1998 Buick Lesabre

WHILE RETURNING HOME FROM OUR DAUGHTER'S IN VIRGINIA, OUR CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WE PULLED ONTO A SIDE ROAD AND TURNED OFF THE CAR. LOOKING UNDER THE HOOD, WE FOUND THE RESERVE RADIATOR RESERVOIR TO BE TOTALLY EMPTY. AFTER 20 MINUTES, WE TRIED TO START THE CAR TO NO AVAIL. WE WERE TOWED BACK TO THE NEAREST TOWN, SELINSGROVE, PA, TO A PEP BOYS AND WERE TOLD THE ENGINE HAD SEIZED UP. THE NEXT DAY THE CAR WAS TOWED BACK TO ROCHESTER WHERE OUR MECHANIC PROCEEDED TO FIND OUT THE PROBLEM. WE ALSO CALLED THE DEALERSHIP WHERE WE BOUGHT THE CAR TWO YEARS AGO, AND THE SERVICE MANAGER TOLD US THAT HE HAD SEEN THIS BEFORE. THE RADIATOR FLUID IS ENTIRELY SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE THROUGH THE INTAKE MANIFOLD AND THERE IS NEVER ANY INDICATION OF OVER HEATING OR CHANGES ON THE GAUGE READINGS BECAUSE THE ENGINE IS NOT HOT, DUE TO THE FLUID BEING IN THERE. CONSEQUENTLY, WE HAD TO HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED. THREE DAYS AFTER THIS HAPPENED TO US, A LETTER WAS MAILED OUT TO ALL OWNERS OF 2000-2003 BUICKS FOR THIS VERY SAME PROBLEM. WE HAVE A 1998 BUICK LESABRE. WE CALLED THE NUMBER GIVEN 1-800-832-8425 AND ALSO CALLED BBB AUTO LINE FOR GENERAL MOTORS. GENERAL MOTORS WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO HELP US IN THIS MATTER BECAUSE OUR VEHICLE IS A 1998. THE COST WE HAVE INCURRED TO REMEDY THIS FAILURE IS IN EXCESS OF $3,000.00. THE SAME ENGINE WAS USED TO REPAIR THE PROBLEM: A 3800 SERIES LL (L36) V6 ENGINE. HOW DO I KNOW THE SAME THING WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN? I DO NOT! I DO NOT WANT TO KEEP THE VEHICLE YET I CANNOT AFFORD NOT TO. WE HAVE BOUGHT GM CARS AND TRUCKS FOR THE LAST 35 YEARS. WE ALWAYS SAID: "BUY AMERICAN". I GUESS THAT TIME IS OVER. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU CAN DO TO HELP US? *JB

CONSUMER STATES THAT WHILE DRIVING, THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL AND IT WILL BE HARD FOR THE CONSUMER TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE. DEALER NOTIFIED. *PH THE VEHICLE STARTED TO LOOSE SPEED PULLED INTO GAS STATION. THE VEHICLE START AGAIN. GM WAS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE CONSUMERS FRIEND HAD EXPERIENCED THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THE REPLACEMENT OF THE MANIFOLD GASKETS. THE CONSUMER REQUESTED TO BE REIMBURSED FOR THE MANIFOLD AND THE STARTER. *SCC *NLM

FAX FM ANDREW HUNT (NJ) REQUEST ASSISTANCE IN GETTING REIMBURSED FOR $561.24 WORTH OF REPAIRS TO FIX THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD ON HIS 1998 GM BUICK LESABRE & RECALL ALL CARS LISTED IN GM TECH. SERVICE BULLETIN # 01-06-01-007A. *MR THE CONSUMER STATED THE CONCERN WAS THE VEHICLE DID NOT GIVE WARNING OF A PROBLEM AS THE COOLANT EMITTED FROM THE TAIL PIPE UNNOTICED. IF THERE WAS TOO MUCH COOLANT IN THE ENGINE THE VEHICLE WOULD STOP. THE DEFECTIVE PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD AND THE BROKEN STARTER FROM THE VEHICLE WHICH CLEARLY SHOWED THAT THE EGR STOVE PIPE ALLOWED WATER TO GET INTO THE ENGINE. *SCC *JB

I HAD BEEN LOSING COOLANT (2 QUARTS IN 4~6 WEEKS) WITHOUT SEEING ANY SPOTS ON GROUND OR COOLANT ABOUT ENGINE / RADIATOR. WHILE DRIVING, EXPERIENCED RELATIVELY SUDDEN LOSS OF POWER, MIL LIGHT CAME ON, COULD NOT DRIVE GREATER THAN 60 MPH, VERY POOR OPERATION AND ACCELERATION. DEALER (SUPERIOR BUICK, DEARBORN MICHIGAN) DIAGNOSED PROBLEM AS BLOWN HEADGASKET. I SUBSEQUENTLY HAD ENGINE REMANUFACTURED UNDER DEALER PREMISE OF HEAD GASKET, ONLY TO FIND THAT THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD HAD FAILED AND ALLOWED COOLANT TO PASS INTO INTAKE PASSAGES (REFERENCE GM SERVICE BULLETIN 010601007, AND ~7A). I WAS NEVER INFORMED OF THESE BULLETINS BY THE DEALERSHIP, BUT THEY ARE 2 YEARS OLD.*AK

FIRST WE WOULD LIKE TO REPORT OUR DISSATISFACTION WITH STILLWATER MOTORS IN THAT THEY ADDED BOGUS CHARGES ON TO THE INVOICE THEN LATER, AFTER WE QUESTIONED AND INSISTED ON SEEING THESE NEW PARTS AND THE OLD PARTS, THEY ADJUSTED THE INVOICE BY CREDITING US $400. THE CAR WAS BROUGHT IN DUE TO THE ENGINE RUNNING ROUGH, OVERHEATING AND AN INCREASED USAGE OF COOLANT. THE DEALERSHIP DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM AS BEING A DEFECT IN THE UPPER MANIFOLD RESULTING IN LEAKAGE OF COOLANT ONTO THE SPARKPLUGS. IN THE END, THE UPPER MANIFOLD, 4 GASKETS, THE OIL FILTER, AND THERMOSTAT HAD BEEN REPLACED AND HAD THE FUEL/EMISSION SYSTEM FLUSHED. WE WERE QUITE ASTOUNDED TO SEE SO MANY ISSUES WITH THIS VERY SAME PROBLEM WE HAD AND WE ARE HOPING THAT THERE IS SOME RELIEF GIVEN TO ALL BUICK LESABRE OWNERS WHO HAVE HAD TO INCUR THESE REPAIR COSTS. *PH