NHTSA Complaint #10246446 — 1999 OLDSMOBILE SILHOUETTE

REPEATED INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAK / FAILURE - HAD TO REPLACE TWICE IN LESS THAN 100,000 MILES - FIRST TIME AT JUST OVER 36,000 MILES. NEVER OWNED A CAR WHERE I HAD TO REPLACE AN INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET ONCE, LET ALONE TWICE AND VIRTUALLY EVERY CAR MY FAMILY HAS OWNED HAS BEEN MAINTAINED AND DRIVEN OVER 100,000 MILES. SEARCHING THE INTERNET YOU SEE THE GM 3.4 LITER ENGINE IN 1999 ERA THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT/PROBLEM. ALSO THE ORIGINAL OLDSMOBILE DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED IT WAS A KNOWN ISSUE WITH THIS ENGINE. THERE IS ALSO A LAWSUIT WWW.DEXCOOLSETTLEMENT.COM SHOWING HOW PREVALENT THIS ISSUE IS - YET GM REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE IT IS A DEFECT AND TAKE CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND VEHICLE OWNERS BY REPAIRING THESE VEHICLES AND CHANGING THE GASKET DESIGN. IT WAS BAD ENOUGH HAVING TO SPEND CLOSE TO $500 TO REPAIR THIS ON MY OLDSMOBILE WITH JUST OVER 36,000 MILES ON IT, NOW I AM TOLD TO PAY CLOSE TO $1,000 TO HAVE IT REPLACED AGAIN! GM CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE INSISTS THERE IS NO DEFECT, THERE IS NOTHING ABNORMAL ABOUT THIS THAT REQUIRES ANY CORRECTIVE ACTION OR "ASSISTANCE" FROM GM. THEY FURTHER CLAIM GM ENGINEERS HAVE REVIEWED THE INCOMING DATA TO CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE AND THERE IS NO PROBLEM / NO TREND WITH INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS ON THE 3.4 LITER ENGINE - THAT CAN NOT BE THE TRUTH. THIS IS NOT A NORMAL WEAR ITEM, AN INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET SHOULD LAST THE LIFE OF THE ENGINE AND IF NOT, GM SHOULD STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCT AND REPLACE IT FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS. OTHER CUSTOMERS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM HAVE HAD ENGINE SEIZURES AND SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEMS BECAUSE THEY DID NOT NOTICE OR CATCH THE PROBLEM SOON ENOUGH AND COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE OIL CAUSED ENGINE SEIZURE AND/OR OVERHEATING. ORIGINAL PROBLEM WAS FEBRUARY 2003, PROBLEM HAS RE-OCCURRED OCTOBER 2008 SO CLEARLY GM DID NOTHING TO CHANGE THE GASKET DESIGN AND DOES NOT EVEN STAND BEHIND THEIR SERVICE / REPLACEMENT PARTS. *TR