NHTSA Complaint #10391389 — 2005 CHEVROLET EQUINOX

01/21/2011 THE EQUINOX WOULD NOT TURN OVER AND WAS HAULED TO THE DEALER. PRIOR TO THIS INCIDENT, THERE APPEARED TO BE A SLOW LOSS OF COOLANT, REQUIRING A GALLON OF COOLANT TO BE ADDED OVER THE PREVIOUS THREE MONTH PERIOD. THERE WERE NO LEAKS ON THE GARAGE FLOOR, NOR ANY INTERIOR CABIN LEAKS APPARENT, BUT THERE HAD BEEN A "SYRUPY" SMELL IN THE PASSENGER CABIN. THE DEALER PUT IN A NEW BATTERY AND ALSO DISCOVERED THAT THE HEATER CORE WAS LEAKING. THE NEW BATTERY AND HEATER CORE REPLACEMENT TOTALED $1090.11. APPARENTLY, WHEN THE BATTERY DIED, THE DIAGNOSTICS CODES RELATING TO THIS INCIDENT WERE LOST. 03/16/2011 THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WAS ON. THIS HAS HAPPENED FREQUENTLY IN THE PAST BUT HAD ALWAYS BEEN RELATED TO A LOOSE GAS CAP AND WAS EASILY REMEDIED BY TIGHTENING THE CAP. WHEN THAT SOLUTION DID NOT WORK, THE EQUINOX WAS TAKEN INTO THE LOCAL GM DEALERSHIP. IT WAS THEN DIAGNOSED AS NEEDING A HEAD GASKET REPLACEMENT, WHERE IT IS NOW BEING REPAIRED. THE REPAIR TOTAL IS EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT $1400. IN LESS THAN TWO MONTHS, THIS VEHICLE (WITH ONLY 68K MILES ON IT) HAS REQUIRED AT LEAST $2400 DOLLARS IN HEATER CORE AND ENGINE HEAD GASKET REPAIR COSTS. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT THE HEATER CORE LEAKS WERE LIKELY TO HAVE HAD THE SUBSEQUENT EFFECT OF COMPROMISING THE INTEGRITY OF THE HEAD GASKET. I HAVE FOUND MANY DOCUMENTED REFERENCES TO SIMILAR PROBLEMS OCCURRING IN THIS ENGINE MAKE, THE 3.4L GM V6. THERE ALSO SEEMS TO BE A RELATED LINK TO PROBLEMS WITH THE TYPE OF COOLANT USED IN THIS ENGINE (DEX COOL). AT THIS POINT, I AM NOT AWARE THAT GM HAS ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THERE IS PROBLEM. I AM FILING THIS COMPLAINT SO THAT IT CAN BE ADDED TO THE MOUNTING EVIDENCE OF PRODUCT DEFECTS IN THIS ENGINE TYPE.