Vehicle back fired while driving,then stalled without warning. Driver tried to restart vehicle, but was unable to do so. Driver had the vehicle towed to the dealer, and mechanic determined that the intake manifold needed to be replaced.
1997 Pontiac Bonneville engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 51, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The intake manifold or the plemium whatever you want to call the thing wore out and all of my engine coolant went into the fuel cylinders and locked my motor down I was headed to macon ga from douglas,ga going to the hospital were they had transfered my brother and here I am in perry,ga broke down because pontiac puts a plastic intake manifold on a motor I feel like pontiac should have to pay for this part being replaced. I also have trouble with my car surging between 35 and 55 miles per hour this is the sorriest car I have ever owed and I have owned 2 grand prixs before this car but liked the body style of the bonneville and I rhought that it would be a good car but boy was I wrong I bought the car in august,2002 and have spent enough money on repairs on it that I could probably done paid for another grand prix.after reading all the complaints on this sight I feel they should have a recall on them for the transmissions and the intake manifolds because they all seem to be related to me .people pay a lot of money for there cars and still have to put money in repairs its just not fair .
While driving at highway speeds vehicle stalled due to a cracked intake manifold gasket. The intake manifold gasket was replaced. *ak the cracked gasket allowed water to leak into the cylinder's.
1997 pontiac bonneville with dextrol coolant is causing constant trouble. The latest is having to replace the plastic intake manifold to the tune of $598.18. Why is this piece plastic, but the pipe going into it is metal? The dex cool is deteriorating all rubber seals.
I paid the stated amount to replace a component referred to me as a "plennum". The symptom my car was having was, it was overheating. It is made of plastic and is mounted on the top of the 3800 engine. Little did I know, that the damage had already been done. The failed part had leaked coolant into the engine. A week and a half after having the plennum replaced, my car broke down. I have been advised that the leaking coolant into the engine from the plennum had caused premature failure of a "rod bearing" in the engine. The coolant I'm told ate away the bearing lubricant. I am told my only option at this point is an engine replacement. I am not a car mechanic by any means and suspected nothing, and was told nothing. I understand and accept the fact that man made products wear out and need replacing. This to me seems to be a poor engineering flaw that costs a lot of money to fix. I did not include the $2000.00 engine replacement in my total repair cost above. The plastic plennum part, by the way, was replaced with another plastic part. I told the driver that was returning me home while the plennum was being replaced, that I was intending to trade my bonneville in on a montana minivan this summer. His reply to me was that they are experiencing the same problem with the montana, as well as other vehicles with the 3800 engine. It sems clear to me that there is obviously a problem here that needs to be recalled.
While driving at normal speed driver began to see smoke coming from the vehicle. Driver proceeded to drive home, and parked vehicle. A mechanic stated that there was a whole in the plenum that allowed water to leak and warp the heads.
The vehicle stalled on several occasions, the vehicle was taken to three different dealers and they all stated the computer showed no errors. *jb *scc
A block from home our engine shut down. The upper manifold had a hole in it due to the manifold being plastic, and crystalizing over a period of time. It cost us $729.00 to get it fixed. Luckily our engine wasn't hot or we would have had more serious problems.
While driving a 100 miles from home the car overheated & had to be towed. We found that the problem was due to a hole in the air plenum in the upper intake manifold. We have found that there are over 20 such cases in our small community alone. All on 3800 motors in pontiac's. This is a four hundred dollar repair bill that occurred only because pontiac decided to use plastic in their part which in turn melted & caused our motor to overheat. I hope that pontiac will recall these plenums & reimburse us for the cost of repairing & towing our car. If pontiac would call their dealers they would find out just how many of these parts have malfunctioned.
Loss of coolant. Plastic air intake mounted on top of intake manifold failed leaking coolant under pressure into combustion chamber. Talked to several licensed technicians in the area and they state that this is a common problem. Requires replacement of air intake. $275 & labor.
Nar 1/29/2003. The vehicle was delivered to the consumer with a bent water pump and a bent wheel. The alternator, power steering pump, transmission and egr valve were replaced.
