cooling system problem
8.1
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
$865.00
Average Mileage:
64,539 miles
Number of complaints:
24 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace intake gasket (13 reports)
- not sure (7 reports)
- replace the head gaskets (3 reports)
- replaced both intake gaskets (1 reports)
Helpful Websites About 2003 Pontiac Grand Am leaking coolant, intake manifold gasket failure
2007Jul 05
(reported on)Grand Am SE
- Automatic transmission
- 76,000 miles
Noticed coolant running down driveway under car. Took into a GM/Pontiac Dealer/Mechanic and was called back within an hour saying the water pump and intake gasket needed to be replaced. Quoted $1100.00. Looks from this site seems this problem needs to be researched. Now I have to bike to and from work while I save the money for the repairs. I GM wants to get back customers that have gone foreign they need to learn what customer service is and get this problem taken care of. its not Quality or Customer Service its Quality AND customer service. Recall this car now for this problem.
2008Feb 13
Grand Am GT-SC/T 3400 V6
- Automatic transmission
- 26,324 miles
I performed this repair on my father's car. his Low Coolant light had been flashing on and off, a typical symptom of Lower Intake Manifold gasket failure. I removed the intake manifold and found "banana sludge" coated under the manifold (oil and coolant mixed). I replaced both of the gaskets with FelPro gaskets, and re-assembled the engine and flushed the DexCool out of the engine, and replaced the coolant with the conventional green coolant.
As a mechanic, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND not using DexCool, even though the dealer advises you to. The DexCool coolant is the reason these gaskets fail. I recommend flushing the DexCool out and running normal Green antifreeze. Also, if you do end up replacing the gaskets, I recommend FelPro's Intake Manifold Gasket kit, the OEM gaskets have not been improved on well enough, and are still made of plastic. The FelPro gaskets are metal, and have much thicker material on them.
The total cost of repair was around 150 dollars, the reason for the low cost is that, 1, I did it myself, and 2, I work at a parts store as well and receive a discount. It is not a difficult job as long as you have the proper tools and instructions if you are doing it for your first time.
2007Apr 30
Grand Am SE 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 117,000 miles
Having problems with leaking coolant. No signs at all of leakage, including checking the oil for possible mixture. A lot of people are having this problem from what I've read, but hard to have fixed when you don't have the money. Just have to keep adding coolant when light comes on. Was only adding once a month when first got car but now every week. I agree it is a problem that GM should stand behind as they built the cars, not those of us who drive them. I would get rid of car but don't have money for down payment, still owe 2 years of payments, and don.t have good credit. Also had to replace fuel pump about 6 months ago as well as oil pressure sensor.
2008Apr 08
Grand Am GT 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 83,000 miles
Another manifold problem with the 2003 Pontiac Grand Am. I had to fill up the coolant once a month and knew this wasn't normal. At first I thought it was something simple like a leak in a hose, however I brought it to my mechanic and he says he's done about 50 Manifold gasket replacement jobs on the Pontiac Grand Ams. GM NEEDS TO DO A RECALL TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM WITH THE PLASTIC MANIFOLD.
2006Nov 23
Grand Am
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
Back in 2006 I started having problems w/ my cooling system in my Grand Am. The antifreeze was leaking into my oil is what they told me when I took it in, and I paid about $900 to get it fixed. After a few months passed I noticed I had to fill my coolant again, and then again a few months after that. It's basically been that way ever since, until yesterday when the light came on and I filled it to the top again, just as I always do. Only then it came on again today. So I'm thinking okay, it can't be that bad, I just filled it yesterday afterall. Well, the car ended up overheating on the tollway during a traffic jam in Chicago. I had my 4 yr old nephew in the back seat. I had to sit on the side of the road, let it cool for about 20 minutes, fill it/ coolant (which I always carry in my trunk), and then drive right to the nearest gas station. By the time we got there, it was already empty again. So I filled it and somehow made it home. I guess I'm going to need a rental car until they can get it drivable again.
