Few cars in the world can ever claim to have the same luxury, class, and character as the Cadillac Eldorado. The car and the brand formed around it has endured for five long decades already, and still remains as popular as ever. Even the older models in the lineup remain collectors' pieces and talking points-long after they stopped actually rolling off the production lines. Any automobile would never endure the test of time if it were not well-built and reliable-and the Eldorado is certainly those things and more. Still, no car is ever perfect, and we compiled the two most common complaints so you are well-armed and well-informed.

Brake antilock control module failure

This problem-relatively rare and seemingly isolated in nature-was observed to affect the 1997 iteration of the Cadillac Eldorado specifically. It actually isn't too dangerous a failure as it does not actually adversely affect the brakes' functionality. In fact, a majority of the time, the problem was only discovered after routine maintenance checks. At its "worst", the failure caused the ABS braking light to appear on the dashboard until the car was turned off-again with no actual adverse effect on braking.

As isolated as this incident is, it never was covered by a recall order. However, if you are so afflicted, the only real solution is to replace the control module for your ABS. There hasn't been a case where not replacing it has caused any accidents, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Leaking rear oil seal

Even rarer than the preceding problem is this breakdown of the rear oil seal in the (slightly) older 1994 version of the Cadillac Eldorado. In all cases, this manifests as a continuous and nasty leak of oil around the seal's area and the floor beneath it. Reports indicate that this has never caused any serious or life-threatening incidents, but is costly in terms of the amounts of oil that is lost due to the fault in the seal.

Again, no recall orders cover this problem as it only requires a "simple" replacement or reinforcement of the seal. It has to be noted, however, that lifting the engine to get to the seal is labor-intensive and rather costly.

Many tag the origins of the Cadillac Eldorado to the Eldorado Country Club in Indian Wells, California-a favorite haunt of General Motors executives. However, that club wasn't opened until 1957-a full five years after the Cadillac Eldorado came out. The name, in fact, comes from a winning entry in an in-house competition. So the classic car owes its legendary name to one Mary-Ann Marini, a secretary in General Motors' merchandising department.

In 2007, a team calling itself We Ain't Stupid heavily modified a 1972 Cadillac Eldorado in an attempt to break the Art Car World Land Speed Record. They were successful in setting the new record at 125mph. In 2010, they did it again with exactly the same car and reset the record to 146mph. That record remains unbroken to this day.

The Cadillac Eldorado's 50^th year in active service, 2002, was announced by GM to be the last. In order to send off the amazingly successful luxury car with a bang, only 1,596 were made and sold in batches of 532-to mark the first year of production. These cars were in both red and white to match the colors of the 1953 Cadillac Eldorado-the original that started it all. The very last Eldorado was delivered to the Cadillac museum in honor of Don Massey who owned the largest Cadillac dealership in the United States.

Being a car of great renown and unparalleled luxury, the Cadillac Eldorado has been featured in over hundreds of movies over the long years. Most of the time it was cast as the ride for stereotypical rich, Southern robber barons as it was in The Dukes of Hazzard. Other famous appearances include roles in the 1995 hit Casino and 1990's Havana. It wasn't limited to American-made movies, however; the Eldorado has also appeared in Italian and Spanish movies.

The year 1976 was a dark year for American convertibles, and so the Cadillac Eldorado convertible was touted by GM as being "the last American convertible". The last 200 of this production run were sold as "Bicentennial editions" to celebrate the 200^th birthday of the United States of America. The funny thing about this whole affair was that GM eventually reintroduced convertibles in 1983!

Though the Cadillac Eldorado was sold as a luxury ride, it was not until 1976 that it got its own unique luxury package to provide it with an elite title change. That package was the Biarritz-named after a classy French seaside town-and came with sun/astroroofs.

The Cadillac Eldorado is considered by many as one of the best-selling personal luxury cars in the history of the automobile industry. Spanning generations of innovations, this vehicle proved that luxury does not only equate to price-it means performance, too. However, even though the Eldorado was built to last, car owners may still encounter several problems with this vehicle. Read on to know the common hiccups that people may chance upon in case they want to purchase or they own an Eldorado.

Overheating

One problem that plagues the Cadillac Eldorado, particularly the eleventh generation, is overheating. Although this generation has been hailed because of its excellent performance, its engine-the Northstar-tends to heat up easily due to its all-aluminum engine block. To solve this, a car owner must inspect the vehicle for coolant leaks regularly. Another solution is to check the thermostat for damages. If the thermostat is not opening, then it has to be replaced immediately so that coolant will flow through the radiator. However, if these parts are not the ones causing the engine to overheat, then consulting a mechanic is the best solution.

Stalling

Another common problem that car owners may encounter with the Eldorado is stalling. According to a website, this problem is at the top of the list especially when it comes to 1995 models. Usually, the culprits behind this problem is the fuel pump and gas tank. Due to every day use and exposure to corrosion-causing elements, these parts eventually get damaged, therefore compromising the internal combustion process.

To prevent stalling, the gas tank, fuel pump, and other Cadillac Eldorado accessories should be inspected regularly. Also, if they are showing signs of deterioration, they must be changed ASAP.

Hard shifting

Hard shifting can be very difficult to diagnose especially because Cadillac Eldorados, especially those manufactured in the mid-1990s, have onboard computers that maintain transmission performance through a backup program. Although most car owners say that the only way to solve this is to bring the vehicle to a Cadillac dealer, checking the transmission solenoid for damages is also a good idea. Sometimes, due to excessive shifting and daily use, these solenoids malfunction. Thus, they must be replaced immediately.