1999 Oldsmobile Alero

LOWER INTAKE GASKET FAILURE CAUSES NEAR COLLISION ON FREEWAY. WHILE I WAS DRIVING HOME ON A BUSY DAY MY COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON AND MY ENGINE STARTED PULSING STRANGELY. TRYING TO PULL INTO THE EMERGENCY LANE CAUSED SEVERAL CARS TO NEARLY SLAM INTO THE BACK OF MY CAR. THE PROBLEM WITH THE COOLANT WAS FOUND TO BE A COMMON FLAW IN THE LOWER INTAKE GASKET ON 3.4L (3400) GM ENGINES. AFTER INVESTIGATION, I'VE FOUND THAT MANY PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING THIS PROBLEM YET GM IS DOING NOTHING TO ADDRESS IT.*AK

AT 50K MILES, LOW COOLANT LIGHT WOULD FLICKER ON AND OFF SO PER THE MANUAL DEXCOOL/WATER MIXTURE WAS ADDED. THIS ALLEVIATED THE PROBLEM ONLY TEMPORARILY HOWEVER. LIGHT CONTINUED TO COME ON, AND LATER AT 61K, OIL LEAK WAS NOTICED ON THE SIDE OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. AN APPOINTMENT WAS MADE TO BRING THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP THE SAME WEEK, DURING WHICH THE SECURITY DUMMY LIGHT CAME ON (FOR NO APPARENT REASON). ALSO DURING THIS WEEK, THE "CHANGE OIL" DUMMY LIGHT CAME ON 100 MILES BEFORE THE OIL CHANGE WAS DUE (AT 2900 MILES). THE CAR WAS BROUGHT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO FIX PER ITS APPOINTMENT, AND NOT ONLY WAS COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE, BUT THE UPPER AND LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKETS REQUIRED REPLACEMENT. IN ADDITION, ON ITS WAY TO THE DEALERSHIP, THE ENGINE STARTED TO MISFIRE CAUSING THE "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT TO FLASH FOR SEVERAL MOMENTS BEFORE TURNING TO A STEADILY LIT DUMMY LIGHT. CAR HAS ALWAYS BEEN GIVEN ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND OIL CHANGES EVERY 3K OR AS NECESSARY, SO THIS PERFORMANCE AND OBVIOUS DESIGN FLAW ARE VERY DISAPPOINTING. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS CAR/3.4L V6 ENGINE TO ANYONE LOOKING TO PURCHASE A NEW VEHICLE AND CONSIDERING THIS MAKE/MODEL/ENGINE TYPE. *JB

I BOUGHT MY ALERO IN MAY OF 2003, AND IT IS NOT MARCH 2004 AND I AM REPLACING THE MOTOR. STARTED OUT WITH BRAKE PROBLEMS, THEN WENT ON TO THE LEATHER UNDER THE WINDOWS AND ON THE DASH "BUBBLING" UP IN THE SUN. NEXT, I HAD COOLANT/OIL LEAKS AT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. LOW TRAC LIGHT CAME ON ALL THE TIME, LOW TIRE PRESSURE LIGHT STAYS ON, THE FAN FOR THE A/C OR HEAT ONLY WORKED IN THE 3-5 POSITIONS. (IT'S FULL BLAST OR NOTHING.) COOLANT LIGHT FREQUENTLY CAME ON, TRANSMISSION FLUID VANISHES, COOLANT LEAKS, YET NO ONE KNOWS WHERE FROM. THE TEMPERATURE GAUGE NEVER GOES BELOW HALFWAY, AND IT RAN HOT A LOT. HAD TO REPLACE THE COOLANT CAP AND OVERFLOW RESEVOIR. THE GAS HAND STICKS, THE SPEEDOMETER STICKS, THE LEATHER SEATS ARE TEARING, HAD TO REPLACE THE FACTORY RADIO BECAUSE IT WOULD NOT PICK UP ANY CHANNELS, REAR DEFROST WORKS ONLY WHEN IT WANTS TO, AND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT STAYED ON ABOUT HALF THE TIME. I TOOK THIS CAR TO 7 MECHANICS, HAD IT HOOKED UP TO DIAGNOSTIC COMPUTERS, HAD EVERYTHING CHECKED-YET NO ONE COULD TELL ME WHAT WAS GOING ON. FINALLY, I LEFT THE MECHANIC SHOP AFTER BEING TOLD THAT THE CAR WAS "GOOD TO GO" (WHICH I WOULD NEVER PUT IN THE SAME SENTENCE WITH ALERO AGAIN.), AND IT STARTING SKIPPING. I HAD IT TOWED, ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT I HAD A CRACKED BLOCK AND CRACKED HEADS. (NEW MOTOR NEEDED-FINAL PROGNOSIS) MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT IT WOULD DO ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD TO PUT A MOTOR IN IT BECAUSE IN 2 YEARS-THE NEW MOTOR WILL DO THE SAME! OLDSMOBILE SHOULD BE ASHAMED THAT THEY WOULD RECALL A GLOVE BOX LATCH, YET NOT THE MOTOR. AFTER READING THE REVIEWS THAT I HAVE READ IN THE PAST WEEK, I AM SEEKING LEGAL ACTION IN REGARDS TO THIS ISSUE. I DID NOT PAY $17,000 FOR A LEMON, WHICH IS ALL I GOT!! DON'T BUY!! BUYER BEWARE!! *AK

