1996 Oldsmobile Aurora from North America - Comments

Air conditioning compressor died twice.

Air conditioning condenser died.

Have given up on A/C altogether.

Right rear window motor died.

All window switches now inoperative, except master driver control.

Water pump died.

Transmission torque converter faulty - $1,400.00 repair estimate.

Ignition switch failure - has required replacement twice (display: "ignition key needs cleaning", in fact the only thing that gets cleaned out is your wallet) - $250.00 plus two $60 "smart" keys each time.

Driver seat memory not reliable.

Rear shocks have both broken - now squeak and shimmy from side to side.

Rear auto-load leveller pump died.

Electrical surges (erratic fluctuations in power level - seen in lights etc).

Rear brakes are a major pain to replace.

Brake squeal when hot.

Premature body rust above left rear wheel well.

Extremely thirsty for premium fuel - embarrassingly inefficient.

Sluggish performance recently.

I have owned numerous vehicles, and never believed in GM products. Unfortunately, two years ago I listened to friends and unfortunately should have listened to my own instinct. I was fooled by a good-looking, comfortable and smooth performer that appeared to be in very good condition when I purchased it privately. THIS IS THE WORST PIECE OF JUNK I HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED - LET ALONE OWNED. This was supposed to be one of GM's premium cars that was going to woo folk away from the European and Japanese brands. What a load of whitewash! I will never, never even momentarily consider looking at any GM product ever again. I would take my 1993 Chrysler Concorde back in exchange for this 1996 Aurora any day - but for the fact it was stolen and trashed. Listen to me carefully - resist the GM automaton that seems to pervade in so many car buyers' minds. DO NOT BUY GM. That is the only way they will finally be convinced to care about the quality of the vehicles they build.

"DO NOT BUY GM."

- What with the direction in which GM is going now, there may not be a GM to buy anything from before too long.

I, for one, couldn't be happier about the fact that Olds is gone. They built nothing, but garbage. Fortunately, it also looks like the rest of GM is going down too. This is something that is well deserved, and has been a long time coming. Toyota and Honda are the only two manufacturers this country needs anyway. Hopefully, the downfall of GM will happen sooner rather than later. GM, this country doesn't need you. We now have much better domestic manufacturers in Toyota and Honda. At least they care about this country.

Toyota does not make quality vehicles and costs associated with repair are way up there with Ford. GM is considerably less overall. This car is only an exception to the rule.

I have a 96 Aurora also and I kick myself every single day for purchasing it. It is HORRIBLE. I have sank well over $2000 in repairs in the last 8 months that I have owned this vehicle. It is ALWAYS something. Too many repairs to list. But like the first commenter, I share many of the these complaints. I have replaced the:

Water pump

head gaskets

radiator

pulleys

power steering hoses (not cheap either)

thermostat

driver seat memory not reliable

constant misfiring

hesitation

unreliable air conditioning

vent barely blows hard enough to feel anything.

The doors will lock while you are NOT in the car while the car is RUNNING. So if I step out of my car, I have to put my window down so I can reach in to unlock my door! The engine light has stayed on for months (mechanic can't find the trigger). The original price of this car was $35000.00 so I thought I was getting a good car and now I am trying to figure out how to get rid of it. I live in a small town and would feel so guilty selling it to anyone! I will probably have to take a loss and trade it in. Oh, and did I mention that the steering column comes loose every so often and the entire dash must be taken apart to repair it?? Anyone considering purchasing an Aurora should STOP and take these comments seriously. Oldsmobile should be ashamed of themselves for this one.

I have owned my 1997 Aurora since 2001 when it had 50K on the odometer. Now with 112,000 miles on it all I have had to do besides normal maintenance is replace a cracked radiator. All electrical works great and engine runs fine. I average 26 to 28 MPG with it. Every manufacturer has a Friday afternoon car made once in a while. This guy was the unlucky on. I have a 1997 GMC van with 160,000 miles on it and have never touched it. All cars that I have bought from GM I keep for at least 150K some I have went to 225K before selling them. The quality is there no matter what these others say.

"I, for one, couldn't be happier about the fact that Olds is gone. They built nothing, but garbage. Fortunately, it also looks like the rest of GM is going down too. This is something that is well deserved, and has been a long time coming. Toyota and Honda are the only two manufacturers this country needs anyway. Hopefully, the downfall of GM will happen sooner rather than later. GM, this country doesn't need you. We now have much better domestic manufacturers in Toyota and Honda. At least they care about this country."

What a terrible, misguided and erroneous comment.

See reading your review I see that maybe you didn't exactly take care of the car as best you could. You can't expect a car to be great unless you take care of it. Its like a girlfriend if you never buy her any gifts and ignore her shes gonna give up on you. Same with the aurora. Stop complaining and invest In routine maintenance.

I bought a 1999 Olds Aurora in 2001 with 42k miles on it and I have to say this is bar-none the best vehicle I've ever owned. Where else can you get a performance luxury sedan with a V-8 that gets high 20's for mileage? I have 132k on mine and have only done routine maintenance including: front & rear brake pads (also replaced rotors with cross-drilled), spark plugs (100k mile Bosch platinum+4), head lamps (bright blue for looks) and tires. I have put synthetic oil in it since I bought it and have replaced the air filter every spring. I actually got 31mpg coming back from North Dakota at 95mph. I've worked on a lot of cars and owned all brands and this is my most reliable, most comfortable, fastest sedan I have ever owned. GM is the only brand I will buy from now on.