OLDSMOBILE · vehicle model
OLDSMOBILE 98
417 NHTSA complaints and 0 safety recalls across model years 1975–1999.
- Complaints
- 417
- Recalls
- 0
- Model years
- 21
The OLDSMOBILE98 appears in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database with 417 consumer safety complaints and 0 recall campaigns across 21 model years (1975–1999). That averages roughly 20 complaints per model year. Report counts can differ between model years for many reasons; this dataset does not establish the cause of a difference.
Complaint volume on a nameplate alone is not a reliability verdict: a long-running bestseller can accumulate more filings than a low-volume niche model because more vehicles are on the road. The table below shows report counts and published NHTSA crash-test ratings side by side for each model year. The filing-year histogram shows the timing of submitted reports, not a causal trend.
NHTSA has 13 investigation files tied to this model. Investigation records, complaint reports, and recall campaigns each provide different context. Use the official NHTSA VIN lookup and the underlying notices to research a specific vehicle; PlainCars does not infer a vehicle-risk or pricing conclusion from these records.
Complaints by Year
| Year | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 1 |
| 1998 | 32 |
| 1997 | 35 |
| 1996 | 12 |
| 1995 | 71 |
| 1994 | 23 |
| 1993 | 15 |
| 1992 | 46 |
| 1991 | 69 |
| 1990 | 26 |
| 1989 | 14 |
| 1988 | 11 |
| 1987 | 25 |
| 1986 | 13 |
| 1985 | 10 |
| 1984 | 2 |
| 1983 | 1 |
| 1982 | 2 |
| 1981 | 7 |
| 1980 | 1 |
| 1975 | 1 |
Complaint Filing Trend
NHTSA complaint volume by year filed (not model year).
Year filed (bar labels show the complaint count).
Compare OLDSMOBILE98 to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Loss of Headlights
TURN SIGNAL FAILURES
WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE
BRAKE LAMP FAILURE
FUEL RAIL LEAKS
WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE
FUEL SPILLAGE DURING REFUELING
WINDSHIELD WIPER FAILURE
POWER RACK AND PINION STEERING FAILURE
TURN SIGNAL FAILURES
Frequently Asked Questions
How reliable is the OLDSMOBILE 98?▼
What years of OLDSMOBILE 98 are available?▼
Does the OLDSMOBILE 98 have safety ratings?▼
What are the most common OLDSMOBILE 98 complaints?▼
How do I check if my OLDSMOBILE 98 has been recalled?▼
Data sources
Data vintage: August 2026. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.
Every figure on PlainCars is rendered directly from NHTSA complaint and safety data, no number is typed in by an editor. OLDSMOBILE 98 totals are aggregated from the linked NHTSA model-year rows; no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.