1998 Buick Lesabre

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

ON 07/21/03 MY 1998 BUICK LESABRE (VIN [XXX]), SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT PRIOR SYMPTOMS, BEGAN TO RUN EXTREMELY ROUGH AND THE ENGINE STALLED AND WAS UNABLE TO BE RE-STARTED. FORTUNATELY, I WAS ABLE TO GET OFF THE ROAD BEFORE THE ENGINE STALLED. I AM NOW SADDLED WITH A $2,000 REPAIR BILL  ALL, APPARENTLY, AS A RESULT OF THE FAILURE OF THE PLASTIC GM PLENUM. THE PLENUMS FAILURE CAUSED OTHER FAILURES WITHIN THE ENGINE (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IGNITION CONTROL MODULE AND THE STARTER). ACCORDING TO THE MECHANIC THAT SERVICED THE VEHICLE, THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON IN GM VEHICLES THAT UTILIZE THE PLASTIC PLENUM. I WOULD SEEK RESTITUTION FROM GENERAL MOTORS FOR WHAT APPEARS TO BE A HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMIC FAILURE OF THIS PLASTIC PLENUM RESULTING IN EXTRAORDINARY ENGINE REPAIRS.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

THE MANIFOLD AND GASKET HAD TO BE REPLACED. I WAS TOLD COOLANT WAS IMPROPERLY MIXING WITH MY OIL CAUSING BLACK SMOKE TO BE EMITTED FROM MY EXHAUST, THE CAR MISSING AND EVENTUALLY SEMI-LOCKING. THE LOCKING CAUSE THE CONE OF MY STARTER TO CRACK IN TWO WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO RE-START TO THE TUNE OF A $1,500. REPAIRFOR ALL. DEALER ACKOWLEDGED THEY HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH OTHER VEHICLES. THE INITIAL STATER REPLACED WAS DISCOVERED DEFECTIVE AND WAS AGAIN REPLACED ON JUNE 25, 2003. A COMPLAINT TO BUICK CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS FRUITLESS AND THEY WERE NOT SENSITIVE AT ALL TO THE PROBLEM ENCOUNTERED. *AK

AFTER OWNING THIS CAR FOR LESS THAN 3 MONTHS I NOTICED COOLANT TANK EMPTY, TOOK IT TO DEALER WHO CHARGED ME $342 FOR NEW WATER PUMP, STILL LOOSING COOLANT. COME TO FIND OUT AFTER A SLUDGE WAS FOUND IN ENGINE THAT INTAKE PLENUM WAS CRACKED ALLOWING COOLANT INTO CYLINDERS, DAMAGING THE BEARINGS AND NOW AM PAYING FOR A NEW MOTOR. GM DENIES PROBLEMS EXIST. THIS CAR HAS ONLY 50,000M MILES. *NLM