Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac grand prix. The contact started the vehicle and it caught fire. The cause of the failure has not been diagnosed. The current and failure mileages were 143,000.
1997 Pontiac Grand Prix engine complaints
Page 5 of 7: complaints 101 to 130 of 180, newest first, as owners wrote them.
On the day indicated my 2yr old and I were traveling on the freeway when the car suddenly caught fire. After the fire department put out the fire it was determined the fire started with in the engine compartment. The car had no problems and I maintained all needed service to the vehicle.
Brought car to dealer for regular oil change and was told the oil was full of coolant. Was told by mechanic that this was a common" problem ,and he had changed several upper intake manifold gaskets on pontiac grand prix 3.8 v6 engines severe cases, included changing upper as well as lower gaskets ,and head gaskets due to coolant leaks. On a few of the cars the damage was beyond repair, and needed new engines due to severe coolant leaks. The upper intake plenum had melted, resulting in a coolant leak, coolant in the oil, and vice versa. Had to have another oil change a week later to get the rest of the gunk out, and will have to bring it in again next week to check for anymore traces of coolant in the oil. If found will have to possibly change the lower intake gasket, and possibly head gaskets. If damage was really bad, new engine. If this is such a "common" problem gm putting a plastic part would be installed. Why was there no recall on it? I have checked message board after message board and this problem was wide spread.. Lots of complaints, but the consumer was stuck fitting the bill for their defective part.
While driving my car, the light on dash began to flash as I slowed to read it, the car shut off. I was just going to try to restart it when I noticed smoke coming out from under hood. I got out of the car and was going to go get my husband who was a little over a half mile away. I reached inside the drivers door to put on the flashers as I did this I heard a sizzling noise and the flashers did not engage. I started running to get help and when I looked back I saw embers drop from the front of the engine by the plug wires. I got to a phone and the fire department was called just as visible flames could be seen from the engine compartment. *jb updated 3/20/08
Tl* - the contact stated vehicle exploded while attempting to start the engine. It was a cold morning ,and on the third attempt the engine compartment exploded. The contact stated that she had no problems prior to starting the vehicle.
I own a pontiac grand prix 97, 3.8. I have come to have a problem with my car overheating due to my manifold intake gaskets. I recently went to the shop to have them fixed and the shop owner told me this is the defect from the dealer which is costing me a lot of money to be fixed. The owner says he gets a lot of the pontiac gm cars that also have the same issue. I would like if someone can look into this. I also was on your website and noticed that you had this also on your defect investigations. I would very much appreciate if you can look into this for me and the other owners of these cars.
Another motorist waved me to pull over; the engine caught on fire.
Dt: the contact stated while driving on the freeway at 55 MPH the vehicle stalled. He managed to pull off to the side of the road, and turned the vehicle off, then back on and proceeded to drive the vehicle home. He took the vehicle to an independent repair shop. They found the intake manifold was leaking. No repairs were made.
Engine coolant leaking from intake manifold. Repair shop says" if its any consolation it is a design defect by the manufacturur" well its not any consolation ,it cost me $600 to fix a design flaw?
The ebcm (electronic brake control module) has gone out. This effect the power steering and the anti-lock brakes. The problem is that a new cost $700.00. Our gtp doesn't have traction control and we are unable to find a used or reman. Ebcm w/o traction control. The nose cone on the supercharger is also bad. It has a rattle in it that won't go away. It was that way when we bought the car with 68,000 miles on it, now has 102,000.
I have a 1997 grand prix with a 3.8 liter v6 that has a leaking intake manifold which I have been told is a common problem. The car leaks about a quart of coolant a month and I have been told that it is going to get worse quickly if I don't have it repaired. It is my understanding that loss of coolant could lead to complete engine failure. Doing some research, I see there are numerous complaints on this issue. It is a very expensive repair that is required due to a design flaw rather than what I would consider wear.
This is a safety issue, because the vehicle engine could overheat due to loss of coolant or leave your family stranded in the middle of no where. General motors pontiac division bulletin 01-06-01-007a issued 07/18/2001, provides limited information on the problem. On many of the gm cars from 1995 through 1998, that use the 3.8l engine there is a design flaw. The egr passage melts the upper intake plenum, so the composite material degrades around the egr stovepipe and could (and does in many cases) result in the internal or external loss of coolant. My car is a 1997 grand prix. They charged me $1283.47 to repair the damage caused by their design flaw, instead of recalling the vehicle. There are probably thousands of cars like this. If the coolant leaks into the upper plenum, it could result in "hydro-lock" of the cylinders. That could also be a safety problem. The cars having this design should be recalled and those people that have had theirs repaired already should be reimbursed. The problem was caused by bad engineering and materials used by pontiac.
When the consumer attempted to start the engine, it exploded. As a result, the vehicle caught fire. No injuries reported. The vehicle is considered a total loss. Please provide additional information. *jb...
