1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue Engine Problems

Which parts fail

• Engine › Gasoline
  19
• Engine
  17
• Cooling system
  4
• Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
  4
• Exhaust system
  3
• Engine › Gasoline › Belts and associated pulleys
  1

Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).

Mileage when the problem started

• Under 25k
  24%
• 25k–50k
  12%
• 50k–75k
  510%
• 75k–100k
  714%
• 100k–150k
  2244%
• 150k+
  1326%

Owner reports

Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).

The engine had a fire and the ignition switch is very hard Do turn, it would be available for inspection. The fire happen while driving down the highway. I have an appointment set with dealership. No prior inspections have been made and no indications of anything.

Tl* the contact owned a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle began to smoke from the under the front hood of the vehicle. The contact stated that flames were coming from the hood of the vehicle. The contact pulled into a gas station and exited the vehicle. The vehicle became engulfed with flames. The fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed. The vehicle was destroyed. The contact recently received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V701000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 04/14/16; updated 05/14/18

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. The contact stated that while driving at 55 MPH, smoke emitted from the engine compartment. After inspecting the vehicle, the contact noticed flames emitting from the engine, which melted all the wires and valve covers. The fire department was not contacted. A fire extinguisher was used to extinguish the fire and no injuries were reported. Four months after the failure occurred, the contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 09V116000 (engine and engine cooling). The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 115,000..........updated 04/01/16

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. While the vehicle was parked, the engine caught fire without warning. The fire was extinguished by a bystander. A police and a fire report were not filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 15V700000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

My son was driving the car and it started making a noise and I pulled over and checked and didn't see anything and continued driving. I noticed smoke coming from under the hood and pulled into a gas station and noticed the car was on fire and ran into the gas station and asked for a fire extinguisher. The attendant had one and went and put the fire. I have contacted GM and was told this was due to a recall which caused oil to leak onto the manifold and thus far they have been unable or unwilling to help with this issue. - (recall related incident) ts

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. The contact stated that the engine caught fire independently. The contact extinguished the fire. There were no injuries and a fire report was not filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the engine needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 09V116000 (engine and engine cooling). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage and VIN were unavailable. Updated 11/08/16

Tl* the contact owns a 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue. While driving 55 MPH, smoke appeared from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V701000 (engine and engine cooling). The part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000. VIN tool confirms parts not available.

I received a letter in May stating that GM was recalling my car for possible engine fires (recall 09047). I called the number provided and was routed to one of the local dealers, who told me that they couldn't do anything with it until late July or August and to call back for an appointment then. Yesterday, 7/20/09, my car burned to a crisp. According to the firemen, it was an electrical fire that started under the hood somewhere and it burned so hot and so fast that they were unable to salvage it. The fire engines are kept literally a block away from where the fire occurred. They responded within minutes and still the entire engine contents fried right up. My car is a total loss. …

I am writing this for my husband. My daughter's car (which is in my name) was parked in her driveway for 3 weeks while she was out of the country. This morning approx. 10:30 am., tue. 17th. 2012, her dad wanted to get it cleaned up for her before she came home tonight. Her dad put the key in but the car would not start. He figured that the battery was dead (the battery was only a few months old). He pulled his vehicle next to the 1998 olds Intrigue and hooked up the battery cables. When he went to start the Intrigue, there was a very loud boom (he described it like an m-80 going off) and he then saw flames!!! Underneath the hood. He ran and got a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. As the smoke cleared, he saw pieces of broken plastic/metal on the driveway in front of the car and the intake manifold had blown 10 to 15 feet into the garage!!! …

There were no events leading up to the engine compartment fire on May 29th at about 10:00 pm. Except that prior to the incident whenever the vehicle was driven there was a burning odor inside the vehicle. We had a recall done on the vehicle that we thought would correct the burning odor but it however didn't fix that. The recall number was 09047. We had a small engine compartment fire in May of 2007 but there wasn't any damage. However, with the engine compartment fire or thermal event as GM calls it there was major damage totaling the vehicle as when the oil drips down on to the hot exhaust manifold there was no where for the oil to drip down to the ground so therefore it resulted in a fire. The recall #09047 did nothing to solve the burning odor smell or an engine compartment fire. …

Related recalls

Engine complaints in other Intrigue years