1998 Oldsmobile Bravada from North America - Comments

Well, I bought a 2000 Bravada almost a year ago, with 43K miles on it, for 6800 bucks from a Chevy dealer in LA. Drove it home and loved it, haven't had any trouble from it, other than some reg maintenance that needed done. The a/c would freeze you out.

Well one thing I did start to notice was the transfer case shudder, and living in Texas you don't really need the AWD system, so I was looking for a way to get rid of the AWD when a friend of mine with a 96 S10 Blazer proposed a plan, he wanted to make his 2wd a 4wd and I wanted a 2wd, so we did a frame swap.

The swap started back in March, and I got mine all back together and running about a month ago, and now I'm having some problems crop up.

When I first got it all back together, I had to recharge the A/C. I got that done and it was blowing cold again. Well a few days later it was blowing hot and had lost the A/C charge. I found the schrader valve on the accumulator was the culprit. I've been busy the last few weeks and today I got time to fix the problem and recharge the system, and now I can get the blower motor to come on, it won't work in auto or any other setting, it was working great a few weeks ago. I don't have a factory service manual to see the diag procedure to find out if it's the control head or the blower motor control module, both of which are over 100 bucks for a new one.

The other annoying problem I've had going on since I got it all back together is the radio cutting in and out on some of the speakers. When I bought it I checked all the speakers, and they all worked except for the right rear door. I figured no biggie, probably a bad speaker, factory ones aren't all that great anyways, mine didn't have the BOSE system. Well now I'm only getting sound from the left front speaker, and driving down the road sometimes the rest will cut in and you can definitely tell when that happens. I'm thinking it's probably a problem inside the head unit, but I'm gonna replace it with something aftermarket anyways, so again not a huge deal to me.

Other than that, it has been a great vehicle, very comfy on the inside, and gets decent MPG; I'm right around 19 overall since the frame swap, and was at 15-16 before.

Oh I did have a problem surface shortly after I bought it; I found that the fuel pressure regulator was leaking, and that caused the cat converter to go out and clog up the exhaust. The truck would barely go 10 MPH, so I had it towed to the dealer after I replaced the regulator, and they replaced the cat under the 8 year 80K miles emissions warranty. About a month later the cat went out again, and again I took it back, and after taking 2 days to check out the entire truck, they replaced the cat again under warranty. Haven't had any trouble since.

Had My 98 Bravada since it was brand new 9 years.

1.I had an issue with the crank shaft at about 42,000, but it was still under warranty.

2.One alternator and battery About 5 years in, no biggie.

3. At 100,000 the water pump blew and was replaced with the inner gasket which my mechanic said needs to be done every 100,000 miles. altogether $575.00.

About 6 months ago at 133,000 the problems started, First another alternator, then the catalytic converter, fuel pump, Hinge on the driver side door, then the front end suspension including lower ball joints, pittman arm, axel, wheel bearings. altogether about $1700 in the last 6 months.

Today My heater core blew slipping antifreeze all over the floor.

I have maintained this car well since the start and accept it is almost 10 years old.

I love this car, But I know better then to buy another GM next time I'm thinking Camey Hybrid.

I got my 98 bravada a few months back. I replaced all the spark plugs over a good month time. The one behind the steering column is almost impossible, but after 3hrs I got it out! Now I am having issues with the electrical system. I thought it was the battery. Replaced that and after not even 24hrs the truck won't start again. I acts like the battery has no juice. shows about 11V which is enough to start. All my lights in the dash flicker and turn off and on. I even tried to jump it with cables. Still has an issue. WTF! Any ideas on where to check?

I got my 98 Bravada in 2004, and have loved it. I bought it with 52,000 miles for $8,000, and now have 100,000 miles on it. Regular maintenance on it included brakes, rotors, I just put new tires on it. The water pump was leaking so I had it replaced around 75,000, and I did the ball joints at 80,000. Then I had to put in new brake lines, fuel lines and a fuel tank/fuel pump. Considering this has been through 10 Maine winters I would expect a 10 year old vehicle to need new lines and fuel tank. Now I need to do some more work to the front end. I see most of this as regular maintenance. What would a car be if there wasn't any maintenance to perform. I still love it, it has been a goo car.

