The intake manifold was leaking antifreeze, which could cause the vehicle to overheat. Manufacturer was contacted by consumer. The engine locked up due to loss of coolant. The water pump started leaking at the shaft seal with less than 43000 miles on the vehicle. A dirty, oily substance was noticed in the radiator neck.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

Car started to leak anti-freeze very slowly. Has the dexcool antifreeze. I checked the radiator to see if it was low, and the radiator looked as though it had lots of rust in it. So I took it to a local Firestone store to have it looked at, and they found the leak and proceeded to tell me that this was a common occurrence in GM vehicles around this model year with the 3.1 liter engine, that a manifold gasket would start to leak, and you either got antifreeze leaking into the oil, or as in my case, the oil from the engine got into the cooling system, hence into the radiator and turned it into "gunk". the price tag to do the work was around $700. So I thought I would call the Buick dealer in town to see what they knew about this problem and see what they would charge to fix it. I found it ironic that the gentleman in the service department knew exactly what I was talking about, said they the parts on hand to fix it and quoted me the exact price without even taking a breath. Seems this is a rather common occurrence with these engines. Which leads me to believe that this is some sort of manufacturing defect, and that perhaps GM/the manufacturer should be picking up the bill for this fix. The service man at the Firestone store said the same thing, that this is getting to be pretty common with these cars and could recite the necessary work that needed to be done to fix it right off the top of his head. So I would like to register my complaint in hopes that something could be done to rectify the situation. The car is in the shop presently being repaired. The head gasket and manifold gaskets need to be replaced, which constitutes tearing half the engine apart. Also the oil needs to be changed a couple of times to get any coolant out of the engine, and of course the radiator needs to be flushed, cleaned and refilled. No old parts would be available as what needs to be replaced are gaskets.

- Muskegon, MI, USA

I have a 1999 Buick Century, I took the vehicle to have a radiator flush and was advised that I couldn't have this job performed due to a leak or crack in the intake gasket. At this time I was very surprise to see the complaints and there is no recall. This is outrageous that no one seems to care this is a very expensive repair and should not be the responsibility of the consumer to replace. This should've been done by General Motors.

- Lithonia, GA, USA

Leaking intake manifold gasket on 1999 Buick Century, 77,000 miles.

- Metamora, MI, USA

Intake gasket on my 1999 Buick Century with 25,000 miles on the odometer failed.

- St. Petersburg, FL, USA

While driving intake manifold leaked antifreeze. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

- Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Intake manifold coolant leak caused engine failure. Intakes manifold gasket was replaced. Gasket now has a new part number to correct the defect on the original component, GM claim #1-180791866. GM has recalled for coolant leak, but it was on a different model. Also, lower intake manifold gasket was leaking. Mechanic replaced the lower gasket.

- Chantilly, VA, USA

The vehicle experienced premature failure of the intake manifold.

- Tucson, AZ, USA

Cooling system full of gunk, uses dex*cool. Overheating, leaking coolant, constantly refilling. Mechanic advised dex-cool is the problem, as deteriorates gaskets. Replaced intake manifold gasket for $650. If problem continues, may need to replace head gasket as well. Problem is this is the recommended coolant for this car. Have spent much money flushing and refilling system, before finding out that the coolant is the problem.

- Fresno, CA, USA

Dealer replaced intake manifold gasket. Consumer stated it was premature to replace the manifold. When the consumers first purchased the used vehicle, dex-cool needed to be added every 2-3,000 miles. After a year, the consumer was adding dex-cool every 2 days. Consumer then noticed pink gunk in the dex-cool. Vehicle was taken to the dealer and they couldn't determine why this happened and where it came from. They were informed the intake manifold needed to be replaced and the vehicle needed a complete flush. When the consumer received the vehicle from the dealer, they noticed a lot of pink gunk still in the reserve jug.

- Hackensack, MN, USA