2008Apr 01
Grand Am SE
- Automatic transmission
- 75,000 miles
2003 Grand Am.
Bought from dealer with 26,000 miles when it was a year old. First month replace brakes because they made noise, 40,000 miles had to replace fuel pump. Now at 75,000 miles I am being told I have oil in my coolant and it is possibly a head gasket. Lots of money. After reading all of the same complaints GM should do something.
2007Jan 01
Grand Am SE 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 89,000 miles
Well it started after we came back from a road trip. Our coolant light kept coming on and we would fill up about every two weeks. We couldn't find the leak. My father has looked at it and he is a mechanic and couldn't find it. Well I never worried I just kept filling. I even put a stop leak stuff into because Auto Zone said it was a leak in a gasket some where. Well it kept leaking. It would never leave a puddle under my car or anything but you could smell it in the car. Well about two weeks ago we finally found where it was coming from. I had a couple of people tell me it was the head gasket. I took it to the dealership and I had the salesman (which was family) tell me that about how every newer grand am is doing the same. The intake manifold and head gasket. Well, its a lot of money to fix and I can't afford it at all. My cousin from the pontiac dealer says get rid of it soon. Then we found this web site and saw all the complaints. How can we get this recalled from GM. Is there a way we can put pressure on them. If the Pontiac dealers are telling me that it happens all the time and all they did was walk by my car and smelled the antifreeze and knew what it was off the bat and made me lift the hood and show me where the leaks are. Shame on Gm for putting families in danger and then making them pay for their cheap ass parts and labor. After you think you pay for a great quality car and to come to find out they are so cheap they fall apart in no time. I knew this car had been worked on before. I bought it 2 years ago. Will never buy another Grand Am or Pontiac car again. Go to hell Gm and take your car with you. Thanks for letting me vent.
2007May 18
(reported on)Grand Am GT 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 62,000 miles
I see now that I am not in the boat alone when having bad luck with the Grand Am's. Not only did the gaskets have to be replaced, but the left wheel hub, and ABS system both failed. For a car that is only 4 years old, this shouldn't be happening. I think that mostly it's our fault though. I know I "gun" my car and I am sure most of you do too. Maybe they weren't made to be rough-housed around with. Pontiacs; fast, but made cheap.
2008Jan 31
Grand Am V6
- Automatic transmission
- 85,000 miles
I own a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am. I'm by no means an expert on this matter, but today I went to get an oil change. 1/2 awake at 7am this morning (I work nights) I was told by my dealership that I was leaking coolant internally. There was no coolant in my reservoir and no external leaks. The job all together was going to be about $1400. I'm done paying for this car early next year and I just spent a thousand (including towing from 60miles away from my garage) to have the fuel injector replaced. I went to get a 2nd opinion and my local garage told me that this is a common problem, and as long as I watch my coolant and replace it about every month or so I should be fine. I really wish they would do a recall. I WILL NEVER get a Pontiac car again. I hate this car, I somehow owned a used 92' Oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra before this and that car never had the amount of problems my pontiac does, and I had that for 7 years... I wish I kept that car instead.
2007Nov 27
Grand Am V6
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
Well here we go again with more issues that the car is worth, this is a mystery leak at this point, I know the damn head gaskets are leaking so that is part of it. Trust me folk
Pontiac Grand Ams are the most worthless garbage ever built by GM, they are endless money pits and frankly every one should be recalled and turned into scrap metal.
2004Jan 07
Grand Am V6
- Automatic transmission
- 20,000 miles
Chalk up another Pontiac Grand Am head gasket issue, yes this one started leaking probably from the 1st day it was ever turned on. GM must have farmed out these partds to god knows where, the gaskets are pitiful at best. They probably did not even properly torque the head bolts either.
