1998 Pontiac Bonneville

1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE POOR PRODUCTION MANIFOLD/GASKETS. CUSTOMER STATES THAT THE MANIFOLD/GASKETS AND DEX. COOL WERE IN POOR PRODUCTION ON HER VEHICLE. *KB THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE THERMOSTAT AND GASKET HAD COOLANT IN THEM. THE MASS AIR FLOW SENSOR WAS BAD. METAL FRAGMENTS WERE FOUND IN THE OIL WHICH WAS COMING FROM, THE ROD BEARING THAT FAILED DUE TO THE VEHICLE OVER HEATING AND COOLANT IN THE OIL. THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE VEHICLE WAS RIDING ROUGH AND THE ENGINE WAS SHAKING. THE CONSUMER STATED THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE VEHICLE TO PREVENT THE MANIFOLD FROM CRACKING. AFTER THE RECALL WAS PERFORMED IN JULY 2004, THE MANIFOLD CRACKED ONE MONTH LATER. THE CONSUMER STATED EVER SINCE THE RECALL WAS PERFORMED SHE HAS ENGINE PROBLEMS. THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS REPLACED IN AUGUST 2004 THE LOWER MANIFOLD SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPLACED AS WELL TO PREVENT FUTURE DAMAGE, HOWEVER SINCE IT WAS NOT REPLACED, STOP LEAK PELLETS MIXED WITH THE DEX-COOL AND THE LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD LEAKED.

I AM THE OWNER OF A 1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE WITH A 3800 ENGINE. I AM THE ORIGINAL OWNER AND THE CAR HAS LESS THEN 42,000 MILES ON IT. THE UPPER INTAKE (PLENUM) AND SEALS HAVE FAILED RESULTING IN COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE. I PHONED AN ACQUAINTANCE WHO WORKED AS A TECHNICIAN AT THE GM POWER TRAIN ENGINEERING FACILITY IN FLINT, MICHIGAN WHERE THE 3800 ENGINE WAS ENGINEERED. HE SAID IT WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE BY THE ENGINEERING SKILLED TRADES EMPLOYEES THAT THE UPPER INTAKE DESIGN WAS FLAWED. THERE WERE MANY INTAKE FAILURES OBSERVED DURING DYNAMOMETER TESTING. SOME EVEN EXPLODED. I WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINEERS AND MANAGEMENT WAS WELL AWARE OF THE DEFECTIVE DESIGN, BUT FOR SOME REASON, CHANGES WERE NOT MADE. I CAN DIRECT INVESTIGATORS TO EMPLOYEES WHO WITNESSED INTAKE DESIGN FAILURES IN THE TESTING FACILITIES. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS STOPPED AT AN IDLE, THE ENGINE RPMS ELEVATED, AND THE OIL GAUGE INDICATED LOW PRESSURE, FOLLOWED BY ENGINE HESITATION. THE VEHICLE WAS INSPECTED BY A DEALER WHO DETERMINED NO OIL LEAK WAS PRESENT, BUT A PLUG WIRE TO THE ENGINE CYLINDER NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE PROBLEM PERSISTED AFTER THE REPAIRS WERE PERFORMED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED.

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED, THERE WAS AN INTERMITTENT PROBLEM STARTING THE VEHICLE, A SEVERE HESITATION WHEN ACCELERATING FROM A STOP, AS WELL AS BACKFIRING OF THE ENGINE. AN INDEPENDENT SERVICE MECHANIC DISCOVERED LOW FLUID LEVELS IN THE RADIATOR, WET AND RUSTED SPARK PLUGS, CRACKED HEAD GASKETS AND THE PISTON HAD TORN THROUGH THE OIL PAN. THE MANUFACTURER THE RECALLED (04V090000) ITEM WAS REPLACED IN JULY OF 2004 BY THE PREVIOUS OWNER OF THE VEHICLE AND THE RECALL WAS CLOSED OUT. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER SERVICE MECHANIC FOR COMPUTER DIAGNOSTICS.*AK

