Manifold/header/muffler/tail Pipe problems of the 2002 Buick Century

Had service engine light coming on periodically and was loosing coolant, but could not find any leaks, was told it was probably faulty light, or leak in tank. Took car for oil change and ask to look for any leaks, found coolant in oil. Intake manifold gasket failed and had to be replaced. Was told due to coolant being dexcool and eats the gaskets.

I currently have a 2002 Buick Century custom with 107000 miles on it. I had a starter catch fire cause of a large buildup of oil coming from either the head gasket or the manifold gasket. This issue needs to be addressed. Driving at high engine temperature with cause a major safety issue for anyone driving short or long distant.

2002 Buick Century custom, had to replace the intake manifold gasket at 69k at a cost of over $700. Shortly thereafter, front left and right wheel bearings failed and they were repaired at a cost of $350 each. Now at 80k the head gasket is leaking coolant so badly the car cannot be used. The approximate cost of this repair is $1400. Car was purchased new, fully maintained and adult driven.

Had coolant light coming on periodically and was loosing coolant, but could not find any leaks, was told it was probably faulty light, or leak in tank. Took car for oil change and ask to look for any leaks, found coolant in oil. Intake manifold gasket failed and had to be replaced. Was told due to coolant being dexcool and eats the gaskets.

Intake manifold gasket leak at 61,233 miles,719 dollar repair. Updated 12-12-07. The lower intake maifold gasket, thermostat were replaced as well. Updated .

Bought vehicle in 01. 20. 07 with 56,943 miles (2002 Buick Century custom). Sometime (around 62,000 miles) notice engine hesitates, after warming up, hesitation disappears. Asked my mechanic and his first question was if white smoke was coming off the tail pipe, I said no. A couple weeks later, at startup (early in the morning) the tail pipe smoked for a good 2 to 3 minutes, again, once warmed, stopped, and engine run well. This went on for another 2 weeks, during this period I asked again my mechanic, but this time I mentioned the white smoke, no oil smell, his response was I was burning antifreeze. Went back to dealer to see what they could do to help me, left the vehicle for diagnosis, then they offer me a 15% discount on parts of and estimated $1500. 00 work. Since this was unacceptable, I called Buick, explain situation, and also mentioned fact that an engine this age - mileage - this kind of failure was not acceptable. After 4 calls from Buick, it took Buick 2 weeks to come back with ha resolution: that the best they could do was 15% discount on parts and 15% on labor. At some point I wanted to pickup the car and I was told it was not safe to drive. Meantime, I did some research and found out that NHTSA did handle this type of issues. Further research in the NHTSA web site showed that (like my mechanic told me) this was a recurrent problem with this model. I picked up the car on 10. 25. 07 at a final cost of $1,157. 00.

When I had an oil change at about 32,000 miles the mechanic indicated the oil was a quart low. I had the cooling system flushed at about 50,000 miles and the mechanic noted oil in the antifreeze. At 55,000 miles the car now needs a new intake manifold gasket at a cost of $800 to $900. Gm faces a class action lawsuit in canada for this same problem and many u. S. Blogs indicate this is a common problem. Service stations are reporting that this failure is common and due to a design defect. The warranty expired at 36,000 miles. Because of this, Buick says it has no responsibility for this problem. In addition to the gasket problem, I had to replace the wipe blade mechanism and leaking wheel bearings. These, too, were premature problems and not due to any abuse or neglect of car maintenance. Gm will not recognize a history of problems due to the fact I went to a local precision tune for maintenance. The dealership I purchased the car from moved about 45 minutes away from my home making it very inconvenient to go there for maintenance.

- the contact stated that after starting the 2002 Buick Century the coolant light came on, after driving a couple of miles the light went off. The contact took the vehicle to the garage which performed a pressure test and found a hole in the manifold. The failure could result in a fire. The vehicle has been repaired. The lower intake gasket manifold was leaking coolant. Updated 02/22/07.

The contact owns a 2002 Buick Century. The contact stated that there was a coolant leak. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. The contact mentioned that the failure recurred three times. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure who stated that they would contact her at a later date. The vehicle was repaired. The failure mileage was 87,784 and the current mileage was 146,556.

Oil/coolant leak from defective manifold gasket on 2002 Buick Century special.

Manifold intake gasket failure (leaking massive amounts of coolant/water into crankcase) with only 60,000 miles on the engine!.