Recalls, owner-reported complaints, investigations and safety data
Data refreshed
Our database contains 9 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1985 Oldsmobile 98, most frequently naming the steering, driver assistance and seat belts categories. 1 safety recall has been issued covering this model year; and 5 NHTSA investigations name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
When owners filed reports about this model year
| Month | Complaints filed | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 1995 | 1 | 1 |
| Jun 1995 | 1 | 2 |
| Jul 1995 | 1 | 3 |
| Nov 1995 | 1 | 4 |
| Jan 1996 | 1 | 5 |
| Mar 1996 | 1 | 6 |
| Nov 1996 | 1 | 7 |
| May 1999 | 1 | 8 |
| Sep 2002 | 1 | 9 |
Complaints grouped by the component NHTSA recorded
Percentages are of component mentions. A single complaint can name more than one component, so these do not sum to the total complaint count.
1 campaign cover this model year
Recalls apply to specific vehicles, not to every vehicle of a model year. Check your VIN with NHTSA or your manufacturer's dealer to confirm whether a recall affects your vehicle.
Check a VIN on NHTSA.govEQUIPMENT:OTHER:LABELS
NHTSA inquiries naming this vehicle. An investigation is not a finding of a defect.
THROTTLE NON-RETURN
There is no summary currently available
SUDDEN ACCELERATION
STATUS:ANALYSIS OF INFORMATION FROM THE MANUFACTURER IS IN PROGRESS.HOWEVER, NEITHER NHTSA OF GM HAS IDENTIFIED A FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION THATCOULD RESULT IN UNINTENDED ACCELERATION.SOME VEHICLES IN THIS GROUP WEREFOUND POTENTIALLY SUBJECT TO THROTTLE CABLE RESTRICTIONS, AND WERERECALLED ALONG WITH H CARS WITH SIMILAR PROBLEMS.INVESTIGATION ISCONTINUING.===
HYDRO BOOST
There is no summary currently available
HYDROBOOST FAILURE
SUBJECT VEHICLES:CAPRICE, CAPRICE CLASSIC, CUSTOM CRUISER, DEVILLE,ELECTRA, ESTATE WAGON, FLEETWOOD, LESABRE, NINETY-EIGHT, PARISIENNE,PARK AVENUE.(ALL 1984-86 GM VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HYDROBOOST II SYSTEMS)ANALYSIS:CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGE SEVERAL PROBLEMS INVOLVING THE POWERSTEERING AND POWER BRAKE SYSTEMS OF THESE VEHICLES.THESE PROBLEMSINCLUDE: POWER STEERING FLUID LOSS, POWER BRAKE FLUID LOSS, LEAKAGE FROMTHE HYDRO-BOOST II POWER BRAKE BOOSTER, BROKEN BOOSTER SEALS, AND MASTERCYLINDER FAILURE.ALL PROBLEMS SEEM TO BE RELATED TO THE HYDRO-BOOST IIPOWER ASSIST SYSTEM, IN WHICH THE WORKING FLUID PROVIDES POWER ASSIST TO BOKE BOOSTER.THE EFFECT OF THESE PROBLEMS COULD BE A LOSS OF STEERINGCONTROL AND/OR BRAKE EFFECTIVENESS.STATUS:THE VOLUMINOUS AMOUNT OF DATA SUPPLIED BY GM IS PRESENTLY BEING CODED BY A CONTRACTOR AND SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY 12/30/87. GM DATA INDICATED A 50% WEIBULL DISTRIBUTION FAILURE AT 50K MILES FOR THE PISTON PUSH-ROD SEAL. THIS PE LOOKS TO HAVE AN EXTRODINARILY HIGH FREQUENCY, ALTHOUGH THE SEVERITY APEARS TO BE LOW.SHOULD BE INTERESTING DISCUSSING THIS FOR UPGRADE/CLOSURE.===
Reports submitted to NHTSA, shown in the owner's own words
CONSUMER STATES WHILE DRIVING, THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE COMING FROM THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER THEN PULLED OVER AND LOOKED UNDER THE VEHICLE AND DISCOVERED A SMALL FIRE AND THE DRIVETRAIN AXLE WAS ON THE GROUND, THE TRANSMISSION WAS REPLACED, CONSUMER STATES HE WAS INJURED.*JB
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE. *AK
WHEN STEERING IS COLD IT IS HARD TO TURN, IN THE SUMMER TIME IT WORKS WELL. DESCRIBE .*AK
SEAT BELT RETRACTOR; FAILURE ON THE DRIVER SIDE SEAT BELT RETRACTOR, SEAT BELT WILL NOT RETRACT. *AK
THE STEERING WHEEL AND COLUMN LOCKS UP CAUSED CONSUMER TO HAVE A NEAR ACCIDENT. TT
THE STEERING IS HARD TO TURN THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN FOR THIS CAR . TT CONSUMER UNTIL THE VEHICLE HEATS UP THE STEERING IS EXTREMLY DIFFICULT, CONSUMER ASSUMED THAT THIS WAS NORMAL DUE TO THE VEHICLE BEING NEW.*JB
'COLD POWER STEERING'. *SD
ENGAGE IN REVERSE, VEHICLE SUDDENLY ACCELERATED OUT OF CONTROL, RESULTING IN TOTALLED VEHICLE. TT
Complaint and recall counts across every year of this model
| Year | Complaints | Recalls | Investigations | Issue Index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 1999 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 1998 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 40.6 |
| 1997 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 35.6 |
| 1996 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 57.4 |
| 1995 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 49.0 |
| 1994 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 52.6 |
| 1993 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 42.5 |
| 1992 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 45.1 |
| 1991 | 47 | 2 | 1 | 58.0 |
| 1990 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 50.7 |
| 1989 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 49.5 |
| 1988 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 41.5 |
| 1987 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 57.9 |
| 1986 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 53.1 |
| 1985Viewing | 9 | 1 | 5 | — |
| 1984 | 1 | 1 | 3 | — |
| 1983 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — |
| 1982 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1981 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1980 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1979 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 1977 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1975 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — |
| 1974 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1972 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 1971 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
| 1968 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — |
| 1967 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — |
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers. Older model years have had longer for reports to accumulate.