1997 Buick Park Avenue with a defective engine. Dealer informed the consumer of a manufacturer defect which is anti freeze leaking onto the oil chamber causing the engine to overheat and cause a fire. The consumer also stated the water pump leaked, which had to be replaced because it leaked onto the fan belt which caused it to break. (consumer wrote in on behalf of his aunt; owner of the vehicle)

- Bedford, OH, USA

My vehicle is a 1997 Buick park ave with 140,000 miles. I'm the second owner. My in-laws were the original owners. I got the vehicle from them in 1999 with approximately 9000 miles on the vehicle. Therefore, I know the complete car care history of this vehicle. Yesterday, September 1, 2008 my granddaughter was driving this car and she lost control of the vehicle due to lost of steering capabilities. No one was injured nor body damage due to her low speed when this incident occurred. The tow truck operator indicated that the engine cradle split into pieces due to rust and this caused the steering to fail since the steering rack is mounted to this engine cradle. The rust through of this the engine cradle (or engine frame) was confirmed by the repair shop today, September 2, 2008. The repair shop indicated that the 1997 Buick park ave's had a steel engine cradle and that the moisture and salt gets caught within this box frame due to it's position directly behind the wheel wells. The repair shop indicated that 1998 park ave's( and after) have aluminum engine cradles but that the 1998 part will not fit the 1997 Buick park ave. The only repair is to find another used engine cradle from a 1997 Buick park ave which costs approximately $400 to $500 just for the used part. The other alternative is to buy a new engine cradle from a GM dealership for approximately $1200 to $1400. It seems to me that this engine cradle is a very critical part of the frame of the car and should not rust through within 10 years. All of the steering controls are mounted to this part and when this engine cradle fails all steering capabilities are lost. Please review this web site for the same part failure by other 1997 Buick park ave owners (www.allworldauto.com/comments/1997_buick_park_avenue_comments_and_complaints_C42-256-1997-312-1.html.

- Grand Blanc, MI, USA

The contact owns a 1997 Buick Park Avenue ultra. While driving 25 mph, the vehicle began smoking under the hood and caught fire. The fire department extinguished the blaze and provided a fire report. The police arrived, however, the contact did not know if a police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and they were unable to determine the cause of failure. The vehicle was destroyed. The powertrain was unknown. The current mileage was 125,998 and failure mileage was 111,998.

- Cleveland, OH, USA

Contact states in hot weather 75 degrees or above and within one mile the car will die. Can wait it 10-15 minutes and the car will restart. Had this problem for the last 3 summers. It usually happened in slow traffic, but consumer did not get out on the interstate very much; but was concerned that if he did. The car would die in heavy traffic. Took it to the dealer, and they said they could not find anything wrong with it. They suggested that it may be the fuel pump or the sensor in the crank case. The service engine light sometimes cam eon.. the car has less than 30,000 miles on it. He has not talked to the manufacturer.

- Galesburg, IL, USA

Pushrod malfunctioned in the engine, caused car accident.

- Ankeny, IA, USA

Vehichle stalled while turning at an intersection and was not driveable; vehicle had to be towed. Upon diagnosis, the vehicle "hydrolocked" due to dexcool leaking into the engine chamber from a melted upper intake manifold. The upper intake manifold, water pump, thermostat crank sensor and map sensor required replacement. It was then further determined due to an intolerably loud engine knock that the dexcool had corroded the engine compartment bearings; the engine was not repairable and required replacement.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

My number one problem with this car is the plastic intake manifold failed under normal use. This allowed coolant to mix with the oil while I was driving on the highway in heavy traffic. The result was that the main bearings were destroyed and I had to buy a new engine. (I have the original plastic intake manifold in my possession.) the problem is that the plastic intake manifold can not withstand the heat generated by the egr valve and eventually suffers from thermal fatigue at the egr and stress relaxation around the flange of the manifold. I notified GM of the problem in writing and they offered me $800 compensation for my $5,000 problem. They told me that my engine was probably on its last legs. I told them that the car has been babied and offered up results of the mandatory emissions test that the car underwent not 3 weeks prior to failure as proof that the car was in good running order. (in toronto, all vehicle owners must submit their cars for emissions testing every 2 years. The car is measured for hydro carbon output, nox output, co, and CO2. If the engine had been malfunctioning, it would have been qualified.) this problem would not have occurred if GM didn't switch from aluminum to plastic. Other problems with the car include a rear window defogger that caught on fire, - 3'rd alternator, 2nd battery, a security system that sounds while driving down the street, water in the trunk (several attempt to repair, ended up drilling a hole in the trunk), failed ac compressor, failed heated seat, several instrument control light bulbs have burned out and can not be replaced, you have to replace the entire instrument. The rear brake rotors that warp every 35,000 km. - fuel gauge that doesn't work below a quarter tank. If you would like copies of correspondence sent to GM, let me know. Regards doug webb 13 brumell avenue toronto, Ontario M6S 4G3 doug.webb@sympatico.ca 905-238-0007 ex. 2624 (daytime)

- Toronto, UN, USA

Heater/air conditioning leaks onto floor on the passenger side of vehicle. Started about a year after purchase (new) and we complained. Dealership replaced water pump. Still leaked. Became much worse in July 2003 (required a roll of paper towels to keep the front floor board semi dry on trips). We took it to fitzpatrick in concord, ca and they stated that all GM vehicles did that and there was no repair needed. This was when the car was still under warranty and now, no longer is.

- Walnut Creek, CA, USA

The A/C will turn on again after I turn it off. The radio will shift to cassette and back while displaying E33. Drivers window will come down unevenly and get wedged. The alternater went out and the bottom bolt stripped during removal. There is a lurch sometimes during shifting.

- Fort Stewart, GA, USA

Vehicle overheated twice within a 2 month period. Coolant elbow broke when vehicle overheated the first time. The second time the vehicle overheated, the upper intake manifold broke.

- Tinley Park, IL, USA

The plastic intake manifold developed a hole and leaked anti freeze onto the cylinder. This resulted in engine locking up and the crank shaft bearing going bad. The rod bearings also failed due to water entering the oil pan.

- Liberty, NC, USA

The dealer replaced the plastic intake manifold, water pump, gaskets and serpentine belt. The vehicle only had 47000 miles on it. The vehicle had required many repairs while under warranty. The coolant tank kept going low and the upper and lower gasket along with all components. The water pump was replaced.

- Newberry, SC, USA

Symptom of battery failure-triple a jump started car -checked battery & engine with computer which detected no problem-drove car @ 50 miles on highway-no problem- after sitting over nite started normally but after driving about 2 miles lost all power- tripe a could not start so towed car to their shop & found engine froze up- caused by defective air intake manifold which developed a leak allowing coolant fluid to get into engine mixing with oil. I know of 5 other incidents of this nature, 3 of which resulted in engine failure.

- Dillard, GA, USA