Oldsmobile Intrigue

oldsman01

Ford is discountinuing the Taurus? While not a long standing name like Mustang or T-bird, Taurus does have some significance. The 86 Taurus was truly the first "modern" midsize sedan. It has become the darling of the rental fleets, but this is partly Ford's doing as they discovered they could take the "best selling car" title from the Honda Accord in the early 90s by pushing the car to rental companies. The current Tauri/Sable are decent sedans and with the discounts one can get a very well equipped sedan at a good price. They are certainly no Intrigue though:)

dindak

Current Taurus is a gonner in the next year or two, but I'm not sure if the name is also. It's not a bad car for the prices they are going at. Pretty reliable also. Not nearly an Intrigue though.

dekester

I worked with a person who bought an early (98) production Intrigue GLS with the Autobahn package and it had the pressure monitor. He always complained because it would light up when there was 1/2 pound difference, but not when there was 4-5 pounds! Maybe that's why they discontinued it.

My late production 98 has the indicator in the dash, but of course, no light.

The door locks are interesting. I know you can program the auto-lock (engine start, trans in or out of Park), but can you change the lock button activation? I didn't see anything in the manual. Since I have an alarm that locks the doors and arms the system, I never used this feature. Since reading about it here, I've tried it and it's neat. Too bad many of these features are never covered in the manual or shown by the salesman!

28,200 miles so far......

Deke

perna

My 2000 Alero had the air monitor and it worked so-so, more of an annoyance than anything. Anytime you added just a bit of air, the thing would go off and you'd have to remove the fuse panel, then push a button, etc...

I think it's good they're killing the Taurus name - while it was a neat car in the 80s, like oldsman said it has become boring rental bait. The only people I know who drive new ones work for Ford suppliers or Ford itself.

The replacement, the "Ford Five Hundred", looks to be a *much* nicer car. I think Ford's quality is still highly suspect (though the wife's Escape has been a great vehicle, knock on wood) so I would never buy one, but GM and Ford have to make competitive cars again. Unless the Japanese really slip up, though, that opportunity might have already passed.

moonshadow

My 2001 manual talks about last door close in pages 2-7 and 2-8. If that is the feature you are referring to.

You can either turn it on or turn it off so that the doors lock when you hit the button once.

ian18

I still have my early '98 Intrigue with the Autobahn package and can report that the low tire pressure light is inactive. There is also no mention of this system in the owner's manual. In addition, this light has never come on in almost 6 years of ownership.

I had thought that GM developed this technology in response to the fairly recent government requirement for an automatic tire inflation monitoring system in response to the Firestone/Explorer roll over problems.

I wonder what the full story is as to why this light was put in and never used.

nomoregm4me

We have a 99 Intrique that we purchased new in
December of 99. Beginning at 12K miles the power
windows began to fail. The car now has 55K and
six windows have failed. Two of the six have of
course failed for the second time. As the car is
no longer on warranty, GM has only paid for 3 of
the 6 failures. This is without a doubt the
worst built car that I've ever owned. After 30+
years of loyalty to GM, they have lost me forever. We also have had the usual steering
and head lamp woes, but at approximately $500 a pop
and an average frequency of failure rate of 4.5
months, it's the windows that have done me in.
GM's service has been even worse than the car.

I'd like to hear from anyone that has had similar window woes
with this or any other recent GM sedan.

jpnmass

One of my biggest problems with the General is the power windows. My 95 Grand Am power windows crapped out, but not until 80K+ miles. So it wasn't too bad. But even still, the power windows in general are just slow. Very weak from day one in the 95 GA and 98 Intrigue. My 2002 Silhouette van is better.

Back to the Intrigue. All 4 of my power windows failed at around 55K. I did not have the extended warranty. Paid $250 to get motors/regulators replaced. Not at a dealer, a guy on the side. At 80K miles, now have the passenger rear window dead again. Regulator/motor again. Seems the wires in there get tangled up pretty good and kill the motor. Poor design for sure.

Other than that and the ISS, this car has been great. Just replaced the front pads at 79K (only the second time) and the rear pads (first time). Rotors replaced around 50K. Have a build date of 5/98 with the 3.8L motor. Minor issue with the headlights recently. Driver side was going on/off. Loose connection, problem fixed. Love the car and will have it for another three years until the van is paid off.

dindak

First I have ever heard of power window failure on an Intrigue?

evandro

I was shopping for a used Intrigue until a few weeks ago and it seemed to be a common problem. Even the one I got had 1 or 2 regulators replaced under warranty...

vcjumper

For about a month now my rear passenger side can be moved down with the driver controls but not up.. To do that I have to use the switch on the rear passenger door. I imagine its just the switch/relay in the driver's door thats busted.

oldsman01

The rear passenger side window on mine quit working at about 3000 miles. The motor and/or regulator(I'll have to check the paperwork) was replaced under warranty and I have not had any other problems with the windows.

