1999 Oldsmobile Bravada from North America - Comments

Have had the fluid in the transfer case drained and refilled three times due to a shudder in the vehicle.

Transmission slipping.

Transmission had to be rebuilt.

Vanity mirror cover on passenger side broke off, driver side cover partially broke.

Paint on the luggage rack is peeling.

The Bravada is a very classy vehicle, but as far as mechanically, it has been a very disappointing one. When you purchase a vehicle that cost as much as the Bravada, you expect better.

We have had problems with this vehicle since the first week we purchased it, and the owner of the dealership where we purchased it in Waynesboro, GA, was very rude and hateful when we approached him about returning the Bravada.

I have had very similar problems with the transmission on my 1999 bravada.Transmission was replaced after first week, fluid was replaced and pressure plate rinsed??? I guess. Took it back a couple of times when it did not seem to be shifting out of 4wd. dealer said it was OK - now at 83,000 miles transmission warning light is coming on. Dealer says it may be $2-3,000. Wondering if there are more people with problems - any service directories etc.

I currently own a 1998 Oldsmobile Bravada. We have absolutely been thrilled with this vehicle until just recently. Twice in 8 days the electrical system has shut down while driving for no apparent reason. I have taken the vehicle to a honest and reliable mechanic who cannot find any reason for this. Have other owners had this problem? Have any of you found a solution or a repair shop who could fix this problem? This is quite dangerous and I am very concerned. Please email me a melindalise@coslink.net if you have any answers. Thank you!

I purchased a 1997 Bravada and have had nothing but problems with it. The transmission has been replaced once and repaired three times. There have been other repairs also that are unreasonable at 90,000 miles. Mechanically it is not a sound vehicle at all and I would not recommend it to anyone. It looks good, has a good ride and is luxurious. All of which does me no good parked in the garage undergoing repairs. I've had to put the repair shop on speed dial and they recognize my voice when I call to see if the latest repair is completed. This is not a good thing.

I own a 1999 Bravada and just had to replace the transmission. It had a little over 70K miles when the problem occurred. I contacted the local X-Olds dealer and not surprisingly they were not very sympathetic and indicated that the transmissions in the Bravada were considered solid and had very few problems. That doesn’t make me feel a lot better after having to spend $2,300 for a replacement transmission and $500 for car rental. With the warranty only being for 3 years or 36K miles I guess I’m out of luck. If someone else has succeeded in getting some financial relief I would appreciate hearing the approach used. Otherwise, I guess I’ll just consider it a ‘lesson learned’ and be more skeptical of GMC products in the future.

In July 2002, bought 1999 Oldsmobile Bravada. Immediately began problems. Dash controls failed, including odometer and loss of power while driving down the road. Soon after took to the dealer, replace ignition switch, not very long before whole trans failed at 54,000 miles.

Of course no help from dealer or manufacture. I think we should get together and start class action or something here.

I purchased a 2000 Bravada in July 2001. I had little things happening at first. Noises from the fan unit, tire issues, dealer did not supply me with spare... etc.

Now in 2004 I tried to trade in this immaculate condition vehicle which I still owe $13,400 on and was offered $8k!!!

I am told my auto trak is going out!

It was slipping at one time and a mechanic added some trans lube stuff for slippery trans.

I have horrible take offs and I drove for a living for about 8 yrs, so I really do not feel the trans issues are from my driving.

Oh we bought the vehicle with 31k miles on it. Should of been a sign then that 31k in a little over a year is a bit high.

OK now 3 years later we have only put on 22k miles. In 3 years! It is 4 years old and had 53k miles on it!

Just had the original brakes and rotors swapped out too. So that should say how little it has been driven and how gently.

The tilt is broken by some miraculous event I do not know even though I am the sole driver of this vehicle.

Several months back my top brake lights (rear) stopped working and no indicator went off to tell me. Thank goodness a relative noticed it while following me one day. This little problem ended up costing me $200 with $150 of parts covered by what was left of an otherwise useless extended warranty. We tried new bulbs and fuses first, only to find out it was some wirering in the steering column.

I have had a constant pull to the right after about 6 months of purchase. Of course new tires and such and still a pull. Never did get the spare from the dealer either, will only say it is a large dealer in chicago. They also messed up the contract and was supposed to send me a copy of the new one, which they brought out to me to sign, but than never sent me a copy.

