1999 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA Complaints

AS I WAS ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK DRIVING ON A CITY STREET AND I CAME TO A STOP I DOWNED MY WINDOWS. I REALIZED A BURNING SMELL. A LITTLE LATER, AS I PULLED UP TO MY HOUSE THE SMELL SEEMED TO HAD GOTTEN WORSE AND I GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND UPPED MY HOOD. THERE HAD SEEM TO BE OIL LEAKAGE BUT I'M NOT SURE IT WAS LATE. I'M NOT A MECHANIC BUT I KIND OF KNOW A BIT. FROM MY INSPECTION I MAY HAVE OIL LEAKING ON A HOT EXHAUST MANIFOLD. THE BURNING SMELL IS NOT THE STRONGEST BUT ITS SENSIBLE. I AM VERY SCARED TO DRIVE MY VEHICLE AND I HOPE FOR IT NOT TO CATCH FIRE. I SERVICE MY VEHICLE FOR REGULAR OIL CHANGES AND THINGS AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE ISSUE. MAY IT BE MY VALVE COVER GASKET? I'M SCARED FOR MY LIFE TO DRIVE MY NIECES TO SCHOOL NOW. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAVE BEEN CATCHING THE CARTA BUS. IT HURTS MY HEART I HAVE THIS PROBLEM WITH SUCH A RELIABLE GM CAR. PLEASE HELP. I'M TERRIFIED IT MAY EVEN CATCH FIRE IN THE DRIVEWAY!

THE VEICHLE WANTS TO FLIP OVER BY ITSELF WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD THE SEAT BELTS ARE TWISTED THE RADIATOR LEAKS HERE AND THERE ALONG WITH THE TRANSMISSION FLUID AND SOMETIMES THE OIL LEAKS

ON OR ABOUT APRIL 17TH, AS I WAS TURNING OF THE MAIN ROAD ONTO MY CUL-DE-SAC, I TAPPED THE BRAKES TO SLOW AND THE PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. I IMMEDIATELY PULLED THE SHIFTER INTO LOW TO SLOW DOWN AND THEN TO NEUTRAL AS I CAME TO MY DRIVEWAY. TURNED INTO THE DRIVEWAY AND APPLIED THE EMERGENCY BRAKE TO COME TO A STOP. UPON EXAMINING THE VEHICLE, I DETERMINED THAT THE BRAKE LINE FOR THE DRIVERS SIDE REAR CALIPER HAD RUSTED OUT AND WAS LEAKING PROFUSELY. THE TIMING WAS VERY FORTUNATE AS I WAS ON A MAIN ROAD BEFORE THE BRAKES WENT OUT AND IF I HAD THE NEED TO COME TO A RAPID STOP A FEW MOMENTS EARLIER, I WOULD HAVE MORE THAN LIKELY BEEN INVOLVED IN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT. I KNOW THIS IS AN OLDER VEHICLE, BUT I SAW A NOTICE THAT THIS SAME ISSUE IS OCCURRING WITH OTHER GM VEHICLES OF THIS AGE AND WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I EXPERIENCED THIS AS WELL. THE CAR HAS BEEN VERY WELL MAINTAINED AND IS A VERY LOW MILEAGE CAR WHICH SHOULD NOT BE SUFFERING FROM BRAKE LINES WHICH RUST THROUGH FROM THE INSIDE OUT. IF YOU DO REQUIRE A RECALL OF THE VEHICLES FOR THIS PURPOSE, PLEASE DON'T LEAVE OLDSMOBILES OUT JUST BECAUSE THE BRAND HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED. THANK YOU *TR

I AM WRITING THIS COMPLAINT BECAUSE I HAVE COME ACROSS SOME ISSUES WITH MY TRANSMISSION AND CRUISE CONTROL. I GOT TO LOOKING INTO IT AND SEEN WHERE THERE WERE SOME RECALLS FOR THE SAME PROBLEMS ON THE SAME YEAR MODEL OF MY VEHICLE. I HAVE CALLED AROUND AND THEY ARE TELLING ME BECAUSE OF MY VIN NUMBER THEY CANT DO ANYTHING, BUT IT IS THE SAME YEAR MODEL AND I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUES. THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT WONT GO OFF, IT WONT SHIFT INTO OVERDRIVE, IT DOESN'T SHIFT RIGHT, IT FEELS LIKE IT SHIFTS INTO NEUTRAL ON ITS ON. SOMETIMES IT FEELS LIKE IT DOESN'T REGISTER IT BEING IN DRIVE WHEN I GO TO TAKE OFF, SEEMS LIKE IT HAS A ROUGH IDLE, AND THE CRUISE CONTROL DOES NOT WORK ANYMORE. I WOULD LIKE SOMETHING TO BE DONE ABOUT THIS BECAUSE I NEED MY VEHICLE FIXED. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FRAME CAUSED THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE TIRE TO FAIL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC WHO ADVISED THAT THE CROSS MEMBER THAT WAS CONNECTED TO THE FRAME, BELOW THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER, HAD RUSTED AND FRACTURED IN HALF. THE MANUFACTURER REQUESTED THAT THE CONTACT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 145,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE FAILED TO STOP WHEN PRESSURE WAS APPLIED TO THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CONTACT SHIFTED THE GEAR SELECTOR INTO NEUTRAL AND THEN INTO THE PARK POSITION TO COMPLETELY STOP THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS PULLED OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND BRAKE FLUID WAS DISPENSED INTO THE RESERVOIR. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE THEY DETECTED A FRACTURED BRAKE LINE. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 97,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A THUMP. HE LOOKED OUT HIS REAR VIEW MIRROR AND NOTICED A TIRE ROLLING DOWN THE STREET IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. HE PULLED TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND DISCOVERED THAT THE CABLE UNDERNEATH HIS VEHICLE, WHICH HOLDS THE SPARE TIRE, FAILED. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 103,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 102,900. UPDATED 07/16/08. *LJ

