General Motors responds to class action lawsuits on intake manifold gaskets

[doh]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/060427-1.htm

Oshawa, Ontario - General Motors of Canada has responded to a report that a Toronto law firm is suing GM in Canada and the U.S. over allegedly defective intake manifold gaskets. The action claims that gaskets in various Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac engines from 1995 to 2003 degrade prematurely and allow coolant to leak into the engine; the suit may cover 400,000 cars in Canada.

In its statement, General Motors said that all vehicles are covered by a minimum warranty of three years or 60,000 km and some may have more standard coverage. "Beyond the warranty period, our dealers and retailers review out-of-warranty concerns on a case-by-case basis. If the customer is not satisfied with the dealer's decision, where is a process detailed in the owner assistance information booklet to help customers resolve concerns they may have. An intake manifold gasket concern can arise from a variety of causes. It is for this reason that any concern a customer may have beyond the warranty period is handled on a case-by-case basis," the statement reads.

GM encourages customers to contact its Customer Communications Centre at 1-800-263-3777 (English) or 1-800-263-7854 (French) if they have questions regarding their vehicles.

"The recent motion to certify a class action is unfortunate and we believe brought on by a spillover of an overly litigious U.S. legal system into Canada," says Stew Low, Director of Communications, GM of Canada

[cfch3399]

So if anything happened to an intake manifold or gasket after the warranty is over it was the customer's fault. I'm all against greedy lawyers, but here they have a good case.

[Highlander]

Is this the Series II 3800 they're referring to?

My brother's 98 GTP had that go out this winter... So he had it fixed. Big fricken deal.

GM could certainly handle this better from a PR standpoint though. I just know there are shades of grey. Not everything is black and white. Such as if the gasket goes out on a 10 year old car with 350,000 miles on it. Is it really GM's responsibility to provide free maintaince or repairs in those situations? I don't think so.

Now if it's a common problem, and the car had say, 35,000 miles. Then in that case GM should maybe do some good PR and chip in on the repairs. And perhaps that's why GM is stating it's being handled on a case by case basis.

[303montecarlo]

Originally Posted by cfch3399

So if anything happened to an intake manifold or gasket after the warranty is over it was the customer's fault. I'm all against greedy lawyers, but here they have a good case.

Then your thinking if the car is out of its three year warantee period,and has over 60,000 miles it is GMs problem. The purchase agreement is just that,after this period you are the sole owner.

[toddmarley]

My 2001 Montana's intake gasket went with just 38000 kms on it!!!!! Did all the regular maintenance on it and the dealer wasn't surprised that the gasket was gone, but denied there was a common issue like that at the time. The bottom line is the dealer knew that this was a common defect and GM did too prior to 2001. If you took you vehical in to get the gasket work done and the vehical didn't display and problems with the gasket yet it wouldn't have been fixxed under warranty because the problem didn't YET exist. I got the one year extended warranty on my Van and the gasket went just one month shy of the extended warranty running out.

I work for GM and honestly can't believe that they didn't issue a recall on such a common and known issue.

Shame on you GM!

I hope this fella wins this one.

[cfch3399]

The original post refers to Canada. Where 60000km=36000miles.
If GM functions under the assumption that it's OK to build cars that suffer major engine damage shortly after 3 years, then they deserve to go broke. I think it's reasonable for a customer to expect engine and manifold gaskets to last longer than 3 years. Moreover, GM knew about this problem all along. They kept producing faulty parts regardless. This wasn't a rare problem, it was common.
Yes you are the sole owner, but it's not in GM's best interest to tell these people that it's their problem now. Since it was a known problem, GM should pay for repairs for 6 years, after that, split the costs with the customer. It's responsible when you as the manufacturer are at fault and it's also good customer service, which is important in a competitive market. You wouldn't take this nonsense with other products.

Originally Posted by 303montecarlo

Then your thinking if the car is out of its three year warantee period,and has over 60,000 miles it is GMs problem. The purchase agreement is just that,after this period you are the sole owner.

[GMRULES]

Originally Posted by cfch3399

The original post refers to Canada. Where 60000km=36000miles.
If GM functions under the assumption that it's OK to build cars that suffer major engine damage shortly after 3 years, then they deserve to go broke. I think it's reasonable for a customer to expect engine and manifold gaskets to last longer than 3 years. Moreover, GM knew about this problem all along. They kept producing faulty parts regardless. This wasn't a rare problem, it was common.
Yes you are the sole owner, but it's not in GM's best interest to tell these people that it's their problem now. Since it was a known problem, GM should pay for repairs for 6 years, after that, split the costs with the customer. It's responsible when you as the manufacturer are at fault and it's also good customer service, which is important in a competitive market. You wouldn't take this nonsense with other products.

Bingo!
My car had this repair done 3 months ago but I've noticed a strong coolant smell coming into the car when I turn the heater on, is that bad?

