2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 4.0 DOHC V8 from North America

Summary:

Excellent, 21st century, high performance, luxury sports sedan!

Faults:

In the almost 12 years since I bought this Aurora new, less than a half dozen things have gone wrong, all of them minor.

Examples: leaking high pressure A/C line, bad crankshaft position sensors.

General Comments:

I have been driving since 1960. In that time, I've owned 8 cars & have gotten to drive maybe at least 100 others.

This 2001 Aurora 4.0 is the best of that bunch.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th September, 2012

2001 Oldsmobile Aurora Fully loaded 4.0 Northstar from North America

Summary:

Best looking and driving car I have ever owned... luxurious and sporty

Faults:

Wheel bearing, water pump, radiator hose - 240k.

Check engine light - replaced gas cap - 240k.

Brakes at usual intervals.

Heater blower motor at 240k.

General Comments:

Bought the car from my ex fiancee's dad for $750 with 241k miles. He had serviced the car since brand new at recommended intervals. He sold it to me for $750, because he thought it had a bad head gasket. Picked it up in East Lansing, and all it needed was a radiator hose, a water pump, 2 gallons of antifreeze, and to bleed the coolant system!

The car looks real sharp and drives like brand new! Has nice 18" rims too. Exterior and interior is immaculate.

I am now officially a member of the NORTH AMERICAN OLDSMOBILE AURORA OWNERS CLUB, woot woot.

I LOVE MY 2001 AURORA. Best car I ever owned, the 250 horsepower Northstar V8 purrs like a kitten and runs like a scared rabbit. The suspension with front wheel drive handles like a sports car (better than Lexus, Cadillacs and Lincolns that I have owned).

The exterior looks great, and the interior is both luxurious and comfortable. It's classy and sporty. It's the cross between a Pontiac Trans Am and a Cadillac DTS. It's the 30 year old man's Trans Am, and really fits me right now. I LOVE IT. PROUD TO OWN IT, AND TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CLUB!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd January, 2012

23rd Jan 2012, 11:25

I have owned a 2001 Aurora 4.0 for more than 11 years. I bought it new. I agree with you 150%!!!

27th Mar 2015, 16:38

I just bought my first Aurora 2 days ago... and, I love it :-) It is a 2001 with 152,000 miles on it. Near spotless inside and out...

2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 3.5L from North America

Summary:

Ambitious, unique, poorly-marketed American car that is almost a great car

Faults:

Common vibration problems originating from front end. Blown secondary dash illumination light.

General Comments:

Not a perfect car, but some very solid construction (big brakes, forged suspension, aluminum hood, trunk). Depreciation makes it an excellent buy if you are looking at a used one.

The big surprise however is the gas mileage: 32-35 MPG on highway and 25+ city is common. Better gas mileage than my 4 cylinder car (Galant), and 215 HP to boot!

Nice interior, especially for an American car. Fit and finish is outstanding on the exterior.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 12th October, 2008

20th Oct 2008, 21:23

GM didn't know a good thing when they saw it!

Go to http://aurorah.proboards.com/, the Aurora Club of North America, for information & discussion about the Aurora.

2001 Oldsmobile Aurora 3.5 from North America

Summary:

Great car, even my kids want to drive it over their own cars

Faults:

Four sensors went out at the same time.

General Comments:

Very easy to handle, very forgiving. Great on long distance travels. Engine is easy to work on.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 22nd February, 2008

2001 Oldsmobile Aurora Onstar V8 4.0 V8 gasoline from North America

Summary:

It is a great car, and I feel lucky in several ways to have become its owner

Faults:

It took a week or so for my spouse and I to find out that the right front door has a knob on it that will capture air conditioning and or heat for her... I can't believe that 2001 is the first year that feature was put on a GM Car... This Aurora is the first GM-Car I have ever owned and I have heard all of the horror stories about things happening... This car is apparently the exception...

The right rear door window stopped staying closed... got it fixed for a small price (don't remember) but the dealership left the automatic door-lock on that door non-functional. They know, and will fix it... I just haven't been in town long enough for them to do so. It is a great car. I feel fortunate in several ways to have become its owner... I have tried to treat it right, and I believe that the machine appreciates that...

The car rarely stalls at idle... changed fuel filters X2 $20.00 per event... each filter worked for 10,000 miles...? Bad GAS?..

I took a position in a city 150 miles from my home. The car I was driving was a "Chrysler LHS" with 85,000 miles on it. I remarked to my boss that I needed a car with less miles if I was going to continue to drive.. A dealer he knew had my Aurora sitting on his lot... the first owner bought it, and almost immediately had a stroke. MILES AT MY ACQUISITION: 1200.. (That is not a mis-print).Two years later he traded it to a Chrysler dealer for a van, so he could travel with his family. It's worst "wear and tear," was to sit there for that time, without being turned on and driven.

Rubber that is not used, deteriorates faster than if it is used... therefore the original equipment Michelin tires were replaced at 52,000 miles... no fault to anyone, but fate.