2007Sep 05
(reported on)Grand Am GT 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 34,000 miles
I have had 4 sets of intake gaskets put on my car, the first at 34,000 miles, second 39,000 miles, third 47,000 miles, after that i started ignoring that it was leaking and made it last till it completely failed at 59,000 miles and then the fourth at 63,000 miles accompanied by a new transmission. It is not only my grand am but every other Gm produced car on the road they are SH*T!!!!!!!! I HATE GM AND I PRAY THAT THEY GO OUT OF BUSINESS EVERY NIGHT......... DO NOT BUY THEIR SH*T!!!!!!!!!! AND YES I HAD EVERY REPAIR MADE AT A CERTIFIED GM DEALER....
2007Apr 23
(reported on)Grand Am GT 3.4
- Automatic transmission
- 74,000 miles
Oh, my goodness.... My family has 4 Grand Ams and one brother has spent $8,000 on a 2002 Grand Am for these problems.... his girlfriend older module (the car of course); and has had to replace the water pump twice and now they said it was because of the intake manifold....3rd times a charm I guess. My other brothers wife 77,000 miles drained Dex-Cool and has to get new intake gaskets since GM used plastic gaskets on their intake cases and then the Dex-Cool gets hot and cool and expands the plastic... no picture needed there u can take a guess what happens... that is why I am in the boat now too... quote $1,000 to fix the intake gasket and make sure my heads are level my mechanic says he does one Grand AM a week with this problem... oh and by the way I called 2 dealerships in the STL area one wanted $2200.00 WOW over double and one want $1500.00.... why does that happen your mistake u fix it it needs to be recalled instead a lawsuit has to happen. I was really happy with my car until the dealer will not even stand behind it now. Helpful hint when u replace this REQUEST FIBER gaskets do not do this again!!!!!!
2007Mar 09
(reported on)Grand Am GT
- Automatic transmission
- 60,000 miles
Coolant was leaking all over from the gasket. Was covered under extended warranty, but I have seen several others with the same problem. Should definitely be a recall item!
2007Mar 09
(reported on)Grand Am 3.4L V^
- Automatic transmission
- 82,000 miles
I'm so glad I found this site cause now I know whats wrong with my piece of s*#t(car). I've been refilling my coolant every week for like a month and a half now and every time I get it looked at, they tell me its nothing. I just was told to change my thermostat and i'm gonna. But by the sounds of it, it might not matter cause if everyone else's gasket is going I guess mine is no different. I used to believe in GM cars but considering that I still owe 8 grand on my car and i take good care of if it, and i put 5 grand into it over the last 2 years just for problems I think I'm going somewhere else next car.....
2007Mar 05
(reported on)Grand Am GT 3.1 V6
- Automatic transmission
- 48,000 miles
Had antifreeze leaking into crank-case. Cost was $800 but could of been worse if I didn't catch it in time. Did some research and apparently DEX-COOL eats away at these type of gaskets. Why does GM still use DEX-COOL?
2007Feb 20
(reported on)Grand Am ES V6
- Automatic transmission
- 74,000 miles
Leaking coolant (no signs though). Had to refill it weekly. A mechanic told me it was a intake manifold gasket. Sounds like everybody else had that problem. I wonder where could you report that.
2007Jan 25
(reported on)Grand Am SE1 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 77,800 miles
Talked to the GM Dealer again. Said that they aren't going to help me at all.
Cost is over 1 grand to fix. Car is sitting at dealership right now. Still driving the G6.
I'm starting to think of going brand new now. I don't need this headache. But I believe GM should pay for at all of this.
I wish everyone who has this problem luck.
2007Jan 25
(reported on)Grand Am SE 3.4L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 77,804 miles
I am ready to explode. I have a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, which I purchased with 30,400 km's on it in 2004. Then in 2006, it started leaking coolant. It overheated twice. Took it to numerous GM dealers, they said nothing's wrong. We can't find anything wrong.
Had the thermostat replaced in March 2006. (This was at 70,000 km's.)
Car was fine, but couldn't use air conditioning in the summer, because it would overheat.
Also if the windows were down car would overheat. I knew there was something wrong, took it back and they told me the same thing as before. There's nothing wrong.
