I agree with you on the suspension set up, I think softer struts and firmer springs would help the Intrigue's ride without harming handling. This is probably what Cadillac does(and the Aurora). I do have to disagree with you on the creaks. The only sort of creak that I've heard(other than the one that has cropped up in the front suspension) is a slight creak where the a-pillar on the passenger side meets the dash. Hit a harsh bump and you hear a slight creak there. The console makes no noise nor does anything else on the interior. Over time I would expect a few creaks and rattles to develope, but you guys make it sound like a rattletrap:)
cabowabodude, CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT ASAP!! The value of your car just dropped BIG TIME with those hail dents. More than likely they can be repaired, but it will probably cost. My father had some hail damage(which wasn't even that noticeable) on an old Plymouth Acclaim he used to have and when he went to trade the car, the salesperson pointed it out and suggested he call the insurance agent. Luckily he still had full coverage insurance and they looked at the car and cut him a check for $2200. Ironically, that was more than he would have probably gotten on a trade without the hail damage and he ended up pocketing the money and selling the car privately for $1600.
The black plastic wind thing under the front bumper that always scrapes when i go over a curb, FELL OFF. Fortunately I saw it and recovered it. What is this thing good for and should I fix it, if so,Should I: get new spring attachments and just put it back on or Get a new one and put it on? Either way, is there aftermarket parts out there or am I hostage to the Generals extortionate prices???????
There are so many things that rattle now, it's hard to discern where they're all coming from. I too, noticed a big improvement with the STBs. I already have new tires and they make a BIG difference. I got the Potenza RE 950s. They installed them at 35PSI and I kept them that for awhile. Then I let the air out to 31PSI, which is recommended by Olds. It did improve the bump absorption but I found that I preferred the crisper handling with 35PSI, so I've put them all back at that.
The air dam is supposedly essential to engine cooling. Leave it off and see if you notice a problem. That's what I'd do. GM came out with a new design since 2000 that is smaller and made of lighter material so when it scrapes, it's not as loud. I wish it wasn't there. I think it makes the car look odd from the side and front and too low.
I was on the lot today closely inspecting Intrigues. One thing I specifically looked for is panel gaps in the passenger airbag. These have remarkably improved. My buddy just bought a new Tahoe and I'm similarly impressed with that build quality as well. I hope it's a sign of good things for American products.
I also looked at the new Infiniti G35 and found the same cheapish looking interior material that is in the new Altima. I was surprised. Maybe it just LOOKS cheap? I dunno. I think the Intrigue body style is starting to show its age. I would've loved to see a trimmed down Intrigue like they did with Aurora.
Intrigue is not a very rigid chassis compared to cars that have been coming out since 2000, so rattles over bumps can be expected as it ages, especially in the cold when the plastic contracts.
Doesn't seem to have consistently nice interior materials, but then neither do the Maxima, TL, or CTS. All are better than the Altima from what I've seen though.
Can't remember exactly but when I was comparing part#s (Regal/Intrigue) there were matches in suspension depending on year. Don't recall if some of the same spring rates or struts were available for both cars or both. I wish I still had all the paperwork but I threw it away out of frustration one day. Will start digging for info again. My struts have a label on them that say "Specifically Made For Intrigue" and DELPHI. It should say, "Specifically Made For Riding Lawn Mowers".
Use the fact that it broke off as an excuse to get the redesigned one.
Someone here posted that the engine runs hot without the dam. Makes sense. The Intrigue doesn't have a grille, so the air needs to reach the radiator somehow.
Did about 1000km this Easter weekend and no flickers, just wonderful smooth driving. The warmer weather certainly seems to keep it away but I will have it looked at next winter. The driver door is grunting when I open and close so I think I need some grease in there. Got some great gas mileage also as I passed the 45K mark.
I've had all the steering problems you described, and then some. The (third) replacement rack has been in for about 5 months and about 10k miles, and the intermediate shaft since about a month before that. The rack still seems fine, but I've noticed the clunking from the ISS is getting worse than it was before. I vowed I would never return to my dealer, but it's definitely not something I'd trust to Manny, Moe and Jack.
Other than the clunky steering and warped rotors, the car runs great. I did 350+ miles yesterday, most of it on the PA Turnpike in the rain, and had an enjoyable ride. That's saying something.
