1998 Oldsmobile Achieva: Reliability Data

52
Total Complaints
75,000mi
Median Mileage
Switch
Top Issue
2
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

42,250 25th Percentile
75,000 Median Mileage
78,750 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Switch
4
Frontal
3
Engine
3
Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
3
Alternator/Generator/Regulator
3
Vehicle Speed Control
3
Automatic Transmission
2
Cooling System
2
Service Brakes, Hydraulic
2
Interior Lighting
2

Severity Assessment

2
Crashes
2
Fires
1
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"WHEN DRIVER LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE AND HIT A UTILITY POLE ON THE PASSENGER FRONT SIDE, THERE WAS NO DEPLOYMENT OF THE AIR BAGS. THE VEHICLE IS BEING REPAIRED. *AK"
"ENGINE CYLINDER FAILED, CAUSING VEHICLE TO OVERHEAT."
"THE CHECK ENGINE AND LOW COOLANT LIGHTS APPEAR OFTEN AND THE ENGINE IDLES AT AN ABNORMAL SETTING. WHICH CAUSES THE ENGINE TO RUN WARMER THAN IT SHOULD AND CAUSING THE BRAKE PADS TO BE REPLACED LONG BEFORE THEY SHOULD BE. AS FOR THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT, THERE IS NOT A NEED TO ADD COOLANT BECAUSE ITS JU..."

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.

Switch 4 complaints
Median: 80,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

GA: 12 AZ: 7 MO: 5 OK: 3 OH: 3 TX: 3 NJ: 2 MS: 2 PA: 2 MA: 1

Who Files Complaints?

7.7%
Original Owners
92.3%
Second+ Owners

Oldsmobile Achieva — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
1992902
1993666
1994858
199510212
199611612
19971086

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