Comments: 1-15, 16-17
Traction control - Replaced 3 times.
Transmission - Replaced twice.
Water pump - Replaced 2000.
Automatic windows - repaired.
ABS system - Replaced twice.
This car is the worst car I have ever owned! However, the cabin is very roomy and the seats are comfortable and this helps when you wait for the tow truck to come.
It's not nice to lie! First of all, these cars have a V6. Two transmissions do not go bad on an Olds within 70,000 miles. Even if the traction control did go bad 3 times, which I know it didn't, no one in their right mind would spend the money replacing it 3 times, since it isn't necessary. ABS systems also do not fail that often. The water pump is almost believable. Also, its LSS not LXX. You never owned this car!
This was the kind of car our family had a year ago, and this goes to show that some cars are just LEMONS. I know you probably aren't lying about this stuff, but it just happens sometimes. Our car ran great for the 3-4 years when we had it. The only thing that went wrong was the turning signal switch.
I have had a 95 Oldsmobile 88 for a year now and I put 20000 miles on the car since I purchased it. It has made long hauls from Pa to South Carolina quite a few times. I had the water pump go out at 50000 miles, but a fuel pump normally only lasts about 50000 miles. So other than that is has been perfect.
The v6 in the car has loads of power and it is a very refined automobile. It seems to have no trouble cruising at or above highway speed for its size, so it is a very thought out vehicle. It has my support and I love it.
As the first guy stated, it is not nice to lie. I personally have owned a Olds 88, not an LSS, but pretty much the same car anyway. When I sold it 2 months ago, it had 195,000 miles on it, and ran as good if not better than the day I bought it. The only service I ever had to do to it other than normal maintenence was get the water pump replaced once. Might I add that I didn't take it easy on this car either. When my foot was on the gas, it was on the floor. If you had 2 transmissions go bad, the ABS repaired twice, and had the traction control fixed 3 times, might I ask, why did you keep the car as long as you did? But I have the answer to that, you never owned the car in the first place. Unless you drove down the road turning your traction control on and off repeatedly and shifting into reverse while going 90Mph there is no way this happened.
I have had my Oldsmobile Eighty-Eight LSS for about 3 months now. I love the car, but it seems to have some flaws. The driver side power window has broken and I had to disassemble the door just to pull the window closed. Also, the little plastic power window lever comes completely out of its position, at least on the passenger side. The passenger side thermostat control does not work. The traction control does not work, the light just stays on saying traction off. The transmission slips sometimes, but it may just need to be replaced. The person I bought this car from (at 68000 miles), did not have any records of maintenance. There seems to be a water leak in the trunk area; this has only happened one time (and the trunk was not open if you were wondering). Besides these problems, the car is awesome. It is very roomy. I don't get so worried about getting in a wreck when my wife is driving because the car is solid. The power leather seats are very comfortable. The car also can be very intimidating, especially at night. I have observed many drivers slow down and get out of the lane to make way for me because they mistake this car for an undercover police car.
The car is first class. My father gave me the car after having put 60,000 miles on it. (after purchasing it used with 60,000 miles on it) I have since put an additional 60,000 miles on it. These cars, save a few random dealership rip-offs, are gems of their time. Cadillac, Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, and so forth have luxury cars as well. However, to buy a car with comparable performance, mpg, size, style, safety, and features, expect to pay twice as much, or more. For the price, these are the best cars on the road. (with a rebuilt engine at 124,000 I expect the car to last 250,000)
I have recently purchased my 95 Eighty Eight and love it. The only problems with the care is the traction control and the automatic door locks only work for the drivers side and rear passenger side doors. Other than that it has great pick up great braking system that saved me for getting into a bad accident. NO complaints here.
Got a 1995 88 LSS. Bought three years ago exactly with 60K. Just turned 100K and no problems until two weeks ago. Diagnosis isn't in yet. It is a 3800 engine 6 cyl. I am disabled and do not drive the car much and had the oil changed every 3000 or less and until now, really thought I'd have this car for many more years.
Well, about two weeks ago, started to hear a hum when car was moving along highway, not standing still. Each day seemed to get louder. Due for inspection so asked the guys what noise could be. Serepentine belt did not look good at all, they said, so it is probably making the noise. Had that changed at another garage by the way, because this national chain could not jack up the motor which was necessary on this car to get the belt on. It was a $100 dollar job instead of something youcan usually do yourself.
Drove out of garage after hours and noise was, you guessed it, still there. Noticed antifreeze was low.
Want to backup here by saying, when car us standing, no noise whatsoever, only when it is moving and start to hear it about 25mph.Brought it to a station who said I was blowing antifreeze out back and motor either needs headgaskets or block is cracked. PLEASE, if anyone has any info about this type of engine, like if there is a problem with them or something, please write me at korus13@telenet.net I got to tell you this is like the shock of the century. I never, never expected this car to go like this. As I said, diagnosis isn't in yet because engine hasn't been torn down yet, but I don't have my hope. Joyce.
Greetings.
Bought my 1995 Olds 88 in December 2001 with 65000 on the odometer. Fell in love with the design and the fact no matter where you turn your head you can see outside the car. found the 3.8 3800 Series II to be a spunky little engine for pulling nearly two tons of car. Many times I have out accelerated my friends Lexuses and Audis from a stoplight. (Happy feeling inside knowing I paid less, get better gas mileage and can haul more stuff :) ) An overall excellent driving vehicle. However, the car is not without its demerits.
