What breaks most · 1991 to 2004 model years
Oldsmobile Bravada problems by year
Owners have filed 962 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Oldsmobile Bravada across model years 1991 to 2004. Two years stand out: 2002 for powertrain and transmission complaints and 1997 for powertrain and transmission complaints. The quietest years are 1995, 2001 and 1993.
- Years to check closely: 2002, 1997
- Fewest complaints: 1995, 2001, 1993
- Complaints on file
- 9621991 to 2004, all trims
- Worst year
- 2002238 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 8639 fires · 70 injuries · 1 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 65kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 44Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 4 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (26) | |
| 56 | 10 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (48) | |
| 43 | 6 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (27) | |
| 91 | 14 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (65) | |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (1) | |
| 77 | 5 | 5 | Brakes (hydraulic) (30) | |
| 104 | 6 | 3 | Powertrain and transmission (18) | |
| 98 | 3 | 2 | Visibility (31) | |
| 60 | 6 | 0 | Powertrain and transmission (15) | |
| 76 | 3 | 3 | Electrical system (16) | |
| 33 | 3 | 1 | Powertrain and transmission (10) | |
| 238 | 18 | 10 | Powertrain and transmission (53) | |
| 27 | 3 | 7 | Electrical system (7) | |
| 13 | 4 | 2 | Fuel system (3) |
What fails on the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 22% |
53 | 4 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 20% |
47 | 0 | Shop electrical system parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 19% |
46 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 12% |
29 | 1 | Shop visibility parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| SuspensionStruts, springs and control arms | 9% |
21 | 1 | Shop suspension parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| Seat belts | 6% |
15 | 2 | Check recalls for seat belts on NHTSA.gov |
| Body and structureDoors, latches and body hardware | 6% |
15 | 0 | Shop body and structure parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 6% |
14 | 2 | Shop steering parts for the 2002 Oldsmobile Bravada |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
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The drive train needs replacing at 64k miles. The car is basically in constant 4wd, which makes turning at slow speeds very difficult without lots of gas and it is noisy. This car is too young to be facing this type of issue and with low miles (usually 100k for this sort of thing). *cn
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1997 oldsmobile bravada. Consumer writes in regards to voltage dropping while vehicle in stopped causing headlights to dim. *ld *js
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Oldsmobile Bravada years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 2002, 1997 carry the most filings on the Oldsmobile Bravada. The 2002 alone has 238 complaints, led by powertrain and transmission.
What is the most common Oldsmobile Bravada problem?
On the 2002 model year, the most-reported component is powertrain and transmission with 53 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Oldsmobile Bravada problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Oldsmobile Bravada complaints that include mileage is about 65,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.