My 1999 grand prix gt started to run rough the quit running. Had the car towed to a repair shop and was informed that the intake manifold melted. That this is a common problem with this car. Gm came out with a thicker plastic part as a replacement, why have they not make a recall to reflect their defective part?
1999 Pontiac Grand Prix engine complaints
Page 7 of 8: complaints 161 to 190 of 201, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Faulty intake and/or intake gasket caused anti-freeze to leak into the engine resulting in engine failure. Repair bill was $1600. Gm has issued recalls on 2000 and 2001 pontiac grand prix models with the same issue, but will not admit to same problem with 1999 model.
Engine runs rough, loss of power, engine seizes up - this occurred approximately sept 2002. Initial diagnosis: blown head gasket or headers. Initial estimates to fix: approximately $4000-4500. Initial calls to pontiac/gm were fruitless. Result: replaced engine oct 2003 (approximately $3500 w/warranty). Incident occurs a second time approximately 3 weeks after new engine installed. Diagnosis: intake manifold coolant leak, broken piston rod. Calls to pontiac/gm fruitless once again. Result: awaiting another engine and manifold repairs. To make a long and arduous 14 months short - after a considerate number of calls to pontiac, I was eventually able to speak with a pontiac engineer (pe) who specializes in fuel and exhaust systems. Pe explained the cause of my problem, worse case scenario and the solution: the problem lies within the lower (aluminum) intake manifold. Within is a tube that houses the egr valve and carries exhaust gases. This tube was made relatively large and runs either through or close to the upper (plastic) intake manifold. Over time, the extremely high temperatures of these exhaust gases causes the upper manifold to melt and creates a coolant leak into the fuel system. As this leak increases in size, increased amounts of coolant make its way into the piston chambers. Eventually, compression is lost and the piston rods can either bend or break. Both the lower and upper manifolds need to be replaced. The lower has been redesigned with a smaller tube that houses the egr valve, therefore, it does not lie as close to the upper manifold. Pe even faxed me a copy of the official bulletin in referencing this problem for 1998 and older pontiacs. Recalls: 2000-2003 manifolds. What happened to the 99's? There were no design changes on the manifolds for the 98's, 99's and 00's. Most dealership mechanics won't know about this problem. Pontiac is aware of the initial design defect. Their official bulletins prove this. Why should the consumer have to pay for their design defect?
The intake manifold was replaced a year ago and may have caused damage to the engine. *ak the rod bearings failed. The heat gauge was noticed warmer than usual and eventually overheated and shut off. Gm dealers agreed the cause was due to the failed plentum. *scc
1999 grand prix was leaking antifreeze into the motor. A known faulty design. The 2000 and 2001 models all have recalls for the same design/problem. Called the manufacturer and this model was not covered by the recall.
Cooling system.. Intake manifold gasket leak. It was going on for over a year and a half and pepboys did nothing but change the thermostat and then it would happen again. Then one day they decided that the gasket was leaking and wanted to charge me $600.00 to fix.
Engine/cooling system anti-freeze dex-cool leaks into the engine and I have had to replace the heads on the engine twice costing me over 2,000 and consumer reports on channel 3 reported that over time the anti-freeze that only newer gm models use is bad for the engine eventually wearing down the parts in the engine.I would like full reimbursement for the cost of repairs and if possible to change the car over to the regular green anti-freeze car makers have been using for years.
Consumer stated that a recall letter came for a 2000 grand prix that was leaking anti freeze in to the motor. Consumer owned a 1999 grand prix that was doing the exact same thing, but manufacturer indicated that consumer's vehicle was not covered by the recall.
The intake manifold cracked while driving. *ak *ts
Upper intake manifold starts to rot out in coolent passage. This will be a real problem for gm all of the ones that I found in junk yard had or were about to have this problem.
Vehicle idles rough, coolant is leaking from top of motor, replace intake plenum and gasket, replace spark plugs, fuel injection service.
Bought this car used at a dealership. After it was discovered leaking oil, I took to a good auto shop and found out the intake manifold is leaking oil. The repair will cost $1000.00. Auto shop said that there are many cars with this size engine (3800) that have the same problem. It was suggested I go to the dealership with the problem, then onto pushing for a recall. I expect I will be stuck with a big bill, but do plan to notify gm with this problem.
