1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE Complaints

I RECEIVED A LETTER IN MAY STATING THAT GM WAS RECALLING MY CAR FOR POSSIBLE ENGINE FIRES (RECALL 09047). I CALLED THE NUMBER PROVIDED AND WAS ROUTED TO ONE OF THE LOCAL DEALERS, WHO TOLD ME THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT UNTIL LATE JULY OR AUGUST AND TO CALL BACK FOR AN APPOINTMENT THEN. YESTERDAY, 7/20/09, MY CAR BURNED TO A CRISP. ACCORDING TO THE FIREMEN, IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE THAT STARTED UNDER THE HOOD SOMEWHERE AND IT BURNED SO HOT AND SO FAST THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO SALVAGE IT. THE FIRE ENGINES ARE KEPT LITERALLY A BLOCK AWAY FROM WHERE THE FIRE OCCURRED. THEY RESPONDED WITHIN MINUTES AND STILL THE ENTIRE ENGINE CONTENTS FRIED RIGHT UP. MY CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. TODAY I HAVE SPENT JUST OVER TWO HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH GM CUSTOMER SERVICE, I HAVE HAD TO ESCALATE THE CALLS TWICE AND CALL BACK TO THEM TWICE AND ONCE TO THE LOCAL DEALER AND ALL ANYONE WILL SAY IS THEY WILL CONTACT ME WITHIN 5 BUSINESS DAYS AND TO SAVE THE VEHICLE SO THEY CAN INVESTIGATE IT. I HAVE NOWHERE TO STORE THIS CAR IN IT'S CURRENT STATE. IT IS A MAJOR FIRE HAZARD-ESPECIALLY WITH OUR CURRENT WARM WEATHER/DRY CONDITIONS AND IT'S FULL TANK OF GAS. GM INFORMED ME THAT IF I MAKE THE DECISION TO HAVE IT MOVED TO A JUNK YARD TO TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES BEFORE THAT HAPPENS. I INFORMED THEM THAT I CANNOT KEEP THE VEHICLE HERE, DUE TO IT'S FIRE HAZARD TO THE OTHER RESIDENTS ON MY BLOCK-THEIR HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOMES AND THEIR VEHICLES THAT ARE PARKED IN THE SAME AREA. *TR

CAR REFUSES TO START, LEAVING DRIVER HELPLESS. OCCURS INTERMITTENTLY WITHOUT WARNING (MORE FREQUENTLY OVER TIME). RESEARCH ON INTERNET IDENTIFIES THIS AS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH GM PASSLOCK. ALTHOUGH A COMMON PROBLEM IT IS UNCLEAR WHAT THE PROBLEM REALLY IS - SEEMS THE SOLUTION IS TO HAVE THE SYSTEM REPLACED BY THE DEALER. THIS IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS TO A VULNERABLE PERSON DEPENDENT UPON THE AUTOMOBILE. *TR

I HAD BOUGHT A 98 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE AROUND THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY FROM A PRIVATE OWNER OUT OF THE CLASSIFIEDS. ABOUT 2 WEEKS LATER, THE DAY I GOT INDUCED TO HAVE A CHILD, MY CAR HAD STARTED A FIRE IN THE HOSPITAL PARKING LOT. THEN IN MAY, I GOT A SAFETY RECALL NOTICE IN THE MAIL. I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT EXACTLY I CAN DO TO FIX THIS PROBLEM, WE HAD TO JUNK THE CAR BECAUSE IT WAS NOT FIXABLE. I DO STILL HAVE THE TITLE THOUGH. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE. WHILE DRIVING AT AN UNKNOWN SPEED, THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED ON THE INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY STATED THAT THE UPPER AND LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLDS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CONTACT HAS HAD THE PART REPLACED ON THREE DIFFERENT OCCASIONS, WHICH ORIGINATED WITH THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATING. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 117,000 AND FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 52,363.

