This happened twice once in 12/02/2010 AND ON 7/14/2015. WHAT THE HELL???? Never has this ever happened to any of our vehicles before. The service dept. would not stand behind this because it's a GM problem. We have done nothing but pour money in to this beautiful car. As per my complaint filed with General Motors by letter mailed 8/20/2015. Which all expenses was listed because of defective Part.

After a diagnostic test was run on 9/10/15 per GM's request to prove that the Hazard Switch is defective. Which it proved to be defective they would not stand behind it.. any repair is at my expense to tune of over $200 which I don't have as I am retired. I sure hope nothing serious happen because of their decision.

You Know that Pontiac set the 3.4 and other engines to fail when they put plastic manifold gasket in and the added Dex cool, I have working and rebuilding engines all my life I am 60 now and I thought I had seen everything But when I bought this 2002 Pontiac Grand am Gt, I though what sharp looking car, then the problems began, car would not start found out had two computers in it ECM and Body Control Module. Put new one in and for the first time in my Life had to take to GM shop, charged me $637.00 on what they could not tell me had something to do with Pass Lock system, then started leaking coolant, I know what that means Manifold Gasket, and after doing research and learn about complaints on same thing I went out and bought new gasket set. GM should have recalled these engines and replace gaskets or replaced funds for people that have to do work or take to shop.

I love the looks of car hate engine and other problems that come with this car. So far replaced starter water pump manifold gaskets, passlock system Body Control Module and the beat goes on, you have know how to work on these cars to own it, also replaced fuel pump. JT

I'm saving for a moped. The intake manifold gasket is on the top of the list of things to fix with this piece. Last week the water pump crapped out. Manifold warped from overheating, so back to the shop it went. Replaced transmission, converter, ABS, misfires, neither driver nor passenger windows work (either plastic clips or regulator), security system gliche which I don't mind unless I'm in a hurry, turning signal mechanism which I've ignored ever since I've had the car. I sware the car hisses and laughs at me.

Can't wait to get rid of it. Going to trade it in and let someone else spend their tax refund every year while it sits in the shop.

Purchased this sh*t car for my 16 year old grandaughter. She has had nothing but trouble since I bought it and I thought I was getting a good reliable car for her. Constantly putting water in the radiator, the back window is down and won't come up, the brakes had to be replaced, the brake lines had pin holes in them and had to be replaced. The car won't start now. Replaced plugs, checked OS, thought maybe the catalyic converter may be plugged but not sure. I can't afford to buy her another but this one is costing too much money.

I would like to know why there wasn't a recall. Oh, yeah, because it's not a "safety issue". So because it's not a safety issue you have to right to cost hard working people hundreds of dollars to fix a problem that you caused. When the parts started failing you should have made sure to let people know, sent out letters, done something other then let people like me have to deal with this. My car has been in the shop for over a week now. I've had to borrow vehicles to get to work, have people drive me to work. It's a huge inconvenience. And not to mention the cost. I don't make tons of money, so having to pay over $800 to fix my car is really hurting me right now.

So as soon as I get this headache over with, I plan on selling my car, just so I don't have to look at it ever again. And another thing...I will never buy anything made by GM again, and I will tell as many people as I can not to buy from them either.

I own a 2002 Grand Am SE that was special ordered with the GT engine package. All I've had was problems with this fricken car...Between the alternator, brakes needing replaced every year, A/C needing to be recharged every two years, and the radiator dumping all coolant about once a month, not to mention the "I don't want to start" crap! Every fricken part on the car is new (starter, water pump, radiator, brakes, computer, pass lock system, blinker clicking when its not on!) for at total of about 6000 bucks. And now the radiator is cracked again cause of the coolant issues. I will NEVER buy a GM product again...their cars are a piece of sh*t. I'm sick of being stuck in the freezing cold to wait 10 minutes for the car to start again...what a load of crap. GM should be recalling these cars but of course its not happening.