[303montecarlo]

Originally Posted by cfch3399

The original post refers to Canada. Where 60000km=36000miles.
If GM functions under the assumption that it's OK to build cars that suffer major engine damage shortly after 3 years, then they deserve to go broke. I think it's reasonable for a customer to expect engine and manifold gaskets to last longer than 3 years. Moreover, GM knew about this problem all along. They kept producing faulty parts regardless. This wasn't a rare problem, it was common.
Yes you are the sole owner, but it's not in GM's best interest to tell these people that it's their problem now. Since it was a known problem, GM should pay for repairs for 6 years, after that, split the costs with the customer. It's responsible when you as the manufacturer are at fault and it's also good customer service, which is important in a competitive market. You wouldn't take this nonsense with other products.

I am sorry I assumed every one knew that when you buy a car you have the choice to extend that period,so the best way to screw GM would be to buy the extended and make those idiots pay .Then get rid of it and get another with three more years of driving freedom.This would really shut them up(You think?)

[gypsygirl5]

I think a lot depends on the dealership and how willing they are to help. I had two gaskets go on a 2000 Venture. Both were found during routine maintenance...i.e., before any engine damage occurred. The first was under warranty. The second went at just over 100 000 kms. The dealer did get it "goodwilled" for me.

[Buicktech]

Originally Posted by gypsygirl5

I think a lot depends on the dealership and how willing they are to help. I had two gaskets go on a 2000 Venture. Both were found during routine maintenance...i.e., before any engine damage occurred. The first was under warranty. The second went at just over 100 000 kms. The dealer did get it "goodwilled" for me.

This is the case 99 times out of 100. If you bring your vehicle to the dealer for regular maintenance they can pick up on stuff like this when you are in. As well this case will more than likely not go very far. Most of these problems were covered under warrenty or as previously stated, "Good will", or "50/50". Many of these people that had to pay had more than 100,000kms on the odometer and had not done regular maintenance, though that is not always the case.
We had a gentleman call our dealership on Friday claiming he will sue us because his gasket is leaking for the firsttime at 200,000 kms. He did not buy it from us, nor has he ever had it in our shop, though he believes we should fix it for free none the less.

[gypsygirl5]

People are unbelievable sometimes! I have also heard of some continuing to drive against advice and frying the engine...Not that I am excusing GM in all of this, but sometimes a little common sense goes a long way. Having a good dealer helps, too.

One time when I had an Astro van in need of a belt, my dealer sent a tech who lived nearby to my home in the country to change it in my driveway!

[Vibe750]

Originally Posted by doh

http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/060427-1.htm

Oshawa, Ontario - General Motors of Canada has responded to a report that a Toronto law firm is suing GM in Canada and the U.S. over allegedly defective intake manifold gaskets. The action claims that gaskets in various Buick, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac engines from 1995 to 2003 degrade prematurely and allow coolant to leak into the engine; the suit may cover 400,000 cars in Canada.

In its statement, General Motors said that all vehicles are covered by a minimum warranty of three years or 60,000 km and some may have more standard coverage. "Beyond the warranty period, our dealers and retailers review out-of-warranty concerns on a case-by-case basis. If the customer is not satisfied with the dealer's decision, where is a process detailed in the owner assistance information booklet to help customers resolve concerns they may have. An intake manifold gasket concern can arise from a variety of causes. It is for this reason that any concern a customer may have beyond the warranty period is handled on a case-by-case basis," the statement reads.

GM encourages customers to contact its Customer Communications Centre at 1-800-263-3777 (English) or 1-800-263-7854 (French) if they have questions regarding their vehicles.

"The recent motion to certify a class action is unfortunate and we believe brought on by a spillover of an overly litigious U.S. legal system into Canada," says Stew Low, Director of Communications, GM of Canada

The 1-800 number gets you no where you go the crappy dealer and they say"it normal" my next vehicle will not be GM (dad work there 40yrs)

[Canuck]

Originally Posted by Vibe750

The 1-800 number gets you no where you go the crappy dealer and they say"it normal" my next vehicle will not be GM (dad work there 40yrs)

Off topic, if according to your name you own a 'Pontiac' Vibe?
Although the Vibe is branded a GM, Pontiac, sold and serviced at GM dealerships. The Vibe is actually more of a Toyota than a GM car.

If you want to know more about your car check out the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontiac_Vibe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Matrix

[gypsygirl5]

The dealer I use is also in Port Hope: Quantrill. I've dealt with them for 20 years, tried other dealers when I wanted a Pontiac or Buick, always end up back there for service. Excellent.

[nsap]

I know GM had a recall on the intake manifold of the Series II 3800 because I remember taking my 2000 Grand Prix in for it a few years ago. I remember it because it took several months to get the recall performed because my dealer was ALWAYS out of the parts because there were so many Impala Police cars that needed the recall performed.