NHTSA Complaint #10043515 — 1998 CHEVROLET VENTURE

I RECENTLY PURCHASED A USED 1998 CHEVROLET VENTURE. UPON CHECKING THE FLUID LEVELS YESTERDAY, I NOTED THAT THE COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW, AND THE COOLANT APPEARED TO BE CONTAMINATED (PROBABLY BY OIL). THIS, COUPLED WITH ABNORMAL TEMPERATURE FLUCTUATIONS AND AN ODD TINGE ON MY OIL DIPSTICK CAUSED ME ENOUGH CONCERN TO DO A LITTLE RESEARCH. I'VE FOUND THOUSANDS OF TESTIMONIALS FROM GM OWNERS, ESPECIALLY OF THE 3.1 AND 3.4 LITER V-6, WHO HAVE SUFFERED FROM A LEAKING INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. THE DAMAGE RANGES FROM A SIX HUNDRED DOLLAR REPAIR BILL TO EJECTED RODS/CRACKED HEADS/COMPLETE ENGINE FAILURE. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A WIDESPREAD DEFECT, AND ENGINE FAILURE IN ANY TYPE OF TRAFFIC IS OBVIOUSLY A SAFETY CONCERN, ESPECIALLY IN A FAMILY VEHICLE SUCH AS A MINIVAN. I AM CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR INFORMATION REGARDING ACCIDENTS CAUSED BY THIS DEFECT. MY COMPLAINT IS THE COMMONALITY LACK OF SUPPORT FOR THIS PROBLEM, GIVEN THE FACT THAT GM IS CLEARLY AWARE THAT IT EXISTS (BOTH BY TECHNICAL BULLETIN AND THE FACT THAT ALL FOUR OF THE LOCAL GM SERVICE DEPARTMENTS I CALLED RECENTLY REFERRED TO THE PROBLEM IMMEDIATELY). IT IS UNBELIEVABLE THAT A RECALL HAS NOT OCCURRED ON THIS POORLY ENGINEERED, INHERENTLY DANGEROUS "DEX-COOL" COOLANT SYSTEM, WHEN IT CORRODES ENGINE OPERATING PARTS AND SUPPORT STRUCTURES, OFTEN UNDETECTABLE IN THE LOWER ENGINE AREA UNTIL CATASTROPHIC MATERIAL FAILURE. *LA