1997 Oldsmobile 88

FOR SEVERAL MONTHS WE WERE NOTICING LEAKS FROM THE CAR ON THE DRIVEWAY. WE KNEW FROM TOUCHING IT WAS NOT OIL. THE CAR STARTED TO HESITATE AT TIMES AND FEEL LIKE IT WAS GOING TO STALL OUT. EVENTUALLY IT DID STALL OUT AND CONTINUED TO DO SO, IT ALWAYS STARTED RIGHT UP THOUGH, SO WE KNEW IT WASN'T THE BATTERY. THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON WHEN IT STALLED. WE BROUGHT IT TO THE SHOP AND THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC AND FOUND REPAIR CODES P0300 AND P0135, WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO COME ON RESULTING IN RANDOM MISFIRE AND 02 SENSOR HEATER CIRCUIT MALFUNCTION. FOLLOWED DIAGNOSTIC TROUBLESHOOTING FLOWCHART AND FOUND FAULTY 02 SENSOR AND COOLANT INSIDE CYLINDER#4. UPON DISASSEMBLY OF INTAKE MANIFOLD TO INSPECT SYSTEM, FOUND INTAKE MANIFOLD CRACKED. REMOVED AND REPLACED INTAKE MANIFOLD ASSEMBLY, FRONT 02 SENSOR ASSEMBLY AND SPARK PLUGS WITH ALL NEW OEM PARTS. REFILLED COOLANT AND BLEED SYSTEM. RECHECKED OPERATION, CLEARED CODES. AFTER FURTHER RESEARCH WE FOUND THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS CAR AND PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED BY GM. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1997 OLDSMOBILE LSS. THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD EXPLOSION UNDER THE HOOD OF THE VEHICLE IMMEDIATELY AFTER IT WAS STARTED. AS HE OPENED THE HOOD, HE NOTICED A FIRE IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. HE USED A FIRE EXTINGUISHER TO PUT THE FIRE OUT. THE AIR INTAKE AND DEVICE ON THE ENGINE COVER WERE DESTROYED AS A RESULT OF THE FIRE. THE MANUFACTURER ADVISED THE CONTACT THAT A PRODUCT ALLEGATION REPRESENTATIVE WOULD NOTIFY HIM. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 90,000.

MY 1997 CHEVROLET LUMINA, 1997 OLDSMOBILE AND 1998 OLDSMOBILE ALL HAVE HAD BRAKE LINES FAIL DUE TO CORROSION IN THE LAST TWO YEARS. THE MOST RECENT FAILURE ALMOST RESULTED IN AN ACCIDENT AS THE BRAKES FAILED DURING A PANIC STOP TO AVOID A COLLISION. ALL VEHICLES HAD STEEL BRAKE LINES REPLACED TO CORRECT THE FAILURE. I TEND TO KEEP MY CARS UNTIL THEY ARE TEN PLUS YEARS OLD. THE MAJORITY OF MY CARS HAVE HAD BRAKES FAIL DUE TO CORROSION OF THE TUBING. I WAS WONDERING WHY STAINLESS STEEL TUBING IS NOT REQUIRED ON BRAKE LINES? *TR

WE HAVE HAD TO REPLACE THE (PLASTIC) MANIFOLD ON OUR 1997 OLDS 88 THREE TIMES IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A MANUFACTURER DEFECT, YET NO RECALL HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS CAR (WHILE RECALLS HAVE BEEN ISSUE FOR SIMILAR DEFECTS ON SIMILAR CARS). WE HAVE SPENT OVER $2000 GETTING THIS PROBLEM FIXED AND THAT STILL DOESN'T FIX THE COOLANT IN THE ENGINE WHICH CANNOT BE ENTIRELY CLEARED OUT WITHOUT REMOVING THE ENGINE AND INCURRING OTHER POSSIBLE PROBLEMS. *TR

ON FEBRUARY 25, 2004 MY GRANDPARENTS PURCHASED A 1997 OLDSMOBILE LSS FROM NORTH LAKE FORD IN LAKEPORT CALIFORNIA. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE PURCHASE THE VEHICLE DEVELOPED AN INTERMITTENT STALL, AND WOULD NOT RESTART FOR SEVERAL MINUTES. IN FACT THE VEHICLE STALLS WITH NO WARNING AND THEY WERE NEARLY RAN OVER BY A SEMI TRUCK WHEN THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE HAS BEEN IN TO HAVE THE PROBLEM REPAIRED FOUR TIMES, AND IT STILL STALLS TO THIS DAY. PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS PROBLEM TO PREVENT A CATASTROPHE.*AK