I purchased a 98 Bravada from a close friend in 2002 that had about 80,000 miles on it. He had had it for about two years and did maintain the vehicle as needed. Since my ownership went into effect, I've replaced the battery once, water pump once, oil cooler lines once and now the transmission rear seal is leaking along with what might be the rear main seal.

I've also had the relentless clicking from the flasher relay behind the glove box. Everything I read about the problem pointed to the "Multifunctional Switch", better known as the turn signal and headlight switch assembly in the steering wheel. But I found a brake light lamp out on the right rear, and since replacing it, the abnormal clicking has stopped.

In the last month the AWD has quit and the ABS seems not to be working either. Also, the gas mileage has dropped from 20 - 21 mpg to around 17 on long trips.

What's more, the idiot lights for the AWD and the ABS have not come on. Went out and bought a new Hanes repair manual with Bravada in the title, and have yet to find any useful information in it pertaining to my AWD problems (any suggestions?).

Really like the vehicle. My wife drives the devil out of it. It runs strong, rides like a truck, although my 94 Mazda B4000 had a smoother ride, really.

I bought a 1998 Bravada a few months ago. (Bank Reposession) 60,000 miles on it, really nice. It had a new battery in it and seemed fine. Ten days later the battery was dead. Had it checked... bad alternator. I replaced it. I also had that irritating click in the flasher. I replaced the turn signal switch. and it was fixed. The battery has gone dead twice since, and I cannot find the source of the short. I did have the system checked again, and it was fine. When I put a charger on it this last time, I found that the relay for the fuel pump would click on and off and kick out the charger. This happened when the Ignition switch was on. When I turned it off, the charger stayed on. Later I tried turning the switch on to see if it shorted again. It did not. I cannot figure out what the problem is, but I suspect it is in either the switch of the fuel pump. Can anyone help me? rande56776@bresnan.net.

My '98 Bravada caught fire 18000 miles into its life. The transmission went up. They replaced it and fixed it up, no questions asked, as I understood it happened to a lot of them. It did leave me stranded in PA for almost 4 days as they fixed it. I had electrical problems for days ranging from alternator problems to strange clicking and flashing whenever I made sharp turns. It was like a disco dance club at night, as the overhead kept flashing at times.

Windshield wiper motors, both front and back went out. I replaced them.

All in all, despite the problems, I really liked that truck. It is still in the family, but problems still creep up on it.

I just purchased a 98 bravada 4 days ago. I'm 17 and I work my butt off to have a good car. Well today I turned the A/c on and it blows cold and warm air on an off. The heater also quit blowing warm air, and when I turn the climate controls to AUTO and turn the thermometer to warm the A/C turns on auto. Well I feel pretty stupid now, I read a few comments and it looks like i am going to have an expensive future on this vehicle. So... if anyone has Any idea what the heck to do about the a/c heater problem, my e-mail is badass_chevyboy_2009@hotmail.com

thanks.

I bought a 2001 Bravada with 100k miles on it. The radiator had a hole that I noticed when I bought it, but had it replaced before I bought it. No major problems. Typical mush GM1/2 ton suspension, but no major problems.

Purchased a 1998 Bravada about 8 years ago when the vehicle was a little over 2 years old. Thank GOD we bought the warranty. Replaced the H20 pump - twice, heater core twice, tranny once, transfer case once.

We received a letter from some attorney's office about the Dexcool litigation regarding this year, make, model of vehicle and how they literally crap through anything associated with the cooling system.

Now, we're having ABS issues, electrical issues, no a/c for the last two years and the AWD is totally out.

Frankly - this car is a piece of crap. (do the math)

Be a cold day in h*ll before I buy another GM.

Have a 1998 Bravada, bought it new. Kept up all the maintenance at the recommended times over the years. Have not had any major problems with the vehicle. It now has 250000 miles on it. I am going for 300000. Best car I HAVE EVER OWNED. Too bad they are gone. It pays to maintain your vehicles.

I have a 1998 Bravada, and since day one... replaced the rear end axles, wind shield wiper motor and still works when it wants... replaced the engine, and my list can go on and on, but I'll never own one after this one's gone!!!