Gas Recirculation Valve (egr Valve) problems of the 1998 Buick Park Avenue

I am submitting this for my father-in-law who is 85 years old. There is a defect in gm 3800 engines (VIN k-rpo l36) at least from 1995 to 2003. Gm is aware of the problem and refuses to do anything about this defect which may have the potential for causing catastrophic accidents. My father-in-law was passing another car at about 70 mph on a two lane country road when the engine in his 1998 Buick Park Avenue locked-up. The damage to the engine was severe enough to require that the engine be replaced. The local Buick dealer stated that gm is aware of the problem with these engines (in fact, it's rather well known among auto mechanics), but has a policy of not assisting with repairs and has not recalled the engines. Fortunately there was no accident in this case, however, there is the potential for an accident to occur anytime an engine locks up at speed. I feel that these engines should be recalled and modified/repaired at gm's expense (there is an after-market kit available which is an indicator of the extent of the problem). The problem is that the engines can develop a leak near or under the throttle body area of the upper (plastic) intake manifold. The egr passage melts the upper intake plenum which results in an external (if you are lucky) or an internal water leak. If the leak is internal, the engine can almost instantly lock-up causing damage to the engine and potentially causing a catastrophic accident. My father-in-law's connecting rods were bent.

The consumer stated that intake manifold failed, allowing coolant to get inside the engine. This cost $1200. 00 to repair. The consumer called the manufacturer and spoke with a representative, who basically told him that they could not help. The consumer called the Buick dealer and was told that this was a common problem and Buick will not do anything about it. Buick service department told consumer they kept a number of them because of this problem. When the consumer attempted to start the engine, the starter housing broke. The mechanic found the engine full of coolant and traced the problem to an upper intake failure due to heat from the egr passage eroding away the plastic manifold causing coolant to leak into the engine. The consumer requested reimbursement.

The car was parked for 6 days. Weather was slight drizzle, with temperature about 50 degrees. At approximately 8:30 pm on 10/25/2002, I placed the key in the ignition and turned it. I heard a lot pop from the engine. The pop was so loud that neighbors approximately 100 feet down the street came out of their closed houses to discover what happened. Smoke begin to pour from the engine compartment and then flames appeared. Fire department came to extinguished the flames. Car will probably be totalled. Dt.