Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 02/15/2005 | 61000 | 3 | |
| Vehicle intermittently stalled when making a right turn. dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak | |||
| 03/19/2003 | 1 | ||
| The vehicle experienced a coolant leak, which caused the vehicle to stall. *jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 11/10/2007 | 1 | ||
| In nov. of 2007 i was having a problem with my van overheating and was losing engine coolant but could not see where it was going. i later found out that i had a faulty intake manifold gasket, which cost me over 800.00 to repair. not long after the gasket was repaired the van started overheating again and i discovered that the water pump was blown, that was another 174.00 to repair. now i am still having the same problem with the van overheating and coolant leaking and i was just informed that it is a head gasket which is going to cost me over 1700.00 to fix. this is ridiculous, i know 3 other people who have the same make and model van as i do with the same engine and they are all also having the same problems with their vans. it seems to me that this is too much of a coincidence and that their should have been a recall in place to rectify the problems with these faulty parts. these are extremely expensive repairs and i personally do not have an extra $1700.00 just laying around, so now i am faced with the choice of junking my van and trying to get a new one which i cannot afford or fixing it which i also cannot afford. *tr | |||
| 02/09/2005 | 72000 | 1 | |
| Our 1997 pontiac transport has had 3 head gasket failures. the first was at 72000, second at 88,000 and is currently dead in front drive with water in the oil again. had new heads put on at 72000. vehicle overheats and does not show on gauges. you hear it bubbling when it's shut off. also had to replace alternator 3 times and van only has 110,000 miles on it. we've had since new. *tr | |||
| 02/01/2007 | 166000 | 2 | 10/16/2000 |
| Replaced the upper intake manifold gasket in 2006 . in the last 3 weeks, the van was not putting out much heat and the temp gauge did not rise up to the normal level. i drove into town 6 miles at 60 miles an hour and the temperature gauge went all the way up. i let it cool down and drove to the mechanic ( 1 mile ) and it was going back up again. they replaced the water pump, radiator cap and thermostat and i picked up the van. within 1 mile it started to heat up again. i returned it . they believe the head gaskets are blown. the estimate that i got to repair it is 1200.00. i got 3 estimates with the high of 1600.00. i already replaced one and now have to re replace it and the other. i'm getting really tired of this but i have to fix it because i cannot sell it if it doesn't run. hope they fix this in the next vehicles. i wouldn't recommend it due to this defect. it was also very scary because i was dealing with temperatures of -20 with wind. *nm | |||
| 02/22/2005 | 64990 | 1 | 06/15/2000 |
| I noticed the low coolant light would go on sometimes and the vehicle was going through coolant much faster than any other vehicle i have owned. *nm i performed some research on this issue and discovered a service bulletin regarding the faulty intake manifold gasket in model year 1997 transport vans, among others. this service bulletin clearly indicates that this issue a result of a poorly designed gasket. further research indicated that having this problem with your vehicle could result in catastrophic engine failure due to the leaking coolant getting into your engine. this now creates a safety issue due to the unpredictability of when your vehicle could breakdown. i took the van in to a gm dealer the next day. the diagnosis was a faulty intake manifold gasket that was causing coolant to leak inside the engine. the repair estimated to $720, for parts and labor and $130 to pay for a faulty blower motor resistor that was also diagnosed. i called gm to request cost assistance and was told that the car has too many miles on it, we can't help you now. i was given the reasons that the vehicle was bought used, and the vehicle was too old. although i have had this problem fixed, gm claimed no responsibility for this issue. furthermore, i am not convinced that having this failure did not create other problems that would result in catastrophic engine failure at a later time. | |||
| 11/10/2004 | 3 | 02/01/2004 | |
| Todays date- dec 15th, 2004.have had 1997 pontiac transport for almost 1 yr. i just found out today that the rack and pinion are going to have to be replaced, along with the thermostat and water pump.*ak regarding operation of the rack & pinion, the trouble started about a month ago. i first noticed problems w/the steering while backing out. i thought it might have been power steering, checked the fluid and it was full. not terrible problems, but little enough to notice something was not right. it has now gotten a little worse, so i had it looked at and was told the terrible news just this very day. | |||
| 09/06/2002 | 3 | 01/21/2001 | |
| I bought a 1997 pontiac transport in 2001 and not even a year later the intake gasket went bad they told me there was a defect on the intake gasket andgm did not give a recall for it that isn't very fair when it is their fault it keeps going i have to pay $785 again after another 2 years and again now i think somebody should do something about this because people are getting ripped off because they wont give a recall on this part when its their fault please help us with this problem. thank you . *ak | |||
| 06/22/2003 | 62000 | 1 | 06/19/2001 |
| I have owned my pontiac transport 2 years. in that time i have driven it 17,000 miles. it has 78,500 miles at present. for most of that time the add coolant light has come on intermittently. my pontiac dealer tells me that i need a $900 repair to replace a intake manifold gasket. in conversing with other gm owners, i have learned that this is a common problem with the cooling system possibly due to the dex-cool antifreeze which gm says should last 150,000 miles. i feel that gm should take responsibility for these failures. e g armentrout. *jb | |||