DRIVING ON HIGHWAY WHEN 1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE WITH LOW MILEAGE HAD SERVICE ENGINE ALERT GO OFF. CAR GAUGES INDICATED IT WAS OVER HEATING. PULLED OFF ROAD TO CHECK OUT AND FOUND ANTIFREEZE LOW-NEVER SAW ANY LEAK OR PUDDLE. COOLED CAR AND ADDED ANTIFREEZE. CAR WORSENED AND ACTED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO START FIRE. HUGE WHITE SMOKE OUT OF TAILPIPE & LOUD ENGINE NOISE. TOWED TO REPAIR SHOP WHERE THEY SAID IT IS INTAKE MANIFOLD DESIGN DEFECT DUE TO PLASTIC CASING ON MANY GM MODELS. THEY REPLACE AT LEAST ONE PER WEEK. STRANDED OUT OF TOWN FOR OVER 8 HOURS. OIL AND ANTIFREEZE IN ALL SPARL PLUGS. SPENT $1100.00 TO HAVE NEW "UPDATED DESIGN MANIFOLD", OIL CHANGED TWICE, COOLANT FLUSHED, NEW SPARK PLUGS AND NEW STARTER DONE DUE TO A CHUNK BROKEN OFF OF CONE BECAUSE OF MANIFOLD RUPTURE. *NM

THERE IS AN ARMREST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT SEAT OF OUR CAR. IT IS INTENDED TO BE THE BACK SUPPORT OF THE FRONT CENTER PASSENGER SEAT. IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE SEAT BELT, ARE TO PROVIDE A SAFE RIDE FOR THE MIDDLE PASSENGER IN THE FRONT SEAT OF OUR CAR. A PASSENGER IN OUR CAR SITTING IN THIS POSITION HAD THE ARMREST BREAK. THIS WAS UNDER NORMAL USE. THE CAR WAS NOT INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT. THE PASSENGER WAS NOT VERY BIG. WE HARDLY EVER USE THIS POSITION AS A SEAT. THE ARMREST BROKE AND PROJECTED INTO THE REAR SEAT COMPARTMENT. THE PASSENGER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT SEAT WAS THRUST BACKWARD. IN THE EVENT OF AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT / COLLISION, BOTH PASSENGERS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FRONT AND BACK SEATS WOULD BE SEVERELY INJURED. THE PERSON IN THE BACK SEAT WOULD BE INJURED BY HITTING THE HEAD OF THE PERSON IN THE FRONT SEAT THRUST BACK IN THE REAR SEATING AREA OR BY HITTING THE ARM REST THAT PROTRUDES INTO THE REAR SEATING AREA. THE PERSON IN THE FRONT SEAT WOULD BE THRUST BACK TOWARD THE REAR SEATING COMPARTMENT WITH NO BACK SUPPORT. I SPOKE TO MY LOCAL DEALER AND WAS TOLD THIS WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM TO FIX OR RECTIFY. *JB I SPOKE TO GMC AND RECEIVED A SIMILAR RESPONSE GMC CASE NO. 1-383907053, 12/28 (29)/2005 TELEPHONE NUMBER 866-932-4368 EXT 35624, JESSICA PAGET THE SUPPORT MATERIALS FOR THE ARMREST ARE OBVIOUSLY INADEQUATE. THIS IS A DEFECT AND A SAFETY ISSUE. THIS NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED, IF NOT FOR THIS SERIES OF AUTOMOBILE, THEN FOR FUTURE AUTOMOBILES USING THIS METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION. THIS ARMREST, WHEN RAISED, SHOULD BE A STRUCTURE AS STRONG AS THE ADJOINING SEATS. OR, THE ARMREST SHOULD BE ELIMINATED AND THE SEATS EXTENDED TO FILL THE SPACE. IF NOT, THE ARMREST SHOULD BE ELIMINATED AS A PASSENGER SEATING POSITION. THIS WOULD INCLUDE REMOVING THE SEAT BELT WHICH PROMOTES IT'S USE AS A PASSENGER SEAT. THE VEHICLE SHOULD THEN NOT BE PROMOTED AS HAVING SEATING FOR SIX PASSENGERS.

1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE OVERHEATED. *TS THE CONSUMER STATED THE ENGINE STARTED TO SPUTTER AND THEN WOULD PICK UP ABRUPTLY AND THEN THE ENGINE LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD WATER WAS COMING OUT OF THE PLUG HOLES. THE CONSUMER HAD THE VEHICLE TOWED TO ANOTHER ESTABLISHMENT WHERE HE WAS THEN TOLD THE ENTIRE ENGINE HAD TO BE REBUILT OR REPLACED. THE MECHANIC STATED THE MANIFOLD HAD A LEAK AT THE THROTTLE BODY. THE CONSUMER STATED THE PROBLEM HAS RESURFACED AGAIN 4 YEARS LATER. *JB