NHTSA Complaint #10277577 — 1998 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE

I RECEIVED A LETTER IN MAY STATING THAT GM WAS RECALLING MY CAR FOR POSSIBLE ENGINE FIRES (RECALL 09047). I CALLED THE NUMBER PROVIDED AND WAS ROUTED TO ONE OF THE LOCAL DEALERS, WHO TOLD ME THAT THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT UNTIL LATE JULY OR AUGUST AND TO CALL BACK FOR AN APPOINTMENT THEN. YESTERDAY, 7/20/09, MY CAR BURNED TO A CRISP. ACCORDING TO THE FIREMEN, IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL FIRE THAT STARTED UNDER THE HOOD SOMEWHERE AND IT BURNED SO HOT AND SO FAST THAT THEY WERE UNABLE TO SALVAGE IT. THE FIRE ENGINES ARE KEPT LITERALLY A BLOCK AWAY FROM WHERE THE FIRE OCCURRED. THEY RESPONDED WITHIN MINUTES AND STILL THE ENTIRE ENGINE CONTENTS FRIED RIGHT UP. MY CAR IS A TOTAL LOSS. TODAY I HAVE SPENT JUST OVER TWO HOURS ON THE PHONE WITH GM CUSTOMER SERVICE, I HAVE HAD TO ESCALATE THE CALLS TWICE AND CALL BACK TO THEM TWICE AND ONCE TO THE LOCAL DEALER AND ALL ANYONE WILL SAY IS THEY WILL CONTACT ME WITHIN 5 BUSINESS DAYS AND TO SAVE THE VEHICLE SO THEY CAN INVESTIGATE IT. I HAVE NOWHERE TO STORE THIS CAR IN IT'S CURRENT STATE. IT IS A MAJOR FIRE HAZARD-ESPECIALLY WITH OUR CURRENT WARM WEATHER/DRY CONDITIONS AND IT'S FULL TANK OF GAS. GM INFORMED ME THAT IF I MAKE THE DECISION TO HAVE IT MOVED TO A JUNK YARD TO TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES BEFORE THAT HAPPENS. I INFORMED THEM THAT I CANNOT KEEP THE VEHICLE HERE, DUE TO IT'S FIRE HAZARD TO THE OTHER RESIDENTS ON MY BLOCK-THEIR HALF A MILLION DOLLAR HOMES AND THEIR VEHICLES THAT ARE PARKED IN THE SAME AREA. *TR