I was on my way home from work. The battery light came on then the car just cut off at the turning light before I got to my house. It started to smoke under the hood. I thought it maybe over heating. So I popped the hood open thinking it would stop smoking but it got worse. So I got out of the car and opened the hood. The engine was on fire. So I ran and got what I can out of my car while I was on the phone talking to 911. While I was doing that, a man was driving by stopped and gave me a fire extinguisher so I put out the fire. The fire truck came a min later. Please help me with this problem what can I do about this.
1997 Pontiac Grand Prix engine complaints
Page 4 of 7: complaints 71 to 100 of 180, newest first, as owners wrote them.
1997 pontiac grand prix had an underhood explosion and fire - ref. Recall #90046. *nj the consumer stated when she attempted to start the vehicle, there was an explosion under the hood and the vehicle caught fire. *jb the consumer is still waiting on reimbursement. Updated 05/18/11
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. After the dealer performed recall repairs on the vehicle, the bolts on the air condition compressor failed. The failure occurred while driving 30 MPH. The compressor was hanging from the engine and prevented the vehicle from steering. The contact believes that the dealer had something to do with the compressor falling off the engine. The dealer denies being at fault. The vehicle has not been repaired. The current and failure mileages were 200,500.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. While driving between 15-25 MPH, the contact smelled something burning. She pulled the vehicle over and the driver's side of the vehicle caught fire. She called the fire department to extinguish the flames. A recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v116000 was sent out after the failure to warn consumers that the vehicle could ignite into flames. A fire report was filed and no one was injured. The current and failure mileages were 153,636.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. While driving 55 MPH, the vehicle caught fire while exiting the highway. The contact parked the vehicle and attempted to extinguish the flames, but was unsuccessful and called the fire department. He received a recall notice for the federal safety agency campaign id number 09v116000, stating that the vehicle could ignite into flames. The vehicle was destroyed. The current and failure mileages were 162,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The vehicle was destroyed due to an engine fire that occurred in a driveway. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 because the vehicle did not have a 3.8l supercharged v6 engine. The contact received a recall notice for her vehicle on may 4, 2009. There were no warning lights or prior failures with the engine cooling system before the fire occurred. The vehicle has all original equipment and had never been to the dealer except for routine maintenance. A fire report was filed. The current and failure mileages were 163,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated that the failure he was experiencing was identical to the federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000, except his vehicle does not have a 3.8l superchargeed v-6 engine. Therefore, the remedy does not cover his vehicle. While driving 55 MPH, the contact observed and smelled smoke under the hood. The upper intake manifold was replaced in october of 2008. The failure occurs every time the vehicle comes to a hard stop. A mechanic inspected the vehicle, but was unable to find what the contact described because no oil was leaking. The current mileage was 139,000 and failure mileage was 130,000.
I received a letter this morning from gm about a safety recall on my 1997 pontiac grand prix about an underhood fire and that I need to take my car to a pontiac dealer. I have not driven my car out of town because we have noticed a burning odor for about a month. The nearest dealer is 35-40 miles from us and gm refuses to pay the towing charges and I refuse to pay them or drive this car 35-40 miles. Is gm responsible for the towing charges?
1997 grand prix fire in engine.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. When proceeding to enter the vehicle, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. The vehicle became engulfed in flames. The contact extinguished the fire with a water hose and called the fire department. The manufacturer stated that an investigator would come out and inspect the vehicle. The vehicle was inspected and the contact was offered a settlement of $11,080. He was not informed of what caused the fire and rejected the offer because the settlement was not enough to repair the vehicle. He then filed a claim with the attorney general. The vehicle has not been repaired. The failure mileage was 162,000.
1997 pontiac grand prix recall id the federal safety agency: 08v118000. I had this repair done as requested. But my complaint to the dealer was that if the front one is failing, putting oil on the manifold to cause a fire. Then why are they not replacing the back one? My gtp is leaking oil from the back gasket, dripping on the plugs, wires as well and is dripping on the manifold and exhaust pipe. It also is smoking and has a burning oil smell. Why were they both not replaced?
I have a 1997 grand prix gt n/a 3800 engine with engine oil leaking from the front rocker panel gasket however the recall only covers the s/c'd version of this vehicle there is engine oil sitting on the top of the motor, also there is oil built up all the way down the one side of the engine coming from this location I am concerned that there will be an engine fire with this leaking oil.
