage be kept as low as possible.
  • dhs1dhs1 Member Posts: 6
    My Michelin symmetrys wore out after about 45,000 miles and I decided to go "American" and get Goodyear tires. Vacillated between comfort assurance and triple tread but finally went with comfort assurance as they were supposed to be softer and less noisy but still with good traction. Am prepared for winter (a month away) in a sense as the snow and ice is not that bad that I need winter tires. They ride pretty good but were pricey. Will see if they really are better than the Michelins but it may be hard to tell. If you believe Tire Rack reviews, the Goodyear tires I chose are the way to go. (Triple tread and comfort assurance were Number 1 and 2). Maybe go with the triple tread if you have the DTS rather than the DHS which is what I have. I wanted the more comfortable ride albeit the DHS (and base Deville) is a bit on the soft side already.
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    I had Michelin Pilot Mx4's on my 03 DeVille DTS. They lasted until 47k miles. I replaced them a month ago with The Ventus HR II, made by Hankook. Looked at a lot of tires and these had a great warranty, price was very reasonable and came highly recomended by several folks I know driving BMW and Lexus products. The tire is an ultra-low profile radial with a wide footprint for aggressive handling on tight turns and better performance on wet roads. The stylish unidirectional grooves enhance steering stability, rapid drainage, and reduced rolling resistance. I will drive them year-round but in snow I usually leave the Caddy in the garage and drive the SUV. I would imagine for the DHS you would lose a bit of the ride, but for the DTS they seem to do a better job than the OEM tires. :shades:
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    Well its been 13k miles and the Ventus HR II, made by Hankook tires I put on the DeVille DTS last November have been great. Their performance in the snow was fair to good however, highway handling and cornering are awesome. No problems so far, done two rotations all checks out well. :shades:
  • acweckacweck Member Posts: 5
    Greetings all. I am the owner of a 2003 Cadillac DeVille, which I purchased on March 1st, 2007. The car was a lease return which only had approximately 13,000 miles on it at the time I bought it. It now has roughly 17,000 miles and ever since I bought it, it has exhibited a vibration at highway speeds which begins at about 65-68 m.p.h. and continues on from there. Unfortunately, I overlooked this on the test drive; after having the oringinal Michelin Symmetry tires balanced by the dealership four times, I was advised by the same that the only thing that would cure this vibration would be a new set of tires. Less than a week ago now, I dropped over $650 on a new set of Goodyear Assurance ComforTreds and while they do soak up bumps better than the Michelins, the vibration is still there at the same speeds. I took it back to the tire shop and asked them to check it out. The new tires are in balance and the technician involved said that he did indeed feel the vibration, and he stated his feeling that the problem may lie with the front brake rotors. He said that he felt a pulsation in the car when he applied the brakes from Interstate speed, which is what led him to believe that this was the problem. He even switched the tires front-to-rear and vice-versa and noted the same vibration coming from the front end. As many of you may know, replacing brake rotors is no cheap operation and if there is a "pulsation" when braking, it is very slight, so slight that I have to try hard to notice it and I am very sensitive to things like vibrations, squeaks, rattles, and other abnormal and undue automotive noises and phenomena. The technician, whom I am assured is one of the best in my area, also said that he cannot promise me that the front rotors are the source of the vibration, though his expert opinion seems to be that this is the case. He also said that it may be the lower control arms or a transmission bushing, though he noted no abnormal transmission behavior, nor have I since I've had the car. At any rate, and at the risk of attributing human qualities to a machine, I feel that this is highly inappropriate and unacceptable behavior for such a car. Would anyone have any advice or similar experiences with a DeVille of the same generation to offer? I would be very appreciative. Thank you.
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    I can understand your sensitivity to squeaks, rattles and bumps I am the same way. First, the only kind of tire balance that will work well with your car is a Road Force balance. Its a bit more pricey but gets a lot of vibrations out of the wheel. There have been problems with the OEM brakes having a slight pulse when the brakes are warm, there was a TSB about the problem and new OEM brake pads are available to correct the rotor warping. Replacing the rotors on the 03 DeVille not too costly.

    As for the vibration you are feeling, there again were several TSB issued in 03 & 04 about the problem. Something to do with a drive shaft balancing and other fixes. Problem is...not covered under recall. If you still have the original warranty or the extended warranty take it to a Cadillac dealership and they can fix it.

    The 03 DeVilles are great, most of the "bus" from the 00-01 models were worked out by 03. The vibration, SWP Sensor and the CSP Sensors are the only areas that I have had to address.
  • acweckacweck Member Posts: 5
    Thank you, powerflt, for your advice! The technician who noted the pulsation in my brakes did say that it happened when they were warm. Still, as far as I can tell, it's barely there, if at all, so I would say at this point my main concern is getting the cruising-speed vibration fixed.

