Hi...can we talk? I have a 97 Pontiac GA with a 3.1 V6. For the most part I have actually been quite happy with the car, it now has over 121k miles and is holding up quite well indeed. But would I buy another GM car?....Maybe...maybe not..I really dont yet...because of 2 words...INTAKE GASKETS. At about 100,000 miles I developed a water coolant leak and then found out that this problem was actually extremely common and expected. Yes very common on the 3.1, 3.4, 3.8 and I have recently found that it can also be a problem on the 5.7 to some extent, let me know if I missed any other engines. This intake gasket fix was an $800+ repair! The real problem is that these gaskets have been failing for years and GM has not addressed it. Rumor has it that the GM Dextron type coolant contributes to the failure. GM now has at least 2 new v6 engines out the 3.5 and the 3.9. These engines happen to be in the G6 as well as other cars. Since GM never addressed the intake problem in the other engines I am inclined to believe they will not be addressed in these new engines. Thats why there is a very good chance my next vehicle will not be a GM. They let me down by not coming clean and because of that I may well abandon ship. It just goes to show if you do the right thing up front you may have a customer for life, if you dont it can come back to bite you in the ass.
- posted
19 years ago