There are two perfect inlets to the engine and I don't know why Intrigue designers covered them up with plastic. They are at the bottom of the front of the car and would work perfectly instead of that awful airdam. I like how they incorporated these into the design of the aurora which doesn't have a pronounced airdam like intrigue does. Isn't anyone gonna try the K&N filter? Am I gonna be the only one?
Other than the clunkiing being annoying - does anyone know if not replacing it would cause any more problems or be a safety concern? I haven't heard anyone address the ISS other than it's annoying, but with almost 70K miles, maybe I could just deal with the clunk, if it's not going to lead to other problems?
I asked and my independent mechanic told me that there was absolutely no danger of any steering problem related to the ISS clunking issue.
After about 10 weeks since my ISS lube, I can report that the steering is great with no repeat of the problem. (I had my ISS replaced years ago which did not fix the problem for very long.)
FE3 used to always be the sport or stiffer suspension package on an Olds. My 89 Touring Sedan had the FE3 package and it was certainly stiffer than a regular Ninety-Eight. According the Intrigue service manual, FE1 is the standard and only available suspension for the car.
My 2000 GL has 30K miles and has started to develop a clunky feel in the steering, esp at low speeds. Did you have trouble convincing the dealer to replace the shaft the first time? Is lubrication of the shaft considered a fix for the symptoms described above? Some slight pulsing has developed in the brake pedal, I'm unsure if it's the rotors or what. Any thoughts?
Sales of Intrigue were up 51% in Canada last month. I guess the heavy incentives are helping push them out the door. Sales of Impala were up a whopping 68%.
I believe it just screws on underneath. If there is no serious damage to the plastic where the screws hold on to it, I would jsut go to your local hardware store and get new screws. or stop by the dealership and ask what type of screws hold the plastic on.
It's not something vital to the car but it is an early warning mechanism when parking.
I just got back from riding along with my dealer's service manager to point out what I was talking about with the clunk in the steering. He said that the car ('99 GLS, 3.5, 68K miles) was making so many different noises, he wasn't sure which one I wanted them to investigate. Nice.
They had no problem with replacing the shaft the first time, but it was out of warranty at the time. I'd imagine if you got the lubrication done within warranty, then it failed later, you might have a case for the replacement to be covered.
I'm no mechanic, but the pulse through the pedal could well be a rotor problem, especially given the history of that issue with the Intrigue.
I agree with Imacmil, if you hear the noise when the brakes are not being applied and only when turning, I don't see how it could be the brake wear indicators. Let me know how you make out.
BTW like many others, I've felt the slight clunk from time to time when turning the steering wheel at low speeds.
Has anyone tried KTB GR2 struts? They're advertised on tirerack for US $56@ front and $53 @ rear (not including new boots)? I've got 55K on my '99 and the struts are fairly worn out.
As you know by now it is an air dam. It was installed to help with the federally mandated fuel mileage and to maintain proper cooling.
A properly engineered air dam will result in about 5% better highway fuel mileage. The device creates a vacuum underneath the engine compartment to scavenge the hot air from the engine compartment.
These have been available for performance vehicles for many years. They even add a touch of class and help cover up the exposed running gear.
It is not a good idea to leave it off. You do see a lot of vehicles with it ripped off. They are very exposed to concrete curb stones.
If you only drive in city traffic then you probably can live without it. But going across West Texas and Arizona in the summer time you could benefit by having it in place.
arnie82- I had no problems getting the ISS replaced under warranty. My Olds dealer was super with respect to my warranty issues. Nevertheless replacing the ISS did not permanently solve the problem. I have never see any information to explain how a new shaft would be different, I suspect that the replacement was offered for lack of a better idea. My thinking now is that the lubrication fix makes some sense. I suggest getting the ISS lubed first and since this is a known issue and lubing the shaft is much less expensive than replacement, the dealer should go for it. However I did get my independent mechanic to do this (around $40) because I trust him and he was performing other routine service as well.
Pulsing of the brake pedal is likely a sympton of rotor warping. Fix would be to machine the rotors, you might try to make a case that this also should be a warranty issue. I had my rotors machined twice and eventually replaced all under warranty. However my mileage was around 15K each time, at your 30K you will likely have a harder job to convince them to cover it.
