Lower Intake Manifold Gasket Fails
40,000 Miles
40,000 Miles
A few months after the transmission failure on my Pontiac Montana, I noticed a puddle of orange liquid forming under the van in the driveway. In my research of common problems with these vehicles, I knew right off the bat that it was the lower intake manifold gasket. Here's what I saw after opening the hood:
Those arrows are pointing to a little river of DexCool, flowing from the lower intake manifold and making its way to the driveway...
I stopped driving the van in fear that some of this may start going in to my oil, and called Pontiac. The rep on the phone was very nice, but noted that she was unaware that there was a problem with the lower intake manifold gaskets on these vans... My mouth dropped. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this problem, here are a few links that discuss it:
A petition online - With over 12,000 signatures (And it keeps growing)
A group discusses the problems with the GM V6 lower intake gasket
This automotive forum actually has a sticky note on this topic
Here's a technical bulletin describing the problem and solution
So, apparently Pontiac is unaware of a common problem with the lower intake manifold gasket, even though it was redesigned in 2003. I gave the Pontiac representative my information and, to my surprise, she did seem upbeat that Pontiac "MIGHT" be able to assist me if I took it in to the dealership to verify the problem. She noted that she couldn't tell me that GM would cover the costs to fix the problem, but she seemed confident that they MIGHT be able to help.... So, I took it to the dealership....
Once the dealership verified that it was indeed the lower intake manifold gasket, and that it would cost around $800.00 to $900.00 to get everything done, I called back the rep at Pontiac. She placed me on hold to call the dealership to verify the problem, and when she returned, I was told very curtly that neither the dealership or Pontiac would help me. When I mentioned that there was a problem with the design of the gasket, a technical bulletin on the problem had been issued, and that GM had redesigned the gasket in 2003 to fix the problem, she acted like all she wanted to do was get me off the phone. It was like talking to a brick wall. She has been trained very well... kind of reminds me of that credit card commercial where all they say is no.
GM Sucks.... A van with such low miles should never have this kind of problem. After 100 years of making automobiles, General Motors still can't get it right. General Motors sucks, but it doesn't have to be this way....
I stopped driving the van in fear that some of this may start going in to my oil, and called Pontiac. The rep on the phone was very nice, but noted that she was unaware that there was a problem with the lower intake manifold gaskets on these vans... My mouth dropped. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this problem, here are a few links that discuss it:
A petition online - With over 12,000 signatures (And it keeps growing)
A group discusses the problems with the GM V6 lower intake gasket
This automotive forum actually has a sticky note on this topic
Here's a technical bulletin describing the problem and solution
So, apparently Pontiac is unaware of a common problem with the lower intake manifold gasket, even though it was redesigned in 2003. I gave the Pontiac representative my information and, to my surprise, she did seem upbeat that Pontiac "MIGHT" be able to assist me if I took it in to the dealership to verify the problem. She noted that she couldn't tell me that GM would cover the costs to fix the problem, but she seemed confident that they MIGHT be able to help.... So, I took it to the dealership....
Once the dealership verified that it was indeed the lower intake manifold gasket, and that it would cost around $800.00 to $900.00 to get everything done, I called back the rep at Pontiac. She placed me on hold to call the dealership to verify the problem, and when she returned, I was told very curtly that neither the dealership or Pontiac would help me. When I mentioned that there was a problem with the design of the gasket, a technical bulletin on the problem had been issued, and that GM had redesigned the gasket in 2003 to fix the problem, she acted like all she wanted to do was get me off the phone. It was like talking to a brick wall. She has been trained very well... kind of reminds me of that credit card commercial where all they say is no.
GM Sucks.... A van with such low miles should never have this kind of problem. After 100 years of making automobiles, General Motors still can't get it right. General Motors sucks, but it doesn't have to be this way....
