8.4
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $1,300
- Average Mileage:
- 97,800 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 10 complaints
Most common solutions:
- replace (5 reports)
- replace intake manifold gasket (5 reports)
I just bought the car. I only have had the dam car for five months. my father took it to get the oil changed the place that changed it said there was oil in the coolant. It was like that before i even bought the car. because there was black oil in the coolant. There is only 94,000 miles on it. The dam dealership sold me a lemon and they knew about it. I couldnt drive anywhere which was bad since i have to go to the docotor two hours away. I am not happy with this car at all
- sdebra, Freeport, IL, US
had to replace the gasket twice in 3 years to the tune of 2000 dollars. The last go around finally did the car in. Two months after replacing and cleaning the sludge out of the engine I just found out that I broke a piston rod. SOOOO, now I am out another 2500 to 3000 for a "new from a junk yard" engine that more than likely will have the same problems.... i believe that this car is destined to become recycled into a new car somewhere down the line since I'm not really up to putting more money into a car that is only worth 1500 on a good day... Oh yea none of my power windows work as well. At least when the car WAS running it had good air conditioning. One would have figured keeping fairly good maintenance you should get more than 200000 miles out of a new car. I thought we built them to tighter tolerances.
- dobby1, Chattanooga, TN, US
the antifreeze that gm put in my car ate the manifold gaskets off .. it cost me 600.00 to get it fixed .. and now as of today I have a friggen oil leak , there is alot of oil coming out of my car .. I am dayum mad about it ... I am disabled and wanted to get a car I didnt have to always be putting money out on .. so here I sit looking stupid with out a running car .. Hey gm u going to take me to the friggen doctor ??.. this crap aint funny . I aint made out of friggen money either ... Ruthann
- Ruth H., la Vergne, TN, US
My 2000 Century has the intake gasket failure. Just one of many, many pricey problems I've had with this car.
- David P., Seattle, WA, US
This is my second car with GM's solve all Dex- antifreeze. This is also my second car that has had a problem that cost almost $1000 to fix. No wander they are in such financial hardships. Don't blame the government, unions, or anything else if your new technology breaks down more than the old technology. Have to spend the money on this one or loose the car.
- thedude57, Uniontown, OH, US
The intake Manifold gasket wears away because of the Dexcool antifreeze that GM specified to have put in the vehicles, because dexcool is designed to never need to be replaced. GM thought they were doing a good thing when the engine was designed with a no hassle coolant (150,000 mile coolant). The coolant leaked into the engine and into the pistons causing catastrophic failure in the engine, we had to have a whole new longblock shipped in and replaced in the car, total cost came to over $5000.00 for a $5000 car.
GM is currently facing a mass lawsuit regarding this issue, GM is fighting it, however a settlement is bound to be decided upon at the end of august, 2008.
If you have this problem and have already paid to have it fixed you can get aboard this lawsuit and be reimbursed up to $800-$900 depending on the case by case basis by GM should the courts rule in our favor that GM made a engineering mistake.
Hope I was able to share enough about GM's dropping the ball on this one.
- costang, Castle Rock, CO, US
My Buick Low Coolant Light came on. I filled it back up and saw no leakage. The light would not go off. I took it in for a new serpentine belt because mine started fraying. I was then told I had some major problems and my bill went from $90.00 to $959.00, because they said my intake gasket was leaking. Then when they got inside, they called back and said they wanted to replace even more parts. Now the bill is up to $1200.00. The car is only worth 5K. Last year it was the pvs valve and anti lock brake system. The Window motors died. The A/C Control fan system is broken too. They don't build them like they used to, and this motor sits sideways so you can't work on it yourself very easy.
- Cecelia G., Merritt Island, FL, US
1st fixed by replacing intake gasket cost $1,400 when i returned to the shop for the same problem they quoted me the same price again. So i neglected to fix and added barrs brand additive stop leak to the radiator. still driving the same vehicle 20,000 miles later. However, I'm still worried that it might break down again.
- Rob R., Lexington, KY, US
Seems to me that an automobile ought to go for more than 43,000 miles before requiring the owner to have such an expesive repair. I'm told that this is a rather common occurence with buick.
- Paul B., Saint Louis, MO, US
Gms 3.8 liter engines had the failing plastic intake manifold and the century 3.1 liter engine does not have a plastic intake but failing gasket sets. Guess they just can't get it right.
- mheathers65, Tara, Ontario, Canada