1997 Oldsmobile Silhouette: Reliability Data

155
Total Complaints
74,500mi
Median Mileage
Headlights
Top Issue
6
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

12,111 25th Percentile
74,500 Median Mileage
100,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Headlights
15
Latch
12
Door
10
Rack And Pinion
7
Hydraulic Power Assist System
6
Anti-Theft Device
4
Engine And Engine Cooling
4
Automatic Transmission
4
Windshield
4
Vehicle Speed Control
4

Severity Assessment

6
Crashes
0
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WINDSHIELD WIPERS INOPERATIVE; DESIGN OF VEHICLE ALLOWS SNOW/ICE TO GET BETWEEN WINDDHIELD AND HOOD, CAUSING WIPERS TO STOP WORKING, CREATES DANGEROUS DRIVING, IMPAIRS VISION. *AK"
"OWNER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING AT 35 MPH THE HOOD BLEW PFF VEHICLE AND CRACKED WINDSHEILD.OWNER IS VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS PROBLEM. *AK"
"HEAD REST OBSTRUCTS VISIBILITY OF DRIVER DUE TO POSTIONING AND DESIGN. THIS COULD RESULT IN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Latch 12 complaints
25th: 22,667 mi Median: 59,750 mi 75th: 77,557 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 21 MD: 20 OH: 13 NY: 8 IL: 7 MI: 7 CA: 7 NC: 6 FL: 6 GA: 5

Who Files Complaints?

49%
Original Owners
51%
Second+ Owners

Oldsmobile Silhouette — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1990681
1991575
1992291
1993241
1994433
1995607
1996240
19982257
199918611
20001393
200111310
20021021
2003407

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28