    It's interesting you should mention road-force balancing because that was what my Cadillac dealer did to my car four times with my old Michelin Symmetrys but to no avail. The Goodyear shop swears that the new tires are in balance; I'm going to have the dealer double-check this but my strong feeling is that it's something other than the tires causing this vibration. I can't imagine it's the brake rotors, especially since the car just rolled over 18,000 miles and even if the rotors were the problem, I would think that I would only get the vibration when I apply the brakes. The vibration happens when I'm going down the highway.

    I've been doing some research on my own into this issue and have come up with some possibilities to go over with the dealer when I go see them on Monday, July 9th. I'll be sure to mention the TSB regarding driveshaft balancing about which you wrote. Thanks again for your input and if you or anyone else has any ideas, I'm all ears.
  • acweckacweck Member Posts: 5
    Well, I took my car to my local Cadillac dealer on July 9th. I finally got it back on the 20th. They looked at the wheels and tires, swapped wheel/tire combos from other DeVilles on the lot, checked out "anything else that might make it vibrate" and finally ended up putting new lower control arms in the front end. The service manager said that there was a TSB on this; he also stipulated that the TSB itself stated that customers may only notice "incremental improvements" in the vibration by replacing the lower control arms. Well, to call the improvement I've seen "incremental" would be rather generous. Bottom line is, I still feel a vibration in the steering wheel - to the degree where I can see my wristwatch shaking on my wrist - and, to some degree, in my legs and backside - and I don't drink caffeine so I know it's not my nerves! During a road trip this past weekend, my front-seat passenger said he didn't feel anything so I guess at least my passengers are comfortable and that is one of the reasons I bought the car. I just can't quite bring myself to beleive that this is normal behavior for a car like this. The service manager said that he has been in a number of other '03 and '04 DeVilles that do the same thing, though, so perhaps it is. I still love my car. I think it's great looking, luxurious and prestigious, and, vain as it is, being seen in it and being able to say I drive a Cadillac makes me feel good. I've considered either trading it off or selling it but to tell the truth, there's really no other car out there I want, at least not one that I can afford. Additionally, I do appreciate all that my dealer has done; the car is out of warranty but not by much and so with GM's blessing, they were able to take care of all the work they did at no cost to me. My salesman even set me up with a loaner at no cost. I am indeed grateful for all that. I suppose now I'll just have to decide whether I want to get used to it and live with it or not. If anyone has any other ideas, suggestions or thoughts, I would welcome them. Thank you.
  • rkmetzrkmetz Member Posts: 4
    hi, i am going through this same thing you are.its august 1st 2007. vibration at 60-70 mph. my next step is to replace one more wheel that is bent.i have a 2002 deville dts. i can only hope that this solves the problem. i put brand new michelins on last week,two new struts( one strut was completly blown) one motor mount, tie rod end etc etc etc. i will not be able to keep this car if i cant get this problem fixed. my last deville was a 1997. that car was a dream to drive.you could not tell the diffrence between 60 mph and 90 mph.well, i will remember its just a car,but it may be just someone elses car soon.
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    Let us know how it goes. I have not been able to lose the vibration, it is slight but still lurking in there. I have not had to do anything with the struds, tie rod ends or rims, they look good. My 03 DTS heads to a new dealer across the river in Iowa next week to see if a fresh perspective will solve the issue.
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    Also, when you visit the dealership tell dealer about TSB 000310007A&E,1312011 and 3249. All deal with the vibration problems you are experiencing. Another option, check your front right wheel hub for wear and raise your tire pressure to 35-38 psi and see if that helps.

    :confuse:
  • 220mech220mech Member Posts: 1
    Hello everyone, I am new to the Cadillac world having just purchased a 2004 Deville DTS. what a great car. I did a lot or research read all the horror stories about the N* but I am still glad I bought the car. I was scaning thru older post's and noticed everyone's concern about oil consumption.
    The reason the N* uses oil is because it is desinged that way. The N* is made to operate at high speeds all day long so the cylinders have an agggressive cross hatch pattern to keep oil on the cyl walls to keep the pistons well lubed. Now if I could just get rid of the vibration at hwy speeds
    All would be well. I'll try some of the things I've read in these posts and see if anything helps. :)
  • rkmetzrkmetz Member Posts: 4
    thanks powerflt. i wrote down the tsb numbers and still have not got my new wheel. im hoping monday it comes and im taking the car to the dealer. i am starting to think my caddy came with a brand new feature,auto massage mode and only i was lucky enough to receive it.
  • powerfltpowerflt Member Posts: 7
    Wow...its been 27k miles and the Ventus HR II tires I put on the DTS last November 06 are starting to show some wear. The rear tires are cusping on the outer edges and the rotations are not doing anything to even out the wear. These are unidirectional tires and can only be rotated front to back same side. Time to have the rear wheels looked at for alignment. Road noise has increased a bit, however, that may be due to me running them at 34 psi for better MPG rather than the 30 psi Cadillac recommends. Over all, very nice tires and great handling on the interstate and secondary road's switchbacks.
  • rkmetzrkmetz Member Posts: 4
    hello mr acweck. i was just wondering if you ever got rid of the vibration in your deville? its august 9th and i am on my way to the dealer who says two of my brand new michelins are bad. so back to the tire shop for two new tires. so basically i still have the same problem. i will keep you posted. rich
  • acweckacweck Member Posts: 5
    Hello rkmetz,