TRANSMISSION REACTION SUN SHELL FAILURE OCCURRED WHEN ENTERING HIGHWAY AT LEGAL SPEED. AVOIDED ACCIDENT, BUT CONDITION IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND SOMEWHAT COMMON TO ALL GM 4L60E TRANSMISSIONS. DEALER DIAGNOSED FAILURE AND STATED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON FAILURE IN THIS TRANSMISSION DUE TO A DEFECTIVE DESIGN OF THE REACTION SUN SHELL. PART IS IMPROPERLY WELDED/HEAT-TREATED. GM HAS REDESIGNED THE PART AND OFFERS GOODWILL REPAIRS AT THEIR DISCRETION. GM DECIDED THAT MY DEALER-MAINTAINED VEHICLE WAS NOT WORTHY OF A GOODWILL REPAIR?, ALTHOUGH THE SERVICE MANAGER RECOMMENDED TRANSMISSION REPLACEMENT DUE TO THE PRISTINE CONDITION OF MY VEHICLE. COST $2152 TO REPAIR, BUT HOW MANY ACCIDENTS OR DEATHS HAS THIS EVENT CAUSED OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS? I WOULD BELIEVE AT LEAST ONE AND GM HAS ESCAPED THE RECALL THIS PART FAILURE DESERVES. CAR HAS BEEN MAINTAINED BY DEALER IN ACCORDANCE WITH REQUIRED INTERVALS. TRANSMISSION FLUSH IS NOT RECOMMENDED UNTIL 100,000 MILES, BUT THIS VEHICLE HAS HAD FLUID FLUSHES; BY THE DEALER, @ 35K AND 78K. FAILURE OCCURRED 4 MONTHS AFTER SERVICE @ 82K.*JB

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE APPLYING BRAKE PRESSURE AT ANY SPEED, THERE WAS AN INCREASED STOPPING DISTANCE. THE CONTACT INSPECTED THE BRAKES, REPLACED THE BRAKE CALIPERS AND MASTER CYLINDER, BUT THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALERTED.

ON 11 APR 2005, I PURCHASED A 1999 OLDSMOBILE BRAVADA FROM A NH DEALER, WITH APPROX. 74000 MILES ON IT. WITHIN ONE WEEK, THE VEHICLE WAS RETURNED FOR A BAD WATER PUMP, AND DRIVER'S WINDOW SWITCH. DURING THE WEEK OF 21 APRIL, I HAD THE ALTERNATOR REPLACED. THIS VEHICLE HAD A NH STATE INSPECTION STICKER, BUT IT HAS YET TO PASS A MA STATE INSPECTION. THE AIR INJECTION PUMP THAT ASSISTS IN THE AIR/FUEL MIX HAS BEEN UPDATED BY GM, BUT THEIR "UPDATE" ALLOWS THEM TO CALL IT SOMETHING OTHER THAN A RECALL, SO, IT WOULD COST ME AN ADDITIONAL $400-500. FOR THIS "UPDATE". IN SEP OF 2005, I NOTICED A GRADUALLY GROWING NOISE FROM THE FRONT END. I WAS TOLD THE ENTIRE FRONT END WAS WIPED OUT. THE SAFETY ISSUES ALONE WERE EXHAUSTIVE. THE FOLLOWING HAD TO BE REPLACED, AND WERE DONE, TO THE COST OF $1700.: PITMAN ARM / IDLER ARM / UPPER, LOWER BALL JOINTS / CV JOINTS,AXLES,BOOTS/ ENTIRE FRONT HUB ASSEMBLIES / FRONT BRAKES (ROTORS,PADS,CALIPERS) / 4 TIRES CURRENTLY, THE DRIVER'S FRONT DOOR IS SAGGING DUE TO POOR DOOR PINS AND BUSHINGS. MAACO WANTS $1200. TO REPLACE THE HINGES, PINS, AND BUSHINGS, AND REPAIR/REPLACE THE STRIKER PLATE AND SURROUNDING AREA. THE DIRECTIONAL SIGNAL SOUNDS CONSTANTLY EVEN WITHOUT USING THE SIGNAL, AND GOES AWAY WHEN YOU STEP ON THE BRAKE (!?) THE KEY FREQUENTLY GETS STUCK IN THE IGNITION AND WON'T COME OUT. LAST MONTH YET ANOTHER ALTERNATOR HAD TO GO IN AS THE OTHER FAILED. I HAD THIS BACK IN THE SHOP YESTERDAY 01FEB06 FOR A BANGING SOUND COMING FROM THE FRONT END, AND THE TECHNICIAN ADVISED ME THAT HE CALLED GM. THEY CONFIRMED THERE IS A DEFECTIVE FRONT TORSION BAR IN THESE BLAZER-TYPE VEHICLES. THE TECHNICIAN STATED IT WOULD COST ME AROUND $250. IT NEVER ENDS. I AM TRULY EXHAUSTED BOTH MENTALLY AND FINANCIALLY WITH THIS CAR. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ASSISTANCE YOU CAN. THE DEALER WON'T TAKE IT BACK, WILL NOT ASSIST, AND GM DOES NOT WANT ANYTHING TO DO WITH ME. THEY WON'T EVEN TAKE MY CALL. I TRULY FEAR FOR MY AND MY FAMILY'S SAFETY. *JB