Local dealer has tons of Oldsmobiles on the lot. They had 5 Intrigues when I was there 2 Sundays ago. Also had about 8 Aleros and 3 Auroras. Car sales are still booming in Canada right now, up over 5% this past month.
Promised to post after getting an idea of gas mileage from using synthetic oil.
Used Castrol Syntec 10w-30 ('cause that's all they had). Didn't do anything as far as oil consumption. Still had to add a quart btwn changes. However, mileage has increased one mile per gallon from what the pump says. That's nothing great and I can understand if some would not spend the extra cash for synthetic. But I think I'll continue to use it (although I might switch to Mobil 1). If I get only a gallon better than using regular dino and I get better engine protection, I'll go for it. I plan on keeping the car a while. Since GM engines can run for decades if cared for properly, using synthetic should (hopefully) extend it even further.
I have been considering switching to synthetic in my 99 GL 3.5. My wife drives this car to work every day (50 mile round trip) plus every other weekend to visit her parents (230 mile round trip) so it gets a lot of miles (61,000 to date). I have to change the oil every 14 or 15 weeks (5,000 miles) and changing over to synthetic I could probable stretch that another 10 weeks or so. Change it twice a year instead of 3.5 times. Cost would not be that great a difference since the synthetics have come down a little in price and the dinos have gone up significantly in the last year or so. My only fear is that it will create an oil consumption problem. Right now, it only uses about 1/3 quart in 5,000 miles, which I am quite happy with. I have heard that switch to synthetic (which flows better at high temps) can sneak through where dino doesn't and suddenly you are using a quart every thousand miles or so. Anybody else have experience with synthetic in their 3.5 cammer?
I have heard switching to synthetic on higher mileage vehicles can actually do more harm than good, but then I don't know the details of why or if 61,000 miles is considered high mileage.
I've got the 3.5. The only thing about using it in cars with mileage over 50k is that the engine has already worn and synthetic may actually cause leaks to develop. That's what I've heard and what I was told when I wanted to put it in the wife's Bonnie that only has 60,000 miles. Castrol says no problem but others say don't. I don't know. Get some more opinions before you settle on a switch or not.
My oil consumption is the same as it has been the past 2 changes.
To bnrmom I have a 98 and had my iss fixed at 13500 miles under warranty. The shaft was defective. They replaced/fixed with e770-2e fp number 26078302. olds knew about the problem. Take your car to oldsmobile service. Since your off warranty you might have to pay. It wasnt an outright recall but they knew it was defctive and honered it no questions under warranty. good luck. George
After getting a new rack and having the ISS lubed, the car steered like new for the first 2 weeks, but now the rattle is coming back. I don't think the lube did the trick. I'm sorry to hear that the rattles come back even after the shafts are changed. Sounds like they never fixed the problem. Funny, I thought steering shafts were perfected about 75 years ago.
Two years ago I bought an Oldsmobile Intrigue 1999 GL model with only 12K miles. Car was in great shape never wreaked or flooded or anything. At the time I thought man this was a really great deal it was either choose this or a Malibu, Camry, Grand Prix SE or Century. I choose the Intrigue due to the lower miles, bigger engine, lower price, horsepower, nice seats, etc.
Well 2 years later and this car is one piece of JUNK. Right now it only has 32K miles on it I take top care for my cars and it has been in the shop 6 times! I look through the files and this car has much more paper work then a 1998 Chrysler(Been in the shop once for broken power lock thats it) with 80K miles and a 1995 Ford(been in the shop twice) with 89K miles!
Trip 1) The back wheel bearing and hub assembly needed replaced resulting in the car to make loud noises from that location. The break light also sticked and left break lights on when It wasn't applying the breaks and the stop lamp switch had to be replaced. 17,405 miles on the car.
Trip 2) The car when dead and didn't start at all. Towed it to the shop and the car needed a new computer control body module replaced. 13,969 miles on the car
Trip 3) This wasn't a major stop but molding off 2 of the doors was coming off or moving making the doors tougher to open. Molding on both doors has to be fixed so I could open the door. 20,456 miles on the car
Trip 4) Coolant light kept coming on. The radiator hose needed replaced and there was a clamp found to be leaking under the car and they replaced the clamp to surge tank. 27,100 miles on the car.