    No, unfortunately, I have never gotten rid of the vibration in my 2003 DeVille. It's a little better (and I emphasize "a little"), as it now kind-of comes and goes. For example, last Saturday - August 4th - I drove to the dealership to see my salesman about driving another DeVille to see if it did the same thing. On the way there, there was virtually no vibration at all. On the way home, however, it vibrated. I've been driving back and forth to work on the interstate lately, as opposed to the two-lane highway I usually take due to less traffic. I was hoping maybe the problem just needed to work itself out and as I said, it is a little better but certainly not "dramatically" so, as the Service Manager at the dealership felt it was. All in all, after over four months and counting, the issue still hasn't been resolved to my satisfaction and something tells me it never will be.

    As a side note, when I drove my car on my lunch hour today I heard sort-of a "thumping" noise from the rear end whenever I would hit bumps or joints in the pavement. So now I suppose something back there is loose... a suspension component... the exhaust pipe/muffler assembly... who knows!? Then there's the creaking/rattling noise coming from the area of the climate control/stereo head units and ashtray. I took it to the dealership for this problem a while back, which they attempted to fix by replacing the bezel over both head units. It seemed to be fixed for a while but now it's back and every time I hit a sharp enough bump it sets off a cacophonous rattle/creak from that area of the dash. (The problem, I think, lies in the stereo head unit because all you have to do is push inward on it and it makes that creaking noise, which I tend to blame on shoddy workmanship and cheap materials. Sorry, I'm getting away from the main topic of discussion, here...)

    Anyway, I drove a 2002 DeVille on August 4th and it vibrated just like my '03 does... a little worse, actually. I now no longer have trouble believing that this vibration is normal behavior for these cars. My salesman said he would get with the Service Manager on the following Monday and contact Cadillac to see if there were any other possible solutions. I'm still waiting to hear back on that one. I won't hold my breath because I may turn blue... (Can you tell I'm just a little exasperated?)

    Up until now I've not really been sure what to think but now I'm starting to think, "just get rid of it". Judging by your previous comment, "it's just a car but it may be just somebody else's car soon", I get the impression you're thinking along the same lines...
  • rkmetzrkmetz Member Posts: 4
    hello mr ackweck, this is so strange, the tire company put two brand brand new tires (michelin energy mxv4) on my car today and as i was driving back home on a completely smooth highway i noticed the vibration coming and going! i am going to contact the local dealer and let him know i still have the problem.soon i will take the car to the next dealer and give them a shot at it. but today i decided to go test drive a 2005 deville from a dealer 30 miles away. this was a certified cadillac with a 6 year,100000 mile warranty.it had 30000 miles on it. we got out on the road and i heard a major clunking noise from under the hood. i quickly turned the car around and parked it. i was shocked to think they would put such a label on this car. i knew my business was done there so i left.but something magical happened, i suddenly felt a whole lot better about my car! so i will keep you posted if i find anything out.
  • acweckacweck Member Posts: 5
    Best of luck to you, rkmetz! I think I've pretty much resigned myself to getting rid of my DeVille. I'm just trying to decide whether to sell it myself or call my salesman and tell him to get me another car... something other than a Cadillac. The dealership where I bought mine also has an import division that sells Mercedes and Volvos, so those might be an option. Again, good luck to you and thank you for sharing your experience.
  • baddealcadbaddealcad Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2001 Deville and the rear driver tire kept getting low. I took it in to have the tires checked and the mechanic said that the tire was fine and the problem was due to rusting of the chrome wheel. He removed the rust and applied a sealant and stated that this should take care of the problem. Has anyone ever heard of that before?
  • bolivarbolivar Member Posts: 2,316
    Yep, 1997 Deville.

    While paying for the tire/wheel work, I asked the owner is they see many of these problems.

    He said "I haven't seen your car, but is it a Cadillac?"

    I said 'yes'.

    He said they are the worse for this happening. The chrome on the bead isn't good, it will litterly flake off all around the tire. I had taken the tire off and put soap on it, and it was leaking all around the inside of the bead.
  • anthony23anthony23 Member Posts: 1
    Okay so i just got my deville and one hubcap isn't on it and i couldn't figure out why till i realized its missing the little part that holds the hubcap onto the axle and i was wondering if anyone knows what this part is called or have a spare one laying around.

    Thanks in advance

    -Anthony
  • bolivarbolivar Member Posts: 2,316
    eBay is your friend.
  • chris2363chris2363 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2004 Cadillac deville that was vibrating and shaking at highway speeds, I had the tires rebalanced, wheel bearings put in, and it ended up being the front strut mounts worn out, had to replace the mounts and struts and get an alignment.
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