While driving, the consumer smelled smoke coming from the vents. The consumer pulled over, lifted up the hood and discovered the engine was on fire. The consumer extinguished the fire. The consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection. The mechanic informed the driver that the cause could not be determined. Please fill in additional information.
After significant hours of reading and talking with people, I found that my problem affects thousands of gm customers with similar engines. This is a well documented (on the interenet) complaint about the plastic intake manifold failure which causes a sizable leak of coolant which can utimately cause catostrophic engine failure as well as water pump failure due to lack of coolant lubrication. Although not listed as a safety issue, the failure of an engine in traffic could, and maybe has, a driver to inadvertently have an accident, even fatal one, due to the engine failure and lack of steering w/o use of power steering pump. Just another avenue to look into when gm says this is not a safety issue. However, thousands of people appear to have this same issue and have spent large amount of monies repairing and lots of frustration attempting to get gm to resolve this flaw that has existed, to their knowledge, for many years. This is a design flaw in gm's engineering that gm says "too bad". It is interesting to note that when people have taken them to court, gm tends to pony and pay for repairs.
Most recent complaint is, heated driver seat gets too hot and makes it hard to stay seated. Heater blower quit working. Have had to replace the alternator every 3rd year (3 times). Have had oil pan gasket and valve cover leakage. Power steering failed to make left hand turns. Headlights continue to have poor range and visibility even with bulb replacement. Car lurches forward when starting up engine. Outside temperature display keeps wrong temperature. A.m. Radio would not work. Water pump had to be replaced. Abs light stayed on. Air bag light came on when going over bumps in road.
The paint on the rear wheel wells as well as the pain on the running boards all the way back to the rear quarter pannels is rusting out. I found your website and thought that I migh be covered, but apparently I am not and gm said they have changed their plant to oshawa, canada. They also said that they have changed their paint. When I asked what I should do they said that it is pretty much tough luck. And that is about it. Also the coolent return hose in the engine goes every 2 yrs. And at canadian tire it costs. About 375$ to replace.
This is the worst automobile I have ever owned. It is nickel and diming me to death. Both back windows are being held up in place by sticks that I have proped under them. The front passenger window I paid $300 to have repaired. The steering locked up on me and I had to dish out $500 to get that repaired, gm recalled it a couple of weeks after that, thank god I got some of my money back for that repair. The passengers side head light lens cover fell off $75 to replace that. I am presently working on the brake transmission shift indicator which I just called the dealer for a price on the part and am told it will be $224.07 for the part and probably $115 for the labor. The engine leaks oil I had my wife take it to the shop for them to take a look at and they told her that no leaks were evident. Well the oil in my driveway is coming from somewhere. I will never own another gm product in my life again. Not even if it is given to me and 10,000 to use toward the repairs of it.
I put a $1,000 on a car the tranmisson is defected they claim the fixed it but did not and the air do not work/ today the car cut off on me and did not start so I left it beside the road so the dealership can pick it up this is a used car
Noticed several areas where the paint seems to be pealing on the car
Currently, the clearcoat is peeling off the car. Last summer, the window motors died. Reoccuring, is the air conditioner problem. -it doesn't work.
While driving intake manifold leaked coolant fluid. Dealerships mechanic had been notified, but the mechanic did not resolve the problem.
Intake manifold gasket failed. As a result a coolant leak occured and an engine failure was almost a result. The heater failed in 5-20 degree weather. My mechanic informed me that this was a common problem that should be classified as a design flaw.
Low coolant indicator light illuminated. Dealer replaced the lower intake manifold gasket.
While vehicle was checked for dashboard lights mechanic found that engine head cracked. Vehicle was leaking oil, and oil sensor light was on all the time.
Very large and quick spreading fire in engine compartment while driving. Car was totaled.
Vehicle stalls intermittently when slowing down, at a stop or at 30-40 MPH. Vehicle had been examined by dealer numerous times, unable to find the cause of problem.
Egr valve made of cheap plastic. Headlight lens falling off car. Faulty hydraulic modulator and exhaust system.
Problems with power steering pump, alternator, rack and pinion, power windows, and head gaskets. *mr the power steering pump had suddenly gone out in traffic, the vehicle stopped abruptly in the middle of traffic(the alternator was replaced), the consumer discovered that the windshield wipers were inoperative upon start due to the failure of the wiper linkage under the cowl, the steering skipped as the consumer made right hand turns(the rack and pinion was replaced along with the power steering pump), the headlight lens had fallen off, the ceramic headgasket had to be replaced, the was a hesitation and alternator had to be replaced for a second time, the air bag warning light had come on due to a short in the wiring harness, the transmission grabbed along with hesitation(a tune up was performed and work was done to the transmission), the vehicle couldn't be taken out of the park position(the shifter was replaced), the power window(s) failed, the tire pressure light had illuminated, and the windshield wiper pump leaked and would not hold fluid. *scc
Consumer noticed while driving vehicle overheated. Technician diagnosed the intake plastic manifold being cracked. Dealer notified.
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