Trip 5) Passenger window would not roll down. had to be fixed. AC would not blow cool anymore so the temp. module valve had to be replaced. 30,900 miles on the car.
Trip 6) this is where my car is at now. Car has a tough time starting, engine light coming on. I called and some starting sensor had to be replaced thy said it was sorta of a major part.
Glad all this is under warrenty. I still got 2 more years to pay on it so I have to get an extended warrenty. This is one pathetic car. I can see why Olds are going away they are junk. Why would anyone spend $25,000 new for this car and have all these problems? I had less problems with my old 1988 Ford Tempo and that car was junk as well.
At least the service at the garage is good but it should be they sell Cadillac's there as well.
Goodbye GM I will never even consider buying your unreliable junk anymore....Honda/Toyota/Chrysler again here I come!
I think its the crankshift sensor I am not 100% sure until I pick it back up tomorrow but the dealer did call and said some $400 sensor went bad. 32K miles and all these problems is uncalled for.
though I wouldn't classify mine as junk, I definitely have a love/hate relationship with my Intrigue. I couldn't say that I'd buy it again if I had to do it over with. Used or not, a car shouldn't have all those problems. Sorry yours has been an even greater problem than mine. What a joke!
My OEM sway is back on now. Don't really notice that much difference except maybe slightly more dip in turns. The creaking is blessedly gone... oops I meant the creaking coming from the sway bar... the creaks inside are plentiful and bothersome.
that you group Chrysler in with Honda/Toyota for your "quality" buys.
It's too bad that legero8 has had so many problems, but any car line will have a few that suck. I certainly hope that you don't make other decisions (like voting) based on trivial examples. I guess I've never really had a horrible car so maybe I don't understand, but I really don't think I would let one bad experience sour me like that. I've had bad dealership experiences and stopped using the offending dealer, but I don't turn it into an indictment of all dealerships, or even of all dealerships of that particular brand of car.
In Edmunds, I read a lot of people ranting about how their car is horrible and therefor the manufacturer is crap. I wonder what causes people to make conclusions like that?
I cut over to Syntec at first oil change in all my new vehicles.
IMO, it is easier, and cheaper to go with synthetics than the dino change ritual.
It is pretty well established that the syns provide superior engine protection, last longer, and tend to perform better in the complex engines such as the DOHC 3.5.
My routine is to change at 3,000 on the odometer and then change filters and add 1 quart at 8,000 with a full changeand filter at 13,000, repeat at similar intervals.
I believe this provides better protection and is much simpler and cheaper.
I am considering going to AMSOIL though, and plan to go with their air filter in my 2002 instead of the K&N.
I know how legero8 feels because I had a used 87 Sable that I would classify as the worst car I have ever owned. After about 40k miles everything started falling apart. It seemed to be built like a clothes dryer. Maybe there are others who loved their Sables and Tauruses, but I swore I would never buy another Ford product. But with respect to my 99 Intrigue, I must say that with the exception of the steering rack and shaft problems, I have not had a single other problem in 36k miles, not even any creaks and rattles. Of course, now that the warranty has just expired, maybe that’s when they will start. I like to keep cars for ten years or so. If I were buying a car for reliability, Toyota would be at the top of my list. I have had several, and they just never quit. Maybe in a couple of years I’ll wish I’d bought a Camry.
Buick???? Buick is nowhere near as good as reliable as Toyota or Honda. Car and Driver did a comparision test several months ago and the Regal was placed LAST out of 10 cars I think.
Intrigues are junk it was used with 12K miles! 12K miles!!!! Its not like I bought some 10 year old junker. What could have been done to it anyway? It has a clean Carfax report and all previous records or service when I bought it. Oil changed every 3K miles, etc.