one2one

Sounds like there is a consistant problem with the passenger side rear window. Mine stopped working about the same time or shortly thereafter. Since I rarely use it, I haven't been to the dealer to get it fixed. With 42,000 miles, I plan on getting there soon so GM can foot the bill.

one2one

I wanted to wait for a few fill-ups before commenting on the economy of TornadoAir. So far, I've filled up 4 times. My average for my weekly commute is 19mpg. The first fillup after the Tornado I got 20 mpg. The next two put me at 20 again closer to 20.5. I filled up again yesterday and I hit 21 mpg. I suspect it will go up after I get my fuel filter replaced and decarbonize the injectors.

Since the Tornado cost me about $80 including shipping, at $1.53/gal it should pay for itself after 52 fillups (26 using the 2 mpg increase). There are few things on the market that provide a noticable performance improvement and fuel savings for less than $100. In my opinion and from my personal experince, I say it's worth the money.

one2one

Since the 3.5 Intrigue has that initial gotta-spool-up-so-I-can-go feel from a stop, the Tornado has made a noticable improvement in off-the-line acceleration. I definitely recommend it for those who do urban driving. You'll notice that you have more power without having to press the pedal the way you may now. And your fuel economy will likely go up even driving aggressively. Can't speak about how it does on the highway as far as gas usage goes. I can say that it doesn't suffer in the performance dept.

Since I was so impressed with the Tornado I got one for the wife's Bonnie. Surprisingly, it didn't have the effect I thought it would have while at the same time it did. Here's what I mean:

Off-the-line power didn't appear any different than before. However, hitting the gas while rolling (say 20 mph) the response felt more immediate. Not stronger like in the Intrigue, but more immediate. It's a strange feeling to describe. Since her car is used primarily for shuttling from the house to the train station, we don't put it on the road much (it's '95 and only has 62,000 miles!) This weekend I plan on taking it on the highway to get a feel for it.

I probably didn't feel a tremendous difference in the Bonnie as I did in the Intrigue because the Bonnivlle (SLE - non supercharged) has so much dog-gone power down low most anyone would be satisfied. The real test is how it performs in the 55 - 75 mph zone. I suspect if there is a performance benefit using it with the 3800 engine, this is where it will be seen. My 3800 Intrigue ran out of breath above 60-70.

b4z

42K, already?!

oldsman01

If I'm not mistaken, one2one bought his Intrigue around the time I did mine. I'm only at 31K now which seems like alot of mileage for just a little over a month shy of two years of ownership.

ozznet

Does anybody find that their car kind of drifts at high speeds (90-120kph). Kind of like the wind is throwing it around. It doesn't do it all the time but once an a while. It doesn't need an alignment cause at lower speeds I can drive in a strait line with no hands. Is the suspension to soft?

evandro

Not here...

However, when I notice some small drifting like that, it's usually because of a small difference in tire pressure between both sides. Sometimes, in my experience, less than about 1PSI is enough to cause that. And it's only noticeable at high speeds because then any small difference is amplified over 30 or 100yds, or 1 to 3s.

ozznet

Tire pressure is all the about the same. Mybe 1/4 PSI difference.

dindak

Intrigue is very stable on the highway. I regularly do 120-140 on the 401 to visit my parents and have no drifting unless it very very windy.

b4z

Today's cars are taller than ones that were built just a few years ago.
My Intrigue was at least 3" taller than my dad's '88 Caprice(a much larger car).
And 8" taller than my Camaro.
They are therefore much more susceptible to crosswinds.

akitadog

Don't forget that it could be a bit of torque steer, more pronounced at higher speeds.
I know the Intrigue was built to counteract that, but there's always a little bit left. : )

one2one

Yeah, I do drive a lot :-) We take day trips to Baltimore and DE just because it's there and the ride is relaxing and to visit friends. This is why I personally can never lease a car. I believe that cars are made to be driven, not parked in front of my house. I refuse to have someone tell me essentially where I can drive my car, how often and what I can do to it when I'm fully responsible for the vehicle. So I purchase the full car so when I'm done paying, I can drive payment free and modify it as much as I want.

If I had a business reason, I'd probably lease an SUV to take advantage of the gaping tax loophole. But since I don't, I'm going to keep on making purchases instead of leases. Who know, maybe I'll hit 80K by the end of the year! :-)

The ride is still comfortable but it is getting a bit coarse and handling isn't as confidence inspiring as in the past. That is attributed to the worn Badyears--I mean Goodyears--that I plan to replace this month to take advantage of the Sears Michelin sale and to pass inspection.

msw13

You must be talking about kph right? Because the Intrigues without the AutoBahn package are limited to about 108mph or 173.8kph. If you have the AutoBahn brakes and H rated tires, your top end is about 129mph same at the Grand Prix GTP's.
I have had my '99 to the 108 limit several times,
and it had a lot of room left. Even with the lowly 3.8 pushrod motor. It pulls to 5500 rpm and cruises in excess of 80 daily. BTW, mine is very steady at high speed with 72k miles and original struts.

dindak

120-140 km / h. Sorry, I should have been more clear.

