NHTSA Complaint #10060549 — 1999 PONTIAC MONTANA

THE LAST 4 CARS I HAVE OWNED HAVE BEEN GM VEHICLES. I HAVE TRIED HARD TO BE LOYAL, WHEN IN 1998, MY 1992 OLDS ACHIEVE BLEW IT'S HEAD GASKET AT 79,000 MILES. A DEFECT THAT WAS SO COMMON ON QUAD-4 ENGINES IN THESE VEHICLES THAT MANY WERE RECALLED TO BE FIZED, BEFORE 75,000 MILES......I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL AFTER....BY 4,000 MILES!! THE TOTAL JOB COST ME $1700USD. I DID PURCHASE A 1999 MONTANA VAN AND ANOTHER BONNEVILLE (1995) OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS. IN DEC. OF 2002 THE LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS REPLACED ON MY MONTANA WITH ONLY 55,000 MILES ON IT, COST OF $388. THEN THIS PAST JANUARY, I WAS DRIVING MY 1995 BONNEVILLE AND MY HEAD GASKET BLEW. SO $1633 DOLLARS LATER, IT TURNED OUT THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A PLASTIC UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD THAT BURNED OUT IN THE OPENING FOR THE EGR CHECK VALVE. AS I HAVE FOUND OUT ON MULTIPLE WEB SITES, IT SEEMS THAT ON THE 3.8L SERIES II ENGINES, THAT THEIR HAVE BEEN MANY PROBLEMS WHEN GM CHANGED FROM A DIE CAST ALUMINUM PART TO THIS PLASTIC PLENUM TUB. THE PLASTIC TUB BURNS 1-2 HOLES AROUND THE EGR CHECK VALVE, WHERE THE WATER JACKETS ARE, THUS FAILING AND CAUSING COOLANT TO FILL IN THE UPPER INTAKE AND THEN BE SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE. IT SEEMS THAT GM IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT HAS NOT RECALLED ANY PARTS. AGAIN, THIS WAS MY 2ND BLOWN HEAD GASKET, BUT SINCE THE CAR WAS A 1995 I WAS UPSET, BUT FIGURED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE. NOT 10 DAYS LATER THE 1999 MONTANA, WITH ONLY 79,000 MILES ON IT, BLEW THE HEAD GASKET (THIS A 3.4 LITER ENGINE) ANOTHER $1400 LATER, AND I DETERMINED ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. 3 DIFFERENT ENGINES IN 3 DIFFERENT CARS, WAS NO FLUKE. THAT IS WHEN I FOUND OUT ON THE INTERNET, THAT THERE WERE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ISSUES PEOPLE WERE HAVING WITH GM ENGINES. I HAVE SPEND APPROXIMATELY $5200 FIXING THIS ISSUES OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. I WANT RETRIBUTION!! GM EITHER NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THEIR MISTAKES AND MAKE GOOD, OR LOSE YET ANOTHER LIFE LONG CUSTOMER, HIS WIFE AND THEIR 3 KIDS!!!! *AK