1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue from North America

Summary:

Love it

Faults:

Brake Rotors warped badly. Weird noises When you back up or turn. They seem to come from the steering column. When it rains water leaks into the floor on the passenger side. It comes in around the blower motor opening.I'm onto my 2nd blower motor.Cassette deck controls are flimsy and break easily.

General Comments:

Beautifully styling and handles like a dream. I love the interior it's roomy and appealing. I love the gas mileage 19-24.Outstanding throttle response. A pleasure to tool the highways and byways in. Wish they still made them.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th September, 2004

1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL V6 from North America

Summary:

Nice and reliable, but costly

Faults:

The molding around the doors make them stick to the frame.

The power window motors (both sides) break easily and the repair is remarkably costly.

There are weird noises in the steering system when you make sharp turns.

Some lights (low-track and service-engine-soon) tend to go off and on and the dealer usually does not have the slightest idea of the reason.

Swallows engine-oil like an elephant.

General Comments:

Nice looking car, comfortable inside and relatively spacious.

Pretty reliable, only once let my on the side of the road waiting for assistance (during these 6 years)

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th June, 2004

3rd Jun 2005, 17:01

We just purchased a 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue. We live in a small town, so I know who previously owned it.

Well now that I've been reading the reviews, I've seen some of the problems are the power windows. Did you ever find out the problem, and if you can, tell me, because I've had some problems with the windows. They replaced the front passenger regulator and the rear passenger as well. It worked for a while, then the rear window stopped working. Now they're saying it's the main driver side switch panel, which they are replacing when they get the part. But I would just like to get an opinion from another Intrigue owner, so if you can let me know, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks! Berta (www.bretta_05@yahoo.com)

1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL 3.8 from North America

Summary:

Pretty, quick, and nimble, but a very bad investment

Faults:

Anti-lock brake module replaced at 24,000 miles.

Rear seat belts inoperative - fixed by recall.

Heater/AC fan and control module replaced at 30,000 miles.

Power steering replaced once, and it is having similar problems (shuddering at low speeds) again.

Every window regulator has been replaced at least once. Two have been replaced twice, and two are currently not working.

Even though they are rarely touched, the treble/bass, fade/balance, and tuner knobs have all been replaced twice. The plastic used just seems to self destruct in the high interior temperatures cars experience in Las Vegas.

Air conditioning works MOST of the time.

Serpentine belt tensioner pulley self destructed at 73,000 miles.

Alternator burned out at 87,000 miles.

Leather seats severely cracked and split.

Black exterior trim around the windows started cracking and peeling at under 40,000 miles.

Engine has started missing under load in the the last 10,000 miles, after reaching operating temperature. It runs fine when cold. The Dealer "technicians" seem to be fond of taking $200.00 "guesses" at diagnosing this problem.

General Comments:

Excellent styling, power, and handling when new.

Reliability, maintenance costs, and downtime due to maintenance make this car the very worst transportation investment I've ever made.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 24th April, 2004

23rd Mar 2007, 11:33

I wrote this review - this is an update.

Transmission required complete re-build at 126,000 miles.

Odd electrical issues - assorted warnings come on, and go off fairly randomly, but only AFTER it has been driven for at least 1/2 an hour. 149,000 miles- head gasket blown. I'm done with this car. It has been a constant pain since the 40,000 mile mark. I'll confine my passenger car purchases to Toyota and Honda.

24th Mar 2007, 08:27

I really wonder why the one's build for the American market has just so many problems yet the one's for the Canadian market just don't have all these problems. Yes some do, but mine and 8 out of 10 I have talked to around here have no problems. I understand that they were built at the same plant, but maybe they weren't. Mine has 67,250 miles and no oil loss, no problems. I don't understand.

18th Sep 2008, 10:20

Gee, the tranny on my 98 made it to 260,000. Still driving with a rebuild. Best American car I've owned.

26th Oct 2008, 01:09

I'm at 205K with my 98 and a stock tranny, no leaks and doesn't use any oil...

30th Jan 2011, 02:48

We had a beautiful Intrigue, and were so happy with it at first. It was very fast for the time, and the styling still looks fresh after 10 years. Unfortunately, the interior is unbelievably cheap and dysfunctional. The door seals are too long so they sag off the door, the vinyl trim on the door panels have all bubbled up, the cupholder has broken over and over. Also, like everyone else, the switches on the radio have fallen off, plus the tape player function quit working (CD still works fine).

Mechanically, the car was bulletproof. It is well known that the 3800 was the best pushrod V6 at that time (within the various GM divisions). Oh yeah, however, the tranny died at about 107,000 miles, which is not excusable. Long before that, getting the shifter out of park took all of the strength you had and would make a big "thunk"!

The dash design was beautiful, just too bad about the terrible plastics and materials. I can see why people buy Camry's and Accord's, because those cars do have better built interiors and more modern DOHC motors.