When I bought my car the airbags didn't work but I had to replace the driver side airbag so it would pass inspection. Well that air bag came out of a 98 model car like mine. So my question is since I was told that only a 96 and 97 model car like mine are the only one that will interchange. Well in the means of saving me about another 100$ from buying another air bag in that year what will happen if I do decide to hook up the airbag from that 98. Will it fry the air bag system or just not work at all or just keep my air bag light on. So what will happen or not happen. Any and all advice will be grateful.

According to GMpartsdirect.com the passenger side airbag for your car fits 96-98. Beyond that, don't mess with it unless you are sure. An airbag can kill you.

Well is the driver side airbag in the same interchange year to, that is the one that I had to replace when I bought the car. The passenger side didn't half to be replaced.

I typed passenger but I meant driver. Both passenger and driver side airbags are common for 96 - 98 for your car according to the parts listing on GMpartsdirect.com. They come in graphite, teal and neutral. Here is the description for the graphite one:

Collision Catalog - 1996 - Oldsmobile - ACHIEVA
electrical, restraint systems, air bag components, driver air bag 1996-98, graphite

Thanks for the link. So will the diagnostic unit also interchange to because I pulled that to out of a 98 like mine.

That is what went wrong in my car causing the driver side air bag to go off.

If you look at the link, the item at the bottom of the page is the diagnostic unit, and it lists the same part for 96 - 98. Please keep in mind I have no personal knowledge to guide you in this, but I found this site to be reliable in the past. Make sure you look at both parts for how similar they are, and if the electrical connectors are the same.

Thanks for all of the helpful info. I am new to this to so I am learning as I go on this. So like I did before I will disconnect the battery before I go to replace or fix everything.

Good luck.