The car has On Star, and it has been a blessing. It stopped in the middle of my workplace town at 11:30 PM. I called On Star, and they did an electronic engine check, and said, "drive the car to your hotel, it won't hurt it. To Dealer in AM." Some small adjustment on the transmission, and it has not had that problem again...

On one other occasion I had a flat on the highway, 40 miles away from a town with access to the turnpike. On Star had some one there within 30 minutes to help me... for us older folks, who need help on a busy road (or off of such roads) that makes the day go faster, and you don't have to get hurt with a car falling off of a jack on a small hill, trying to install the little tire by yourself... with 18 wheelers whizzing by leaving eddy currents of air that could blow you off of the shoulder into the ditch if you happen to be standing up when the vehicle comes by... Professional drivers are not likely to hit you... it is the amateurs and teen-agers that will be talking to someone in the back seat, and run off of the road, and hit you and your disabled car, leaving you permanently unemployable... with no liability insurance on their vehicle... I have been lucky, because I didn't know about OnStar until I acquired this vehicle...

When the odometer approached 34,000 miles, I took it to a Cadillac dealership for a thorough once over... expensive, but I thought it was preventive maintenance... he put in one new wheel bearing, and couldn't find anything else... no other mechanical troubles, but of course, I got the front end of the life of the vehicle, and others with older ones have the high maintenance end of the car's life.

My car now has 126,000 long distance miles on it on Oklahoma Roads, at or a little below the 75 mph speed limit... to this date, there has been no trouble except my hypochondria... My main complaint at this moment, is that On-Star on 2001 vehicles (and earlier vehicles) is an analog system, and is being phased out to an all digital system. There is no upgrade for the systems in 2001 and before vehicles. As of now, my On-star will not work after January 2008, and there is no cure for that other than a new car... or a GPS and my cell phone, with a directory that has yellow pages...

Everyone that sees this vehicle says the same thing... "GM finally made a perfect car, and then they quit... Perhaps an Aurora 4.0 with a V-8 On-Star engine is meant to be driven long distances, and have its oil changed too frequently... plus transmission and other preventive maintenance when not "sick"... so far mine hasn't gotten sick, so I am keeping my fingers crossed about that... Most of my previous cars have been driven around a city, with a lot of stop and go driving... this one is a Road Car, and it does that job beautifully... I wish I could find another new one, because if it starts doing what I have read about from folks with older ones, I will get a new vehicle of some type with On Star... as that is a remarkably worth-while safety device for folks who are alone on the road, and need help... it works fine...

There is an old saying that a cowboy should never brag on his horse, or fall in love with his horse either, for that matter... he will certainly throw you off the next time you mount him, if you do... I have taken that risk... Pray for me.

So I have had 126,000 miles of pure driving pleasure from this vehicle... That is more than I ever got from any other car I ever owned... but this is the first time that I have done that much long distance driving consistently... and everyone will tell you (it is true) that long distance driving is not as hard on a car as stop and go driving around town...

Clarence Robison M.D.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th October, 2007

26th Oct 2007, 14:36

"GM finally made a perfect car, and then they quit..."

- I agree 100% with that statement! I've owned a 2001 Aurora 4.0 for almost 7 years, and it has been excellent!

(For information & discussion about the Aurora, go to

http://aurorah.proboards.com/ the Aurora Club of North America, the best Aurora site on the net).

21st Apr 2008, 22:36

A great review of a great car, I hope you get many more good miles out of her.

29th Nov 2010, 14:32

Glad to see good comments about this vehicle. Today I learned that a GM Dealer can upgrade the OnStar system from analog to digital for a $215.00 fee, however, that includes one year of OnStar Safe & Sound coverage.

13th Jun 2011, 18:33

I'm considering purchasing a used with low km, but how is it on gas?

14th Jun 2011, 22:25

To: 13th Jun 2011, 18:33.

On the road, it'll get about 25 mpg. In town driving, depending on traffic density, it can get anywhere from 12 to 17 mpg. That's been my experience with premium (93 octane).

With regular, there will be a big drop in mileage & power.

15th Mar 2013, 16:57

I have owned a 2001 Aurora 4.0 for 3 years. I bought it with 37,000 miles on it and it now has 60,000 miles. I have owned many cars since my 1st in 1969, from Mustangs to a Buick Lucerne, the last before my Aurora, and the Aurora is the best car I've owned. I had the analog On-Star converted to digital by a GM dealer in Traverse City, Michigan shortly after I bought the car, and it works perfectly. The cost of conversion was $200.00.

17th Mar 2013, 09:18

To 15th Mar 2013, 16:57:

"the Aurora is the best car I've owned."

- To the EINSTEINS at GM who cut Olds and the Aurora: Read that!!!

28th Jan 2015, 02:51

Yeah, that's telling them, alright.

So, doc, how are you feeling about the Aurora now, 7 years later?