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Oldsmobile Intrigue premature wear problems

12 of the 1,140 owner complaints about the Oldsmobile Intrigue describe rotors or pads wearing out early, most of them for the 1998 model year.

owner complaints
12
worst model year
1998
Is there a fix? There is 1 recall for this area of the car. See below

By model year

Often reported together

What owners say

Filed Apr 1, 2001 · Brakes · VA

Brake rotors warp repeatedly. Both dealer & gm refuse to fix the problem once it is out of warranty.

Filed Mar 30, 2001 · Brakes · PA

Brake rotors warp every 15k miles. Rotors turned and pads replaced twice at owners expense. Rotors and pads will need replacement next service.

Filed Mar 19, 2001 · Brakes · MA

Premature wear of brake pads and rotors. Dealer has put 6 sets of pads and rotors on vehicle.

Filed Mar 14, 2001 · Brakes · MD

While driving in cold wet conditions the rotors warped without warning causing the car to violently shudder when attempting to stop, the shudder continues until the rotors are resurfaced or replaced. Nlm

Filed Mar 12, 2001 · Brakes · FL

Brake rotors have warped and needed to be replaced 3 times before the car had 47000 miles. An upgrade of the equipment was purchased with "larger brake rotors" from factory which are obviously defective. The manufacturer has stated that this type of rotor warpage (10000-15000 miles) is "normal wear and tear". The latest diagnosis is that the rotors are warped and are too thin to turn. These rotors were just replaced at 29543 miles. The main driver of this vehicle drives mostly highway driving, so the driver's habits should not cause this problem. Manufacturer refuses to fix problem and replace rotors, stating that this is a general maintenance item (similar to replacing brake pads). The "shuddering" that is produced by the defective rotors is very distracting. As this is an item connected with braking, it should be a safety concern to the manufacturer as well.

Filed Feb 19, 2001 · Brakes · NE

Have seen many postings about rotors warping every 10 to15,000 with both autobahn and standard (mine) on 1998 intrigues. Seems everyone gets save song and dance from the dealer - " not covered under warranty - must be your driving style causing the problem. " dealer refused to write up ticket without first having mechanics look at them- for $75 dollars an hour of course. Went to brake shop to have rotors turned down, shop said three out of four rotors were already underspec and couldn't be turned down. Bought car with less than 13,000 miles on it; if it already needed the brake rotors turned during that time then that suggests a design flaw to me. Rotors warping every 10 to 15,000 miles? Thats ridiculous! Also brake pedal seems rather soft, too much travel for a car with 4 wheel disc brakes, but then the rear rotors are also very warped and are rusting because pads not making much contact with rotor. Olds really needs to fess up and admit the brake system was made from inferior grade materials. These issues are unheard of on foreign medsize sedans. No wonder olds is going under.

Filed Jan 30, 2001 · Brakes · FL

Front brake rotors warped at 26,746 miles -- rotors turned. Rotors warped again at 34,363 miles -- replaced. Rotors warped again at 47,835. Contacted dealer and was informed that oldsmobile had issued a tsb stating, in effect, the "if wheels had been rotated/balanced by 'other than a gm dealership', no further warranty services would be provided on warped rotors." at 47,835 miles, I had rotors replaced with "after market" rotors at a cost of $368.00. At 16,000+ miles later, I have experienced no further problems. Supposedly, these "after market rotors" did not contain any composit materials and, therefore, were less likely to warp. The original equipment rotors were part of $230.00 autobahn package. I do not feel that oldsmobile is being fair/truthful regarding problems encountered with these rotors.

Filed Dec 11, 2000 · Brakes · IL

When vehicle was taken into a brake shop mechanic told consumer that rotors were sanded by manufacturer to the wrong size. *ak micrometer readings taken over the unworn rim outside of the brake pad wear area showed .035'' below low machine dimension. Brakes were not serviced prior to this.

Filed Sep 8, 2000 · Brakes · MD

Vehicle had a brake problem, rotors warped because they got too hot. When putting foot on brake front end of car shuttered very badly. Gmc replaced rotors at 10,000 miles and 20,000 miles; however, problem reoccurred. Took vehicle to dealer. They took off rotors and grinded them smoothly. At 40, 000 miles problem was worse. *ak heavy duty rotors on 98 olds over heat during normal usage causing rotors to warp and resulting in shuddering of front end when brake is applied.

Filed Aug 12, 2000 · Brakes · FL

Brake rotors warped @ 25,000 miles - fixed @ 30,000 miles. Rotors warped again @40,000 miles - not yet fixed. Concerened that the continued variation of brake pressure when braking created by the pulsating brakes from the warped rotor have a detrimental affect on the anti-lock brakes or traction control system of this car. This is not an isolated incident. Apparently, this has become an epidemic with this car that gm will not acknowledge. There are bulletin boards on edmunds.com devoted to this specific problem with this specific car.

Related recalls

Service brakes, hydraulic: foundation componentsReported April 17, 2000 · 8,132 vehicles affected
What is wrong
Vehicle description: passenger vehicles. Some of these vehicles have internal fluid leaks in the brake hydraulic control unit.
Risk
When the rear brake proportioning, antilock brake, traction control, or stability control feature is activated in some driving situations, the feature may not perform as designed.
Remedy
Dealers will inspect the ABS hydraulic modulator unit and if necessary, replace the hydraulic modulator.

Recall number 00V114000 · Recall details

Questions about the Oldsmobile Intrigue premature wear

Which Oldsmobile Intrigue years have rotors or pads wearing out early problems?

The model years with the most reports are 1998 (11 complaints) and 1999 (1 complaints).

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