1998 OLDSMOBILE 88 Complaints

WHILE DRIVING CRUISE CONTROL ENGAGED. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK

CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER BECAUSE THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. AFTER HAVING A DIANOSTIC TEST DONE REPAIRS WERES DONE TO RECTIFY THE PROBLEM. MECHANIC TOLD THE CONSUMER THAT A RECALL WAS ISSUED. *AK

WHILE DRIVING 55 MPH VEHICLE STALLED. CONSUMER RESTARTED THE VEHICLE, AND DROVE IT HOME. CONSUMER WILL CONTACT THE DEALER IN THE NEAR FUTURE. *AK

I PURCHASED A 1998 OLDSMOBILE 88 IN MARCH OF 2003, I PUT NEW WIRING ON THE VEHICLE APPROXIMATELY IN DECEMBER AFTER I HAD THE VEHICLE CHECKED BECAUSE THE CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. THE CHECK-ENGINE LIGHT STARTED COMING ON AGAIN AND THE CAR WAS USING ALL THE WATER ABOUT EVERY 10 MILES, I TOOK THE CAR TO A REPAIR SHOP WHERE THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM WITH THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. AFTER LEAVING THE REPAIR SHOP, I STOPPED BY A STORE AND WAS INSIDE ABOUT FIVE MINUTES AND THE CAR WOULDN'T START RIGHT AWAY, I HAD TO TRY STARTING NUMEROUS TIMES BEFORE IT WOULD START. ON MY WAY BACK HOME THE CAR SLOWED TO ABOUT 40 MPH AND WOULDN'T GO ANY FASTER, EVEN WITH THE GAS TO THE FLOOR; IT WOULD ONLY GET SLOWER. AFTER GETTING BACK HOME, THE CAR WOULDN'T CRANK BACK UP AT ALL; IT WOULDN'T EVEN TURN OVER. I BOUGHT THE CAR BACK HOME THAT SAME DAY AND CHECKED THE INTERNET FOR ANY RECALLS ON THE VEHICLE AND NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A RECALL IN FEBRUARY 2004. *NM

IN OCTOBER OF 2003, MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ON MY OLDSMOBILE 88LS, 3.8 SERIES TWO ENGINE, CAME ON. THE CAR HAD A LOSS OF POWER AND STARTED RUNNING ROUGH. BEFORE I GOT THE CAR STOPPED THE ENGINE QUIT. I LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD TO SEE WATER RUNNING OUT OF THE GASKETS. I CHECKED THE RADIATOR TO FIND NO WATER AND ALSO NOTICED THE OVERFLOW TANK HAD NONE. I PULLED THE DIPSTICK TO FIND ALL THE REMAINING WATER TO BE IN THE OIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED UNDER AND EXTENDED WARRANTY TO THE DEALER OF WHICH IT WAS PUCHASED TO FIND THAT THE UPPER INTAKE HAD EITHER CRACKED OR BURST. THE DEALER REFERED TO THE DAMAGED PART AS A PLENTIUM. THIS OCCURED AT 89,000 MILES. THE DEALER REPLACED THE DAMAGED PART AND PUT THE ENGINE BACK TOGETHER. THE DEALER ADVISED ME TO KEEP A WATCH ON THE CAR TO SEE IF ANY CHANGES DEVELOP. AT THE FIRST THREE THOUSAND MILE OIL CHANGE THE VEHICLE HAD LOST OIL AND I ALSO ADDED WATER TO THE RADIATOR. THE VEHICLE WAS ALSO BACK TO THE DEALER BEFORE THE OIL CHANGE FOR LOSS OF GAS MILEAGE AND A FEW OTHER CONCERNS. WHEN I ARRIVED AT THE DEALER FOR THE OIL CHANGE THEY PRESSURE TESTED THE ENGINE AND ASKED THAT I LEAVE THE VEHICLE FOR THEM TO CHECK OUT A DETECTED PROBLEM DURING THE PRESSURE TEST. THE REPAIRS DONE DURING THIS TIME INVOLVED THE GASKETS AGAIN, AND ALSO THE HEADS WHERE WARPED AND THEY REPAIRED THEM. AT 106,000 MILES THE DEALER REQUESTED THAT I REPLACE THE ENGINE. THE DEALER TESTED THE ENGINE AGAIN TO DETERMINE AN INTERNAL COOLANT LEAK. NOW THE CAR HAS A LOSS OF WATER AND ALSO HAS STARTED TO BURN SOME OIL. THERE ARE NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS SAME PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE AND SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE. THIS PARTICULAR ENGINE IS IN ALL OLDSMOBILE, BUICK, PONTIAC, AND CHEVROLET MADE VEHICLES. ALL THE OWNERS OF THESE VEHICLES NEED SOME ASSISTANCE.

