One problem related to manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe has been reported for the 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
I own a 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora, on 4/25/2009 while traveling on the highway the underneath of my car burst into flames. I pulled over and luckily my mother was following and she had extinguisher in her vehicle. I took vehicle to repair shop and was told that fire was caused by rear main seal leaking oil directly onto exhaust pipe and that this vehicle is known for that and that gm is aware of the defect in that seal that's why there is a service bulletin on it. It turns out after much research that there are thousands of people who had the same problem. Why is the manufacture allowed to put a defect part in the vehicle that puts consumers at risk and not be responsible to fix it. I had my 2 yr old son and my 4 mo old daughter in the car. Gm was required to fix the fuel rail system due to fire safety, I believe this problem deserves the same attention, since oil and heat do not mix as well it's just as dangerous, I will be contacting my attorney general. Please note: gm has acknowledged that the rear main seal is faulty and will fail, causing oil to leak on exhaust manifold.