1996 pontiac trans sport, motor seized up and began to smoke, motor caught fire. *bf prior to the fire, the driver noticed the vehicle was leaving some type of fluid behind. According to the police report, the engine was leaking oil. (ohio traffic crash report # 10-0409-90)*jb updated 08/05/10
Pontiac Trans Sport engine failure problems
19 of the 971 owner complaints about the Pontiac Trans Sport describe engine failure, most of them for the 1997 model year.
- owner complaints
- 19
- worst model year
- 1997
- typical repair cost reported
- $3,000
- typical mileage
- 78,500
Is there a fix? No recall or service bulletin covers this area of the car yet.
By model year
Often reported together
What owners say
1998 pontiac transport spiked the temperature light and was shut down. Problem caused by cracked head. Replaced engine at 70,000+ - with used engine with 30,000 mi. Now at 80,000 mi. Engine has blown head gasket. Van not worth another engine repair bill.
Intake gasket leaking and replaced in january 2005 at a cost of over $600. Cam shaft snapped in half in april 2005 resulting in total engine failure and replacement - cost of $3400. This should be recalled by gm and anyone that has had this occur reimbursed.
Van stopped suddenly on expressway. Dealer towed it away and diagnosed problem. He said that cam shaft was seized or broke. All fluid levels were ok. Car had no leaks . Found no evidence of sludge in the motor. Found that van was properly maintained by owner. Quoted new engine cost of $4693.
I noticed the low coolant light would go on sometimes and the vehicle was going through coolant much faster than any other vehicle I have owned. *nm I performed some research on this issue and discovered a service bulletin regarding the faulty intake manifold gasket in model year 1997 transport vans, among others. This service bulletin clearly indicates that this issue a result of a poorly designed gasket. Further research indicated that having this problem with your vehicle could result in catastrophic engine failure due to the leaking coolant getting into your engine. This now creates a safety issue due to the unpredictability of when your vehicle could breakdown. I took the van in to a gm dealer the next day. The diagnosis was a faulty intake manifold gasket that was causing coolant to leak inside the engine. The repair estimated to $720, for parts and labor and $130 to pay for a faulty blower motor resistor that was also diagnosed. I called gm to request cost assistance and was told that the "car has too many miles on it, we can't help you now". I was given the reasons that the vehicle was bought used, and the vehicle was too old. Although I have had this problem fixed, gm claimed no responsibility for this issue. Furthermore, I am not convinced that having this failure did not create other problems that would result in catastrophic engine failure at a later time.
Dexcool in 1997 pontiac transport corroded intake manifold gasket enabling oil and dexcool to mix in oil and gumming up, causing engine to overheat and self destruct. No warning whatsoever. No warning lights. No lost oil or coolant. Maintained at manufacturer intervals. Requires $6,000 engine replacement. Old oil and dexcool samples are available as are all parts (manifold intake gasket). Over 1100 people have this registered complaint -- see www.gm-v6lemons.com for others.
1998 pontiac montana with a gm (generic) 3.4 liter engine events leading to failure were normal driving conditions and regular maintenance. The failure is the intake manifold gasket. The consequences currently are exterior leaking coolant. *ak the probable future consequence per the dealer, is coolant leaking into the crankcase causing the failure of the crank bearings. Which documented cases have resulted in engine failure while driving which can cause a unsafe situation. What will have to be done is to replace the intake gasket at a cost of $500-$700.
Lower intake manifold gasket is leaking due to faulty plastic materials. Dealer advises immediate repair to avoid engine failure. Dealer indicates this is a common problem with no relief from general motors. Gm has issued a technical bulletin to its dealers regarding the problem. Bulletin #: 03-06-01-010 march 2003.
Faulty head gaskey causes major engine failure in gm behicles.
Dealer had at previous times checked coolant system and said no trouble, had cleaned radiator and checked engine temperature. Said everything ok. Now out warranty and engine blown due to coolantleakage and best deal so far for repair is 3400.00 from chevy dealer. Vehicle is worthless as trade w/o fix and not sure how much its worth even when fixed with this history. 1-800-pmcares offers no offer of repair cost even w/ 2600+ complants on gmcnsmr/petition site
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the Pontiac Trans Sport engine failure
Which Pontiac Trans Sport years have engine failure problems?
The model years with the most reports are 1997 (8 complaints), 1998 (5 complaints) and 1996 (4 complaints).
How much does it cost to fix engine failure on the Pontiac Trans Sport?
Owners who mentioned a price put the repair at about $3,000 (median of 9 complaints that include a dollar amount). Costs vary with mileage, warranty and where the work is done.
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