Thread: GM Recalls 207,000 Buick Regal, Pontiac GTP's

This story was posted locally on our news site concerning fires associated with the 3.8L Supercharged engine!

GM recalls 207,000 Buick Regal, Pontiac Grand Prix cars | TOP STORIES | WVEC.com | News for Hampton Roads, Virginia

The automaker said Friday it is recalling the 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Grand Prix GDP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 engines.

lol

Originally Posted by AlmightyBirdman

lol

yeah I caught that too...dumbasses

Food for thought...

Went to my favorite local junk yard today to take some pictures of this 1998 Regal GS that only had 36,000 miles on it....

In all honesty, there is some slight oil build up on the front head, but I have seen much-much worse on a L76 that never has ever caught fire. I guess this was the "1 in 1000" that caught fire. But what gets me...is the hood damage...If the fire was up front...from the front manifold igniting the dripping oil from the front valave cover, wouldn't more of the front of the car be damaged...rather than the back side of the engine area? Hummmmm.........









My vote...those quick connect lines are leaking, not the front valve cover.

Guess we will see how many cars go in for the recall, and catch fire later down the road. Wonder who pays for the car then? GM? LOL

~F~

I dont trust my quick connect lines. Made me nervous when I changed out my rails and realized I had those quick connects right under the hood. Nice to have that possible fail point near so many possible ignition sources.
If it is the valve cover seals leaking, then adds to an argument for a clean polished engine bay to spot leaking issues early

Well, I smell burning and my headers are smoking! Looks like I'll be calling the Dealership tomorrow!

Do I just need to give them my VIN number and they should fix it for free? I've never had a recall before.

That should be how it works.

Oh, and the previous owner didn't wrap tin foil on your exhaust manifold. That's the factory heat shield.

i got that letter from gm like 2 days ago for my gtp

Are you guys all original owners? I called the dealership and they are giving me a pretty hard time. I never got a letter in the mail from GM, and they said I need to present that for anything to be done under warranty. I am the third owner of the car, and just bought it like 3 weeks ago....

Would they have sent my letter to the original owner? Also is there any way to look up the VIN number to find a recall? Thanks!

I'll post the letter tomorrow.

I don't think they really know what the problem is. How many of you guys have actually seen a fire caused from oil leaking around the valve covers??

I would say the source would be more from injector o-rings leaking or at the fuel line connections above the supercharger. Fuel will leak there and sit on top of the charger in the valleys and we all know how hot that thing gets.

If GM is concerned with an oiling issue, I would def look more into the Lower intake manifold bolts. Oil leaks past those bolts all the time because they thread into the head where the oil is flowing and if there is no sealant on the bolt, oil pools up around the bolts.

Well that would sure explain why my gas mileage has gone to sh*t. So you think the fuel is leaking, and thats the burning smell I might be smelling? There is definitley smoke coming out of my exhaust manifold area.

Originally Posted by GreenNirvana101

Well that would sure explain why my gas mileage has gone to sh*t. So you think the fuel is leaking, and thats the burning smell I might be smelling? There is definitley smoke coming out of my exhaust manifold area.

No that is not what I am saying. I'm saying that fuel could be leaking, but you need to check. It will be quite obvious if you have fuel leaking from the fuel line connections to the fuel rail.

If you have smoke coming out of the manifold area, it could be oil. You need to check them out visually. If you have stock manifolds and the heat shield on them, remove the shield and see if there is any oil buildup.

I just called the Dealership for an update on my car - the receptionist was pretty clueless, however, she did say that they have already ordered some parts for the recall including a valve cover gasket, and spark plug wire something or other... some caps or connectors... basically she just rambled on some things but wasn't really clear on anything.

Long story short - they are going to keep my car until the parts come in because it is "very dangerous" to drive in its current state. I should hopefully get it back by Monday with an update on what they all had to replace for the recall.

Many dealerships do not know about the recall yet. Some are aware.

The letters are being sent out to current owners, and even if its used, and your the 20th person to won it, you will still get a letter, cause they will find you by your VIN thats entered when you registered your car for your tags.

The letters are NOT the recall, they are making you aware of the recall.

The official recall letters will come out later once, there is enough parts sent out to all the dealerships to correct this "problem". They do not have enough parts to cover all the cars effected.

Once you get your official letter, give your favorite local GM dealership a call, and make an appointment.

The recall will include a new front valve cover gasket, new bolt grommets, and a different plug wire bracket/holder.

GM believes that the problem is only with the supercharged models, because they run hotter.

GM believes that the fires are being caused by built up leaky oil coming from the front valve cover. The oil seeps down, and gets on the front exhaust manifold heat shield, and heats up to the point where it ignites, and then melts or ignites the front plastic plug wire holder and then spreads from there.

This is what they believe...but I, myself personally am not going to participate in this for the simple fact that they could be wrong, and I am under my hood enough to know that my front valve covers are fine, and my gaskets are all new, and I don't want these stupid ass, mindless, so called, "ASE certified" mechanics here in Kansas under the hood of my car at all. regardless if I could be getting some free parts out of the deal...not worth the rick of having them F-something up while they are under my hood, or my cars at their shop. I just don't trust them at all.

My gaskets have all been replaced when I built my engine. All my fuel injector o-rings and feed and return line o-rings too. I personally find that the feed, or the return line o-rings are not of the best quality, and with little to no miles, not going for age or wear and tear here, they will dry rot, and crack. Get one big enough, and it will leak...you get a leak you get a fire QUICK, you get a fire and it will for sure guarantee a total destroy of any and all obvious evidence of what started it, unless you want to really pay out of pocket to have tests done to prove yourself right and GM wrong.

All I can say myself is, I am going to wait and see how many cars still go up in flames after this recall is done, and the ones that do catch fire, did indeed have the recall preformed.

I can see their escape goat being, that the dealership did not clean up the leaked out oil off the head, manifold, manifold cover or block good enough, and thats what started this fire.



I'm just going to sit back on this one and watch myself personally. You all can do what you want.

~F~