I had parked my car outside my parents' home and I was inside when it caught fire. Someone came and told me that my car was on fire. It was completely burned up before the fire department arrived. My 1997 grand prix was a total loss. I had not had any trouble with it, I had it serviced regularly. It just caught fire spontaneously. I have previously reported this incident to you and I have just read on msnbc that gm is now in the process of a recall on this vehicle.
I drove my car to work and parked it in a private lot. I went into work and attended to my job for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, a friend informed me that my car had caught on fire in the parking lot. I went outside to see for myself, and I found that the fire department had already arrived and were extinguishing the fire. There was no warning or signs of a fire before I left my car to go into work, and I still do not know how it started. As a consequence of this engine fire, the car was a total loss. The fire was contained to the engine compartment, but it totally destroyed the engine itself. I reported the incident to my insurance company and the claim is still being processed.
My 1997 pontiac grand prix gt 3.8liter not supercharged caught fire and when we tried to get parts the junk yard had 2 they also had caught fire gm did a recall on super charged not regular 3.8 liters cars!
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated that the coolant system failed and the vehicle continuously stalled due to overheating. The dealer stated that the manifold gasket and sensors on the radiator needed to be replaced. The VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling). She has experienced oil leakage under the hood of the vehicle as a result of the failed gasket. The contact was informed that her model gasket was too old and there was a newer rocket cover gasket needed to remedy the failure. The mechanic at midas stated that drops of engine oil were being deposited on the exhaust manifold, which could potentially cause a fire. The failure and current mileages were 170,000.
It was around 7:30 pm in november of 2001 when I was driving my son to his friends home down the street from where I live. We were driving at about 25 miles per hr and were nearing the friends home when smoke appeared to be coming from under the engine hood. I immediately turned into the friends driveway and my son opened the hood to take a look and flames came out, my engine was on fire. He doused it with dirt from the ground. There was damage to the electrical parts, underhood, and engine area. The car was taken to an authorized dealership and repaired to the best of their ability, but issues continue to arise to the point where the car is now parked as more repairs are needed. I was told to expect other problems to surface by the service manager at the dealership.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The contact arrived home and shut off the vehicle. Four minutes later, he attempted to restart the vehicle and noticed smoke underneath the hood. More smoke began to appear shortly after and then flames ignited underneath the hood. The contact grabbed the water hose located in front of his vehicle and extinguished the fire. The manufacturer stated that they would replace the rocker cover gasket as stated in the federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling). The failure and current mileages were 236,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The contact received a recall notice for the gasket and spark plugs. He called the dealer to schedule an appointment for the recall repair. While at the dealer, they claimed that the repair had previously been performed on the vehicle. The following day, the contact took the vehicle to a regular mechanic for inspection and was informed that the dealer had not made any repairs. The contact is upset that the work has not been performed on his vehicle. The manufacturer will not return his calls or help him resolve the issue. The recall number was unknown. The failure mileage was 175,000.
I parked my 1997 pontiac at wal-mart one day after work. When I came out of the store 30 minutes later, it was on fire, surrounded by 2 firetrucks. It was burned beyond repair. There were no warning signs.
Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The vehicle caught fire under the hood after being parked for ten minutes. The vehicle was destroyed. The federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling) was referenced. Both a police and fire report were filed. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 97,000.
My vehicle is affected by the recall involving potential underhood fires. It is a 1997 pontiac grand prix gtp. I received the "customer advisory letter" 3-4 weeks ago stating the car would be subject to a recall when parts were available. I called the gm support line at 800‑762‑2737 to find out when the actual recall would commence, as I have indeed seen puffs of oil smoke from under the hood appear under heavy braking. I told this to the gm rep. The rep stated, among other things, that they did not know when parts would be available for the repair or when the actual recall letter would go out. She suggested I have the repair done and "pay for it yourself", seeking reimbursement "if there is a recall". I stated repeatedly why would I pay out of pocket for a safety recall. They then called back the next day and stated I could bring the car to a dealer and "if it indeed had the condition, they would fix it", but if it did not, "you'll have to pay a diagnostic fee". I again stated I would not pay anything out of pocket for a mandatory safety recall. Gm's support people seem to have a very unconcerned, dismissive attitude toward my concerns and for this recall. I highly recommend someone from your agency get them motivated.