Consumer states that the exhaust gas recirculation (egr) failed causing a hole in the manifold. Ts
Intake manifold failure on 1997 pontiac bonneville. Coolant entered into cylinder #4 causing engine to seize. Total cost of repair approximately $900. Reoccuring problem has been reported with this particular engine, and calls to pontiac resulted in no satisfaction.
Consumer stated that while driving and without warning coolant fluid was leaking from the engine which caused a distraction to the consumer. Dealer notified. Ts fumes noticed since vehicle was new, however somewhat better but can still be detected.
Consumer states that while driving at any speed the engine light comes on and will stay on the remainder of the time the vehicle is being operated. Dealer notified.ts
While vehicle was going 65mph, the acclerator pedal dropped to the floor. Engine was running hot, and the oil was sizzling. Dealer informed. Consumer says that 6 out of 6 bearings were worn out , and 4 out 6 rods needed replacement. Also, oil pressure sensor malfunctioned. *ak consumer states that the vehicle was well maintained, and that the engine & oil pressure indicator should be recalled to prevent injury or fatality.
Excessive loss of engine coolant while driving. Dealer was not notified at this time. Feel free to provide any further information.
Vehicle will intermittently stall out while consumer is driving. Contacted dealer, and the dealer replaced crank sensor signal which dealer stated could be the problem.*ak
My car wouldn't start and there were no electrical components functioning. I called the car dealership where I purchased the warranty and was told to make sure I didn't have a dead battery because that was not covered under the warranty. I called the towing company and they attempted to charge the battery. Battery would not charge; the car went "puff" and caught on fire. When the wrecker driver attempte to start the car, he heard a loud "pop" and smoke was rolling out from under the hood. He opened the hood, battery was intact, however the engine was on fire. After fire was extinquished, he found the plenum(?sp) blown off the top f the engine and the oil filtler tube was blown out of he top of te manifold. Warranty company would not cover due to the fact the car caught on fire. They said my car ins should cover it. However, I believe the fire was the result of a previously existing defect. I was told the foam used to extinguish the fire could possibly have caused more problems in the engine. Was I supposed to let the car completey burn up? I don't think so!
When the consumer started the vehicle the engine area caught on fire, this fire started back by the fire wall and melted the center of the dash. Claim number 23-1435-647.
While driving the vehicle began to smoke and caught on fire in the engine compartment. Claim number 17-9174-792.
The insured stated there was smoke coming from the vehicle when it broke down. Claim#13-7503-708
Consumer started vehicle, it went puff and the engine area caught fire, fire started back by the firewall and melted the center of the dash, claim 23-1435-647.
Vehicle broke down, consumer saw smoke, fire in the engine compartment, claim 13-7503-708.
Engine failed due to hole in egr/ inlet in intake manifold which caused engine coolant to enter fuel intake system
While driving, vehicle began to smoke and caught on fire in the engine compartment, claim 17-9174-792.
Was traveling 55mph when vehicle started to overheat. Pulled to side of road, checked under hood, and noticed steam & anti-freeze was spilling over everything. Turned vehicle off & anti-freeze just dripped. Noticed it was coming out of bottom of water pump. Let vehicle cool down & refilled it with water & drove home. Dealer replaced water pump, engine coolant system failed.
No summary
Twice while driving at approximately 50mph car lost all power for a second or so and then came right back on. During this second or so, I have no power brakes, steering, nothing. This is definitely a safety hazard, if it happens at the wrong time, it could cause a serious accident. One time before I remember at least a month ago, the radio just cut out for a couple of seconds for no reason, and the day after the first time my car lost power, the ABS light came on for a couple of seconds and then went out. I don't know if these are related, but something is wrong, I don't know if it's the engine, electrical or computer.
Vehicle will stall while in motion unexpectedly and without warning, causing loss of power steering. Consumer had taken vehicle to dealer between 4-6 times, but defect keeps occurring. Finally dealr replaced fuel pressure regulator and defect did stop, but only for 2 years. Currently, defect has reappeared.*ak fuel pressure regulator was replaced twice in three years.
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