OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS · model year

1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS

2 NHTSA complaints. A VIN lookup is required to determine whether a specific vehicle has an unrepaired recall.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1979OLDSMOBILECUTLASS carries 2 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

The most frequently selected component label in reports for the 1979 CUTLASS is power train:automatic transmission with 1 filings, followed by engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (1). Complaint categories reflect owner reports and intake categorization; they do not establish a defect pattern or cause.

NHTSA currently has 13 investigation files overlapping the 1979 CUTLASS. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should read the complaint-by-year trend as report volume, not a causal diagnosis. Use the related-complaint feed and the official recall lookup when researching a specific vehicle.

2
Complaints
0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

2 filings

Crashes Reported

0 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE1

Recent Complaints

20020129ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

WHILE DRIVING 65-70 MPH, AND WITHOUT ANY INDICATION, VEHICLE STALLED. TECHNICIAN STATED ENGINE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

19950706POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

TRANSMISSION FAILURE. *TW

Compare 1979OLDSMOBILECUTLASS to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS have?
The 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS has 2 NHTSA complaints, 0 crashes, 0 fires, 0 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS?
The most-complained component for the 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS is POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE.
Is the 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

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. This year-specific record is rendered from NHTSA ODI, recall, and NCAP rows for the 1979 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS; 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.