1991 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 192 complaints · 8 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (53 complaints · 27.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 10
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 14
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1990 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 53 of 192 owner complaints (27.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 53 complaints, 27.6% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 53 · 27.6% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 25 complaints, 13.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 25 · 13.0% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 21 complaints, 10.9% of reports ENGINE 21 · 10.9% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 17 complaints, 8.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 · 8.9% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports STRUCTURE: 17 complaints, 8.9% of reports STRUCTURE 17 · 8.9% · 1 crash reports STEERING: 12 complaints, 6.3% of reports STEERING 12 · 6.3% · 2 crash reports 1 fire reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 10 complaints, 5.2% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 10 · 5.2% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 8 complaints, 4.2% of reports VISIBILITY 8 · 4.2% SUSPENSION: 6 complaints, 3.1% of reports SUSPENSION 6 · 3.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 146 complaints, 76.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 146 · 76.0% · 6 crash reports 6 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 53 27.6% 1 crashes · 1 fires
SEAT BELTS 25 13.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 21 10.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 17 8.9% 1 crashes · 5 fires
STRUCTURE 17 8.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 12 6.3% 2 crashes · 1 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 10 5.2% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 8 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 6 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 146 76.0% 6 crashes · 6 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 1992. 1995-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 1995-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 1995-Q3: 14 owner reports 14 1995-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1996-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q2: 7 owner reports 7 1996-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1997-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1998-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2000-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports May 1991 Apr 2011 Recall campaign 92V003000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V003000 Recall campaign 92V043000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V043000 Recall campaign 92V124000 ◆ Recall campaign 92V124000 Recall campaign 95V173000 ◆ Recall campaign 95V173000 Recall campaign 97V058000 ◆ Recall campaign 97V058000 Recall campaign 00V189000 ◆ Recall campaign 00V189000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Investigation PE91072 ● Investigation PE91072 Investigation EA91049 ● Investigation EA91049 Investigation EA92024 ● Investigation EA92024 Investigation PE94048 ● Investigation PE94048 Investigation PE94063 ● Investigation PE94063 Investigation RQ97017 ● Investigation RQ97017 Investigation EA00011 ● Investigation EA00011 Investigation RP01001 ● Investigation RP01001
  • Campaign 95V173000 was reported 227 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 2,439 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 14
1995-Q2 Owner reports 8
1995-Q3 Owner reports 14
1995-Q4 Owner reports 8
1996-Q1 Owner reports 10
1996-Q2 Owner reports 7
1996-Q3 Owner reports 4
1996-Q4 Owner reports 12
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 3
1997-Q4 Owner reports 5
1998-Q1 Owner reports 2
1998-Q2 Owner reports 10
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 5
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 5
1999-Q4 Owner reports 8
2000-Q1 Owner reports 3
2000-Q2 Owner reports 5
2000-Q3 Owner reports 6
2000-Q4 Owner reports 5
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 6
2001-Q3 Owner reports 7
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 2
2002-Q3 Owner reports 5
2002-Q4 Owner reports 3
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2005-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q4 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 92V003000
Recall campaign 1 92V043000
Recall campaign 1 92V124000
Recall campaign 1 95V173000
Recall campaign 1 97V058000
Recall campaign 1 00V189000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Defect investigation 1 PE91072
Defect investigation 1 EA91049
Defect investigation 1 EA92024
Defect investigation 1 PE94048
Defect investigation 1 PE94063
Defect investigation 1 RQ97017
Defect investigation 1 EA00011
Defect investigation 1 RP01001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (8)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 00V189000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF BOTH BOLTS PULL THROUGH, THE FRONT OF THE CRADLE WOULD NO LONGER BE SUPPORTED AT THE MOUNTING LOCATIONS AND THE STEERING INTERMEDIATE SHAFT COULD SEPARATE FROM THE STEERING GEAR.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FRONT AND REAR FRAME/CRADLE BOLTS AND RETAINERS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V003000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THE SEAT OCCUPANT FACES INCREASED RISK OF INJURY IN THEEVENT OF A SUDDEN STOP OR ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL REINFORCING PLATES ON THE CRACKED SHOULDER BELT GUIDES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  5. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V043000

    Report date
    Component:
    VISIBILITY
    Consequence:
    THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE WILL FAIL FROM OVERHEATINGAND COULD RESULT IN A FIRE HAZARD INSIDE THE DOOR PANEL.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE WINDOW EXPRESS-DOWN ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  6. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 92V124000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEATS
    Consequence:
    THE HIGH CURRENT CAUSED BY THE ELECTRICAL SHORT WELDS THECIRCUIT BREAKER ELEMENTS TOGETHER IN THE CLOSED POSITION, LEAVING THE CIRCUITUNPROTECTED AND GENERATING SUFFICIENT HEAT TO BURN THE WIRE INSULATION ANDIGNITE THE SEAT CUSHION MATERIAL.
    Remedy:
    REPAIR ANY ABRADED WIRING AND REROUTE THE WIRING HARNESS USING A WIRING HARNESS CLIP.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  7. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 95V173000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    CONSEQUENCE OF NON-COMPLIANCE: IN A COLLISON, STRESS CAN CAUSE THE ATTACHMENT METAL TO TEAR AND ALLOW THE ANCHORAGE TO SEPARATE FROM THE BODY OF THE VEHICLE. THE SAFETY BELT MAY NOT PROTECT AN OCCUPANT IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE EXISTING ANCHOR BOLTS WITH A NEW SHOULDER BOLT AND THREAD LOCKING ADHESIVE. ADDITIONALLY, NOISE CONTROL PATCHES WILL BE APPLIED AT EACH ANCHORAGE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  8. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 97V058000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THIS WERE TO OCCUR WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION, A VEHICLE CRASH COULD RESULT.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE REAR CRADLE BOLTS AND RETAINERS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-22
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 192 complaints · page 1 of 8

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-22.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources