On 11/18/2003 I took my 1997 Chevrolet Venture van, with 64,000 miles, to my service shop telling them I was getting a fluid leak on my driveway looking like a mixture of oil and anti-freeze. I was told it was my intake manifold gaskets and also that I could have engine damage as a result. It turns out I did have engine damage and now may need to replace my engine. This shouldn't happen with so few miles. Chevrolet should back their product.

- Ashburn, VA, USA

Van taken for service for complaints of engine overheating and temperature gauge going up and causing temperature (hot) and service engine soon indicator lamps to come on. The van never warms up either. The van was diagnosed by GM technician indicating repairs of leaking lower intake manifold gasket, replacement of lower intake gasket thermostat and oil pump drive seal. Cylinder #2 misfire with installation of new spark plugs and wires, PCV valve, air filter, fuel filter and cleaning of fuel injectors. The van didnT get 1.5 miles from the service facility after my almost $1600 payment before the same problems resurfaced. The car was taken back and after being serviced again with no new diagnosis, I drove the van all of 20 miles before the engine overheated again. The van was taken back for the second time after initial service, all within a one-week timeframe. Now, the van has been diagnosed as having head failure. GM needs to stand behind its work the first time and not try to charge the consumer more the third time for the same problem.

- Dolton, IL, USA

My Chevy Venture with 95,000 miles, with no prior warning, rather suddenly overheated and stalled as I was pulling it over on the interstate. Thankfully there was a level, grassy shoulder so I could pull all the way off the road, as the heavy truck traffic was quite intimidating. This was in Maine, on a very cold day, and I was alone with my 4 small children, about 45 minutes from home. Tow truck driver couldn' T take all of us, and there were no taxi cabs. Thank god one of my friends with a van (Ford!) was able to come get us. We had to wait in the cab of the tow truck for 45 minutes for my friend to come from home to where we were stranded. Got the van back from the dealership with a $2800 repair bill (apparently we got off easy, usually more engine damage is sustained in this kind of thing) diagnosis: Failure of intake manifold gasket (which dealership admits is a "design flaw", resulting in these problems for too many owners) resulting in a flooding of engine with antifreeze, sudden temperature change warping the head. If this is such a common problem, I wish it had been recalled for a replacement before this incident. Chevy needs to know that its minivan products are almost always driven by moms with large families who cannot afford (financially or safety-wise) to break down so dramatically and without warning. My children and I were terrified that day--if it had stalled 5 seconds sooner, we would not have made it off the road. Thank you. Marcia hyde.

- Lyman, ME, USA

I own a repair shop, my wifes van just started to over heat. Opon me testing the engine I could not find the problem- because of years of working on engines I decided to change the head gaskets only to find cracks in both heads from the plug hole to the valve -this is definitly a design flaw head do not just crack nor do they do it in the same place, I beleive alot of coolant problems with these engine 3.4 V6 will be traced to the heads, I could not find the problem by doing a presure test but once the heads were out there it was..1997 Chevy Venture

- So.Otselic, NY, USA

While driving the consumer notice that the low coolant indicator light and the check oil light started flashing. The consumer checked the oil and noticed water in the oil system. The vehicle was serviced and the technician indicated that the vehicle needed and intake gasket.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

Coolant temp. Gauge will go up and fan will not come on unless I turn heater knob to defrost. Changed thermostate and had flush and fill, no change. When gauge is all the way on hot, temperature of motor is normal, by way of computer check by lisenced mech.

- Washington, MI, USA

The intake manifold and head gasket failed, and the head light lens fell out of place.

- West Allis, WI, USA

On my 1997 Chevy Venture the manifold gasket is leaking! and I don't have that kind of money to fix that it, because of GM poor engineering. There are thousands of complaints online about this defect and no one seems to be doing anything about it.

- Batavia, OH, USA