NHTSA Complaint #10010319 — 1998 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE

THE FOLLOWING LETTER (COMBINED MESSAGE FORUM POSTING & LETTER TO GM OF MINE) REPRESENTS THE MAIN POINTS IN MY COMPLAINT INVOLVING AN INTAKE GASKET MANIFOLD LEAK IN OUR 1998 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE WHICH WE'VE SINCE REPAIRED FOR APPROXIMATELY $900.00: AFTER RECENTLY WRITING A LENGTHY COMPLAINT LETTER TO OLDSMOBILE CUSTOMER SERVICE (EXPLAINING HOW I WAS TRYING A GM PRODUCT FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER BEING DISSATISFIED WITH CHRYSLER PRODUCTS FOR THE PAST 10 YEARS) AND AFTER 2 WEEKS OF PHONE TAG WITH 2 GM CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS I WAS FINALLY TOLD THAT BECAUSE I WASN'T THE ORIGINAL OWNER, BOUGHT IT WITH RELATIVELY HIGH MILEAGE (50K MI) AND DIDN'T HAVE AN EXTENDED WARRANTY GM IS NOT GOING TO ASSIST WITH THE REPAIR OF MY INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET PROBLEM. I SUMMARIZED BY SAYING, "SO, YOU'RE SAYING THAT GM DOESN'T CARE WHAT 2ND OWNERS OF GM VEHICLES THINK ABOUT GM? YOU DON'T CARE THAT I WON'T BUY ANOTHER GM PRODUCT?" THE REP. RESPONDED "THAT'S YOUR CHOICE." HE WENT ON TO SAY "WE DON'T KNOW HOW THE PREVIOUS OWNER MAINTAINED THE VEHICLE...." AND I RESPONDED SAYING "THERE ARE TSB'S OUT THERE ON THIS PROBLEM, OVER 1500 PEOPLE WHO'VE SIGNED AN ONLINE PETITION AND GM DEALER SERVICE TECHS WHO IMMEDIATELY POINT OUT THE PROBLEM TO OWNERS WHO GO IN FOR TOTALLY UNRELATED SERVICE; YOU CAN'T TELL ME THAT GM DOESN'T KNOW THIS IS A PRODUCT DEFECT." HE DIDN'T RESPOND. MY VEHICLE IS NOW CONSUMING ABOUT 16 OZ. OF COOLANT EVERY 150 MILES DRIVEN. THE REP. SAID I SHOULDN'T BE DRIVING IT AT ALL; EASY TO SAY IF YOU COULD AFFORD TO GO OUT AND REPLACE IT OR REPAIR IT; NOT A VERY GOOD OPTION FOR OUR FAMILY NOW. AN EXTENSIVE WEB SEARCH ON ??OLDS SILHOUETTE AND INTAKE MANIFOLD LEAK?? HAS PRODUCED MANY STORIES OF EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM WITH OTHER OWNERS OF THIS VEHICLE IN THE SAME YEAR. I REQUEST THAT THIS PROBLEM BE REPAIRED FREE OF CHARGE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID FURTHER DAMAGE TO ENGINE COMPONENTS.*JB