IS THIS PROBLEM IN ALL CHEVY'S, CAUSE FIRST I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A FLUSH, THAT ALMOST COST ME 300. THEN ABOUT 2 TO 3 MONTHS LATER I WAS ADVISED THAT IT WAS MY INTAKE, THAT WAS $600. CAR RAN FINE FOR ABOUT 2 DAYS THEN IT STARTED OVER HEATING AGAIN. SO I WENT BACK TO THE MECHANIC WHO WORKED ON IT. HE FIGURED IT WAS THE FAN AND DECIDED TO WORK ON THE FAN THEN HE TOLD ME HE CHANGED THE SENSOR AND THAT WAY THE PROBLEM. CAR WAS FINE FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS THAN THE OVERHEATING STARTED AGAIN. I DECIDED TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER SHOP AND THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS THE HEAD GASKET AND THAT WOULD COST ME 1350. NOW I'M WITHOUT A JOB AND CANT GET MY CAR FIXED. I CALLED OTHER PLACES TO SEE HOW MUCH THEY CHARGE TO DO THE JOB, SO FAR THE CHEAPEST IS 1100.
I am a senior and got caught cold. Car began missing and took it to my mechanic who said he used carbon cutter in one cylinder to get rid of carbon and a spark plug & one wire. Seemed to run Ok for a couple weeks then repeated. Took it for a second opinion and was told intake manifold failure and clogged engine cooling system from coolant.
The reason I got caught cold is GM didn't give me any advisories, recalls etc. even though Dex Cool and GM were in a class action suit and I didn't know about that either.
Now the suit is over just before my car failed and I am stuck with the bills, or am I?
What I would like to know is how to get a second class action suit going in my area or whether anyone knows if this or other recourse is open to me.
I feel that at 46,904 miles that something like this should be warranted or at least recalled by the government agencies responsible for tracking these type of things. I also feel that if you bring it to the dealer first and then get a second opinion elsewhere that if you choose to go with the second opinion GM should cover some of it.
I also feel that after doing a lot of research that there were 4 TSB's issued and that the dealerships service department should have looked at loyalty and said that these were issued and along with that GM put out a video for all GM techs to watch concerning the problems with DEXCOOL!
I don't feel it rests on the consumer to know if any recalls (which should be issued by GM) or TSBs !
I am tired of dealerships ripping people off! Here in Miami, a guy burned down the dealership because they did something wrong, obviously! I wonder why they were "Bailed Out"? They say to help the economy, but the economy isn't helping the taxpayers! We bail everyone out and still get the Shaft ! Advisers tell you go to the dealership, go to the dealership! Bullshit they are the biggest ripoffs, and just because they're legitimate businesses, doesn't mean that you will get the best business.
- kingfl,
Miami, FL, US
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I own a 2003 Chevy Impala. I have kept up with the maintenance, like oil changes etc. And last year around December I noticed my coolant was low. I was like ok, I was told I just needed a flush. Now all of a sudden in February, the coolant leaks out every time my car is parked and runs hot because there is no coolant in the engine. Like many people I've seen on here I've spent my fair share of money of Anti-freeze. Some mechanic told me not to use DexCool anymore because it clumped up in the engine so I've been using Prestone. Not that it matters it just runs out anyway. I loved my Chevy until now.
First my car began running warmer than usual, so I had one unskilled mechanic tell me that it was a bad head gasket and that it would cost me over $1500.00, I didn't believe them so I took the car back home because there was no water mixing with the oil. I had the thermostat and cooling temperature sensor replaced and the radiator flushed once. The car continued to run warm (passed the half-way mark) so I took it to another mechanic and had them flush the radiator and that's when they told me that my intake gasket was bad. I was then made aware that a lot of GM cars with a 3.2L or 3.4L engine had these problems and that to prevent the intake from leaking early they put in stop leak. Well after a while the stop leak wears away and here comes my problem the oil is going into the radiator. Isn't it lovely I now have to pay an additional $500.00 to fix a bad intake gasket because they didn't make the car right the first time.