120 mph would be maddness, but fun.

;-)

oldsman01

I've done 120+ MPH in my Intrigue, actually engaged the speed limiter not once but TWICE when driving through Kentucky last fall. Before anyone yells at me, I know it is dangerous, but the road was pancake flat, had very little traffic, and conditions were excellent sight wise. Trust me, if there was alot of traffic or it was foggy or rainy, I would have been doing the 65 MPH limit. Anyway, the speedo was just above the 125 mark when the PCM shut down the fun. It was fun, but what impressed me was how stable the car was. I guess this is where the somewhat rough riding H-rates tires pay off. Other than the wind and road noise being a little high, you would have never thought you were doing triple digits. Now with the tires getting near the wear bars, I don't think I'll be doing any high speed runs like that until I get some new shoes.

As for drifting, I've found the Intrigue to be pretty stable in cross winds. My boxy Volvo-like 89 Touring Sedan was affected by strong crosswinds much more than the Intrigue is.

dindak

I'm not sure I would go that fast on the highway but I agree with you, the Intrigue is a very stable car at any speed.

jg28

I think the PCS equipped vehicles have the speed limiter set higher (125 apparently) than the "regular" vehicles (109). I took mine up to 109 and it was almost sad to see it stop there. She felt very stable.

Next time you all buy a car, consider the turning radius. Driving around in my 40ft turning radius Maxima is like driving around in an SUV. I've done more 3 (and sometimes more) point turns in this vehicle than I have in my whole life driving. Ugh!

vcjumper

Autobahn vs. regular package also had this restriction. Has to do with the S rated tires that came standard on the non-PCS/non-Autobahn Intrigues.

oldsman01

Yep, I've got PCS on mine. In fact, the only available thing it literally does not have is the engine block heater(don't need that in TN). I think 131 MPH is the "official" top speed but mine cooled it's heels just above 125. I'm surprised that the Maxi has such a large turning radius. It's not really any bigger than than the Intrigue, but I guess size doesn't necessarily affect this. Come to think of it, my 89 Touring Sedan was maybe a couple of inches longer than the Intrigue, yet it had a larger turning radius. I seldomly do 3 point turns in the Intrigue, in the 89 unless you had a large area a U-turn often involved three steps. Funny how you forget those quirks.

evandro

Soon, but not now. Yet, has anybody here had experience with either Goodyear Aquatred 3 and Michelin Harmony? The come at the top in TireRack survey for all-season tires, but I'd be more interested on how these shoes fit the W-bodies.

I prioritize noise, comfort, wet traction and hydroplaning resistance over cornering and dry traction.

TIA

oldsman01

I'll be shopping for new shoes very soon as well as mine(at 31K) are nearing the wear bars. I would like something that handles as well as the Eagle RS-As, but have a quieter ride if that is possible.

evandro

I got Eagle LS on my used Intrigue and closing to 40000mls. the wear bars are evident. The tires on it have been poorly maintained and show signs of cupping, so they're quite noisy. However, I suspect that the Intrigue doesn't isolate tire noise very well through the suspension linkages (engine and outside noise are under good control though), thus I prefer low-noise tires.

The Eagle LS are also on the hard side, so I want a tire with good comfort levels.

I don't know about their cornering and wet pavement abilities, as their rubber is fairly deteriorated and so far have been performing poorly (I'm giving them the benefit of doubt).

Both Aquatred 3 and Harmony fare well in these aspects in that survey. Goodyear tires usually have a bad rap, although I'm happy with the Eagle RS-A that my Bonneville wears (then again, it's got excellent noise isolation). On the other hand, Michelin tires have a good rap, but the OEM MX4 on my late Stratus were the worst tires I've seen and they are among the most expensive ones.

If anybody has an opinion about these or other tires with these characteristics, I'd like to know it.

Thanks.

akitadog

I know that there are other factors involved when it comes to acceleration such as torque and hp curves, as well as gear ratios in the transmission. But power/weight seems the most relevant as we were redlining each gear (at least I was!) and we have the same displacement.

b4z

I replaced the GA's on my Impala 2 months agow with Michelin harmony's.
I looked at the test data on tirerack and determined they were the ones for me.
They are quieter and they are a little better over the small bumps and about the same on big bumps.
They are excellent in the rain with no hydroplaning. Also seem to corner as well or better than the GA's.
The only negative is because they have a higher treadwear rating and have a harder compound they sometimes will squeal a little on hard deceleration.
overall they are an excellent tire.

perna

I hear you on the Maxima's turning radius. I end up manuevering it in tight spaces much like my dad's old Land Cruiser.

