Saab 9-5 vs Oldsmobile Intrigue

Both cars' complete complaint records, side by side.

Read the totals carefully. NHTSA publishes no sales figures, so the car that sold more collects more complaints regardless of quality. The rows worth weighing are the proportions — the share of complaints that involved harm, and which part dominates.

Measure	Saab 9-5	Oldsmobile Intrigue
Complaints on file	662	1,598
Model years covered	1998–2011	1996–2002
Worst model year	2001	1998
Best model year	2011	2002
Crashes reported	13	76
Fires reported	23	65
Injuries reported	10	43
Deaths reported	0	4
Most complained-about part	Electrical System	Steering
Share of complaints involving harm	6.9%	11.8%

Saab 9-5 by year

1 157 121 113 74 69 30 15 29 17 21 2 2 11

98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Electrical System 306 46.2%

Engine & Cooling 76 11.5%

Airbags 61 9.2%

Fuel & Propulsion 52 7.9%

Brakes 36 5.4%

Transmission & Drivetrain 16 2.4%

Lights 13 2.0%

Tires 13 2.0%

Oldsmobile Intrigue by year

1 1 665 371 296 173 91

96 97 98 99 00 01 02

Complaints filed with NHTSA, by model year. Bar colour is the FaultScore grade: A B C D F ungraded

What breaks

Steering 295 18.5%

Electrical System 267 16.7%

Engine & Cooling 233 14.6%

Lights 162 10.1%

Brakes 138 8.6%

Windows, Mirrors & Wipers 77 4.8%

Seat Belts 68 4.3%

Transmission & Drivetrain 66 4.1%