I OWN A 1999 OLDSMOBILE ALERO WITH A 3.4L ENGINE. AT A COST OF $652.01, ON 28-OCTOBER-2003 I HAD SERVICE PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE BECAUSE I WAS LOOSING COOLANT AT REGULAR INTERVALS AND IT WAS NOT LEAKING ONTO THE GROUND. THE SEVERE CAUSE FOR CONCERN WAS AFTER I HAD REFILLED MY COOLANT RESERVOIR, DROVE APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES, AND ALL OF THE COOLANT WAS GONE. THE TEMPERATURE GUAGE SHOT UP TO THE RED ZONE, AND I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY INDICATED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR VEHICLES WITH THIS ENGINE. THEY REPLACED THE INTAKE GASKET AND I WAS ON MY WAY. A FEW WEEKS LATER I NOTICED THE COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW AGAIN, AND I HAD TO ADD MORE COOLANT. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 25-NOVEMBER-2003. THEY CHECKED THE CAR AND SAID THEY COULD FIND NO LEAKS. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR. CONSISTENTLY, EVERY 2 WEEKS, I WAS REFILLING THE COOLANT RESEVOIR. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING UNTIL RECENTLY (FEBRUARY 2004). IN LATE FEBRUARY 2004 I STARTED LOSING COOLANT AT A MUCH FASTER RATE, ABOUT 3 DAY INTERVALS. ON 2-MARCH-2004 MY CAR DID NOT START THE FIRST 2 TIMES I TRIED, ON THE THIRD IT CAUGHT. I DECIDED TO INSPECT THE OIL, USING THE DIP STICK, AND FOUND THAT THE OIL WAS A THICK GOO. THIS PROMPTED ME TO CALL GM AND THE DEALERSHIP TO IDENTIFY MY OPTIONS FOR HAVING THIS PROBLEM RESOLVED. I AM FRUSTRATED, AGGREVATED, ANNOYED, AMONG OTHER THINGS, AND I FEAR THAT HAD THIS GONE UNDETECTED, THE OIL WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TO A STATE WHERE IT WOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED THE ENGINE TO FUNCTION, PERHAPS LEADING TO AN ACCIDENT. NOT ONLY DO I FEAR FOR MY SAFETY, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT HAVING A SEVERE PROBLEM LIKE THIS "FIXED" ONLY TO FIND THAT IT HAPPENS AGAIN WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE SAMETHING HAPPENING YET ANOTHER TIME. HOW MANY TIMES WILL I HAVE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FIXED? IS THIS A RECURRING SAFETY CONCERN?