Went to start the car in the morning. Immediately when turning the key to start, an explosion occurred causing a fire and literately blowing the intake manifold into numerous pieces. Was able to douse the fire with a water hose. The car had been sitting for about 10 days. Insurance did not cover as they say "mechanical failure"! How many other 3.8 V6 engines experience this problem ? How can I find out?
Went to start the car, haven't driven it in a few weeks (due to another problem - transmission fluid leak). The battery was dead, so I hooked up the battery charger. Turned the key & heard a LARGE EXPLOSION that scattered smoking parts & pieces of the PLASTIC intake manifold several yards up the driveway & into the yard, and resulting in a small fire under the hood. Fortunately, I had a fire extinguisher on hand in the garage & was able to extinguish the fire quickly, I don't believe it did any further damage.
I've read several complaints online describing the EXACT same experience. If someone had been standing in front of the car, no doubt they would have been severely injured. If it had been in the garage at the time, it could have easily burned the house down. The replacement manifold has been "redesigned" to eliminate this problem, showing that GM is aware of this problem, and I believe they should be held accountable, at least for repairs for those of us unfortunate enough to have had this happen.
- scottdornon,
Bristol, VA, US
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Went to start the car in the morning. Immediately when turning the key to start, an explosion occurred causing a fire and literately blowing the intake manifold into numerous pieces. Was able to douse the fire with a water hose. The car had been sitting for about 10 days. Insurance did not cover as they say "mechanical failure"! How many other 3.8 V6 engines experience this problem ? How can I find out?
- whickey, Clarksville, VA, US