| 03/20/2003 | 1 | 06/18/1999 | |
| Coolant light started coming on over a year ago. took the van to bob neil pontiac in winston-salem nc. they checked it out but said they could find no reason. had been checking and adding coolant regularly. problem had increased and had it checked again in march 2003 while the van was in for a recall notice. this time they told me it would cost $600.00 + to fix the problem. the van has started having sudden swings in thermostat readings and using over a quart of coolant a week. i have read of others complaining on this site of the same problem and worse. i also reviewed numerous service bulletins from pontiac regarding this type of problem. why would gm not offer to help correct this problem if they know about it?*ak | |||
| 02/17/2003 | 75000 | 07/07/1997 | |
| Engine has been overheating for a year now. took vehicle to pontiac. they tested it and replaced the water pump. still overheating so they replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. still overheating. pontiac stated it needed a new head gasket and wanted $3500.00 to replace it. they further stated they were not sure this was the problem either. i have already paid $500.00 for the previous service. i have read there are many others with this same problem with gm 3.4 liter engines. *nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||
| 10/15/2003 | 2 | 01/20/1999 | |
| Both, not just one of my headlights casings popped off without warning. i have had to replace them. which i have never had to do with any other car i have owned. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 04/25/2003 | 54902 | 1 | 05/02/2001 |
| My 1997 pontiac transport only has 54000 miles on it and the engine intake manifold has gone up on it. after looking into it i have found this is a common problem with gm cars and trucks with a 3.4l engine. there seems to be a faulty design to the gasket. i have taken care of this van doing all maintenance on schedule. gm will do nothing to fix this problem even though they are well aware of this happening. they have even issued a service bulletin to dealers on how to diagnose the problem quickly (tsb#02-06-01-014). when the gasket goes there is a loss of power in the engine or stalling making it hard to steer and break. *jb | |||
| 02/24/2003 | 65000 | 1 | 04/01/1997 |
| My wife and i are the original owners of a 1997 pontiac transport with 71,000 miles. since about 65,000 miles, it seemed to very slowly lose coolant, but we could not find out where it was going. at 70,000 miles, a white milky sludge like jelly material appeared in the engine, and right away i knew we had a problem. this vehicle has been meticulous maintained, so immediately i took it to our local pontiac dealer and informed them that we had coolant leak. the service department at the dealer confirmed that the lower intake manifold gasket had failed, allowing coolant to mix in with the oil. they had to replace the gasket and flush out the motor all to the tune of $731.00. calling gm customer service was a waste of time because they denied any problems, and they said since the vehicle was out of warranty, we were responsible for any repairs. come to find out that a lot of others were experiencing the same intake manifold gasket issues with gm. i am hoping that our problems was caught in time as it seems like many folks are worse off. i know that my vehicle is out of warranty, but since the problem seems to be widespread across many gm vehicles, models, and engines, i think that gm should be held responsible for some/all of the costs associated with this gasket defect/service issue. i didn't know if you might be able to help out?? *jb | |||
| The van was involved in accident which the intake manifold gasket was damaged. the van was repaired by a pontiac dealership. anti-freeze is leaking by the intake manifold and mixing with the oil, which wasn't from the accident. the owner has found similar reports on nhtsas' website. please describe details. ts | |||
| 10/01/2000 | 1 | 06/11/1999 | |
| Coolant leaking from radiator. consumer speculates head gasket is blown. manufacturer notified. *tt | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE - BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS | |||
| 04/16/2001 | 2 | ||
| Sliding door would not close automatically. door would not latch. buzzer would sound and door would come open, even while driving. vehicle was taken in twice under recalls. once under recall 01 v 224 000 for sliding door and second time under recall 01 v 067 000. neither recall corrected the problem. *ak. consumer also stated the left turn signal was inoperative, the dealer replaced the turn signal bulb, also there was a rattle noise when vehicle was in idle, dealer replaced the belt tensioner.*jb | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 03/10/2004 | 84000 | 1 | 02/15/2000 |
| Faulty head gaskey causes major engine failure in gm behicles. *ak | |||
| 54500 | 1 | 10/01/2002 | |
| The intake manifold experienced a leak. *jb | |||
| 11/08/2002 | 57800 | 1 | 09/14/1999 |
| Consumer stated, while driving the vehicle noticed a smoke under the hood. plastic manifold was causing the burning, damaged the head gasket. dealer has been notified. ts intake manifold resealed. *tt | |||
| 04/29/2002 | 1 | ||
| Loss of coolant from the tail pipe. vehicle taken to a repair shop and informed that intake mamifold gasket was cracked. dealer and manufactuerer were notified. *ak the coolant is getting into the motor oil which could cause engine failure. consumer would like attention to this matter because if the problem gets worse, a new engine would have to be put in. *jg | |||