I had to have the intake plenum replaced on my 99 pontiac bonneville...started with vehicle hesitating on take off, RPM's accelerating very high but MPH not catching up...vehicle then backfired and loss all power...had it towed to dealer...dealer said intake plenum was warped causing coolant to possibly leak into engine...gm would not cover under warranty which cost me $1000 to correct...vehicle was fine for a month or so and started doing it again. I think its ridiculous that gm knows about this problem but refuses to take responsibilty for it as a factory problem..I would like a recall on this and my money reimbursed to me. I also think this problem should be repaired correctly with a part that won't burn up because its made of plastic. I have read on many websites complaints about this same problem but the problem is that they are complaining to the wrong people. I was recently informed that gm does not decide to put out the recall, it's really the federal safety agency that is responsible for that. My plan is to post this link on those websites and hopefully enough people will post a complaint here too and maybe we could get some reimbursement for the poorly built cars that all other consumers have purchased.
1999 Pontiac Bonneville engine complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 60, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Consumer was driving when the vehicle started back firing, lost power and stopped. The engine needed to be replaced.
While driving 70 MPH, the vehicle stalled. This caused the driver to drift to the side of the road. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection. The mechanic informed the owner that the intake manifold had cracked which caused the engine to fail. *jb the intake manifold melted and allowed coolant into the cylinder. *sc
On the morning of 7/15/04 while driving on loop 1604,san antonio tx, at approximatly 60 MPH the engine stopped forcing me to try and get off the highway, my steering wheel locked and I only made it partway off the highway. My car engine would not restart and I was stuck halfway into the fast lane. Prior this this there was no indication of any problem with the vehicle, no lights came on except just as the engine was stopping telling me to check engine. There were no indicators saying the engine was over heating. I had the vehicle towed to car pro, in san antonio. The extended warranty is covered by heritage policy #hbb 313037, however, the policy states they do not cover emmission controls. Heritage insisted that other items be pulled from the vehicle before an adjuster would even be sent out. The adjuster told car pro he did not know why he was even sent out as they know they are having problems with the emmission control over heating and causing the plastic manifold to melt. Which of course leads to the fluids draining out and locking up the engine. So of course the repairs are not going to be covered and I have to foot the bill for even the extra heritage wanted done. Now car pro tells me that they have had problems with other vehicles with melted manifolds due to the emmission controls over heating and causing them to melt. The new replacement manifold has been upgraded and now has a metal area that sits over the emmissions control so when it gets hot it wont melt the manifold. This is a manufacturing problem, they know that and changed the manifold but did not recall it. Thus costing me over $1200.00 in damages and it could have been my life since my vehicle died on the highway in rush hour traffic.
I've had major problems with my 99 bonneville, costing me over $2,400. It started at 64,000 miles (6/26/02) with a backfire caused by a faulty fuel pressure regulator, which now has a service recall (a little too late); that cost me $300. A week later, the upper manifold plenum leaked causing the engine to flood and die; I spent over $500 on that little project (replacing the manifold and cleaning the engine). It never ran right after that; I had extremely low gas mileage and lack of power, and the engine light kept coming on and off and it stalled on many occasions. After about six months of this, it died again on 3/22/03. This time, it spun the main bearing and the lower half was ruined. I went to three different mechanics before I could find someone willing to touch it, but I found a good mechanic that rebuilt the lower half (versus replacing the engine) for $1,600. I still have the car and it seems to be performing well, but you never know. Im going to include all of my repair costs for reimbursement (through the fuel pressure regulator recall notice) and see what happens. My mechanic says that all of this is related to the backfire and the plenum leak.
Cracked plenem allowing fluid to leak into engine to the point of water locking it. Caused $1200 in parts and labor. 70,096 miles on vehicle.
While the vehicle was parked consumer noticed that fluid was leaking from underneath. Vehicle was taken to a body shop for inspection, and mechanic determined that the head gasket needed to be replaced due to a defective head gasket. *ak
In mid may I had a authorized pontiac dealer replace the intake manifold which had ruptured after a backfire upon initial start of 1999 pontiac bonneville with a 3.8 l engine. On june 1, 2004, I was nearly near ended on interstate 80 in council bluffs as I retruned from a trip because vehicle lost power. Took to dealer and they said lower bearing was gone, meaning a new engine. I know there have been numerous consumer complaints. It's more than the cost of a new engine that I'm concerned about. With my near incident that could have resulted in serious injury to me or another party, I think it's time that gm take responsibility for these issues and a recall is gone to cover the issue.
Without warning, my 1999 pontiac bonneville, equipped with 3.8 engine, lost power and died. The intake plenum (sitting atop the engine, and providing air and cooling of engine water, ruptured and sent water into the cylinders, and into oil pan. This identical problem occurred at 60000 miles, was repaired, and recently occurred @ 102000 miles, 5/24/04.
Coolant leaked into the engine. Dealer stated the plastic manifold melted which caused leakage.
Vehicle was parked inside of the garage consumer started the vehicle an dit back fired, and the caught on fire. Consumer extinguished the fire , and a police report was taken. No injuries reported. Insurance company had the vehicle totaled.
Engine plenum cracked. Sucked up coolant/anti-freeze , almost destroying the engine block.
