2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue GL from North America - Comments

I have had almost the exact same problems as described in the forum.

Steering gear had leaky boots and was replaced under warranty.

Alternator was replaced under warranty for the previously described in other forum listings "headlights dimming" problem. Later to learn the car is "designed" to do that. The real explanation is a smog/air pump is cutting on which pulls 100 amps every time it kicks in causing a massive drain till it fully starts and doesn't require as many amps. Listen for your HVAC fan to sound like its pulsating/cutting out and you will know when the pump is cutting on during the day. There never was anything wrong with the old alternator. It will not be fixed till GM/Olds makes it an official recall. Good luck with that happening since they axed the division.

Had the passenger front door realigned to open and close properly. Had to pay for that $45.

Headlight assemblies fog up and was told that is normal (whatever).

HVAC controls would show outside temp as 30 degrees when it was over 100 degrees F outside and Air Conditioning would not kick in. Had temperature sensor for outside replaced and the complete HVAC (heating ventilation and air conditioning) cluster replaced under warranty.

Coolant sensor indicating fluid was low kicked on a few times this past winter, but has not resurfaced. Probably a fluke.

Thank goodness for warranty! I purchased additional warranty to 60k. Car has been pleasant to drive. Not overly fast, but fast enough for day to day driving. As with most American cars of this size and class it's got sloppy handling, but very comfy highway ride and is quiet.

Bought it for new baby and has worked marvelously as a small family hauler.

Split rear seats are very handy as well as remote entry key fob.

Leather is sub-par, interior quality is above average for GM.

Tire size is good for this car.

Brake pedal feel has typical endemic GM mush over time, but it's a good indicator the pads need to be replaced soon.

Gas mileage is excellent on the highway for such a big car and for the size of the motor.

Oil changes are a breeze. Buy the oil filter "cap" wrench and you are set.

Engine has idled very smoothly since new.

Bought it for $15,900 from a Saturn dealer.

Two things I covet are: Sunroof and heated mirrors.

Olds was going in the right direction of making a decent car with better than GM average of controls and overall build quality. I wouldn't have considered buying again for the repairs, but warranty and great dealer servicing/customer service had been great from Oldsmobile.

I just sold this vehicle (I wrote this survey) with 146k and blown head gaskets for $1k. Apparently GM had the bright idea of drilling the head bolts straight into the aluminum block without using steel sleeves for the bolt threads on the block. Consequently overtime these bolts work out and then your heads start leaking coolant. These can be fixed by pulling the motor and drilling out the old threads and putting in steel sleeves. Then your motor should be good for a long time assuming the oil consumption doesn't drive you nuts. Other than that, my Intrigue was reliable since day one and got 30.xx on the highway till the introduction of ethanol in our gas. I just bought a 2005 MDX to replace it.