Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full
Data refreshed
Our database holds 83 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Showing 1–25 of 83 · page 1 of 4
HEAD GASKET LEAKED. CONSUMER INDICATED THAT WHEN HE WENT INTO GARAGE THERE WAS WATER ON THE FLOOR. CONSUMER HAD VEHICLE CHECKED OUT BY MECHANIC, WHO DETERMINED THERE WAS A HEAD GASKET LEAK. CONSUMER WAS QUOTED A PRICE TO HAVE VEHICLE REPAIRED. CONSUMER FELT THAT OLDSMOBILE SHOULD REPAIR THE PROBLEM FREE OF CHARGE SINCE THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE.*AK
LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAK INTO OIL
LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAK ON GM 3.1 L V6. *NLM
THE ENGINE STOPPED WORKING IN DECEMBER OF 2002. WHICH HAD TO BE REPLACED. *JB
THE CAR WAS HIT FROM BEHIND WHILE STOPPED AND THE SEAT AND SHOULDER BELTS DID NOT HOLD US IN PLACE. DT
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE WILL STALL OUT FOR 2 MINUTES AND START BACK UP, AND STALL BACK OUT AGAIN WITHOUT ANY WARNING.CONTACTED DEALERSHIP, CANNOT FIND PROBLEM.*AK
WHILE YIELDING ONTO HIGHWAY, STEPPED ON GAS PEDAL TO ACCELERATE, AFTER RELEASING PEDAL, ACCELERATED AT 80MPH. THROTTLE BECAME STUCK AND VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE, HAD TO GEAR INTO NEUTRAL TO SLOW VEHICLE DOWN. *AK *TT
CONSUMER STATES THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED WITHOUT WARNING DEALERSHIP HAS SERVICED THE VEHICLE LIGHT ANF FOUND THAT THE TRANSMISSION HAD FAILED. NLM
WAS DRIVING VEHICLE AND NOTICED COOLANT WAS GETTING LOW. CHECKED UNDER HOOD, AND FLUID WAS ON ENGINE. HEAD GASKET WAS LEAKING FROM RIGHT SIDE. *AK
WHILE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH VEHICLE HYDROPLANED INTO A DITCH AND IMPACTED A TREE HEAD-ON. DRIVER'S AIR BAG FAILED TO DEPLOY. MANUFACTURER WAS SENDING AN INVESTIGATOR TO EXAMINE VEHICLE, AND DETERMINE A CAUSE FOR POOR PERFORMANCE OF AIR BAG. DRIVER EXPERIENCED LIGHT INJURIES. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/ATTACHMENTS.*AK
THE OXYGEN SENSOR FAILED CAUSING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT TO ILLUMINATE. NLM
VEHICLE SKIDS IF APPLYING BRAKES ON LEAST AMOUNT OF ICE OR SLUSH. LOW TRACTION LIGHTS COMES ON, AND ABS LOCKS UP. *AK CONSUMER SAYS ABS IS NOT USEFUL IN WINTER DRIVING. *YH
DRIVERS SEAT IS SEPARATING FROM ANCHOR. *AK ANCHOR WAS NOT PROPERLY SECURED TO FLOOR BOARD. *YH
WHEN DRIVING AT ANY SPEED AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING VEHICLE WILL CUT OFF AND COME TO A DEAD STOP. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER, AND DEALER HAS REPLACED SOME WIRING. REPAIRS WERE NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY. *AK *ML
OCT 99 WHILE DRIVING HEARD A NOISE $ VEHICLE STARTED TO SLOW DOWN. PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD.CONTACTED DEALER & INFORMED BY MECHANIC TO BRING VEHICLE IN . HAD VEHICLE TOWED. TRANSMISSION'S REVERSE WENT OUT. TRANSMISSION REPAIR WAS $2,200 . THIS CAR IS UNSAFE PLEASE RECALL IT. PLEASE SEND REBATE TO HELP REPAIR OR GET NEW VEHICLE. THANKS. *AK
SEVERAL COMPONENTS HAVE PREMATURELY DETERIORATED CALLING INTO QUESTION SAFETY OF OTHER RELATED COMPONENTS. THE CAR IS 3 YEARS AND 6 MONTHS OLD, BUT HAS LESS THAN 29,000 MILES. THE PROBLEMS ALL SEEM TO DEAL WITH RUBBER (OR SIMILAR MATERIAL) COMPONENTS. THE ENGINE INTAKE MANIFOLD IS LEAKING. THE LEFT SIDE AXLE SEAL AND COVER ON THE TRANSMISSION IS LEAKING. THE SERPENTINE BELT WAS ALREADY CRACKING AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. (THE SERPENTINE BELT IS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION, IF SO DESIRED). *AK
#6 CYLINDER FAILED RESULTING IN ENGINE FAILURE. DEALER WANTS TO REBUILD OR REPLACE WITH A NEW ENGINE. CONSUMER FEELS THIS MAJOR ENGINE PROBLEM SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPEND AT 44K MILES. NLM
TRANSMISSION WENT OUT DUE TO A HARDENED STOVE PIPE GM# 24202422. THE PART BECAME DEFECTIVE (EATEN UP). TRANSMISSION SHOP STATED THAT IT SHOULDN'T HAVE WORN OUT SO FAST. *AK *ML
BRAKE FLUID LEAKED FROM CYLINDERS, WHICH RESULTED IN NO BRAKING ABILITY, AND ALMOST CAUSED A CRASH., REAR BRAKE CYLINDERS LEAK LEADING TO TOTAL BRAKE FAILURE, VERY UNPREDICTABLE BRAKING. AK *ML
PARKING BRAKE RELEASE CABLE BROKE, RESULTING IN THE PARKING BRAKE STICKING. YH
PINK WIRE IN THE WIRING HARNESS SHORTED OUT AT POINT OF ANCHOR CAUSING ENGINE TO STOP. MJS
WHILE DRIVING HAD HEARD A NOISE & VEHICLE STARTED TO SLOW DOWN. PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD. CONTACTED DEALER & INFORMED BY MECHANIC TO BRING VEHICLE IN. HAD VEHICLE TOWED. TRANSMISSION'S REVERSE WENT OUT. TRANSMISSION WOULD GO ONLY INTO DRIVE. *AK
AT 13,000 MILES , THE BRAKES NEEDED TO BE REPLACED , THERE WAS NO INDICTATION OF BRAKES WEARNING OUT, NO SQUEAKY NOISE DEALER CLAIMS BRAKES ARE VERY THIN. *AK
VEHICLE STALLED WHILE DRIVING 60 MPH CAUSING A LOSS OF POWER
THE ABS SYSTEM ACTIVATES UNDER NORMAL BRAKING CONDITIONS MAKING IT HARD TO SLOW AND STOP THE VEHICLE. NLM
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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .