Engine Cooling System Problems of Buick Century

2002 Buick Century. Consumer states design defect the consumer stated his wife took the vehicle to a repair shop because the windshield wiper blade was stuck. However, it was discovered the radiator was almost on the ground and in the process of becoming detached. She was referred to an auto body shop. The body shop stated the radiator mount was dry rotted beyond repair and should have never occurred in an 8 year old vehicle. *.

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2002 Buick Century intake manifold/gasket fails at 31k miles. Coolant in the engine and mixed with the oil. All of the prior service and maintenance were performed at gm dealerships (where this should have been discovered prior to failure). Oil, lube, rotations done without waiting for indicator lights (2-4 times per year), all recommended procedures completed (including new brakes, throttle body and fuel injector svcs). This was a known issue regarding dexcool eating away the gaskets but gm filed bankruptcy to avoid full settlement and now dealerships claim ignorance to the issue. Now I have to pay $1500 to have the engine & radiator disassembled for cleaning. I was informed that labor is the bulk of the cost. Why won't gm charge the customer for the part and not the labor. I was told by the service advisor that the parts involved only cost $200-250, but I have to pay $1500 for a known issue/failure the manufacture was/is well aware of and is a safety issue that causes abrupt engine failure! I am so upset that my vehicle was so well taken care of and would fail with so few miles on it. My chevy corsica also failed due to dexcool (water pump replacement at 60k miles) and I did not receive a penny from the dexcool settlement (even though I filed and was eligible). Gm should be held accountable for these failures that are still an issue. An engine failure in traffic is a serious defect.

The contact owns a 2001 Buick Century. While the vehicle was undergoing an oil change, the contact was informed that dexcool coolant was placed in the water tank instead of antifreeze. The manifold on the water block, which is the gasket between the water tank, did not have the correct type of gasket and deteriorated the water due to oil in the tank. The failure is called a "pink milkshake". This also occurs when there is oil in the water reservoir. The repair would cost $800. The VIN was unknown. The failure mileage was 38,000.

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Leaking intake manifold.

I noticed that there was sludge in the coolant tank after I got a low coolant light when the coolant was not low and the temperature was normal. I brought the car in to the Buick dealership and was told that oil was leaking through the intake manifold gasket into the coolant channels of the manifold. The oil was interfering with the coolants sensor causing the indicator light to come on. The dealer told me the system would need to be drained, flushed and refilled after the manifold was removed and the gasket replaced. This was going to cost over $800. 00 the dealer indicated that this was a fairly common occurrence on the 3. 1l engine so I asked why this was not a warranty issue to which he responded that gm would not cover this problem. I asked what would happen if I did not do the recommended actions; response, possible water migrating into the cylinders or oil/water mixing, all very bad for the engine. Because I like the car, I had the work done as I use this car for extended trips and I do not want to find myself with an engine failure. Since this does appear to be a common problem which may be aggravated by the use of dexron cooling fluid, I believe that gm should be responsible for repairs and/or reimbursement for such repairs that have been done.

Second failure of intake manifold gasket on 1999 Buick Century 3. 1 m engine. Causes anti freeze to leak from manifold which could cause a fire (as stated in owners manual, warning not to spill anti-freeze on a hot engine when filling radiator as it could cause a fire). First failure occurred at 72,000 miles. Second failure at 115,000 miles.

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Overheating engine & ticking sound. Took to dealer twice before the warranty expired. Always a little bit of repair. After warranty expired same problem but then needed over 600. 00 in repairs. Later same problem 300. 00 in repairs. Always thermostat or water pump. The temp gauge goes up and low coolant light came on, same as before, a mechanic was at the cafe I work at & looked at the car. He stated that there was oil in the radiator & that he had seen this problem from these gm products many many times and that I would have to have a new engine. Added coolant & it lasted a little while. Took to another mechanic for second opinion & was told the same. The temp light does not come on but the low coolant light comes on. The ticking got louder and took to dealer for their opinion, ask them to check the coolant to see if oil was in it. Was told that the noise was from a stuck lifter & they put in a heavier weight oil & additive to oil change & that the fluids looked good. 2 weeks later let 4th mechanic look, he put is finger in radiator & showed me the gunk, said I have a blown head gasket & more. He has seen hundreds of the same problem. Told that gm should be held accountable, that they know their is a problem and do nothing about it and try to cover it up. Gm should have done a recall on the problem. I have found hundreds of complaints online in the past weeks. I don't want money or new car I just want mine fixed by the company responsible. The dealer has lied to me about this & I am very upset, this is why my son and I are freezing to death in the car, the gunk has gunked up everything it has come in contact with, including the heating core. According to one complaint a very good mechanic has decided that their are two problems one affecting the other. A cooling system grounding problem, electrolysis resulting in corrosion & disintegration of parts and gaskets & then dexcool which is unstable in an electrically charged environment & turns it in to goop.

See all problems of the 1998 Buick Century 🔎.

I am the owner of a 1999 Buick Century with 78,000 miles. I bought the vehicle used and have no current warranty. Recently, the low coolant dash light began to intermittently illuminate, which prompted me to check thee coolant level and search the underneath of my vehicle. The coolant level was not low; however, there was a small amount of coolant on the ground. I did extensive research on the internet and identified that tens of thousands of gm vehicle owners have had this same problem with the coolant systems in their gm vehicles. The problem was that the lower intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced. Gm claims that the dex cool coolant, which is required in their vehicles, lasts for 150,000 miles of vehicle use without needing to be changed. However, my internet research of othersã‚ complaints, and the service repairman at my local garage, confirmed that the dex cool coolant through the lower gasket at approximately 70-80,000 miles, requiring a new lower intake manifold gasket and a coolant flush, as well as a necessary oil change because the coolant leaks into the oil due to the faulty gaskets (and in turn causes decreased lubrication in the engine and ruins the bearings which is also a costly problem. ) after having my vehicle repaired for $900, I am told by my service repairman that this problem will occur again in another 70-80,000 miles, should I own the vehicle for that long. There are several petitions on the internet regarding this faulty equipment, advocating for a gm recall. Gm, however, has done nothing to rectify this problem. Gm should be responsible for the cost incurred for the replacement on the lower intake manifold gasket on affected gm vehicles, as they claim the system is good for 150,000 miles with the dex cool coolant, which is clearly a false claim.

Failure of cooling system, engine intake manifold gasket. Vehicle is 1999 Buick Century with only 41000 original miles. Engine oil leaked into cooling radiator.

Dt: the consumer owns a 1999 Buick Century. He states that six months after he purchased the vehicle he took the vehicle in for a recall on the headlights. While the vehicle was there they maintenance the vehicle and found that the gas filler pipe had deteriorated and the cooling system intake was leaking coolant. This vehicle only has about 50,000 miles. Both front lower control arm bushings had blown out and they had to be replaced also. Wyoming valley motors po box 1308 kingston, PA 18704-0308. He has spoken with gm they told him they would get back with him in a couple of days and they did not contact him back. He is not available until after 4:30. They told him the gas filler pipe was normal for the vehicle. He seen a article that said they had been having this problem with year for the cooling system. They also said the bushings was normal wear on a car also. He did go onto carfax and it did not indicate any time of problems with the vehicle.

About a month ago the check engine light came on. Because of the cost to have a mechanic hook up the obdii monitor I didn't take the vehicle in right away, hoping it was simply due to a dirty sensor or loose gas cap (which has been the root cause before in other vehicles). Shortly after the check engine light incident the temp gage and heater started acting funny. Starting in the morning the heater only provided lukewarm air at best. Then the temp gauge would spike really fast and the coolant alarm would come on. Then right away the gage would normalize and there would be no problems the rest of the trip. The temp gage would be in the normal range. The problem only happened a couple of times then appeared to go away. Yesterday the problem re-surfaced except the temp gauge didn't normalize and there was a smell of antifreeze coming from the engine compartment. After calling around to mechanics it sounds like it could be the intake gasket. Since the beginning of these problems I've been checking the coolant. I own other gm vehicles so I'm familiar with intake manifold gasket failures. In fact, I had to replace the intake manifold gasket on our blazer about 1 month ago. This Buick only has about 40k miles on it. I thought Buick was gm's "quality" division????.

Intake manifold gasket failure. Replaced gasket.

While driving 60 mph the low coolant sensor light came on. The consumer brought the vehicle to the repair shop where they states the intake manifold gasket had malfunctioned. Please provide additional information.

I brought my car to my Buick dealer for service and was informed that the coolant had become sludgy. They told me that the system needed to be drained, cleaned and refilled and would cost me $129. 00. I was very concerned about what could possibly cause this, and the representative couldn't tell me why, but that they caught it early and wouldn't be a problem. I then took a look on the internet for information on this problem and found out about the class action lawsuits against gm for their dexcool coolant problems in their cars, especially the v6's. I called the dealer to tell them that I had a problem with having to pay for this repair and that I was also concerned with possible damage to my system, intake manifold gasket problems and the effect that would have in the future. They told me they would call me back. This is a widespread problem that needs to be addressed by an outside agency because gm is not stepping up to the plate to handle it. While not causing an immediate physical danger, it does certainly cause a secondary danger to motorists who break down on the road and the other motorists around them. Please step in and do something about this. Thank you.

Coolant was replaced at @ 115,000 miles. Coolant was in globes in over flow tank. Approximately 15,000 miles after replacement, coolant light came on (first time ever since I have owned car). Coolant was @ 1 gallon low. Coolant has also become globby again. Took into replace with different coolant (not dex-cool). Upon inspection garage found the engine gasket has been leaking coolant. They claim it was caused by the dex-cool coolant, they did not do the flush because they did not want to chance making the leak worse.

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Dealer advised of coolant leak at a lower engine seal. I have since learned that this is a defect related to use of incorrect seals. The seals are eaten by the coolant (dexcool). I was quoted a price of $800 to fix the problem. I feel that this is a manufacturer's defect.

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1999 Buick Century began using dex-cool and overheating. Also heater would blow cold indicating coolant was low. Car taken to dealer who said it was a leak in upper and lower intake gaskets. When asked why this happened they said that gm has had bad batches of gaskets and they are having to replace a lot of gaskets, even on 2003 models. I asked why they were charging me $403. 66 to repair, since it is happening so much. They said that gm considers this gasket problem a "normal wear and tear" item just like belts, oil changes, ect! this should not be happening when the car only has 34,780 miles on it.

Intake manifold gasket has a leaking coolant. The car was stranded on the side of a busy divided four lane highway while waiting for a tow truck; twice.

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.

The vehicle overheated because one of the engine gaskets became unsealed and leaked coolant. This failure was not recalled because the manufacturer didn't see the problem as a safety issue.

The coolant light never illuminated warning the consumer of a problem, subsequently the water pump in the consumer's 2002 Buick Century failed. For the second time the coolant sensor is not working.

Vehicle started to run a little lot in October 2002. Vehicle was brought to mechanic shop since we where out of the three year warranty by about 6 months. Upon checking the contents of the radiator, a brown sludge was noted inside. Per service bulletin # 00-06-02-004 the mechanic flushed the system and replaced the radiator cap. Two weeks later, the same sludge was starting to appear in the radiator. Mechanic suggested that we bring it to the dealer since it was probably a gasket leak. Vehicle was brought to crown Buick. They diagnosed the problem as a leaking lower gasket and the air was getting into the system causing the sludge. They changed the lower gasket and due to the service person quoting us a wrong price on the cost f the repair this was completed for $ two weeks later, the oil pan gasket was diagnosed as leaking. This repair cost $ it amazed us that two weeks after crown worked on our vehicle the oil pan gasket starts to leak. Both gaskets leak and cause problem within 6 month's of our year warranty expiring even though we were under the 36,000 mile warranty. It is obvious inferior workmanship on Buick' s apart to have two gaskets leak and cause expensive repairs to the owner of their product. Since this was already evident due to the service bulletin being published, Buick gems should have completed these repairs as warranty. Complaints filed with Buick gems and no compensation was offered.

Vehicle was overheating while driving. Was taken to a mechanic who stated that anti freeze was gunked up and radiator needed to be flushed. The consumer had a mechanic flush the radiator with the same type of fluid (dexcool) on June 15, 2002, consumer went on a trip then noticed low coolant light came on, the antifreeze was checked and it was again full of gunk, later that night the car was check and it was observed that antifreeze was leaking from the head gasket. Original coolant was used, dexcool brand, the consumer believes that the dexcool antifreeze may be the problem.

Coolant used by dealer is turning into sludge in radiator, which can get to the engine. Dealer/manufacturer were notified.

The air snap located underneath the vehicle which supplies air to the engine cooling system is too noisy, indicating a problem which may result in a loss of vehicle control. Please provide further information.