Can't believe GM would be so deceptive and not recall this problem when the car's only 4, now 5 years old. Major repairs: replaced intake manifold gasket, now repair head gasket. Certainly losing all confidence in GM products. If I could afford a new car, I'd by an import and park my Impala at the junk yard.
Went to get my oil change, when the greased up lube tech came to give me the obligatory "can you come over here sir" it wasn't the usual pitch for me to purchase a new air filter. He stated as if rehearsed, or from lots and lots of practice, that my lower intake manifold is cracked. And that this is a GM problem because they used a plastic part when they should have used a metal one. There is a conversion kit that costs around 180, it takes 5.2 labor hours to replace, and the thermostat will most likely need to be replaced because those things don't fit back in after they have been taken out. I was shocked and didn't give the go ahead to get it fixed without doing my research. Disappointingly, I found this site with several others describing the same issue with 2003 GM Impalas around 90,000+ miles needing this "repair". GM should go bankrupt because they clearly haven't followed foreign manufactured cars' advance quality programs, (Six Sigma / Lean Manufacturing) which has given them the competitive edge. I for one will never purchase another American car until these guys clean up their act. The old saying "well if you get a foreign car, they cost so much to repair..." no longer holds any value to me. My next car will be a honda or toyota. GM should save face and offer a cash rebate for those people who can provide a receipt to replace this plastic part that should have been metal.
2006 payed 600.00 to fix gasket 2008 fixed brake 200.00 2008 fixed keyless entry was 600.00 to fix need more gasket for coolant leak they want 1800.00 more can't afford to fix.can you help?
Went in for standard oil change last Monday. Tech noticed coolant dripping from hose & ran test for lower intake manifold. They said to take it to dealership because there may be a recall. Took it to local Chevy dealer & found out there is, indeed, a leak in lower intake gasket and is leaking coolant, also trans oil cooler ruptured and contaminated coolant with oil. Hoses leaking mixed fluid and are bulging and need to be replaced. Total damage for new radiator, 7 hoses, lower manifold gasket, thermostat, & two more gaskets... $2031.22!
Best part... the "recall" wasn't a recall, but the DexCool settlement. I found out that all the work had to be completed by May in order to qualify for their maximum reimbursement of $800. Too bad this all was found out at the end of October! So I called GM customer service and because I missed the dexcool settlement dates and the car has over 124,000 miles on it. There is nothing they can do to help.
This muthaf*cka... Ok, so I took my car in to get 4 new tires, an oil change, and the air filter replaced. Then, that same night, the check engine light came on (which has never came on before). So I had to wait till the next time I had time off, to take it back to that particular shop. Then, the next night on my way home, my car started hesitating, as if it wanted to cut off. So I didn't panic, I just kept drivin, hoping that it wouldn't. So I called around, asking people what could it be, and is it a server problem. Then the next morning, on my way to work, it just cut off in the middle of the street ass I pressed the gas. So I turned it back on, and continued about my day. Then when I was leaving from work that evening, I let it warm up, and it almost cut off again... I am sick of these car games and sh*t...
Oh, and before all of this, I had my battery replaced at the Chevy dealer, and they sent me a letter in the mail, stating what else was wrong wit the car, and what I should have serviced. And the two things were... "Cooling System Service" and "Intake Gaskets". I am so sick of this unreliable sh*t. And I so wanted to buy the new Chevy Camero that comes out in 2009, but f*ck that sh*t!! Imma look at Toyota or some sh*t.
