1997 Pontiac Trans Sport Other or unknown Problems

“At 51000 miles the 3.4l engine had lower intake gasket failure in which the dex-cool anti freeze dumped into the crankcase mixing with the oil. This only had one warning a couple months earlier as the low coolant light came on and I added 1/2 gallon dex-cool with no signs of leakage. Next time it happened was when my wife was taking daughter to school and temp. Light came on. Van was not driven over 2 miles to dealer, as light went out. Dealer said extreme mixture in both crankcase and radiator. …”

“When I was traveling down a residential street at lesss then 25 and hit a bump the spare tire became disengaed from the undercarriage of my van. The cable that was connected to the center cap that was used to secure the tire to the undercarriage of my van had rusted through. The tire bounced on the road and camme to rest in the street and became an obstacale to on coming traffic, one vehicle had to make an abrupt stop. If the spare had disengaged on the expressway it would have created a significant hazard with the possibility of fatal consequences. …”

“1997 Pontiac transport. Failed intake manifold gasket caused dexcool to leak into the engine. This happened while my wife was returning to st. Louis from florida. Vehicle started making strange noises on the trip back. She barely made it home. Alternator burned out the next day. Had it repaired. Next day, the engine just died. We were told it was a blown headgasket. Have since found out it is actually the intake manifold gasket that failed. Gm knows of this problem yet refuses to take responsibility for an obvious design flaw. They have redesigned the gasket. …”

“Spare tire is stored underneath the vehicle and is raised and lowered by a crank. Due to its location, it is subject to the elements, and over time, the wire used to raise and lower the tire corrodes causing the tire to fall. If you are lucky it happens while closing the tailgate in a parking lot. If you are unlucky, it happens while travelling down the road. Gm canada apparently had an 'extended warranty' in place but it was discontinued in dec 2002.”

“About every 3months vehicle would stall out for no reason. Have taken to dealer numerous times. Was cleanedout 3 different times. Engine gets the cleaning. Vehicle loses power. Also, the engine check light keeps coming on.”