FaultScore report
Owners have filed 10 complaints about the 1985 Oldsmobile 98 with NHTSA between 1995 and 2002. The largest single group is the steering.
10
Complaints
1
Crashes reported
1
Fires reported
1
Injuries reported
Click any bar to open that year's report.
Every complaint is filed against a part. Follow any row for the complaints about that part alone.
1 crashes, 0 fires
0 crashes, 1 fires
A spike years after the car went on sale usually means a part wearing out on schedule across the whole fleet — the kind of pattern no single owner can see from inside their own car.
An investigation is the step before a recall: the agency has seen enough complaints to look into a pattern itself. An open one means it thinks something may be wrong and nothing has been fixed yet.
THROTTLE NON-RETURN
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
STATUS:ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER IS IN PROGRESS.HOWEVER, NEITHER NHTSA OF GM HAS IDENTIFIED A FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION THATCOULD RESULT IN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.SOME VEHICLES IN THIS GROUP WEREFOUND POTENTIALLY SUBJECT TO THROTTLE CABLE RESTRICTIONS, AND WERERECALLED ALONG WITH H CARS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS.INVESTIGATION ISCONTINUING.===
HYDRO BOOST
HYDROBOOST FAILURE
SUBJECT VEHICLES:CAPRICE, CAPRICE CLASSIC, CUSTOM CRUISER, DEVILLE,ELECTRA, ESTATE WAGON, FLEETWOOD, LESABRE, NINETY-EIGHT, PARISIENNE,PARK AVENUE.(ALL 1984-86 GM VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HYDROBOOST II SYSTEMS)ANALYSIS:CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGE SEVERAL PROBLEMS INVOLVING THE POWERSTEERING AND POWER BRAKE SYSTEMS OF THESE VEHICLES.THESE PROBLEMSINCLUDE: POWER STEERING FLUID LOSS, POWER BRAKE FLUID LOSS, LEAKAGE FROMTHE HYDRO-BOOST II POWER BRAKE BOOSTER, BROKEN BOOSTER SEALS, AND MASTERCYLINDER FAILURE.ALL PROBLEMS SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE HYDRO-BOOST IIPOWER ASSIST SYSTEM, IN WHICH THE WORKING...
WINDSHIELD WIPERS
SUMMARY:GM BELIEVES THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN CORRECTED THROUGH ITS PUBLI-CATION OF 7 SERVICE BULLETINS CONCERNING THIS MATTER. IN ADDITION, GMDOES NOT BELIEVE WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE REPRESENTS A SAFETY HAZARD.ANALYSIS: THREE FAILURE MODES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED; INSULATING FILM MAYBUILD UP BETWEEN THE BRUSH FACE AND THE COMMUTATOR OF THE WIPER MOTOR,CORROSION MAY FORM IN THE WIPER MOTOR BRUSH AND DISENGAGEMENT OF THEWIPER ARMS MAY OCCUR. IN VIEW OF THE EXISTING LEGAL PRECEDENT, THE LARGENUMBER OF WARRANTY CLAIMS CONCERNING WIPER MOTOR FAILURES (114,000) ANDTHE HIGH WIPER MOTOR AND MOTOR KIT PART S...
Reports where the owner recorded a crash, a fire, an injury or a death.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER THEN PULLED OVER AND LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE AND DISCOVERED A SMALL FIRE AND THE DRIVETRAIN AXLE WAS ON THE GROUND, THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED, CONSUMER STATES HE WAS INJURED.
NHTSA complaint #567694 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
ENGAGE IN REVERSE, VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL, RESULTING IN TOTALLED VEHICLE. TT
NHTSA complaint #967728 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
In the owners' own words, exactly as filed with NHTSA.
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER THEN PULLED OVER AND LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE AND DISCOVERED A SMALL FIRE AND THE DRIVETRAIN AXLE WAS ON THE GROUND, THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED, CONSUMER STATES HE WAS INJURED.
NHTSA complaint #567694 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE.
NHTSA complaint #706339 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING:RACK AND PINION
WHEN STEERING IS COLD IT IS HARD TO TURN, IN THE SUMMER TIME IT WORKS WELL. DESCRIBE .
NHTSA complaint #804965 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
'COLD POWER STEERING'.
NHTSA complaint #485755 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
SEAT BELT RETRACTOR; FAILURE ON THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR, SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT.
NHTSA complaint #980388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
SEAT BELT RETRACTOR; FAILURE ON THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR, SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT.
NHTSA complaint #980388 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR
THE STEERING WHEEL AND COLUMN LOCKS UP CAUSED CONSUMER TO HAVE A NEAR ACCIDENT. TT
NHTSA complaint #977993 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
THE STEERING IS HARD TO TURN THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS CAR . TT CONSUMER UNTIL THE VEHICLE HEATS UP THE STEERING IS EXTREMLY DIFFICULT, CONSUMER ASSUMED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL DUE TO THE VEHICLE BEING NEW.
NHTSA complaint #974699 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
ENGAGE IN REVERSE, VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL, RESULTING IN TOTALLED VEHICLE. TT
NHTSA complaint #967728 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
CRUISE CONTROL FAILURE. TT
NHTSA complaint #962339 — an unverified report by a vehicle owner.