The paint peels and chips easily on this car. Luggage rack has never been used yet is peeling.

Molding around driver side passenger door pops off. The rear swing up door is made of plastic molding and the clips to adhere it to the metal frame are sunk into the plastic molding. One of these clips broke off from closing the door too hard and when it was under warranty, I took it to a dealer in Joliet, Il to be fixed and they rigged it to stay just long enough for the warranty to run out-which was like 2 weeks.

We programmed the radio with a code and when the electrical issue with the brakes happened it reset the code. Now the dealer wants to charge us to unlock it, even though it was a mechanical problem with the vehicle that caused it to reset.

One luxury riding car, too high in cost for the constant battle of mechanical issues that dealers say are not covered in the VERY short warranty.

Would not recommend.

I own a 2001 Bravada. Very nice ride indeed however... without warning and only at 65,000 the transmission blew. Not far from my house at a speed of 60mph I had a dramatic drop in power followed by what one could describe as the sound of velcro, a zipper and a tormented cat under the hood. I gimped the car home only to find I had only first and second gear and no reverse. My pride and joy now sits in the garage awaiting a trip to the shop. Who knows how much this is gonna cost me, but it's sure to hurt. The long and short of it is... fixing it is still less than getting a new ride.

In 2001 I bought a 99 Bravada with just a slight pull to the right. Everything on the vehicle worked then and still works to this very day, however, I too have had problems with the transmission. At first the it was mechanical failure, but fortunately was covered by the warranty which saved me 1300.00. For about the past year it has been slipping on take offs and has just recently got to the point where intermittently it will shift very hard, I have found that by shutting of the vehicle and letting the solenoid reset itself will eliminate this problem. When this happens my service engine light will come on even though it is shifting fine and after a short while it will go out. This is the only problem I have had with this vehicle, I have made many trips from Kansas to Florida and or to Vermont and back and it has been very dependable and is a joy to ride in. On my last trip I even towed a 2000 lb boat from Vermont to Kansas and had NO problems at all, from the sounds of all the other comments I would say that I am blessed to have one of the few Bravadas out there that one can depend on.

I purchased a 1999 Bravada in 2002 with 33k miles. Everything was fine for about 12 mos, then my left wheel bearing broke, a few weeks later the right. I thought that was the end of my troubles, but then my alt. broke. Fixed that, then my automatic driver side window broke, fixed that. Thinking my problems were over, the transmission all of a sudden started shifting extremely hard and my check engine light came on. I limped the truck home and let is set for two days, somehow, the transmission issue cured itself, but I lost most of the power. After a week the engine regained its power, but sometimes feels like I'm dragging something. Now, when I try to turn, the truck shudders violently like something is binding up. I'm at a loss. What a piece of garbage this vehicle is. Now wonder there was only a 36k mile warranty. Everyone I've ever talked to about this truck just nods their head and recalls similar stories from other Bravada owners, then state: get rid of it.

Unfortunately I also own a 1999 Olds Bravada and it's been costing me a lot of money. If you have crow hopping everytime you make a sharp turn, be sure to go to a good honest mechanic. No doubt it's the transfercase! Drain the transfer case twice, refilling it with newer Blue fluid. Drive vehicle 5.7 miles each time, heating up the fluidand making several parking lot turns. Refill a third time, and you are done. This usually stops hopping cases unless something big time has failed. This advice comes from a newspaper article I've kept. Good luck! I've spent thousands on this vehicle... hub assembly, idler arm, ball joints, axles, brakes, and now they're telling me transmission problems. It's a nightmare!!!

I am also an unlucky owner of a 1999 Bravada. I wish I had read this website before I purchased this car. I have replaced the transmission, ball joints, fuel pump, have had it stuck in four wheel drive (this cost a pretty penny to fix), the dash board goes on and off (this I have figured out depends on where the seat is, believe it or not if I move the seat up the dash board will work again), the check engine light goes on and off at will, the back windshield wiper doesn't work, the vanity mirror cover broke off, the luxury of having a sunroof would be great if it worked and now I am bringing this back in because the power steering motor went out and yes there is fluid in it!!! I have spent more repairing this car than what I originally paid for it, granted it was used but give me a break!!!