1997 Oldsmobile Achieva SL review from North America

The serpentine belt broke at approx. 70,000 miles... just lucky I had the extended warranty.

The steering rack had to be replaced at 88,000 miles.

The front end has developed a very serious-sounding rattle/clunk sound at low speeds. The strut mounts have been replaced three (yes, three) times within the last 20,000 miles.

The lumbar adjustment for driver's seat broke -- the cable is molded inside the foam of the seat, so repair is impossible.

The oxygen sensor has failed twice.

The engine mounts and transmission mount all failed simultaneously, and had to be replaced at approx. 90,000 miles.

When I first got the car, it seemed very nice. The 2.4l engine seems underpowered for the car, and the transmission shifts fairly hard from first to second with the air conditioner on. The seats were not the most comfortable, and now that the lumbar adjustment has broken on the driver's side, I feel like I'm sitting in a bucket. There are a few little picky things wrong, as well, like the carpet beginning to wear near the driver's seat (not near the pedals, where you would expect it), and the paint has begun to come off all the buttons (like the door lock buttons and the radio buttons). The slate gray interior makes the car seem smaller on the inside than it really is. But the biggest problem is with the suspension. It has never been the smoothest ride, but since repairing the motor and transmission mounts, it has been a noisy, rough ride. The strut mounts are always considered the culprit, but after having them replaced three times in the last year or so, I don't think that's the problem. Overall, this is not a car I would take out on the highway with any level of confidence.