I WAS THE SECOND OWNER AND BOUGHT THE CAR IN FEBRUARY 2003. HAD TO REPLACE THE RADIATOR TWICE. KEPT HAVING TROUBLE WITH THE TEMPERATURE SHOWING HIGH. 06 BOUGHT A RADIATOR. SUMMER OF 08 GOING UP ESCONDIDO MTN TRAVELING TO CALIFORNIA... CAUGHT FIRE. HAD TO REPLACE THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD. ENGINE TEMP KEPT READING HIGH AND SERVICE COULD NOT FIND THE REASON WHY. REPLACED RADIATOR AGAIN AND TRAVELING TO NM MAY 2009 THE TEMP KEPT READING HIGH AGAIN AND I HAD TO PULL OVER AND THEN STAY IN SECOND GEAR WITH THE HEATER ON FULL BLAST. FINALLY HAD TO REPLACE THE VEHICLE. THE INTRIGUE WAS A VERY NICE CAR WITH LEATHER SEATS AND DROVE REALLY GOOD WHEN IT WAS WORKING CORRECTLY, BUT SINCE THE ENGINE FIRE I'VE HAD NOTING BUT TROUBLE AND MAINTENANCE REPAIRS. CAN I BE REIMBURSED AT ALL FOR ANY OF THOSE EXPENSES? *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V116000 (ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING). THE CONTACT TOOK HIS VEHICLE TO THE DEALER FOR THE RECALL REPAIR, BUT THE PARTS WERE UNAVAILABLE. WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE BEFORE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED. THERE WERE NO INJURIES. A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 127,873.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE. WHILE DRIVING 3 MPH, THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE UNDER THE HOOD. THE CONTACT STOPPED THE VEHICLE AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH A RAG. HE BURNED HIS FINGERS IN THE PROCESS. HE ALLOWED THE VEHICLE TO COOL DOWN AND NOTICED THAT IT STARTED BACK UP ROUGHLY. HE THEN TAPED THE TWO BURNED SPARK PLUGS. THE CONTACT RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 09V116000. THE DEALER REPAIRED THE SPARK PLUGS. THE MANUFACTURER HAS NOT BEEN NOTIFIED. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE APPROXIMATELY 104,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE. A FEW MINUTES AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED IN THE GARAGE, IT CAUGHT FIRE. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. A REPORT WAS FILED AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES. THE FIRE OCCURRED IN AUGUST OF 2008. THE CONTACT CALLED THE MANUFACTURER AND THEY STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT ASSIST BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS TOO OLD. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000.

I HAVE RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE IN THE MAIL FOR A CAR I OWNED(98 OLDS INTRIGUE). I BOUGHT THE CAR O6..OR 05...I REALLY LIKED THIS CAR .BUT ALL AT ONCE IT STARTED CHUGGING ON MY WAY HOME ONE NIGHT.. I GOT HOME AND JUST LEFT THE CAR SIT. NEXT MORNING I TRIED TO START IT BUT IT WOULD START... I WAS TOLD TO GET A NEW BATTERY...I DID.. THAT WASN'T IT.... I WAS TOLD TO BUY A NEW STARTER... STILL DIDN'T WORK... FINALLY HAD IT TOWED TO LOCAL SHOP.... WHEN HE TRIED TO START IT AND BACKFIRE VERY LOUD AND STARTED ON FIRE... I WAS TOLD.. THE ENGINE WAS NO GOOD... I ENDED UP SELLING THE CAR FOR 600...THAT HURT.... BEING I HAD TO FIND RIDES TO WORK FOR ABOUT A MONTH... I HAD TO BORROW MONEY TO GET A MUCH CHEAPER CAR THAT IM NOT REAL HAPPY WITH BUT HAD NO CHOICE... MUST GET TO WORK. I GUESS IM JUST WONDERING IF THERE IS ANY THING THAT I WOULD BE ENTITLED TO BECAUSE I NOW KNOW IT WAS TO DO WITH A PLASTIC SPARKPLUG WIRE WHEN IT WAS MADE? MY DATES ARE ALL APPROX. *TR

I WAS OUT RUNNING ERRANDS AND RETURNED HOME IN ATL GA. I WAS IN THE HOUSE FOR ABOUT 10-15MINS. AND I HEARD LIKE A SMALL BOOM SOUND I PROCEED TO THE DOOR WHERE I NOTICE WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM MY CAR. I RAN OUTSIDE AND PROCEED TO OPEN THE HOOD WHERE WHEN I DID THE MOTOR WAS FULLY ON FIRE AND RAN AND GRAB THE WATER HOSE AND PUT THE FIRE OUT. I THEN WENT BACK INSIDE AND CALLED OLDS. DEALERSHIP. WHERE THE CHECKED FOR RECALLS AND I THEN EXPLAINED WHAT HAD HAPPEN. THEY INFORMED ME TOO CALLED THE FIRE DEPT. WHO CAME OUT AND MADE SURE FIRE WAS FULLY EXTINGUISHED. *TR