I purchased my 2006 Pontiac Torrent new from a dealership in Las Vegas and in 2007 shipped the car overseas to Germany. I drove the vehicle on/off in Germany and in 2012 it was shipped home when my tour was complete. Weeks prior to me PCSing, I turned on the heater and within minutes got an overheat light so I immediately drove to an on-base auto mechanic to get it checked out.

The mechanic said it was just low fluid. The car had never had any issues prior to this so I was concerned about the loss of fluid. Since the car was being shipped home I had him flush the radiator/cooling system just to be sure nothing was wrong. The shop refilled and flushed the cooling system but never performed a pressure checkout. The shop said they found nothing else wrong and it was GTG.

On the drive home from the shop, I got a second overheat light and I was forced to shut the engine down. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the car would not start due to the overheat light. Research points to the fact that this vehicle has an inherent problem with this vehicles cooling system such that even a simple failure can be catastrophic. To me, that is a design and safety flaw that should be both addressed and resolved by GM/ GMAC engineering. To get the vehicle shipped stateside required that it be operational so I had to get a German dealership to repair the car. They had to replace a blown head, gasket, and water pump and perform a complete oil and radiator flush. Total cost was approx. $3200 dollars.

Upon returning to Vegas, I noted a water puddle under the car after 3 months of driving. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they said the water pump was leaking and it had to be replaced. Cost in parts and labor = $850 dollars. That was in 2012 & 2013 and here it is 2015 and in February I noted a small rise in engine temperature and a faint smell of radiator fluid. I've never noticed fluid inside the car or on the ground so back to the shop I went in June.

1st Response performed a complete pressure check this weekend of the cooling system and over the weekend they left it pressurized. No fluid leaks were noted on the floor or ground and the pressure held. They said they could delve deeper with a borescope to check for hairline cracks in the heater core but at great cost. This morning I opened the car door and immediately smelled the sweet smell of radiator fluid with the AC on and then again when I switched to HEAT.

Research points to a recurring theme of cooling issues on this car ranging from cracked heads, bad water pumps, blown head gaskets and leaking/cracked heater cores. Research indicates that the entire dash has to come off to get at a $180 heater core and labor estimates are in the $600-$800 price range.

I’m starting to see a trend with GM cars in that they SUCK! It used to be a GM car was reliable, dependable and worthy of owning. You could trust the car and the parts that were installed. With this global economy BS being shoved down our throats and cheap-assed parts made and being used from China it is no wonder GM cars fall apart! My next course of action is to take the car to a dealership or shop and have them investigate the source of the smell to determine the severity of the problem.