heating, AC, headlights, cruise control

I have a 98 Intrigue 3800 series engine with 124,000 km. bought used three years ago at 75,000 km.
The first thing to malfunction was the cruise control about 3-4 months ago, it would work one day and not the next kinda situation which really wasn't a big problem with me. Three weeks ago the heater began to malfunction and as this is being a cold winter already this was starting to be very bothersome, this was quickly followed by a malfunction of the headlights and the compass readout on the rear view mirror. I recently brought the car to an independent garage and was not pleased with the service to see if all these things were somehow related considering the timing of the malfunctions.
Yesterday I brought it to the local GM dealership and was told that the problem was with the ignition switch which controls the aformentioned components. The replacement ignition switch was 200 bucks plus a two hour charge for diagnostic and installation worth 200 bucks.
I thought this was good info to share with my fellow Intrigue owners.

I have a 98 Intrigue 3800 series engine with 124,000 km. bought used three years ago at 75,000 km.
The first thing to malfunction was the cruise control about 3-4 months ago, it would work one day and not the next kinda situation which really wasn't a big problem with me. Three weeks ago the heater began to malfunction and as this is being a cold winter already this was starting to be very bothersome, this was quickly followed by a malfunction of the headlights and the compass readout on the rear view mirror. I recently brought the car to an independent garage and was not pleased with the service to see if all these things were somehow related considering the timing of the malfunctions.
Yesterday I brought it to the local GM dealership and was told that the problem was with the ignition switch which controls the aformentioned components. The replacement ignition switch was 200 bucks plus a two hour charge for diagnostic and installation worth 200 bucks.
I thought this was good info to share with my fellow Intrigue owners.

I was wondering if the heater control didn't work whenever the auto head lights failed to come on. My Intrigue has a similar problem but it always happens when the head lights don't come on. I was not thinking ignition as a problem..

I was wondering if the heater control didn't work whenever the auto head lights failed to come on. My Intrigue has a similar problem but it always happens when the head lights don't come on. I was not thinking ignition as a problem..

I was surprised to learn a faulty ignition switch was the culprit.
At the begining the malfunction was intermintent begining with the cruise control followed by the heater, the headlight and the compass indicator. Eventually all those components failed to work.

Thank you for the information. I am currently having the same problem with my 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue. It started with the cruise control working intermittently, then the heater and controls also started working intermittently, and the automatic headlights work sometimes but not always. Car has been in garage for two days. Mechanic not sure but thinks he may have found the problem and is ordering a part. In the meantime I am driving the car with problem continuing. Am anxious to see if it is in the ignition switch.

I have a '98 Intrigue with 66,000 miles on it, bought new. Two questions: 1) Had a change oil/filter job done three weeks ago. The change oil signal light which flashes briefly on engine start now stays on for about 30 seconds. Anyone have this problem and what did you do?
2) For about a year now I hear a whine in the engine (?) as I drive, from a stop and continues as I accelerate. It seems to occur when I step on the accelerator. I thought it might be from the transmission, so I had that serviced - new fluid and filter. But the whine is still there. Is this a serious problem or nothing to worry about?

Thank you for the information. I am currently having the same problem with my 1999 Oldsmobile Intrigue. It started with the cruise control working intermittently, then the heater and controls also started working intermittently, and the automatic headlights work sometimes but not always. Car has been in garage for two days. Mechanic not sure but thinks he may have found the problem and is ordering a part. In the meantime I am driving the car with problem continuing. Am anxious to see if it is in the ignition switch.

Hi Tomat, let us know if this worked for you. It has been 5-6 weeks for me and all is well.

I have a '98 Intrigue with 66,000 miles on it, bought new. Two questions: 1) Had a change oil/filter job done three weeks ago. The change oil signal light which flashes briefly on engine start now stays on for about 30 seconds. Anyone have this problem and what did you do?
2) For about a year now I hear a whine in the engine (?) as I drive, from a stop and continues as I accelerate. It seems to occur when I step on the accelerator. I thought it might be from the transmission, so I had that serviced - new fluid and filter. But the whine is still there. Is this a serious problem or nothing to worry about?

Hi Tants, the "change oil" signal light is not a problem, it just needs to be reset. Your manual will step you through it.

As for the whine in the engine someone else needs to step up to help you.

i had a whine from the engine that got louder as i accelerated, i could also hear it at idle too.

turns out that it was my alternator, i know i need to replace my ac clutch too becuase that is making some noise. that fixed the problem

3.8's are known to have a whiney acceleration, especially when they're cold.