Faults:
Car started to randomly cut off for no apparent reason after the first 1,000 miles into ownership.
Engine also began to hesitate on acceleration.
Spark plugs and wires were replaced twice.
O2 sensor was replaced.
Electronic Control Module (brain) was replaced twice.
Front brake pads were replaced.
Ignition module was replaced two times.
The ignitions coils were replaced.
Power steering system had some work done on it.
Torque lock-up solenoid was replaced on transmission.
Front left fender and driver's door got bent in an accident.
Battery went dead in about 4,500 miles.
Coolant began to leak quite a bit after about six months.
Some cosmetics in the interior began to fall apart.
Belts started squealing a few months into ownership.
Catalytic converter was replaced because it got plugged.
Paint had already started peeling pretty badly.
General Comments:
This 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme was my second car to replace the previous car that I had wrecked. I gave about $1200 for the car, and the previous owner said that the engine and transmission were both rebuilt with low miles on the rebuilt engine and transmission. The previous owners got the car from an auction.
The performance in this car was great. This vehicle was pretty quick for the most part with the Quad 4 engine, and the handling was good as well. Grade: B +
However, this car was plagued by multiple reliability problems. The car was alright during the first thousand miles or so, but after that, it was consistently stalling when slowing down, stopping, just sitting there, or even when pushing the accelerator (as if it was an "OFF" button). It wouldn't start back up half of the time, so I had to walk some distances to telephones and call AAA. None of the mechanics we took the car to could figure out the problem. Most of these things mentioned above that were done to the car were an attempt to solve the problem, but they failed to do so. Also, the car hesitated a lot while driving. Overall, this car, or any other car with the Quad 4 motor for that matter, has a bad reputation when it comes to reliability. Grade: F
This car was pretty comfortable on long drives, though. It was pretty roomy, and I never felt sore after driving for a while. Grade: B
To fix the stalling problem, we only took the car to the dealership twice. They couldn't figure out the problem, either. They replaced some parts that they thought might have been causing it, but the problem still wasn't fixed. However, they didn't really try to clean our wallets, so the dealers were just pretty much average. Grade: C -
This Cutlass hurt us financially. My grandfather, my mother, and I spent over $2,100 trying to replace parts to fix the simple problem with the excessive stalling. This put us into a "car saga". We finally got rid of the car and junked it. Grade: F
Taken as a whole, this car was really bad and is one that I would definitely not suggest driving or owning. However, there were a few saving graces about it such as the performance, acceleration, and comfort, but those are not enough to save the car.
18th Sep 2002, 22:12
You have been an owner of a very good car with one of the worst engines that were ever produced. GM even admitted that 2.3 DOHC was one of the worst engines and that's why they stopped producing them after a year or two. The main problem with them was that those engines were too powerful for the transmission and they liked to blow a head gaskets even at 30k miles. It is almost impossible to see a 2.3 DOHC from those years on the road because they didn't make it that far, unlike Oldsmobiles with FI 2.8, 3.1, 3.4 DOHC, and 3100 engines are very good and reliable except for the 3.4 DOHC that has some problems, but over all it's a pretty good engine. It's a shame that you junked the car, but that's the way of life even for a car.