Took my car into the dealer for overheating problems, they stated that the intake manifold gasket had failed. They had to also replace the coolant and thermostat. Total cost was over 800, however ext. warranty covered 500 of it. Was the 3rd time I took it up to Chevy for the same problem.
brought it to a highly recommended mechanic and as soon as i told him i was loosing antifreeze he knew exactly what it was...he told me that it was a problem with all the 2002 - 2003 3.4 Chevy engines in the impalas...why isn't gm being held responsible???? seems to me that there rebates they been giving lately doesn't even add up to the costs to fix there blunders
I as i see im not the first to have the same problem with this engine as there is a class action going on with dex cool at the present time just go to dex cool settlement.com and they will give you the details of the law action. now that gm knows it has a problem why dont they cover the expense I have called gm so often with no satisfaction that they recognize me, the first thing they say is are you calling about your 2003 impala. All the dealers tell me is that there is a lot of trouble with dex cool not only in chevrolet but other gm cars. you just get no satisfaction from gm or dex cool by the looks there seems to be enough trouble for a recall. I hope more people complain . Here i sit, can`t afford to have the car repaired, thanks a lot gm.
As most of the other complaints, had my car in for normal oil change, 5 days later the blower went out, and had no heat. had to have the blower replaced, then also the intake manifold gasket since the coolant was leaking and the reserve was gone. And was not putting out any heat, since this was in January it was cold and had to be done.
I really do not under stand how the recall finding are warranted. I mean some vehicle are recalled when a part is bad, and it looks like there has been several gaskets go bad.
Several years ago I had a cavilier received a recall on a head gasket and was replaced. Cheaper car than the Impala so why are they not recalling the Impala for same reason. ???????
The heat gauge goes up so we can't drive it very far. We are on a fixed income and heard its going to cost 800 dollars to fix it. We need GM to stand by there cars and get the car fixed. We thought impalas were good cars but if GM can't fix there problems we may just have to car brands. We've checked on the internet and seen a lot of complaints of the intake manifold going out and GM not doing a recall on it.
this problem can be a pain in the ass, and if you're ignorant to cars you'll end up paying an arm and a leg. Get Bar Leaks Head Gasket Fix from any auto parts store and you'll end up saving yourself over $1,000 dollars of repair work. its pretty simple to apply and it stops the problem immediately. I wanted to run my car off a cliff until i put this stuff in my engine. No Bullshit, it really works wonders
my car went in on 3-28-2008 for an oil change and they showed me how bad my engine coolant looked and it needed to be changed. i had just changed it about 7 months ago, so i figured it was something else. they looked at it some more and found out it was a cracked intake manifold and it would cost about 780.00 bucks!!! the last time the engine coolant was changed(which they flushed) they showed me the same thing. the engine coolant was brown and full of sludge. why didn't they figure out what it was then. i am afraid that i might have done more damage to the engine and it will probably cost way more than 780 bucks. i have an 06 Silverado and i hope it doesn't do the same thing. i will not buy another Chevy or gm product again!!!!!!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
IS THIS PROBLEM IN ALL CHEVY'S, CAUSE FIRST I WAS TOLD I NEEDED A FLUSH, THAT ALMOST COST ME 300. THEN ABOUT 2 TO 3 MONTHS LATER I WAS ADVISED THAT IT WAS MY INTAKE, THAT WAS $600. CAR RAN FINE FOR ABOUT 2 DAYS THEN IT STARTED OVER HEATING AGAIN. SO I WENT BACK TO THE MECHANIC WHO WORKED ON IT. HE FIGURED IT WAS THE FAN AND DECIDED TO WORK ON THE FAN THEN HE TOLD ME HE CHANGED THE SENSOR AND THAT WAY THE PROBLEM. CAR WAS FINE FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS THAN THE OVERHEATING STARTED AGAIN. I DECIDED TO TAKE IT TO ANOTHER SHOP AND THEY ADVISED ME IT WAS THE HEAD GASKET AND THAT WOULD COST ME 1350. NOW I'M WITHOUT A JOB AND CANT GET MY CAR FIXED. I CALLED OTHER PLACES TO SEE HOW MUCH THEY CHARGE TO DO THE JOB, SO FAR THE CHEAPEST IS 1100.
- fblanc20, Homestead, FL, US