GM Recalls Millions of Vehicles 1997-2003

April 12, 2009

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Vehicle Make / Model:     Model Year(s):
     BUICK / REGAL     1997-2003
     CHEVROLET / IMPALA     2000-2003
     CHEVROLET / LUMINA     1998-1999
     CHEVROLET / MONTE CARLO     1998-2003
     OLDSMOBILE / INTRIGUE     1998-1999
     PONTIAC / GRAND PRIX     1997-2003
Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. Mfr’s Report Date: APR 08, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V116000 EA07008 NHTSA Action Number: EA07008
Component: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
Potential Number of Units Affected: 1497516
Summary: GENERAL MOTORS IS RECALLING 1,497,516 YEAR 1997-2003 BUICK REGAL, YEAR 1998-2003 CHEVROLET LUMINA, MONTE CARLO AND IMPALA, YEAR 1998-1999 OLDSMOBILE INTRIGUE, YEAR 1997-2003 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH A 3.8L V6 NATURALLY ASPIRATED ENGINE. SOME OF THESE VEHICLES HAVE A CONDITION IN WHICH DROPS OF ENGINE OIL MAY BE DEPOSITED ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD THROUGH HARD BRAKING.
Consequence: IF THE MANIFOLD IS HOT ENOUGH AND THE OIL RUNS BELOW THE HEAT SHIELD, IT MAY IGNITE INTO A SMALL FLAME AND MAY SPREAD TO THE PLASTIC SPARK PLUG WIRE CHANNEL AND BEYOND INCREASING THE RISK OF AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REMOVE THE SPARK PLUG WIRE RETENTION CHANNEL AT THE FRONT OF ENGINE AND INSTALL TWO NEW SPARK PLUG WIRE RETAINERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN DURING MAY 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537, AND PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668 OR HTTP://WWW.PONTIAC.COM OR HTTP:WWW.GMOWNERCENTER.COM.
Notes: GM RECALL NO. 90047. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .

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Comments

16 Responses to “GM Recalls Millions of Vehicles 1997-2003”

  1. stephen mueller jr on April 14th, 2009 8:55 am

    GM says that the recall is caused by an oil leak. an oil leak can cause ALL KINDS OF PROBLEMS. like a bad rod bearing wich i have on my 1997 grand prix gtp. it has also started on fire at the rear of the engine compartment, probably from this oil leak. are both problems connected to the oil leak? it seems highly possible to me!!!

  2. andrew pyles on April 15th, 2009 3:07 am

    how about that stephen…i havent had a fire but my oil pump got stuck wide open,i lost my oil all of a sudden and now i too have a knock imagine that so yes i think somebody got something wrong along the way

  3. Melody on April 15th, 2009 2:59 pm

    Last december (‘08), I was driving my husbands 2000 grand prix gtp and the engine caught on fire. The car was totalled and we are STILL waiting to hear from GM to resolve this issue. Our insurance company took car of the value of the car, but we are still fighting just to get our deductible! If you have a car that is involved in this recall, definately take it in right away! Fires are obviously scary (thank goodness there were no injuries in our case) and GM is very SLOW to take responsibility!

  4. Don Harvey on April 16th, 2009 9:27 pm

    I have a 2003 Pontiac Bonneville SSEi with this same 3.8L V6 engine but it is supercharged. I know the Bonneville is not on the list of vehicles but since it has the same engine do I need to worry about the recall? Probably not since it’s supercharged…

  5. Niki K on April 17th, 2009 11:07 pm

    I have a 99 Grand Prix GTP and that has the 3.8L V6 with a supercharger and last summer I had to take it to the dealer to have new spark plugs put in. It had something to do with something similar to what I’m hearing now, an oil leak causing sparks, then fire. You might want to get your Bonne checked out!!

  6. B J Evans on April 18th, 2009 12:32 am

    The news has reported GM states that no reports of engine fires are on file. I believe the reason why is due to our inability to file a report with that respected brand. My 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix GT has experienced such a fire. I was fortunate that I pay attention to my surroundings as other vehicles around me kept slowing down as I approached once I saw smoke flowing from my rear view mirror I understood why and managed to exit the highway safely, my vehicle still runs and now I understand as to why the fire occurred. I’m making every effort to contact GM about this matter.

  7. Patrick B on April 19th, 2009 12:08 pm

    How about fixing the oil leak first? If the oil doesn’t leak from the valve cover gaskets it won’t drip on the manifold.

  8. CD Hunter on May 20th, 2009 9:43 pm

    We had our car burn up in our driveway about 15 minutes after my son got home one night as a result of an engine fire almost 18 months ago. It also burned the side of our house – which our homeowners paid for. Is there any recourse for those of us who have already had a total loss as a result of the admitted issue?

  9. Jon on May 21st, 2009 2:07 am

    Buick Regal LSE 1999 – My engine caught on fire last year and Buick has done nothing but blame me so far – perhaps now I can get some justice… time will tell.

  10. Rosa R. on June 1st, 2009 10:43 pm

    On 11-23-08 I was at Firestone for an oil change and the service man found pieces of metal in the pan. My 2001 chevy Impala only had 50,129 mileage when they found this metal in the oil pan. I called GM my extented warantee was over they told me to take it too a dealer so I did to see if the dealer or GM work with me since they are telling me I had to get a NEW TRANSMISSION. I wrote and talk to everyone I could to help me the only thing taht they could do is give me a $1,000.00 certificate on a new car. I ask why not apply the $1000.00 to the new tanny thay said that’s all they could do.

    On 05-29-09 Iwent to the Dealer to get spark plug wire retention channel done because of the Recall and also asked foe an oil change. The service had a list of things that needed my attention totally $3,500.00 worth ie; serpentine belt… the serpentine belt was not worn I had someone else to check it out they took the belt off and said it did not need replacing . You know! it worry me real bad when you get your service and they are not honest with what wrong with your car. I think they create problem under the hood. We as consumer don’t know unless we take it somewhere else for a second opinion. I have lost all confident in GM products and the People who work for GM.

  11. Rabble Rouser on June 16th, 2009 7:39 pm

    I have a 99 chevy that has been leaking oil all around the cylinder head.Bought this car new,have problems w/the monroof,door locks,and now it’s started to whine -appears to be from the alternator.Got my recall notice from GM,so I will take it to a Dealer to fix,hopefully before it catches afire.Wait–Since it’s now “Goverment Motors” maybe I should call JoeBama…

  12. emily henderson on July 5th, 2009 3:42 pm

    I have a chevy monte carlo 2002, still looking very sharp. I treat this car like a baby but, when I first bought it I had drive shaft problems. I would take it to the dealer they would re- grease it. Then came the new re-tooled drive shaft that could not be re – greased because it was totally encapsulated. Then the “poltergiest” like symptoms started happening ; the lights, interior and exterior were going off and on seemingly by itself. Soon after that , the car would not start at all. Three weeks later and many trips to the dealorship with a (1200.00 dollar bill to fix the problem), and, replacing two blown computer chips it was finally fixed. Even though this was a re-curring problem for impallas and monte’s it was my fault somehow and not covered under the re-call.To top it all off, at the same time this problem was happening, they told me they found oil on my manifold and that I should replace the head gasket…. another 1200 hundred dollar job. I declined after visual inspection by me at the dealer ship. One month later I brought my car in for an oil change…. They told me I have a cracked axle, another 1200.00 dollar job. Is anyone seeing a pattern here? I now have a re-call on spark plug problems…..with oil leaking onto the the manifold and causung a fire. GM are you listening? Your product is faulty and deffective. Is the internal memo to try and get what ever you can from the service end and it’s customers while the rest of the company goes bankrupt? I’m ready for a new car. Hello, Wolgang limited edition Jetta! Screw you GM like you have been screwing us for sooooooooo long!

  13. Craig Rodriguez on September 3rd, 2009 7:29 pm

    I have errrr…. had a 2000 Grand Prix GT. I took it in to have the recall issue taken care of at the beginning of May. I was having the oil leak problem and like Patrick B. said I had the valve cover gaskets replaced. It was still leaking. Finally a couple days ago 9-1-09 I went over to my g/f’s and the car caught on fire in the driveway. Luckly no one was hurt and I was able to get the fire out before it caught the house on fire. The insurance company said that they couldn’t do anything because the car set itself on fire. They would only cover it if someone else had set it on fire or if hit had been an “act of god.”
    So they had someone from GM contact us and the lady said that they have still been getting reports of cars catching fire even after the recall issue has been taken care of. But like CD Hunter I am now concerned about what happens next. GM is sending out an arsen investigator and then we’re supposed to hear back after that. Though I’m wondering if we’ll actually hear back from them or not. I am very curious as to what GM will consider a proper reimbursement other than a “sorry ’bout your luck…”?

  14. KBass on October 9th, 2009 7:28 pm

    I too have a 2001 pontiac grandprix Gt….Love my car…210,000 miles on it, have yet to get a letter to take it in for the recall,but I am taking it ASAP. I stopped at the store a week ago came back out after 5-7 minutes to see smoke coming from under my hood. Sure enough that Sucker was on FIRE! I lifted the hood and the store owner ran out with a bucket of ice and water from the cooler and put it out. Burned up my oil cap, sparkplug wires and a nasty spot on my hood. Luckily We replaced the spark plug wires and it started back up fine but my issue is……shouldn’t GM pay for your damages to repair? I love my car but now I have several things under the hood that will now need replacing, also the valve cover is damaged so Prob. will develop another oil leak!

  15. Patricia Brodd on December 28th, 2009 9:05 pm

    Both front doors on our 1998 Chevy Lumina are stuck in the lock position. Couldn’t get in or out from the front. We had to enter the rear door and climb over the front seat to drive it and then had to climb back into the back seat to exit! Just took it to the dealers and they said we need a new lock assembly for each door. $610 to repair it! We just put a new gas tank on it because we could only put 1/4 tank of gas in it before it would start leaking out.

    We’ve had it since it was brand new and that’s pretty much the two problems we’ve had but the door lock assembly should last for more than 12 years don’t you think?

  16. Patricia Salmoiraghi on January 3rd, 2010 6:10 am

    We had the recommended recall service done, i.e., having two new spark plug wire retainers installed to our 2003 Impala and had our car catch fire after adding engine oil and getting some on the manifold (after “add engine oil” warning light came on)! It appears that this recommended recall service is insufficient, and a car fire still can occur if engine oil gets on the heated manifold. Has anyone else experienced this misfortune as well?

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