18th Dec 2002, 10:13
I have a "99 Intrigue. The problems I have had are :
1. Hard starting. They replaced a temperature sensor once and a fuel pressure regulator later and it is in for the same problem today.
2. Clunking in the front end when turning left and going over a little bump. They installed a lubrication kit for the steering, which was expensive. That fixed the problem.
3. At about 40,000 miles the oil level was starting to drop between oil changes. Now at 60,000 miles it drops a quart every 2000 miles. Does anyone else have that problem? The service tech says this is normal. Other people I have asked who owned an Intrigue did not seem to have this problem.
4. The "Service Engine Light" comes on a for a while then goes off for a while. This has been going on for several months now. I have checked for a tight gas cap, which doesn't seem to be the problem.
Other than those problems it has been a great car. It is comfortable, cruises very nice and gets 30 to 31 mpg at 75 mph trip driving.
23rd Dec 2002, 18:45
Me and my wife just purchased a 99 intrigue and we have a problem with starting the car, and the dash lights went out I wonder whats wrong? I checked the fuse and I can't see the problem, one thing I can say it has great power, I love the sleek design. if any one can help please please post something.
3rd Feb 2003, 14:40
Pros
Love the looks and power.
Cons
Head-lights flicker when cold (sometimes)
Hard to start (sometimes 5-6 seconds cranking)
Steering pulses when turning immediately after starting
Oil Consumption (now up to adding 2 quarts in < 3000 miles)
Gas Mileage (23 city / 25-28 highway) 3.5 liter engine.
13th Feb 2003, 15:14
I have an '99 Intrigue GLS with 55,000 miles. It was eating 1.5 quarts of oil between changes. My mechanic recommends using 20W-50 oil instead of 10W-30 to prevent oil evaporation. We'll see if that does the trick...
My check engine light came on and the car became hard to start. The problem was a bad Crankshaft Sensor. This was replaced the car starts normally now.
25th Feb 2003, 11:54
My wife and I have a 1999 Olds Intrigue with 37,000 miles. At about 30,000 miles the car began to lose oil between oil changes. I just put two quarts of oil in it and it has a thousand miles to go before the next oil change. My dealer can't explain the problem. Any ideas anyone?
10th Mar 2003, 06:34
My 99 Oldsmobile Intrigue has had the same problems mentioned by others:
Steering (?intermediate shaft) replaced twice.
Last year the low oil light came on; found it was down at least 3 quarts and this was only 1000 miles after an oil change! Now, it's done it again after 2000 miles!
Automatic window switch had to be replaced.
WATER filling up the front passenger side floor; finally, the dealership found where it was leaking in and fixed it.
Windshield cracked for no apparent reason.
Rotors warped from the get-go.
The exterior finish is poor.
This car has 55,000 miles on it...thankfully, I paid an exorbitant amount of money for the extended warranty!
The only thing I like about the car is the engine; but who knows how long that will last!
No more GM cars for me!
19th May 2003, 21:58
Why? How?
My girlfriend has owned this car for one year now, a 3.5 liter 99 GL to be exact. We lived in Fairbanks Alaska for a while where we used heavier oil and plugged it in. This prevented the high oil consumption and wear and tear on the engine.
One last thing, in the car's manual there are instructions on how to reset the oil and service engine soon lights. I suggest reading the manual for those of you who are having problems with the dummy lights.
7th Jun 2003, 12:52
There are some service bulletins that will help on many Intrigue problems:
1. Flickering lights when cold - the generator has an intermittent contact that resets the voltage regulator. It will be replaced under warranty and you get a "free" radiator flush because they have to remove the hoses to do the work. Great design!
2. Clunking in front suspension/steering - intermediate steering shaft has bad retaining ring design. Replaced free, too, although it looks like it is coming back on my '99 again.
Hope that helps...
16th Jun 2003, 11:32
My 1999 Olds Intrigue with 3.5L engine has consumed about 1 quart of oil every 1000 miles since it was new. At first I thought that the consumption was caused by normal break-in oil use, but after about 10,000 miles, it didn't get any better. I complained a lot and got a runaround from Olds and from the dealer. Dealer actually denied that oil was being consumed, even after they did an oil change and then had me bring the car back in after 1000 miles to show them the reduction in oil level. At one point they kept claiming that the car had to sit for 8 hours to get an accurate reading. I submitted a complaint to BBB, now dealer says that 1 qt per 1000 miles is "normal". Based on other complaints on this site and other sites, I guess it is "normal" for this engine. I just hope that it doesn't get worse.
Incidentally, this engine take 6 qts of oil for a normal (with filter change) oil change.
27th Jun 2003, 10:29
About the losing oil well it is an oil leak, I have a V6 3.5 and it leaks oil, but you can find the oil leak when you remove the spark plugs you will see oil residing there. This could be somewhere the oil is leaking too, but it is important to get this situation fixed because eventually the oil will get to the spark plugs could become costly
That is the next repair I am getting done on my car. And about the dimming lights I replaced the alternator and it no longer does it anymore.
4th Jul 2003, 15:10
My 1999 intrigue has a clicking in the steering, the heater fan shakes and vibrates the entire car, but nothing comes out of the vents. The rotors are warped and overheating. The windshield wiper on the driver side fell off when in use. After starting, when put in drive the front end jumps like a rabbit. We have not been happy with this vehicle.
8th Jul 2003, 12:05
I was also having problems with cold start up and the "engine needs service soon" light going off and on. After reading comments on this site, I took my car to the garage, thinking it was probably the crankshaft sensor. Turned out to be a loose ground wire. The ground was fixed and both problems were solved.
BTW, my car is a 1999 3.5 with 60,000 miles.
6th Dec 2002, 03:37
My headlights flicker occasionaly when it's cold also!!