IllustrationWHILE STARTING VEHICLE ENGINE WOULD BE MAKING NOISES. HAD VEHICLE SERVICED. TWO-WEEKS LATER, ENGINE CHECK INDICATOR LIGHT FLASHED. ENGINE SHUTDOWN, AND WOULD NOT RESTART. DEALER WAS CONTACTED.*AK
1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Cutlass years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
Limited mileage data: 19 of 123 reports include usable mileage. There isn’t enough coverage to show a useful chart.
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 22 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Service Brakes, Hydraulic. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 15 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
11 crash reports5 fire reports10 injury reports
Unknown Or Other complaints
5 reportsENGINE CHECK LIGHT ON; DIAGNOSTIC RAN - REPORTED BAD AIR PUMP WHICH WAS REPLACED. WITHIN DAYS LIGHT CAME BACK ON. DIAGNOSTIC RAN AGAIN; SAME CODE=BAD AIR PUMP. MECHANIC SAID THE PUMP IS A BAD DESIGN. THE PUMP ALLOWS WATER TO GET INTO PUMP WHICH THEN GETS INTO THE ENGINE CAUSING DAMAGE AND THE LIGHT TO COME ON. $500 LATER - NO RE…
Read full complaint
ENGINE CHECK LIGHT ON; DIAGNOSTIC RAN - REPORTED BAD AIR PUMP WHICH WAS REPLACED. WITHIN DAYS LIGHT CAME BACK ON. DIAGNOSTIC RAN AGAIN; SAME CODE=BAD AIR PUMP. MECHANIC SAID THE PUMP IS A BAD DESIGN. THE PUMP ALLOWS WATER TO GET INTO PUMP WHICH THEN GETS INTO THE ENGINE CAUSING DAMAGE AND THE LIGHT TO COME ON. $500 LATER - NO RESOLUTION; SAME PROBLEM. *AK
ENGIN ECHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON, AND THE DEALER SAID THE AIR PUMP HAD FAILED. EVEN THOUGH MY CAR IS TECHNICALLY OUT OF THE 3 YEAR WARRANTY PERIOD BY A FEW MONTHS, IT HAS NOT REACHED 36,000 MILES YET (3 YRS/36,000 MILE WARRANTY). I AM TRYING TO FIND OUT IF THERE ARE REPORTED PROBLEMS WITH THE AIR PUMP ON THE 1996 CUTLASS.
AT ABOUT 20000 MILES THE ENGINE LOST POWER , HAD A ROUGH IDLE AND THEN ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED TWO INJECTORS. ABOUT 1000 MILES LATER, THE ENGINE DID THE SAME THING AND THE SES LIGHT CAME ON. I TOOK IT BACK TO THE DEALER AND THEY REPLACED THE OTHER FOUR INJECTORS. *AK
RUN CHANNEL FAILED.
Official recalls
0No recalls in this snapshot.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.