This engine failure took me by surprise. I can't say there was a single event that gave a glimpse of what was in store for me. Luckily, for me, thank god, that I had just parked the vehicle at my job site and gone into my work building;also, my co-workers that parked their vehicles next to mine had made it safely to their jobs. Within only approximately 11 minutes the "time bomb" burst into flames.
I received a letter today informing me of a gm recall for my 1997 pontiac grand prix 3.8l v6 w/supercharger concerning engine fires because of a leaky gasket. I had a similar oil leak onto the exhaust manifold which caused much smoke and smell. I had to replace both rocker arm gaskets to resolve the problem. My concern is that gm is recalling my car to fix the front gasket leak and not the rear gasket leak. I can assure you that my rear gasket leak was much worse than the front leak and was dripping directly onto the exhaust manifold. I had no idea this could ever catch fire. I saw documented pictures of another burned grand prix on the internet today as I researched this issue today. I was utterly shocked. And when I heard gm is only going to fix the front gasket, I knew I had to open up a complaint. I could have easily been the next victim of gm's inaction. My problem was fixed on 4/24/07 but prior I drove the car and would put up with this smell until I saw the smoke arising while I was at a drive-thru restaurant. Gm also implies it was related to heavy braking. Well that may be true initially, but once it started leaking it never stopped. You must force them to fix both gaskets before someone dies in a fire because of their design flaw. I paid $44.47 for both gaskets and that wasn't with gm's volume purchasing discount. So the difference is $20 dollars. I cannot believe gm is only fixing half of the problem, but you need to get involved and force them. Any of your engineers should be able to argue this point with them. If you need me to get on a conference call with the engineers and product managers, I would be happy to. This was the url with the burned grand prix: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f33/upcoming-recall-07035-97-03-gp-regal-3800-s-c-VIN-1-a-61961/index3.html the fire was horrible!
I went to work february 21, 2008. Within 10 minutes they was announcing my license plate over the intercom. The security office met me on my way down and said my car had caught on fire and that they tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher until the fire department came but it was a bad fire and it was nothing either one of them could do. My car had to be junked. Everything underneath the hood burned beyond recognition.
Engine fire.
My 1997 pontiac grand prix gtp over heated last month and it had an engine fire. Previously, there were several occasions when it had an odd oily/electrical smell but nothing appeared to be wrong. I was stuck in some snow and while I was getting it out it apparently overheated. I made it out on to the main road and less than thirty yards later, it caught fire. It took a while for the fire department to get there, and after the fire was put out there was nothing left salvageable of my car. The engine compartment was demolished and the interior had standing water from being extinguished. Basically, there was nothing I could do at that point, I had no car and the insurance did not cover what had happened.
My 1997 pontiac grand prix gtp had an engine fire as I was pulling into parking area at work. As I swiped my car, I noticed smoke coming from under the hood. I did not pull into the parking garage as I usually do so that I could check to see what was the problem. I popped the hood and the back of the engine near the firewall was on fire. I backed away and called 911. Police and fire department responded within minutes, but by that time, car from the dashboard forward was engulfed. Fire was put out with foam material and car was towed. I did not have fire or theft on the vehicle. I promptly called the insurance company to inform them of incident and dropped the car from the insurance. I signed the title over to my mechanic. I purchased the car in feb of 2,000 with about 30,000 miles. It was a good car until the fire. It had the 3.8 liter supercharged engine. No other problems prior to event. At that time, the car had about 140,000 miles on it. Only major work done was trans was replaced in mar of 2005 with 108,000. If you need copy of police report, please advise.
The car, a '97 grand prix with a v-6 engine, had just been parked in the drive way and someone came in about five minutes later and said "your car is on fire" the person was already on the phone with 911. When the fire department arrived 10 minutes later, the car along with all of my cds and other items were a total loss and I only had liability insurance so it was a total loss. The fire department took my blood pressure and it was 210 over 130 and tried to get me to go to the hospital. The car is still in the drive way covered with a tarp and the garage still has the siding hanging down where it melted from the heat. There was no police report even though a deputy sheriff was passing by and stopped as the windows and tires exploded.
My son was driving my 1997 grand prix when it started to knock and killed on the way into the walmart parking lot. Shortly after coming to a stop he noticed smoke and that the engine compartment on fire. The fire department was called and after breaking into the engine compartment, put the fire out. Amount of damages unknown.
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