Shortly after buying the vehicle, I would notice the vehicle hesitating when climbing in a turn (interstate on/off ramps, for example). GM shop said that the fuel sock in the fuel tank collapsed. Luckily that happened within the first 3000 miles, so that was fixed for free. Did not have any problems with it until Dec 2002 when I started noticing that I was loosing coolant on a regular basis. (I'd put 25000 miles on it since purchase - odo read 90000) Took it in to the GM repair shop and they said that it looked like either a blown head gasket or a warped manifold. Well, 6 days and $800 out of my pocket later, the manifold was replaced. it runs great now and with that repair done, I can foresee the vehicle lasting quite a while longer.
Oh, to the person a couple entries above me, mine was used as a "vanilla wrapper" police cruiser in a past life time :) Also, with me being a ham radio operator, the antennas don't help too much either.
Brian
El Cajon, California.
Bought my 95 Olds LSS in Sep 2002 with close to 69,000 miles on it. Great looking car (inside and out) and has lots of get up and go. And as someone commented, previously, I can either zip by or hang with more expensive luxury cars (very NICE).
It has driven very well on the highway. However, I've been been frustrated with intermittent and strange problems, beginning about 1 month after purchasing it. I did all the right things (or so I thought) before purchasing my car--CARFAX report, pre-inspection, test-drive. I guess cars are just funny that way. No warning signs, and very random. I'll drive the car all day, stop by the store to pick up a few things, come out and then it won't start. However, it will ALWAYS start if I let it sit for 20-45 minutes. Also, it has de-accelerated on the highway twice. I was forced to pull over both times. Again, I waited for about 20-30 minutes and then drove home.
I went to two repair shops (trying to save money) before going to the Cadillac dealership; I needlessly replaced a thermostat with the first shop, and the second shop (instead of ripping me off) stated that they preferred to keep it all day and wait until the car replicated the problem before making a diagnosis.
So far, I've spent a little over $750 at the Cadillac dealership, replacing the module and computer (ECM?), and I'm still having problems. But they've been great so far; they're working with me to get it fixed (waiving those initial fees). In fact, it's in the shop right now; they're keeping it for a couple of days and they're bringing in an expert from a nearby town to try to solve the problem. I'm a poor grad. student and I sunk all of my money into this car. So, many prayers and crossed fingers on this one. :-)
That's the big problem. Regarding the smaller stuff, I'm experiencing a trunk leak and the passenger side temp. control doesn't seem to work (similar to someone who posted earlier on this site) ; it blows warm/hot air. Regarding the trunk leak, I suspected that water was entering through my tail-lamps; I can see condensation/moisture in the lights. The dealership confirmed this diagnosis and gave me a $600 estimate (500 for parts, 100 for labor) to replace the entire taillight housings on both sides. I compared prices online, at local salvage yards, and at GM direct (also online). For both parts (excluding labor), GM charges nearly $300, a local auto shop quoted me $250, and I found them at salvage yards in two different states (CA & NC) for about $175; I finally bought the used parts.
Hope someone else benefits from this info., and if anyone has advice/info. for me, please email me at acbeatty@yahoo.com. Thanx.
I have owned a 1995 Oldsmobile 88 LSS for the last 7 years. It has strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are it is roomy, luxurious, plenty of power (245Hp), Quiet, great sound system and handling is good. Weaknesses - like those comments before me are maintenance problems. I have had to have the supercharger to manifold gasket changed twice and have also experienced the problem with the traction control. For the last 25K miles the "Traction Off" light has been on. They told me at the dealership that it would cost me $750 to fix. Overall the car has been good. When it is bad, its bad. But I really like the additonal add ons that Oldsmobile gives it's cars and am selling the "88" (now with 150K miles), and have purchased a 2003 Oldsmobile Aurora with all the extras... reminds me of the "88" a lot, but better. Got the 4.0 liter v-8...hopefully a better engine/transmission combination than the "88".
I have had very bad experiences with my 95 Oldsmobile 88 royale. At 62,000km the transmission went. At 149,000km I had the motor rebuilt because all the engine seals leaked and the tell tale blue smoke was bothersome. At this point the machine shop wasn't impressed by the poor quality of the motor (made in Mexico). The water pump had been leaking for sometime prior to the rebuild, so it was replaced as well as the oil pump, timing chain, frost plug, all gaskets, heads, pistons bored out and new seals installed. Shortly after this major expense the front wheel bearings needed replaced. These are not cheap as they are a complete unit and affect the ABS system. Still at only 154,000 and my trunk leaks, the window control on the passenger side won't work, the switches for the window controls are falling out, and I just replaced the EGR valve and the Knock sensor needed replaced. As much as the cars body is holding out, I am really disappointed in my Oldsmobile and it's made in Mexico parts. I won't be buying a General Motors car in the near future... Actually I am selling my lemon and buying a Nissan. Thanks for letting me vent all.
Who wants to sell me your 1995 Olds 88? I am looking for one that is driveable to Montana. Price? Color of the interior? Email me at wadeco@midrivers.com & send a picture if you have one. Thanks!
I own a 95 olds 88 Royale - This car is the base version - and it is amazing. The seats are fully adjustable - and cofortable. The base version comes with the N/A 3800 Series II (205 hp, 235pds of torque I think I recall)
And it now has 190 000 kms on her - and I have had to replace the front bearings and a fuel sending unti. That's IT.
Lovely car. Great car!
I have just traded my 1967 cutlass for this beautiful green 95 88 LSS. The engine has been replaced and has approx. 56,000 miles on it. Brakes and rotors are new, along with power antenna assembly, door elec. window switch, oxygen sensor, wheel hub assembly, and alternator are also new... traction sensor does work and transmission shifts great... The car is for sale for 3500.00, for no reason other than money... Leather interior is beatiful... the car is in Ohio..namvetjarhead68@sbcglobal.net.