NHTSA Complaint #10010359 — 1995 CHEVROLET LUMINA

INTAKE GASKETS LEAK. I JUST BOUGHT A CAR LESS THAN THREE WEEKS AGO, AND A FEW DAYS AGO, THE CAR STARTED HEATING UP, THE "HOT" LIGHT LIT UP, AND LOW COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON. I PULLED OVER RIGHT AWAY AND HAD TO PUT SOME WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID IN THE OVERFLOW BOTTLE SO I COULD GET SOMEWHERE, TO CALL SOMEONE. THEY BROUGHT ANTIFREEZE, AND WHEN WE WENT TO FILL THE RADIATOR, IT WAS ALREADY FULL. THINKING MAYBE IT WAS JUST A THERMOSTAT, WE REPLACED THAT, BUT IT KEPT DOING THE SAME THING, NEXT SUGGESTION WAS THERE AN AIR BUBBLE SOMEWHERE, SO THAT WAS BLED. STILL SAME PROBLEM. WENT TO CHECK THE OIL, ONLY TO FIND THAT THE ANTIFREEZE WAS DUMPING INTO THE OIL PAN. CALLED THE HEAD SHOP ONLY TO FIND THAT THIS MOTOR (3.1) IS KNOWN FOR THE INTAKE GASKETS GOING OUT ALL THE TIME. LOOKED FOR RECALLS, NOTHING LISTED FOR INTAKE GASKETS, SO WE CALLED A DEALER TO PUNCH IN OUR VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY SPECIAL RECALL PROBLEMS FOR ANYTHING THAT HAS NOT BEEN FIXED YET. THE SEARCH RESULTED IN FINDING OUT THAT THE INTAKE GASKET HAS BEEN REPLACED AT LEAST ONCE, UNDER WARRANTY. THE CAR ONLY HAS 108,000 MILES ON IT, AND NOW, TWO SETS OF INTAKE GASKETS THAT WE KNOW OF, MAYBE MORE NOT REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THAT'S RIDICULOUS. I HAVE GOT A DODGE VAN THAT HAS 220,000 AND THE ORIGINAL INTAKE GASKETS HAVE NEVER WENT OUT. I REALLY THINK THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL, AND REPLACED WITH A BETTER SET OF GASKETS BECAUSE APPARENTLY THE ONES USED ARE CHEAP, AND WORTHLESS.*JB