The engine's plenum(spelling??) manifold started leaking water. My mechanic said it had "warped". He then told me that gm was having quite a problem with this part. He said he had replaced about 10 of these so far this year. And that his part distributor said there was a nationwide backorder on this plenum manifold. I contacted gm and was told there was no problem or backorders on this part. Would like to contact other gm owners to see if they have had similar problems with this part but don't know where to start. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks
1999 bonneville; 58,000 miles; it had been stalling intermittently for several weeks -- especially during turns. Before I could take it to the dealer, the car loses power on hwy 63; fortunately, I was able to pull over. The mechanic reports engine has locked up because coolant has leaked into the engine due to a known problem by gm of coolant leaking into engine and thus destroying the engine. Total costs to replace the engine, the manifold and damaged the starter amounted to a repair bill of $5300 after a 10% existing customer discount plus state taxes. I checked the odi databases for '99 bonneville's and almost a 1/3 of the 111 complaints relate to the same problems I had before my car engine was damaged and similar problems of coolant leaks into the engine. Does there have to be a injury before the federal safety agency will act? Why did the recent recall for the 2000 and newer models not cover the 1999's when gm has known of this issue of coolant leaking into the engine since the 1995/96 model year? Please see my website for the analysis of the 1999 complaints http://www.missouri.edu/~ryh352/2003/bonne.htm I, of course, want my $5,300 returned from gm. I also think it only fair that the recall extend to 1998 and 1999 bonneville owners with less then 100,000 miles on their car and gm repair those cars free.
My car stalls intermittently, usually in town while braking or turning, or merely slowing down. It lurches when cruise control is set at higher speeds like it's trying to die. It has happened at least 10 times (dying) and 5 times (lurching) in the last 3 days. Dealership unable to duplicate more than 1 time and can't figure out what to do next. Have cleaned terminals and replaced crank shaft sensor.
The consumer stated the vehicle stalled which made the vehicle difficult to control. *ph the dealer replaced the oxygen sensor, but the problem continued. *scc
Brought vehicle in for oil change @ local repair shop. Shop owner states check engine light came on-vehicle stalled. Found plastic intake manifold burned. Entire engine flooded with anti-freeze. Estimated engine repair cost approximately $2100.00.
There is a recall on gm 3800 series ii engines for years 2000 and above relating to the intake plenum. This defect causes serious engine problems. I talked with more than one mechanic who stated that this exact defect frequently occurs in 1998 and 1999 year autos which use the same engine. My 1999 bonneville has this problem which will probably cost several thousand dollars to repair. I believe this should be covered by gm. Currently, they are not covering 1999 models. This is an obvious manufacturer's defect and should be taken care of by them.
I have a 1999 pontiac bonneville and I noticed about 3 weeks ago that the coolant reservoir would not hold any coolant. I took the vehicle to butts motors to have a belt changed and the coolant leak investigated. They informed me that it was the upper manifold and gasket that needed to be replaced. I asked if those parts were part of the emissions system and the gentleman said, "yes it is. If you don't get it replaced you'll be spilling emissions all over the place." he then quoted me a hefty price of almost $900.00 to do the work. I told him that I believed that the upper manifold which he confirmed was part of the emissions system should be covered for 7 years/70,000 miles (federal emissions law). This particular problem is common among gm engines from 1995-1999. It is an issue covered in their technical service bulletin no: 01-06-01-007a, dated july 2001. It states that, condition: some owners may comment on excessive engine coolant consumption, or an engine coolant leak near or under the throttle body area of the upper intake manifold." they continue," cause: upper intake manifold composite material may degrade around the egr stove pipe and could result in an internal or external coolant leak." the egr system, intake manifold, and the throttle body assembly are all covered under emissions. The serviceman at butts motors told me by phone on 31 july 2003, that the throttle body was covered under the powertrain warranty, which was, of course, expired. It is not covered under the powertrain. I want gm to cover the cost of the warranted parts/labor for this repair. The fact that the gasket is made of plastic and that the recommended coolant "dexcool" corrodes the plastic is not the fault of the consumer. This is a documented defect and should be corrected for the consumer at no cost. I sent this exact complaint statement to the california state attorney's office. I want general motors to take responsibility for and rectify its faulty products.
Consumer states that the vehicle water pump has failed.
The upper plenum developed a hole that allowed coolant to flow into the egr. Was told this was a common problem by the dealer and could have locked up the engine.
In normal driving, the intake manifold cracked and caused the coolant to leak into the exhaust system. This has caused extensive repairs and the problems continue.
The vehicle stalled without warning, which made the vehicle difficult to control.
I have a 1999 pontiac bonneville. The car would not start and I had it towed to dobbs. Dobbs investigated and found that the upper plenum had warped. Thereby causing the starter to fail and antifreeze to get into the engine. Pontiac knew about this problem and corrected it on the year 2000 model. However, they did not do a recall and left us poor saps to have to pay for the repairs ourselves. Since my car is out of warranty, they have said that it is my own problem. I am out of pocket $1,046.96 plus $40 towing fee for a problem they knew about and didn't recall. I wish to be reimbursed.
The consumer's brother experienced the vehicle backfiring the an engine fire. The consumer is requesting the reimbursement of the deductible for the insurance claim. The consumer feels that there may be a negligence issue, per news article, that may uncover more incidents of this nature. Refer to recall#'s 010601008a and 99070. Scc referenced in ea02-030
While running, vehicle experienced a back fire causing the manifold to crack which caused a fire. Dealer notified. Ts when backfire occurred engine died and there was smoke from under the hood. Consumer was able to control the fire with snow. *tt referenced in ea02-030
After consumer started their vehicle, the engine blew up, without warning. The dealership indicated that the cause was a bad gas regulator valve. Please provide more details. Ts
Engine check light illuminates on dashboard due to vehicle overheating. Coolant was draining out the reserve into intake valve. Dealer was notified. Please provide more information.
Engine exploded while the consumer was trying to start the vehicle. Tried to start two times but the vehicle would not start. The consumer wants to know what caused the explosion.
Engine stalls intermittently. Mechanic cannot find cause. Will stall mostly upon deceleration.
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