Took it back in January 07, as coolant leaked completely out of reservoir. Phoned GM dealer, and they said bring it in. Took it in, what did they tell me. "We pressure tested it, and can't find no leaks." I took the car back, and over the weekend it leaked everything out AGAIN! I didn't even drive it on Monday. It sat there. I phoned the dealer told them I had to keep putting coolant in, there like bring it in we'll get you a rental.
Got car back a day later, told the same thing there's nothing wrong. It continued to get significantly worse, so I took it in again. I mentioned to the service tech that I thought it was head gasket and intake manifold gasket. He disagreed with me.
So far, to make a long story short, my car has been in the dealership 7 times.
I'm driving a 2007 Pontiac G6 (from Enterprise) and found out the other day it's my head gasket and intake manifold gasket that are gone on my Grand Am.
The service manager said it's "seeping" and it's nothing to worry about. Worry about my ass. Stay far away from the Pontiac Grand Am.
2007Jan 22
(reported on)Grand Am LE 3.4L
- Automatic transmission
- 73,602 miles
i noticed something leaking on the snow i took the car into a mechanic in Bradford, ON, he told me that it would cost me around 1 grand. just after christmas too much. i looked this up on recalls and found that this problem is happening more and more why is this not being a recall. i have extended warranty and bye the bye it better be covered or i will never buy gm cars again.
2006Mar 21
(reported on)Grand Am SE 3.4 L V6
- 61,000 miles
This is a nightmare, only symptom I noticed was some whitish smoke when accelerating, dealer tells me oil leaking into coolant system and vice versa, has been for some time. Now the entire engine is a complete mess, now coolant system needs complete flush, all hoses need to be replaced, etc. I have an extended warranty but they will only cover the $750 to replace the intake manifold, but not all the damage that it caused, which is more of the expense!! I do not have nor should I have to pay $1400+ for repairs that GM should cover, knowing that they produce a faulty part which leads to damages like these!! What can I do?? (So far have only authorized warranty covered repair and radiator system flush.) I am a young, low-income (for NJ, its crazy expensive here) unmarried woman and 8 months pregnant, this is really the last thing I need to be dealing with right now!!!
2007Jan 03
(reported on)Grand Am
- Automatic transmission
- 43,400 miles
The Low Coolant light began coming on. I took it in to get the oil changed and told them to look at it they said they put some coolant in it and the car was fine for a week. It then came back on I called the original service provider back they had it for 1/2 a day and said it was a little low on coolant and if it happened again to take it to the dealer. Well, Light comes back on another week later! I figured it must be some sort of electrical short so I did nothing until my heater wasn't working very well and my temperature gauge started moving where it shouldn't. This time I called the dealer and $960 later and a tin can for a rental - it was the intake manifold gasket. He couldn't explain why this happened, only that he's worked on over 20 vehicles of this year and model with the same problem -
Pay attention to your dash lights and don't hesitate to get a second opinion :)
2006Mar 01
(reported on)Grand Am SE
- 50,000 miles
Defective intake manifold gasket allows antifreeze into the engine, contaminating the oil. Dealer admitted it's a common problem with the 3.4 L engine, but since I bought the car used, GM won't cover it. This problem should definitely be a recall.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2006Jun 09
Grand Am GT Ram 3.4L V6
We brought the car new back in 2003. After 31/2 years and 40K the alternator failed blew the battery and then the mechanic noticed the manifold leak. He estimated $1,200 to fix it. We drove it to the dealership they quoted $1,400 to fix it. We complained and complained to GM and the best they come up with was they would pay 50% towards the cost, if after we paid them $1400 to fix it, they determined it was a factory problem.
For some odd reason I did not trust GM (lol) and paid a local mechanic $500 to fix it.
Needless to say my next car was a foreign one. We still have the Grand Am. It has about 2 or 3 annoying problems I�ll list under Electrical and one huge problem that keeps it in the driveway most of the time. It won�t shift out of first gear unless you back off the gas and then slowly increase. What a car!!!! And GM wonder why the have fallen to number 2 in the nation. I think I would even buy a Hyundai or Suzuki over a GM product.
Culley R.
Charlotte, NC, USA
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