cooling system problem
8.0
pretty badTypical Repair Cost:
no data
Average Mileage:
66,391 miles
Number of complaints:
4 complaints
Most common solutions:
- not sure (4 reports)
Helpful Websites About 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix antifreeze leak at intake gasket
2007May 15
Grand Prix SE 3.1L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 63,540 miles
Same as others. leaking coolant around gasket and pretty sure it is getting into the engine. Cold weather is causing knocks now. I don't drive much distance, service car often. Leak is bad. Read many sites where it was told to car owner that the DEX-COOL is the problem. It hardens like sludge and clogs up the engine causing gasket leaking. You can smell the DEX-COOL every time the motor runs and now you can smell it when you turn the heater on. Front window is covered in film. I have read on several sites where the cost is around $900 to $1500, depending on amount of damage. Rotors wear out often for no reason, clunking noise coming from front end. When I have the air on in the summer, I can smell the car fumes from the cars in front of me. The smell is so bad I turn off the air and open the windows when I have to sit in traffic. No wonder Toyota and Honda are becoming #1 and #2. It won't be long before Hyundai becomes #3.
2007Mar 20
Grand Prix
- Automatic transmission
- 71,000 miles
In March 2007 I took the car in for overheating, they found the Dexcool had clumped up in the radiator. They replaced the blower resistor and did a radiator flush. Now that I no longer have an extended warranty, I took it to the dealer again with a major loss of radiator fluid on the garage floor. My son is a former dealer mechanic, he looked at it and said there was leakage around the intake manifold, the exhaust manifold, and the radiator was stopped up. The dealer wants to replace the intake manifold gasket for $700 and the water pump for $316. But cannot tell me if the head gasket is blown, nor does he think the radiator is blocked. If there is pressure to blow the intake gasket, does it make sense that the radiator is not affected? I have not decided yet what to do, the dealer still has the car and I have a rental. The long term damage to the motor is unknown but could cost a lot of money.
2007Oct 11
(reported on)Grand Prix SE 3.2L V6
- Automatic transmission
- 81,000 miles
I purchased a used 2003 Pontiac grand prix SE. Until yesterday, I loved my car. I took the car to my mechanic for a bad blow motor resistor and low engine coolant. They discovered that my intake gasket was bad and that antifreeze was leaking out and into my engine. They further told me that this is a common problem with GM vehicles and that it would take over a thousand dollars to fix and that I should consider getting rid of my car because I will develop more severe engine problems later on down the road. This disturbed me greatly so I went online and did some more research only to find that they were telling me the truth. I found that the Dex coolant that is currently in my car, reacts with the intake gasket causing it to fail. My mechanic offered to fix the problem with stop leak but they assured me that it is only a temporary solution and I will develop more problems later on down the road. I was told that later on down the road could be 6 months from now or 2 years from now. There are so many reported problems with this particular problem that there are several attorneys in numerous states who have filed lawsuits. I also found that on Autobeef's website, 2003 pontiac grand prix is not listed as part of one of the years listed with complaints. So I submit this complaint so that the list can be complete. I still love my car and I have not had any other problems. Unfortunately, the one problem I do have is severe and could cost me thousands of dollars.
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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
2008Jul 07
Grand Prix SE V6
Similar problem as the rest of the posters. Took my car in for a regular oil change one morning and had the mechanics call me in to show me the problem. They said that my coolant tank was almost empty and showed me, using a flashlight, the rusty leak locations on three sides of the engine. Said they would have to open up the engine which was about $600 in labor and another $300 in parts.
Can't tell you how annoying this is considering my last payment was in June 2008 and I only have 50K miles on the car. Several months ago I was elated that the car would soon be paid off and I could drive it for at least another 5 years with very little to worry about. Now, I'm not so sure. This is the kind of stuff that made me buy a new car in the first place... not wanting to deal with these kinds of repairs. This is the sort of thing I went though with my '87 Cutlas Ciera; not a five-year old car. I'm completely disheartened by this repair and I'm extremely worried that this damage may have caused additional problems that won't show up until a year or so down the road.
ggstar
Edgewood, MD, USA
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