Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Our 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora was brought in several times in the last two months because the "check engine" light kept going on. Each time they said they fixed the problem and it was related to the "secondary air injection pump". Two nights ago we came home and parked our car in our garage, which is attached to our house. A couple hours later we were awoke by a smell, which finally LED us to our garage. We opened the door to our garage and it was full of smoke! We heard a humming noise coming from the front of the car, and opened the hood. Flames were coming up from the bottom of the car, where the pump was located. My wife and I pushed the car out of the garage and dosed the engine with water, and called the fire department. When the fire department arrived, they said we were lucky we caught it when we did and pushed it out of the garage. …
The engine randomly dies or stalls while in traffic at random times and will not turn back on for several minutes, the vehicle is in motion when the stalling occurs and thankfully only on city streets. Codes have not been present but the stalling and idle leads me to believe it is faulty crankshaft position sensors. In addition to this, the steering column makes an audible click noise when turning past the 12 o'clock position anytime the steering wheel is cranked, it does not happen sometimes, it happens every time. This is most likely do to poor lubrication of a bearing or joint in the steering column. The service stability system light comes on and vehicle chimes as well but the ESC works as it should, no matter the driving conditions it comes on, most likely a faulty circuit board.
Tl* the contact owns a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora. While at a complete stop, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle restarted and resumed normally. The failure recurred whenever the vehicle was in operation. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and an independent mechanic. The contact was uncertain of the repairs that were performed on the vehicle. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 50,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Customers car came in with a failed starter on the 4.0l engine. Upon removing the intake, it was found that oil had filled the engine valley and shorted the starter out. The oil was found to be leaking from the head gaskets, both sides.
I bought a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora in 2003 being a single mother of 2 children I wanted a safe car with low repair I was told the 5 star engine is the best and low maintance I paid 15.900 cash for the car on the way home it was acting fun lights flickering gas pedal sticks and you can't push it down, then the gas gauge quit working oil was leaking all over hub in the front of car went bad I took it to the shop and it needed a oil sending unit,fuel sending unit front hub job, after another 1.700 in repairs now I am hold the head gasket is ready to blow and the gage says low oil pressure I had it back to the shop and they say they don't know what is wrong.then I ws rear ended at a stop and go light due to my head lights and tail lights going on and off. …
Driving at any speed, the car would intermittently sputter or shut off, even in a curve. It finally frightened me so much that I reported it to the dealer on 2/12/2009. The dealer charged me $463 plus tax to replace the front and rear engine crankshaft sensors. This malfunction is very similar in nature to ignition failure and could easily lead to injury. My car is a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora with the 4.0 v-8 engine. It had 48,000 miles at the time of failure. The replacement parts have worked as I now have 123,000 miles on the car and the problem no longer occurs. I went online and found 20 other owners who reported the same issues at the following website: http://repairpal.com/stalling-due-to-ignition-module-or-crankshaft-position-sensor-failure-144 I believe that a service bulletin should have been issued at minimum.
Engine suddenly and without warning stalls during idle or while underway. Battery warning light illuminates. Car typically re-starts without any difficulty. Problem is intermittent. Engine at normal running temperature. Also notice intermittent engine RPM instability, possibly related. (see potentially relevant NHTSA item #'s 636450 and 634706). This is potentially a dangerous condition as engine, power steering and power brakes are lost during stall condition and since problem May occur during normal driving conditions and in heavy traffic. Dealer previously replaced engine crank sensors on 1/6/04, which does not appear to have corrected the problem. Condition has existed for an extended period, first noticed around 11K miles. Usually stalls at idle, 2/10 first time stall occured while underway.
My 2001 aroura was purchased in nov. Of 2002 and was put in the shop about 2 weeks after we purchased it. Lexus of tulsa sold us the car. The vehicle had a blown head gasket and it was already blown when we purchased the car. 2years later the head gasket is blown again. We were told that the gasket was going to keep blowing until we get another motor and that the motor has some internal damage that came from the factory where the motor was built in. We were told that the valve had some combulstion built up in there and was causing the problem and that the problem was the cause of the factory. The car would just start running hot and also it would shut off in the middle of driving without any warning. The panel lights would say stop engine. The car is not safe at all.
The vehicle was parked and once I put it into reverse to back out of the parking space, the engine locked up and the steering, brakes, gas didn't work. I had to take the key out of the ignition and restart it. This is the third time that I've had this issue within the last 3 months and the previous 2 instances occurred while the vehicle was actually moving and accelerating. I have had some extremely close calls that could have ended very dangerously because of this issue. I use my car keys without any other keys attached, so that it's as lightweight as possible. In the past year, this same exact issue has happened 8 times and is beginning to occur more and more frequently. I would really appreciate some recognition of this issue.
Coolant leak has been serviced about six to seven times. My Aurora is currently in the round rock, texas classic GM dealership for another try. Also, the car is being outfitted with a device which will take a picture of the engine /electronic systems to determine why the engine quits while driving. This has occurred about 5 times and I was almost involved in an accident entering a freeway when I lost all power. I have been asked to press an installed button the next time the engine stalls. I often get a hard shift when going from reverse to drive. About 20% of the time. Told this problem could not be duplicated by dealer.
Engine complaints in other Aurora years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora?
NHTSA has 26 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora, 22% of the model year's 119 complaints. The component named most often is engine (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 54,000 miles, and 17% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 2 fires and 1 injury to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.