1994 Oldsmobile Silhouette: windshield wiper failure

Filed Mar 19, 2004 · Electrical, Fuel system · AR

First issue: the windshield wipers fail to operate correctly. I replaced the blades and theres no improvement. They might go up/down 2 or 3 times then get stuck in up position, soon discovered that hitting bumps corrected for few seconds then again, they would fail to work properly. I took the vehicle to the repair shop & they said that it looked like the bearing was loose & later I replaced the wiper motor. #2: the fuel gauge is inaccurate & floats with acceleration or turns. The fuel warning light only illuminates after you've ran out of gas, you are out of gas when needle is slightly above 1/4 tank mark. #3: the front driver seatbelt fails to retract & often is shut in door b/c of failure. Also the seatbelt warning light/signal will only operate after you wiggle floor attached buckle. #4: the service engine soon light illuminates & remains lit. When attempting to retrieve trouble code the PCM does not communicate w/ scope diagnoster or when using aldl jumper wire method the service engine soon light never flashes the codes. #5: the driver electric window jumps when lowering & often falls from 1/2 up position & the passenger window rools only 1/2 down then must be pulled up by hand. Also, it makes a loud vibrating noise. #6: driver exterior door handle is broken & liftgate lock/latch does not lock & is loose. #7: transmission just suddenly went into neutral while exiting highway @55mph. When I kill the engine momentarily, the restarting problem subsided temporarily & also safety swithches did not function properly (would not start in neutral). I rebuilt the transmission & replaced all associated switches/modules.

Filed Apr 24, 2002 · Visibility · CA

Windshield wiper will suddenly not be operational. Neither the wiper "mist switch" or the "washer switch" or the regualr wiper switch will get the wipers to work. The problem will "heal" itself by the next day and can not be duplicated. This identical problem was observed on my 1993 oldsmobile silhouette. The dealer was aboslutely no help. This lack of wiper function is a critical problem.

Filed May 3, 2000 · Visibility · WV

Since purchasing the van in late 1994 new we have experienced a multitude of incidents where the front wipers freeze when working or wont turn on...the first person to experience it was my wife at about 20000 miles ...I didnt take it serious at first ...the wipers would eventually come back on after hitting a bump or after a while for no apparent reason...when my wife took it to the dealer they would say that they could find nothing wrong...this happened to her several times before I experienced it ...we drove right into the dealers and they reached under hood and hitthe wiper motor which kicked it on ...they showed us what to do and they indicated they would check with oldsmobile on itabout correction ...now we had a 100,000 mile warranty on the vehicle ..but they kept putting us off on repairing it... Eventually near about 95000 miles we took it in and demanded that they do something about it...they refused even though it was still doing it .....we seemed to be in a mexican standoff ...but neither my wife or I had time to set down and fight with them about it via snail mail...we have now started carrying a long heavy brush in the van and when it freezes up we pull over asap, open the hood and tap the assembly sharply ..usuallyy it starts to go ...some day , we are going to be riding in heavy rainstorm and it will seize up in the middle of a passing manuever or some such thing. Since we first experienced this problem before even the basic 36000 mile bumper to bumper warranty expired I have refused to pay for fixing it ..it is a dangerous functional defect and they should be required to have fixed it early on....I doubt they will do anything about this even now but I would like it documented in case an accident does occur. We do have copies their problem writeups of a few of the times we took it in to be looked at when the wipers failed to work.

Filed Jun 2, 1999 · Visibility · TX

Windshield wipers stop intermittently, at any speed. They may start again immediately, in a few seconds, or a few minutes. It appears to be random. My mechanic has been unable to diagnose. I am submitting this since I recently heard of other gm vehicles of similar age having the identical problem.

Filed Jan 5, 1995 · Visibility · MI

In cold/freezing weather, slush and snow collect on wiper blades, when wipers are cycled frozen slush tracts across windshield, affecting visibility.