Owner-reported complaints naming the brake system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming service brakes, the antilock braking system, brake hoses, master cylinders or the parking brake. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 25 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
ABS LIGHT COMES ON VERY FREQUENTLY WHEN HITTING A BUMP IN THE ROAD OR MAKING A TURN. HAS DONE SO SINCE THE CAR WAS PURCHASED AND HAS BEEN IN NUMEROUS TIMES ABOUT PROBLEM, HAVING SEVERAL PARTS RELATING TO ABS AND BRAKES REPLACED. *NM
SINCE I PURCHASED THE VEHICLE IN 1997, THERE HAVE BEEN NUMEROUS PROBLEMS. THE FRONT BRAKES HAVE BEEN REPLACED 3 TIMES, ONCE WHILE STILL UNDER WARRANTY. THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT FAILED, AN $800 REPAIR. THE MOTOR ON THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW MALFUNCTIONED, A $400 REPAIR. TODAY, WHILE DRIVING HOME THE BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON, I WAS WITHIN A MILE OF HOME, SO I JUST KEPT GOING. AS I WAS TURNING INTO MY DRIVEWAY, ALL OF THE CONTROLS ON THE DASHBOARD FAILED, SPEED LIMIT, GAS GAUGE, ETC. I ALSO APPARENTLY HAD NO LIGHTS BECAUSE THE CAR BEHIND ME ALMOST RAN INTO ME WHEN THE TURN SIGNALS DIDN'T WORK.*AK
ABS LIGHT COMES ON AT RANDOM TIMES, USUALLY DURING A TURN, BUT NO ADVERSE CONDITIONS OCCUR. WHEN DIAGNOSED, IT WAS STATED THAT THE SPEED SENSOR WAS BAD. I HAVE HAD BOTH FRONT SPEED SENSORS REPLACED ABOUT 3-4 TIMES UNDER WARRANTY, AND SINCE THE WARRANTY HAS RUN OUT, I JUST DEAL WITH THE LIGHT. I JUST BROUGHT IT IN FOR THIS PROBLEM ABOUT 6 WEEKS AGO, AND AGAIN THE COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS SAID THAT IT WAS A SPEED SENSOR. THIS PROBLEM HAS EXISTED SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. *NLM
COMPLETE BRAKE SYSTEM HAD TO BE REPLACED , ROTARS, PADS, SHOES, ETC. *AK
ABS LIGHT HAS BEEN COMING ON INTERMITTENTLY, BRAKING DISTANCE IS NORMAL. VEHICLE TAKEN TO DEALER 15-20 TIMES. REPLACED BRAKE PADS/ ALTERNATOR/ BATTERY/ WIRING HARNESS, AND PUT IN SENSOR. DID NOT REMEDY PROBLEM, VEHICLE AT DEALER AT THIS TIME. *AK SERPENTINE AND TENSIONER BELT BROKEN. SECURITY LIGHT BLINKS DUE TO BAD THEFT LOCK SENSOR ASSEMBLY . BLOWER SPEEDS INOPERATIVE. A/C CONTROL INOPERATIVE. LEFT FRONT SEAT BELT BUCKLE FALLS TO FLOOR. POWER WINDOW INOPERABLE DUE TO ELECTRICAL SWITCH FAILURE. *YH
REAR BRAKE CYLINDERS ARE LEAKING. MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.*AK
FRONT BRAKE ROTORS WARPED, CAUSING BRAKES TO VIBRATE. *AK
AC BLOWER MOTOR FAILED CAUSING NOISE. *CJ
DEALER REPLACED LOWER INTAKE GASKET DUE TO AN OIL LEAK. *SLC
AFTER DRIVING VEHICLE FOR A MONTH HAD APPLIED BRAKES AND A GRINDING NOISE WAS HEARD. NOISE PROCEEDED TO GET WORSE. TOOK VEHICLE BACK. BRAKE PADS WERE CHANGED. A MONTH LATER , NEEDED A NEW SET OF BRAKES. PROBLEM HAPPENED EVERY TWO WEEKS. MECHANIC INDICATED NO KNOWLEDGE OF CAUSE OF PROBLEM. BRAKES KEPT MESSING UP & WERE UNDER WARRANTY, BUT NOT BEING PROPERLY REPAIRED. *AK
ALL FOUR BRAKE ROTORS HAVE RUSTY PITTED SURFACES. THE RIGHT REAR IS ALMOST TOTALLY POCK MARKED WITH PITS AND CAUSES THE CAR TO PULSATE AND SHAKE SEVERELY WHEN THE BRAKES ARE APPLIED. THE ANTI-LOCK BRAKE SYSTEM HAS BEEN REPAIRED PREVIOUSLY THREE TIMES FOR FAULTY SENSORS OR WIRING. *AK
BRAKES HAVE BEEN CHANGED 7 TIMES, THERE WAS LESS THAN 5000 MILES BTWEEN SETS OF BRAKES BEING REPAIRED. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY COULN'T FIND THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK
BRAKES FAILED 3 OTHER TIMES SINCE MAY 1998. AFTER 4TH TIME, CALIPERS WERE FOUND TO BE THE PROBLEM. VEHICLE WAS FIXED AT OTHER THAN DEALERSHIP AS DEALER DENIES PROBLEM WITH BRAKES.
BRAKE PADS WEAR OUT MORE FREQUENTLY WHICH CAUSES EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE AND MAY RESULT IN A CRASH. CURRENTLY ON 5TH PAIR OF BRAKE PADS. ALSO ABS LIGHT COMES ON WHILE MAKING SOME TURNS. *AK
EMERGENCY BRAKE CABLE CRACKED. YH
REAR BRAKES MALFUNCTIONED DUE TO A DESIGN FLAW, RESULTING IN EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. ALSO DEALER REPLACED BRAKE CALIPERS/PADS AND ROTORS, COMMON PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK
BRAKE ROTORS WORN OUT. YH
ABS LIGHT ILLUMINATING DUE TO FAILURE OF THE WHEEL SENSOR. MJS
BRAKES FAILED.
BRAKES FAILED, CAUSING SQUEAKING NOISE. *YC
ROTORS FAILED.
THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE. ALSO HEARD A GRINDING NOISE AT THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES. THE ANTI-BRAKE WHEEL SENSOR ALSO FAILED. VEHICLE BEEN IN THE SHOP SEVEN TIMES IN REFERENCE TO THE ABS BRAKES. *AK
CONTROL ARMS REPLACED, ORIGINAL ONES WERE WEAK CAUSING NOISE.
DRIVING 65 MPH W/CRUISE CONTROL ON; VEHICLE STARTED DRIFTING LEFT, OFF ROAD, PUT BRAKES ON, BUT TO NO AVAIL; VEHICLE SPUN AROUND & WENT RIGHT; HIT POST; AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY; VEHICLE WENT UP POST THEN LANDED ON ROOF. *AK
THE ABS BRAKING SYSTEM MALFUNCTIONED, CAUSING EXTENDED STOPPING DISTANCE AND HEARD A "GRINDING NOISE" AT THE FRONT END OF THE VEHICLE WHEN APPLING THE BRAKE. (SAME PROBLEM WITH A CUTLASS SUPREME 1996, DEALER TRADED IN FOR THIS 1997 WITH THE SAME PROBLEM). *AK
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 .