Now I have a piece of crap sitting in my garage that I'm not able to use! Thanks Pontiac and GM for not fixing the problem...I will NEVER buy from you again...I will be a Ford Girl from now on. (I have a F150 that has NO issues with 175,000 miles on it and never once did I have a problem dealing with Ford when I had questions about it)

FROM WHAT I HEAR THIS IS AN ONGOING PROBLEM WITH ALL MODELS FROM GM WITH 3.1 & 3.4 MOTORS FROM 1997 THROUGH 2010, ALSO CAUSES A HEAD GASKET LEAK IF U DON'T CATCH THE PROBLEM QUICK ENOUGH MOST SHOPS GO STRAIGHT TO THE WATER PUMP & OR THERMOSTAT BECAUSE U CANNOT SEE THE LEAK FOR THE MANIFOLD AND THE OEM GASKET SET IS NO GOOD IF U USE THIS SET IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN IN ABOUT 3 TO 6 MONTHS I HAVE HEARD THE FELPRO SET IS BETTER I DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THE DORMAN SET BUT THEY GIVE U A YEAR WARRANTY BUT THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE LABOR WHICH IS THE MOST COST OF COARSE SO I WOULD RECOMMEND THE FELPRO SET. GM IS NOT STANDING BY THEIR SCREW UP IN THIS CASE AND NOW HAVE ALOT MORE UNHAPPY CUSTOMERS. I KNOW A FEW PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD GMS ALL THEIR LIFE AND HAVE BOUGHT THIS CAR AND NOW WILL NOT BUY ANOTHER GM AGAIN.

This is a second vehicle with very limited mileage, which is driven by my wife. The car was purchased new from a Pontiac dealer so I can verify mileage and that it was maintained. The first indication of a problem was while I was driving on the expressway the temperature gauge shot into the red zone. Fortunately, I was near an exit and able to pull off the road before car stalled out. Since I had already started to slow down I was able to control car and to get it stopped safely without having power steering and power brakes.

Car was towed to a local mechanic who pressure test cooling system and informed me of the problem and told me that GM was aware of problem and that they might help with repair cost. GM insisted that vehicle be checked by one of their dealers before anything could be done. The GM dealer did verify the fact the intake manifold gasket cracked causing car to overheat, and stall out. This problem is a result of the anti-freeze GM uses, Dex Cool, which reacts with intake manifold gasket causing the gasket to break down. GM has issued a Service Bulletin #03-06-01-010, back in 2003 to its dealer, but did not notify vehicle owners. It seems when the manufacturer installs bad parts or incompatible parts/fluids like this, that they should offer a solution that is reasonable and except the responsibility at the very least.

This car had the DexCool issue that was in class action at the time I owned it. I bought it new and drove it off the show room floor. I don't speed, didn't drive a whole lot while I owned it, just one day it started overheating. When I sold it, it would still overhead if I didn't run the fan (either on heat or AC didn't matter) all the time. I was told it had a crack in the head gasket that was tiny but would eventually need replaced or else. I chose to sell the car, heavily discounted for the known issue of course. This problem definitely was the manufacturer's fault. It just seems like cars are such an expensive investment that when the maker installs bad parts or incompatible parts/fluids like in this case, that they should offer a solution that is reasonable and share the responsibility at a minimum. It certainly has turned me off for a Pontiac...won't recommend them, won't support my kid in buying one....

Car seemed to always run hot and finally one day it started really overheating even though it seemed to have enough coolant. I was out of town at the time and had to leave it at a mechanic's shop in a small town in South Texas. First we replaced the coolant cap, the thermostat, the radiator and finally the head gaskets. After $1,300 I picked the car up two weeks ago and it seemed to be running fine. Yesterday, it started overheating again and the coolant had somehow leaked out. After reading all the comments, it is obvious that the problem is probably the Intake Manifold gaskets. I will never buy another GM car even if it's the last car on the planet.

Buyer Beware -- I have seen many problems with GM products and I have been a loyal GM buyer for 19 years, but this problem with the Intake Manifold Gasket on my Grand Am GT took me over the edge.