Dealer replaced the engine on september 2002. Vehicle was driven for two weeks again, engine was replaced. On january 2003, engine was replaced for the third time. Consumer stated the engine needed to be replace again.
Grand prix engine got hot, recovered, got hot, then lost engine power on the freeway (I also experienced heat exhaustion due to being broke down in 110-degree f heat.) oily sheen and orange crud noticed in radiator, discovered creamy colored motor oil. Intake manifold gasket failure has caused extensive damage to engine. This vehicle had no previous history of engine problems and was a dream to drive. $4100 for labor and engine replacement; gm service writer and mechanics acknowledge they've seen this problem many times before and that gm has re-designed both the intake manifold gasket and the manifold because of known failures in bi-metal engines; however there has been no recall.
Fire in engine compartment. *mr the vehicle caught fire while driving during a regular commute.
While driving and without warning the upper intake manifold melted and caused fluid to leak onto the wires.
While driving 35 MPH the vehicle's plastic intake manifold overheated and dropped water inside the engine.
The vehicle stalled without warning, which caused the consumer to pull over abruptly.
The engine ran hot and caused the starter and other items underneath the vehicle to fail.
Faulty plastic intake manifold/ gasket on a pontiac grand prix (1999) caused coolant leakage into oil and cylinders. Caused my car to quit on a busy highway (almost caused accident)
Coolant leaked onto the engine and mixed with the oil, also consumer heard a screeching noise coming from belts under the hood. The were belts replaced, however the noise was still there.
1999 pontiac grand prix gt, engine locked up after 57,816 miles due to defective upper plenum made of inferior material, therefore causing the water, gas, and oil to mix locking down the engine. Giving the same symtoms as a blown head gasket.
Cracked intake manifold...blown head gasket.
The plastic intake manifold cracked which resulted in a coolant leak. *ts
Engine suddenly misses and sometimes dies while moving and at the same time, the tachometer quits and the 'traction control off' switch-light comes on. The engine sometimes restarts immediately and/or the engine smooths out, but the tachometer remains inoperative and the traction control off light stays lit. Stopping and restarting the engine resets the tach and indicator light. Sometimes when the engine does die, it will not restart for several minutes and there have been instances of being stranded on the expressway.
Vehicle would stall out while driving at multiple speed. Vehicle been to dealer on four occasions, and dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. Feel free to provide any further information.
While driving under 30mph engine check light came on as vehicle started to accelerate. Engine started to sputter and misfire, causing consumer to take vehicle back home. Vehicle would not restart due to engine locking up, and causing starter to completely fail. Dealer determined that intake manifold cracked. Please provide more information.
On 10/19/01 car died. Dealer determined leak in upper manifold causing water to leak into engine. While within 3-mo warranty, the mileage was greater than 3,000 mi. They said it would be $1,200 to fix. My mechanic said it would be $700. He fixed it for $725. However, he said that he had spoken with other mechanics including people in the service dept at century who said that "gm knows they have a problem with this plastic part". On 12/7/01 the car quit. My mechanic indicated that there was shaving in the bottom of the engine and it had blown a rod. He spoke with several area mechanics who reported similar major engine damage following previous repairs of the leaks from the manifold. The engine had to be replaced at engine cost of $3,200 (thus total of close to $4,000). The mechanic says this is a design flaw in the plastic manifold and will likely happen again. He doesn't understand why there hasn't been a recall.
Engine stalls when pulling out in traffic, usually turning left or right to pull into a lane of traffic. After pulling to a stop the engine restarts quickly. No engine trouble lights are set. This has has happened several times (approximately 10) and is very dangerous (pulling into traffic and having the car stall just as you start). After noting that there have been many complaints under engine or electrical on you web site, for the same problem, I feel this issue needs to be address before someone is killed or injured. For me, I am considering selling the car.
Vehicle was hesitating and sluggish. Dealer advised consumer not to drive vehicle. Dealer found coolant leaking in engine.
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