While US cars may be gradually closing the quality gap with the Japanese, I think they still have a problem with consistency. For various reasons, some US cars last for years with few problems, while other identical models fall apart like legero8's. For one thing, I think the Japanese mfgs. are far more demanding of their component vendors. All of these steering, alternator and brake problems in the Intrigues are in components supplied by outside vendors, and might have been avoided with tighter control and more testing.
legero8 : It doesn't matter how many miles, it's what was done to the car over that 12K miles that counts. If it was abused, you are going to have problems. A friend of mine bought a Protege with 19K and found out it was in a wreck. Needless to say, lots of problems! Intrigue is not junk, you have a USED car.
yurakm : Buick is indeed as reliable as Toyota, you are correct. I have seen lots of supporting data on that. "legero" is talking about a driving test, not a reliability test.
You are correct about the Japanese mfrs being more demanding of their vendors, sometimes to a fault. I think the biggest problem with the US auto industry is that the domestic OEMs never really embraced the Japanese philosophy of "partnering" with your vendor and sharing in the design and cost savings. All you ever hear from Ford and DaimlerChrysler is "gimme, gimme, gimme." They want cost reductions every year (euphemistically referred to a "productivity") and if you come up with more cost saving ideas, they want some of that too.
The tier 1 suppliers use that philosophy on their vendors too, beating them up for cost reductions and then trying to "share" in additional cost savings the vendors may come up with, after already anteing up 3-5%. Then, when they're bled dry, we turn around and source their parts overseas (India and China are becoming really popular) no matter how good their quality or cost reduction performance has been. The overseas manufacturers typically don't have robust quality systems in place so quality suffers, at least initially. It's very frustrating.
Say what you want about them, but they are pretty reliable. Especially the Park Avenues and LeSabres. C&D scored the car last because they did not like it's performace(the Regal LS that is). I considered a Regal GS before deciding on the Intrigue and while at times I do think the raw power of the supercharged 3800 would be fun, I don't regret going with the Intrigue. Personally, I preferred the cleaner styling inside and out of the Olds as well as the tighter overall feel of the car. And while the supercharged 3800 does it's magic in 0-60 sprints, the Olds' 3.5 has it's g spot in the 3500-6100 rpm range.
Comments
But our cars were parked under the trees and that blunted things.
Hail damage should be insurable. The homeowner's policy covered the shingle damage on the roof. I don't see why an auto policy wouldn't cover it...
cabowabodude, CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT ASAP!! The value of your car just dropped BIG TIME with those hail dents. More than likely they can be repaired, but it will probably cost. My father had some hail damage(which wasn't even that noticeable) on an old Plymouth Acclaim he used to have and when he went to trade the car, the salesperson pointed it out and suggested he call the insurance agent. Luckily he still had full coverage insurance and they looked at the car and cut him a check for $2200. Ironically, that was more than he would have probably gotten on a trade without the hail damage and he ended up pocketing the money and selling the car privately for $1600.
The air dam is supposedly essential to engine cooling. Leave it off and see if you notice a problem. That's what I'd do. GM came out with a new design since 2000 that is smaller and made of lighter material so when it scrapes, it's not as loud. I wish it wasn't there. I think it makes the car look odd from the side and front and too low.
I was on the lot today closely inspecting Intrigues. One thing I specifically looked for is panel gaps in the passenger airbag. These have remarkably improved. My buddy just bought a new Tahoe and I'm similarly impressed with that build quality as well. I hope it's a sign of good things for American products.
I also looked at the new Infiniti G35 and found the same cheapish looking interior material that is in the new Altima. I was surprised. Maybe it just LOOKS cheap? I dunno. I think the Intrigue body style is starting to show its age. I would've loved to see a trimmed down Intrigue like they did with Aurora.
My car is king of rattle buckets.
Someone here posted that the engine runs hot without the dam. Makes sense. The Intrigue doesn't have a grille, so the air needs to reach the radiator somehow.
Other than the clunky steering and warped rotors, the car runs great. I did 350+ miles yesterday, most of it on the PA Turnpike in the rain, and had an enjoyable ride. That's saying something.
Other than the clunkiing being annoying - does anyone know if not replacing it would cause any more problems or be a safety concern? I haven't heard anyone address the ISS other than it's annoying, but with almost 70K miles, maybe I could just deal with the clunk, if it's not going to lead to other problems?
After about 10 weeks since my ISS lube, I can report that the steering is great with no repeat of the problem. (I had my ISS replaced years ago which did not fix the problem for very long.)