CAR OVERHEATED WITHOUT ANY VISIBLE SIGNS OF THIS BUT THE RED AREA OF THE GAUGE THEN THE CHECK ENG LIGHT CAME ON. PULLED TO SIDE OF THE ROAD, CHECKED IT GOT IT COOLED DOWN, THEN PROCEEDED TO THE VERY NEXT RD TO GAS STATION FOR BETTER VIEW OF WHAT WAS GOING ON. GOT TO IT VERY QUICKLY AND THE TEMP WAS BACK UP. STOPPED LET IT COOL AND ADDED WATER TO THE NOW EMPTY RESOVAIR THAT WAS FULL WHEN WE STARTED THE TRIP. AND NO SIGNS OF LEAKAGE AND NO BOILING OVER, LET IT COOL. ADDED WATER. THEN TRIED TO CRANK IT UP, IT WOULD NOT. HAD TO HAVE IT TOWED TO DEALER, THOUGHT ENG HAD LOCKED UP. WAS TOLD THEIR WAS A FEATURE TO THIS CAR THAT SHUTS DOWN THE ENG WHEN A LEAK LIKE THIS OCCURS. WONDERING HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE TAKEN BECAUSE THEY THOUGHT THE ENG WAS GONE......AND IT WAS NOT. BUT IT SOMEHOW DAMAGED THE STARTER WHEN ALL THIS HAPPENED. I HAD A MECHANIC CHECK OUT THE CAR BEFORE WE LEFT ON THIS TRIP, HAD THE OIL CHANGED AND EVERYTHING. BUT SOMETHING WENT WRONG WHEN THE LEAK, AND RUNNING HOT OCCURED. NOT SURE HOW IT MESSED UP THE STARTER. BUT ALSO KNOW SINCE IT SHUTS THE ENG DOWN, LOCKS IT UP, HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE HAVING TO GET A NEW ENG CAUSE THEIR PERSON DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS FEATURE AS WELL. *AK

CONSUMER HEARD AN EXPLOSION WHEN SHE TURNED ON THE IGNITION AND A SMALL FIRE UNDER HOOD MELTED SOME PARTS. *PH SMOKE WAS SEEN COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THE VEHICLE HAS HAD ALL MAINTENANCE REGULARLY AT THE DEALER ONLY. THE CONSUMER WAS NOT AWARE OF THE CAUSE. *SC *JB

1998 OLDS LSS WITH 79,000 MILES. ENGINE STALLED WHILE DRIVING TO WORK. DEALER DIAGNOSIS REVEALED THAT MOST OF THE COOLANT HAD ENTERED THE ENGINE THROUGH A CRACKED INTAKE MANIFOLD. STALL CONDITION WAS DUE TO COLLANT IN THE CYLINDERS. DEALER CITED THE PROBLEM AS STRESS CRACKING. INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED. A SECOND, INTERMITTANT PROBLEM IS THAT THE ENGINE WILL SHUT OFF DURING NORMAL DRIVING. IT RESTARTS FINE. THIS HAPPENS APPROXIMATELY 1-2 TIMES PER WEEK AND STARTED ABOUT 6 MONTHS AGO. THERE ARE NO DIAGNOSTICS CODES SET AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME FOR CERTAIN WHAT CAUSES THIS. I DID CHANGE THE FUEL FILTER, BUT THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *AK

WHILE DRIVING LESS THAN 35 MPH, THE CONSUMER NOTICED THE VEHICLE DID NOT GAIN ANY SPEED, FOLLOWED BY THE ENGINE LOSING POWER. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A TECHNICIAN WHO THEN INFORMED THE CONSUMER THAT THE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE PROVIDE DETAILS. *JB

MY 1998 OLDS 88 BACKFIRED UPON STARTING AND BLEW UP THE PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE FORCE OF THE EXPLOSION DESTROYED THE ENGINE COVER AND THE FUEL RAIL. THE ENGINE IS THE 3800 V6. THE VEHICLE HAS 21,000 MILES BUT WAS OLDER THAN 3YRS, THUS IT WAS OUT OF WARRANTY. BECAUSE GM WOULD NOT OFFER ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR THE REPAIR, I HAD IT REPAIRED MYSELF. THE EXPLOSION WAS CAUSED BY A LEAKING FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR THAT VENTED BACK THE INTAKE MANIFOLD THRU A VACUUM LINE. THIS SITUATION LOOKS TO BE EXACTLY LIKE A RECALL ON VERY SIMILAR BUICK CARS. IT WAS NHTSA RECALL # 03V473000 ON NOV 12TH 2003. I BELIEVE THE RECALL SHOULD BE EXTENDED TO COVER VEHICLES LIKE MINE.