Service suspension warning message

[flyer898]

Hello everyone. I am the new owner of a 2001 Seville STS and it is my first Cadillac. The service suspension system warning is on in the driver information display. Before I take the car to the dealer I would like to know as much as I can about what this means The car has 100,000 miles and I cannot discern any fault in the way it rides, drives, or operates.

That brings me to my second question. What is the best service manual to get and from whom? I usually get a factory manual for any car I own. My owner's manual lists a factory manual at $150. My thrifty nature makes it difficult to pay this much. Any suggestions are welcome.

Next I wonder what oil and what weight people find best for the Northstar engine. I used 15w-50 Mobil 1 in my Corvette and it worked well. No decrease in mileage with the heavier oil. My thought is to use Mobil 1 10w-40 in consideration of the engine's mileage. The oil cap calls for 5w-30 and no mention of synthetic. Temps where I live have been running in the 20's to 30's overnight. Summertime temps run in the 90s to low hundreds.

Any experiences or insights are welcome. I was a technician once, but those days are long in my past.

[cadi509]

Ok shop manuals are on ebay all day long for reasonable prices, and don't use synthetic it'll be a waste of your money and oil measures the first number like 10w as in winter not weight so that's the temp your oil can handle ok at the second is weight so 10w-30 would be fine, were I live the highs are like 15 right now and 105 in the summer. your northstar will burn oil no matter what, read up on the Wide Open Throttle procedures in northstar oil usage section at the bottom of this link jushttp://caddyinfo.com/dtc_1999.htm hope this helps

[JimD]

....I am the new owner of a 2001 Seville STS and it is my first Cadillac. The service suspension system warning is on in the driver information display.

The DIC messages are displayed because of related Diagonostic Trouble Codes (commonly identified as DTC or "codes).

Here is how to display your codes on the DIC:

http://www.caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html

You will be most concerned about "C" codes for your SERVICE SUSPENSION SYSTEM message. Report the "C" codes here and more guidance will be provided.

That brings me to my second question. What is the best service manual to get and from whom? I usually get a factory manual for any car I own. My owner's manual lists a factory manual at $150. My thrifty nature makes it difficult to pay this much. Any suggestions are welcome.

eBay is your friend. But be sure to wait for a 2001 model/year Seville manual set before you purchase. Many small differences (and some major differences) were incorporated between 1998 and 2004.

....My thought is to use Mobil 1 10w-40 in consideration of the engine's mileage. The oil cap calls for 5w-30 and no mention of synthetic.

The is no advantage to using synthetic oil in your application. Mineral (dinosaur) oil will do the job just fine. And 5W-30 is what GM/Cadillac filled the engine with at the factory.