Front 98 Springs (W/FE1 or FE3) FE1 is "soft-ride susp"
product # 22133028 code-FJS (highest load rate)
product # 22133027 code-FJR
Front 99-00 Springs (W/FE1 or FE3)
product # 22133030 code-FJS (highest load rate)
product # 22133029 code-FJT
product # 22133028 code-FJS
Rear 99-00 Springs (W/FE1 or FE3)
product # 10421043 code-TKL (highest load rate)
product # 10421042 code-TKM
product # 10421041 code-TKN
product # 10421040 code-TKP
product # 10421039 code-TKR
product # 10403279 code-TKS
product # 10421037 code-TKT
product # 10421036 code-TKU
Front Struts (AC-DELCO)
part # 88945802 (ROAD RESPONSE SILVER) (98-00)
part # 22400000 W/6JS,6JT, 6KJ,7JS,7JT,7KJ (REACTEK) (98-02)
part # 22400002 W/6JR,6KN,7JR,7JN (00-02)
Rear Struts (AC-DELCO)
part # 88945803 (ROAD RESPONSE SILVER) (98-00)
part # 22400001 W/FE1 (REACTEK) (98-02)
maybe they gave the autobahn cars slightly different tuning and maybe the same with the PCS cars?
Some slight pulsing has developed in the brake pedal, I'm unsure if it's the rotors or what.
Any thoughts?
It's not something vital to the car but it is an early warning mechanism when parking.
good luck.
They had no problem with replacing the shaft the first time, but it was out of warranty at the time. I'd imagine if you got the lubrication done within warranty, then it failed later, you might have a case for the replacement to be covered.
I'm no mechanic, but the pulse through the pedal could well be a rotor problem, especially given the history of that issue with the Intrigue.
BTW like many others, I've felt the slight clunk from time to time when turning the steering wheel at low speeds.
Has anyone tried KTB GR2 struts? They're advertised on tirerack for US $56@ front and $53 @ rear (not including new boots)? I've got 55K on my '99 and the struts are fairly worn out.
A properly engineered air dam will result in about 5% better highway fuel mileage. The device creates a vacuum underneath the engine compartment to scavenge the hot air from the engine compartment.
These have been available for performance vehicles for many years. They even add a touch of class and help cover up the exposed running gear.
It is not a good idea to leave it off. You do see a lot of vehicles with it ripped off. They are very exposed to concrete curb stones.
If you only drive in city traffic then you probably can live without it. But going across West Texas and Arizona in the summer time you could benefit by having it in place.
I had no problems getting the ISS replaced under warranty. My Olds dealer was super with respect to my warranty issues. Nevertheless replacing the ISS did not permanently solve the problem. I have never see any information to explain how a new shaft would be different, I suspect that the replacement was offered for lack of a better idea. My thinking now is that the lubrication fix makes some sense. I suggest getting the ISS lubed first and since this is a known issue and lubing the shaft is much less expensive than replacement, the dealer should go for it. However I did get my independent mechanic to do this (around $40) because I trust him and he was performing other routine service as well.
Pulsing of the brake pedal is likely a sympton of rotor warping. Fix would be to machine the rotors, you might try to make a case that this also should be a warranty issue. I had my rotors machined twice and eventually replaced all under warranty. However my mileage was around 15K each time, at your 30K you will likely have a harder job to convince them to cover it.
Used Castrol Syntec 10w-30 ('cause that's all they had). Didn't do anything as far as oil consumption. Still had to add a quart btwn changes. However, mileage has increased one mile per gallon from what the pump says. That's nothing great and I can understand if some would not spend the extra cash for synthetic. But I think I'll continue to use it (although I might switch to Mobil 1). If I get only a gallon better than using regular dino and I get better engine protection, I'll go for it. I plan on keeping the car a while. Since GM engines can run for decades if cared for properly, using synthetic should (hopefully) extend it even further.
My oil consumption is the same as it has been the past 2 changes.
I have a 98 and had my iss fixed at 13500 miles under warranty. The shaft was defective. They replaced/fixed with e770-2e fp number 26078302. olds knew about the problem. Take your car to oldsmobile service. Since your off warranty you might have to pay. It wasnt an outright recall but they knew it was defctive and honered it no questions under warranty. good luck.
