![]() ![]() I broke the tradition when I purchased a Ford Contour. I was following my father's footsteps because all he ever drove was GM. I would never even consider looking at any other make of vehicle. Since I was 16, I have always been a GM person. I'll be back to let you know how it all turns out. I may have to put their name and BIG yellow lemons on as soon as I get it going again. Same dealer I have purchased 5 vehicles from says sorry, but no warranty $1570. I have to try and fix myself due to lack of warranty and funds. It now has 67,00 miles and coolant reservoir full of oil and slight knocking at start-up. Wife seen an overstock 2003 Grand Am GT reduced to sell. Yep, went to same dealer to buy another new truck in 04' and it happened again. 3 years later it had failed intake gaskets and fixed under warranty(ha ha $565 shop fees not covered). While waiting in 2 hours for vehicle to be ready to leave, another salesman caught my wife looking at a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am and I had to buy it also. My wife rode along to drive one vehicle home. I went to a local Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac and GMC dealer near I-26 in Summerville SC to purchase a nice Ford van for work. I WAS CAR-LESS FOR 3 WEEKS! All because of this stupid failure!!! THANKS FOR SELLING A FLAWED CAR GM… It is unfair to me that GM knows and will not cover the repair although they know they caused this defect in every one of these vehicles with the type of gasket used. I had FLUSHED the entire cooling system a year earlier and had a brand new water pump installed. Malibu, Alero, Grand-AM, Montana, Venture and Silhouette owners everywhere have had this issue or will at some point If they keep the vehicle long enough. GM and Pontiac had known of these engines having failures for a long time but had done absolutely nothing to stop them in the newer models that they released with the DEX-COOL coolant and the 3400 V6 engine. I assume the dreaded LIM Gasket failure though and start to cry thinking of the cost.Ī few weeks later she is repaired and of course it was the $750 Gasket that I had suspected. Upon opening my hood I see a pretty coolant stripe across my white paint just as it did when my water pump failed. I immediately turn around and drive the half a mile back to my home to safely park and hope it doesn’t explode. Then a second light, my service engine soon light lights up if I recall correctly. All of a sudden the vehicle shudders and my low coolant light comes on. I turn my key to leave for school as I typically do and start my drive down the road. I keep up with my preventative maintenance on the vehicle and had just put in a fresh $34 Synthetic oil change a week before this happened. I can't believe it was never a recall, seems like every Grand Am has had some sort of issue with the intake manifold gasket. Another $1600 and I am hoping this will be the end of the big car expenses for this Grand Am. I checked the coolant and it was pretty low, so I brought it back up to the shop and the mechanic said that since the new gasket had been put on, pressure had been built up in the engine and caused the head gasket to fail and it would need to be replaced also. I assumed that they had forgotten to tighten something or maybe didn't add enough coolant. The car seemed to be running good for the first day, and then the second day I had it back, the low coolant light came on once again. Finally got my car back after all the work was said and done. We decided to replace the gasket, and get some other work done such as lifters replaced, spark plugs replaced, coils replaced and new belts, since they would have the engine open already. ![]() ![]() We took it into the local repair shop in town and they said intake manifold gasket. Then of course, the next day the light was on. I told my dad, who refilled it once again. The next day the low coolant light came on once again. I checked the level of the coolant and it was bone dry, so I refilled it and thought it would be fine. After having it for about two years, the low coolant light came on one day out of the blue. I have always kept up with regular maintenance and kept this car in very good condition. ![]()
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