Oldsmobile Silhouette overheating problems

Filed Mar 10, 2011 · Engine · 100,000 miles · NH

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 oldsmobile silhouette. The contact stated that the vehicle was severely over heating making it impossible to drive. A private mechanic replaced the water pump and thermostat in march 2011 however, the vehicle continued to overheat. The dealer advised the contact to bring the vehicle in for diagnostic testing but the vehicle was not inspected. The current mileage was 112,000 and the failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Oct 22, 2008 · Engine · 36,652 miles · MA

Repeated intake manifold gasket leak / failure - had to replace twice in less than 100,000 miles - first time at just over 36,000 miles. Never owned a car where I had to replace an intake manifold gasket once, let alone twice and virtually every car my family has owned has been maintained and driven over 100,000 miles. Searching the internet you see the gm 3.4 liter engine in 1999 era this is a common complaint/problem. Also the original oldsmobile dealer acknowledged it was a known issue with this engine. There is also a lawsuit www.dexcoolsettlement.com showing how prevalent this issue is - yet gm refuses to acknowledge it is a defect and take care of their customers and vehicle owners by repairing these vehicles and changing the gasket design. It was bad enough having to spend close to $500 to repair this on my oldsmobile with just over 36,000 miles on it, now I am told to pay close to $1,000 to have it replaced again! Gm customer assistance insists there is no defect, there is nothing abnormal about this that requires any corrective action or "assistance" from gm. They further claim gm engineers have reviewed the incoming data to customer assistance and there is no problem / no trend with intake manifold gaskets on the 3.4 liter engine - that can not be the truth. This is not a normal wear item, an intake manifold gasket should last the life of the engine and if not, gm should stand behind their product and replace it for their customers. Other customers with the same problem have had engine seizures and serious safety problems because they did not notice or catch the problem soon enough and coolant leaking into the oil caused engine seizure and/or overheating. Original problem was february 2003, problem has re-occurred october 2008 so clearly gm did nothing to change the gasket design and does not even stand behind their service / replacement parts.

Filed Dec 4, 2007 · Engine · TN

We purchased a van in good working order in 04/2006. It was used previously by one owner since being purchased new. In november 2007- it began overheating and losing coolant. The diagnosis is now replacement of head gasket and possible intake manifold gasket. This is a very common problem with this particular engine. Gm has refused to help their consumers in any way if there is no warranty. As with all problems these could fail due to normal wear and tear, mileage, and or age. I do not believe this to be the case in numerous complaints including my own!

Filed Sep 21, 2006 · Engine · 102,998 miles · NC

Vehicle started overheating on short trips to the store(1-2 miles). Thought the problem was the thermostat however when taken to mechanic found out that it was the intake manifold that has leaking and had to be replaced. I called oldsmobile ref to the problem to inquire about tsb # 030601010 or 030601010b and was told that there had never been a bulletin.

Filed Sep 19, 2006 · Engine · 120,000 miles · AZ

1) vehicle started stalling 2) coolant leaked into oil 3) had to have repaired at my own cost $780.00 and not sure that this will take care of it.

Filed Jul 26, 2006 · Electrical, Engine · MO

Our 2001 oldsmobile silhouette has had numerous issues. The issues are placed in a close chronological order. All events have occurred after 50k miles with the exception of the power door locks. The dealer took care of all recalls. The power door locks intermittently lock and unlock. This problem has been to the dealer over 4 times. The first time the dealer replaced ignition switch wiring harness and the last time the dealer replaced a chafed wire under the passenger seat. The other times the dealer could not isolate. The problem still occurred. We got tired of bringing it to the dealer. The drivers side seat heater had failed. At 66k miles, the transmission went out. It was due to a faulty sun gear. I had to replace tie rods on the vehicle twice on each side. Once around 70k and once around 115k. The fuel ascending unit failed around 90k. On the passenger side I had to replace the wheel bearings and the cv axle. Lights in the heater controls have blown and the only way to replace them is to solder new bulbs onto the control module. The blower motor failed on 1st and 2nd speed. We experienced the same engine overheating issues as seen by other individuals at mycarstats.com. This relates to the cooling system. I had three separate issues stemming from this. The first failure was a blown head gasket. About 8 months later the upper manifold gasket blew. Six months later another cooling system failure blamed on the lower intake manifold. Many of the repairs where costly. The lower intake manifold failure was never fixed. We decided to pass this gm piece of junk on. It had 137k miles. Most of the miles driven where highway, very few city and stop-and-go.

Filed Mar 2, 2006 · Transmission · 51,953 miles · CO

Trans code causing shifting problems. Fluid replaced vehicle showed previously cleared shift solenoid code at this time verifying previous problems with another owner. Was fine for a short time & again experienced shifting problems. Engine light came on & solenoid was replaced at this time. Three months later again experiencing shifting problems. Fluid level was low & we added fluid to it. This process was repeated several times over the course of a couple weeks until we discovered fluid was leaking into cooling system through radiator. Vehicle overheated & radiator was replaced & system flushed. A week after radiator replaced, vehicle again started to slip. Engine light on again & repair shop has told us the solenoid needs replaced again and possibly the radiator also. This vehicle has obvious transmission problems and we can't afford to keep replacing the solenoid every few months.

Filed Aug 12, 2005 · Engine · 121,000 miles · NC

Dt: contact took vehicle to a service dealer for routine maintenance and they replaced the lower intake manifold to stop the coolant leak. The consumer stated vehicle was still leaking gasoline and coolant. The consumer did not want to have this problem repaired at the time of the routine visit. The consumer stated the service dealer had to keep the vehicle for about a month.

Filed May 6, 2005 · Engine · 45,000 miles · IL

Vehicle overheated on congested highway with no prior warning of any problem. Manifold gasket failure at 45,000 miles. The vehicle was repaired at a cost of $831 with the possibility that the engine may seize at any time due to coolant/oil contmination. Intake manifold gasket replaced with new gm design and new installation proceedure. I have retained the old parts.

Filed Apr 5, 2005 · Engine · 67,000 miles · GA

I was driving home from dinner and my engine coolant overheat light came on and the temperature was registering in the red zone. Immediately stopped car. Opened hood, there was no evidence of smoke. Consulted manual. After 10 minutes restarted car with heater on full blast, temperature was in the middle to low drove the last mile home. Warning light was not on. Had car towed to dealer first thing monday morning. Problem was identified as a blown head gasket. This is not a very old car, 4 years old with 66000 miles. Noticing lots of problems in the gaskets on 2000-2002 year models of the van.