George
Well 2 years later and this car is one piece of JUNK. Right now it only has 32K miles on it I take top care for my cars and it has been in the shop 6 times! I look through the files and this car has much more paper work then a 1998 Chrysler(Been in the shop once for broken power lock thats it) with 80K miles and a 1995 Ford(been in the shop twice) with 89K miles!
Trip 1) The back wheel bearing and hub assembly needed replaced resulting in the car to make loud noises from that location. The break light also sticked and left break lights on when It wasn't applying the breaks and the stop lamp switch had to be replaced. 17,405 miles on the car.
Trip 2) The car when dead and didn't start at all. Towed it to the shop and the car needed a new computer control body module replaced. 13,969 miles on the car
Trip 3) This wasn't a major stop but molding off 2 of the doors was coming off or moving making the doors tougher to open. Molding on both doors has to be fixed so I could open the door. 20,456 miles on the car
Trip 4) Coolant light kept coming on. The radiator hose needed replaced and there was a clamp found to be leaking under the car and they replaced the clamp to surge tank. 27,100 miles on the car.
Trip 5) Passenger window would not roll down. had to be fixed. AC would not blow cool anymore so the temp. module valve had to be replaced. 30,900 miles on the car.
Trip 6) this is where my car is at now. Car has a tough time starting, engine light coming on. I called and some starting sensor had to be replaced thy said it was sorta of a major part.
Glad all this is under warrenty. I still got 2 more years to pay on it so I have to get an extended warrenty. This is one pathetic car. I can see why Olds are going away they are junk. Why would anyone spend $25,000 new for this car and have all these problems? I had less problems with my old 1988 Ford Tempo and that car was junk as well.
At least the service at the garage is good but it should be they sell Cadillac's there as well.
Goodbye GM I will never even consider buying your unreliable junk anymore....Honda/Toyota/Chrysler again here I come!
Sounds like your final trip was due to a crankshaft sensor. Is that correct?
Overall I would have to agree that for some of us intrigue quality has been less than stellar.
Intrigues are not "junk".
My OEM sway is back on now. Don't really notice that much difference except maybe slightly more dip in turns. The creaking is blessedly gone... oops I meant the creaking coming from the sway bar... the creaks inside are plentiful and bothersome.
It's too bad that legero8 has had so many problems, but any car line will have a few that suck. I certainly hope that you don't make other decisions (like voting) based on trivial examples. I guess I've never really had a horrible car so maybe I don't understand, but I really don't think I would let one bad experience sour me like that. I've had bad dealership experiences and stopped using the offending dealer, but I don't turn it into an indictment of all dealerships, or even of all dealerships of that particular brand of car.
In Edmunds, I read a lot of people ranting about how their car is horrible and therefor the manufacturer is crap. I wonder what causes people to make conclusions like that?
IMO, it is easier, and cheaper to go with synthetics than the dino change ritual.
It is pretty well established that the syns provide superior engine protection, last longer, and tend to perform better in the complex engines such as the DOHC 3.5.
My routine is to change at 3,000 on the odometer and then change filters and add 1 quart at 8,000 with a full changeand filter at 13,000, repeat at similar intervals.
I believe this provides better protection and is much simpler and cheaper.
I am considering going to AMSOIL though, and plan to go with their air filter in my 2002 instead of the K&N.
http://www.guarding-our-earth.com/members/amsoil/1mrtruck/
"Synthetic motor oil" Apr 6, 2002 2:22pm
there is a lot of interesting information here.
Intrigues are junk it was used with 12K miles! 12K miles!!!! Its not like I bought some 10 year old junker. What could have been done to it anyway? It has a clean Carfax report and all previous records or service when I bought it. Oil changed every 3K miles, etc.
yurakm : Buick is indeed as reliable as Toyota, you are correct. I have seen lots of supporting data on that. "legero" is talking about a driving test, not a reliability test.
The tier 1 suppliers use that philosophy on their vendors too, beating them up for cost reductions and then trying to "share" in additional cost savings the vendors may come up with, after already anteing up 3-5%. Then, when they're bled dry, we turn around and source their parts overseas (India and China are becoming really popular) no matter how good their quality or cost reduction performance has been. The overseas manufacturers typically don't have robust quality systems in place so quality suffers, at least initially. It's very frustrating.