I noticed two months ago a sweet smell when I got out of the car. Two weeks later the 'Low coolant' light came on and I had to get a gallon of DEX COOL at $14.00 per gallon. After 82,000 miles I just thought that a little coolant is normal. Little did I know that this was the path to self-destruction.

Three weeks later the 'Low Coolant' light came on a second time then I thought to myself that there must be a leak. So I went under the hood with 9 years of rebuilding of engines under my belt. What I found was a pool of coolant under the air intake system. The coolant was (what I thought) leaking out of the temperature sensor that is at the top right front of the motor. A call to the dealer informed me of the possibility of the problem being the Intake Manifold Gasket was leaking due to DEX COOL eating the manufactures infused plastic gasket. This was unbelievable that a car product installed in an American car company was destroying a vital part of an engine. That if not taken care of would find its way into the oil. I took the car to the shop and 5 hours later the tag writer calls me and said that the pressures test, of 20 lbs, had coolant running out the Intake Manifold and all over the top front and back (left and right) of the engine. He later told me that the Mobil 1 oil was not contaminated and we noticed the leak in time. To make a long story short I learned that GM knew about the DEX COOL and the fact that it eats the infused plastic gasket and did not write a bulletin about the problem. A law suit was filled and settled with ridicules terms. So $840.00 later, I got a 12 month 12 thousand mile warranty for my troubles on the work and parts.

I have had nine GM products in my lifetime and discovering GM's business plan to design and build cars that feed dealers money and parts, build them so that the public has to buy new cars every 6 years, and hide the facts from the public, I am done with buying GM products. I have another GM product that has DEX COOL, now I am concerned about that vehicle developing the same problem.

So if you are thinking about letting that little leak go, or smell the sweet smell of burning coolant, get it to the dealer now and pay a little, or wait a couple of months the and car will destroy itself.

By the way Prestone coolant reacted with aluminum causing aluminum to dissolve, which is why DEX COOL was adopted.

The responsible thing to do is to fix the problem with the plastic and DEX COOL, but you know that is not going to happen. The aftermarket parts do however, if installed with the new oil pump shield, one gasket, three seals, one thermostat, and two gallons of DEX COOL.

Good luck to all those people that have a Grand AM. I will be getting rid of mine as soon as the warranty runs out.

So we all know about this issue but here's one more. My '02 GA has the dreaded leaking intake gasket. I owned a 2000 before this and it had it too, but I traded for this one before fixing it. I am going to start the tear down tomorrow to replace the upper & lower gaskets and bolts, hopefully it will only take me a couple of days barring any problems. I have always owned American cars, since I was 16 is have owned 8 cars (1 Ford, 7 GM). Some have been real troopers ('80 Grand Prix, '90 Camaro 5.0, '99 Cavalier, '85 1500) and some have been mechanical nightmares ('86 Cougar, '88 Camaro 2.8, 2000 Grand Am, '02 Grand Am). Now I understand the saying "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me", but I was told by a GM (Good"bad"wrench) mechanic that it was a fluke in the 2000. What makes this even worse is the fact that there have been multiple issues with both GA's that are the same. Not only the intake gasket, but the window regulators are junk, can change one now in less than 15 min. including tear down and reassembly, the ignition locks fell apart on both as well as both radios had problems and were replaced. I have to some extent kept buying GM because I can work on them and save the money on repairs, but I have noticed that members of my family that own Toyota's don't have to worry about working on their cars because they haven't had these types of problems. Now I don't want to act like GM is the only car with problems but its does seem to have a systemic issue with ignoring their problems. When GM finally offered money to GA owners for intake repairs it was not even enough to pay for the gasket kit, much less the $1000 to have a shop do it. The letter I received from them blames the gasket maker and the maker of DEX cool, not GM. I am NOT a customer of either of them GM is, I am a customer of GM therefore they should have taken care of me, then worked with the other companies to pay them. I hate to say it but my wife and I have decided that our next vehicle will be an Asian brand (would buy German too but can't afford them). The sad part is my Cavalier ( half the price of the GA)which has just as many miles as the GA (around 150K) takes a beating and keeps on going, only needs a little tlc every couple years and its happy.