AI Damage1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass: common problems
Owners of the 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass filed 193 complaints with NHTSA, most often about service brakes and engine and cooling. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 193
- involving a crash
- 11
What fails most often
- 1 Service brakes 31% of all complaints
- 2 Engine and cooling 16% of all complaints
- 3 Seat belts 13% of all complaints
- 4 Electrical system 12% of all complaints
- 5 Structure 10% of all complaints
- 6 Steering 9% of all complaints
- 7 Vehicle speed control 6% of all complaints
- 8 Visibility 5% of all complaints
- Service brakes: 60 complaints (31% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Engine and cooling: 30 complaints (16% of all).
- Seat belts: 26 complaints (13% of all).
- Electrical system: 23 complaints (12% of all), 1 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
- Structure: 20 complaints (10% of all), 2 of them with a crash reported by the owner.
Symptoms owners describe
How many of the 193 NHTSA complaints mention each symptom (automatic count from complaint text; one complaint can mention several).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service brakes | 60 | 1 | 0 |
| Engine and cooling | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Seat belts | 26 | 0 | 0 |
| Electrical system | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| Structure | 20 | 2 | 0 |
| Steering | 17 | 3 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 12 | 2 | 0 |
| Visibility | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Seats | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuel system | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Suspension | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| Exterior lighting | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Latches, locks, linkages | 2 | 1 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
10-12mph, in ice & snow, making left turn, engine stalled, allowing to be hit by another vehicle. Tt
The steering wheel locked and it was decoupled. Please describe. Tt
The contact was concerned about a recall campaign number is 95v173000, seat belts front, anchorage on his year, make and model vehicle. The, contact had not had any problems with the seat belt, but was concerned that it could fail in the event of a crash. The failure and current mileages were 60000.
While driving 10 mph consumer heard a loud knocking noise coming from the front. Suddenly the vehicle lost power steering. However, consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and pulled over. Vehicle was towed to the dealer for inspection.
Intermittently vehicle stalled while driving. Consumer pulled vehicle off the road. Consumer has to put the vehicle in neutral and restart the vehicle. Dealership inspected vehicle at consumer's expense of $ 1250. But the problem was not resolved.
Seat belt on drivers side will not retract. I'm a disabled person, and husband has been deployed for a year or more, and also have a 6 year old that I have to take care of.
The power window failed to roll down. The new motor didn't fix the problem and has not been able to move the windows up or down.
I have replaced the door handles on both the drivers side and passenger doors. This is the 3rd time on the drivers side and the passenger side door handle broke off in my hand so I have no way to get into my vehicle at all short of breaking a window just to replace yet another door handle.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 2,107 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 6% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Cutlass has 67 complaints (24 years in the data). This year has 193, above average.
What to check before buying
- Service brakes. Pedal feel, ABS operation, leaks, discs and hoses.
- Engine and cooling. Radiator and fan after a frontal hit, coolant level and condition, overheating.
- Seat belts. Belt pretensioners after airbag deployment, SRS codes.
- Electrical system. Scan all modules, test the battery and alternator, inspect connectors near the impact zone.
Other years of this model
- Cutlass 19763 sources
- Cutlass 19773 sources
- Cutlass 19803 sources
- Cutlass 19813 sources
- Cutlass 19835 sources
- Cutlass 198416 sources
- Cutlass 198518 sources
- Cutlass 198623 sources
- Cutlass 198716 sources
- Cutlass 198874 sources
- Cutlass 1989113 sources
- Cutlass 1990103 sources
- Cutlass 1992136 sources
- Cutlass 1993139 sources
- Cutlass 1994148 sources
- Cutlass 1995156 sources
- Cutlass 1996123 sources
- Cutlass 199796 sources
- Cutlass 1998155 sources
- Cutlass 199980 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: service brakes, engine and cooling, seat belts. Total complaints: 193. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: rust, corrosion (10%), seat belts (8%), smoke, burning smell, fire (7%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1991 Oldsmobile Cutlass from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1991 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.