The other lesson I learned was check to see what *tires* are available before you buy any new car. We get to choose between Michelin Pilot Sport A/S ($200 ea), the OEM Bridgestone Potenzas (horrible in rain/snow), Goodyear Eagle RSAs (probably the most reasonable replacement) or basically slicks. You can get winter tires (Blizzaks), but on a FWD car that is just stupid, unless you live in the Arctic.

evandro

Thanks for your input. The only drawback I see in the Harmony is that it's about 25% more expensive than the Aquatred 3. I'm looking forward to hearing from anybody who's had the Goodyear too.

dindak

My sister had Aquatreds on their Accord and really liked them. I know they do well in the rain, not sure about the snow.

I'm happy to get another set of Eagles. No complaints at all.

bjl3

I purchased the Goodyear Aquatred 3's for our 99 Intrigue. Replaced the original LS tires in January at about 36000 miles. They seem to handle excellent both in snow and rain. I am just about to rotate them for the first time. First impressions-very satisfied. Before buying my considerations were Bridgestone Potanza 950, the Michelin pilot, and lastly the Aquatread 3's. Michelin's seemed to pricey. The Bridgestone's were rated very high on Tirerack but I had to special order them at a local tire shop. The tirerack drop-ship location in town had a special on Goodyears. Buy 3 get 1 free. That made up my mind for me. I really like these tires. Can't say a bad thing about them so far.

BJL

b4z

My Harmony's were $106 at tirerack.

evandro

A set of Aquatred 3 runs for roughly what 3 Harmony run for...

lmacmil

I've been very happy with these. Very quiet and traction seems fine.

redline65

Whatever you do, don't buy the Dunlop SP Sport A2's. They get cupped and very noisy after a short period of time, and the tread wears fast. If you don't believe me just check the reviews from owners on Tirerack.com.

ian18

I purchased a set of four Firestone LH-30 tires about 6 months and 6000 miles ago. They are an H-rated tire with a 70,000 mile warranty.
So far, I am very satisfied. They are quiet, ride well and reasonably priced. They replaced the Goodyear RSA's that came with my '98 Intrigue.

tander

I went with Regatta 2 because I live in Northeast Ohio (Akron needs all the help it can get)and the winters here are brutal. The Regatta 2's were rated on Tirerack as having better than average snow traction. I also heard that Aquatreads were better for rainy areas than for snow. Im pleased so far, although the cars ride seems more sedan like and they dont corner as well as the oe Eagles. My only complaint so far is they were pricey compared to comparable Bridgestones and others.

jg28

Yes, the available choices are slim. I actually went to a 225-45-17 for my winter performance tires. What a dumb purchase that was. We hardly had any snow last season. I'm thinking about replacing my OEMs with the Bridgestone Turanza LS Z 235-45-17. This will fit the rim fine and it's an all season (though I'll probably get some cheap wheels and just mount the winter performance onto them). I checked a tire comparison website and it'll only register less than 2mph difference. I want a quiet, smooth ride and don't care about having a performance tire. The Maxima is a little bit louder than the Intrigue but I think it's mostly because of the tires.

One of the biggest reasons the Maxima has a higher turning radius is the 17 inch wheels. I checked other cars with 17 inch wheels and they all had a similar turning radius (only one I could find that didn't was a Lexus IS 300). In fact, I bet the GXE (it has 16 inch wheels) has a smaller turning radius.

b4z

I have found that wider cars generally have tighter turning radiuses(radii?) because the engineers give the wheelwells extra space allowing the wheels to turn farther.

white6

Replaced the original LS Goodyears with Aquatread III's and were very happy with the performance. Similar to LS, but a bit nicer ride; noise was pretty close to the same. Replaced the Aquatread III's with Regatta II's just about two months ago. Regatta II's are quiter than the Aquatread III's and ride better, too. The wife seems to like them alot. Got them "on sale" from TireRack for $73 each; drop shipped to a local installer. All four, shipped, mounted and balanced, out the door for $387. Excellent value, IMHO. Of course, I'm a Goodyear man. Got a set of Goodyear Fortera's on the Dakota, too. My only experience with Yokohama was positive; only complaint was that they looked "small" for their published size. The Intrigue's size (225-60-16) has become pretty common now so selection is much better. TireRack sells about 3 dozen different tires in this size!

moonshadow

Has anyone replaced their RSA's and gotten rid of or lessened, and to what degree/percentage, the "feel every crack in the road" sensation.

Also, to what percentage has the road noise subsided with a different tire than the good years.

My rsa has 33000kms and they howl like winters with studs, quieter in the rain go figure, and the ride is like a tractor over cracks and expansion joints.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks