1999 Oldsmobile Alero

I OWN A 1999 OLDSMOBILE ALERO WITH A 3.4L ENGINE. AT A COST OF $652.01, ON 28-OCTOBER-2003 I HAD SERVICE PERFORMED ON MY VEHICLE BECAUSE I WAS LOOSING COOLANT AT REGULAR INTERVALS AND IT WAS NOT LEAKING ONTO THE GROUND. THE SEVERE CAUSE FOR CONCERN WAS AFTER I HAD REFILLED MY COOLANT RESERVOIR, DROVE APPROXIMATELY 3 MILES, AND ALL OF THE COOLANT WAS GONE. THE TEMPERATURE GUAGE SHOT UP TO THE RED ZONE, AND I PULLED OVER IMMEDIATELY. I HAD THE CAR TOWED TO THE DEALER AND THEY INDICATED THAT THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM FOR VEHICLES WITH THIS ENGINE. THEY REPLACED THE INTAKE GASKET AND I WAS ON MY WAY. A FEW WEEKS LATER I NOTICED THE COOLANT LEVEL WAS LOW AGAIN, AND I HAD TO ADD MORE COOLANT. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO THE DEALERSHIP ON 25-NOVEMBER-2003. THEY CHECKED THE CAR AND SAID THEY COULD FIND NO LEAKS. I CONTINUED TO DRIVE THE CAR. CONSISTENTLY, EVERY 2 WEEKS, I WAS REFILLING THE COOLANT RESEVOIR. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING UNTIL RECENTLY (FEBRUARY 2004). IN LATE FEBRUARY 2004 I STARTED LOSING COOLANT AT A MUCH FASTER RATE, ABOUT 3 DAY INTERVALS. ON 2-MARCH-2004 MY CAR DID NOT START THE FIRST 2 TIMES I TRIED, ON THE THIRD IT CAUGHT. I DECIDED TO INSPECT THE OIL, USING THE DIP STICK, AND FOUND THAT THE OIL WAS A THICK GOO. THIS PROMPTED ME TO CALL GM AND THE DEALERSHIP TO IDENTIFY MY OPTIONS FOR HAVING THIS PROBLEM RESOLVED. I AM FRUSTRATED, AGGREVATED, ANNOYED, AMONG OTHER THINGS, AND I FEAR THAT HAD THIS GONE UNDETECTED, THE OIL WOULD HAVE GOTTEN TO A STATE WHERE IT WOULD NOT HAVE ALLOWED THE ENGINE TO FUNCTION, PERHAPS LEADING TO AN ACCIDENT. NOT ONLY DO I FEAR FOR MY SAFETY, BUT I AM CONCERNED THAT HAVING A SEVERE PROBLEM LIKE THIS "FIXED" ONLY TO FIND THAT IT HAPPENS AGAIN WILL ONLY LEAD TO THE SAMETHING HAPPENING YET ANOTHER TIME. HOW MANY TIMES WILL I HAVE TO HAVE THIS PROBLEM FIXED? IS THIS A RECURRING SAFETY CONCERN?

TURN SIGNALS DO NOT ALWAYS FLASH OR CONTINUE TO FLASH WHEN ACTIVATED! I BROUGHT THIS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE OLDSMOBILE DEALER DURING THE FIRST YEAR (1999) THAT I HAD THE VEHICLE. THE DEALER SUPPOSEDLY FIXED THE PROBLEM. HOWEVER, DURING THE PAST YEAR, THE PROBLEM HAS RESURFACED. THE FLASHER IS SEALED UNDER THE DASH AND IS NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE AS IN MOST VEHICLES WHERE THE TURN SIGNAL FLASHER UNIT CAN BE REPLACED OFF THE SHELF AT ANY LOCAL AUTO PARTS STORE. TODAY, I WAS ENTERING A FREEWAY WHEN THE FLASHERS STOPPED FLASHING. THEY CONTINUED TO FLASH WHEN I PUSHED AND RELEASED THE HAZARD SIGNAL BUTTON. THIS PROBLEM CAUSES A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE THE TURN SIGNALS ARE NOT RELIABLE AND NOT EASILY ACCESSIBLE WITHOUT REMOVING PART OF THE DASHBOARD.*AK

ENGINE: 3.4L V6. THE MANIFOLD GASKET AND WATER PUMP FAILED AT APPROXIMATELY 40,000 MILES. THE DEALER PICKED UP THE COST OF THE PARTS UNDER THEIR "GOODWILL" POLICY, BUT OUT OF POCKET COST TO ME WAS STILL OVER $800. THE MANIFOLD GASKET ON MY 2002 BUICK RENDEZVOUS, VIN [XXX] ALSO FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 18,000 MILES. THIS WAS DONE UNDER WARRANTY AT NO COST TO ME. THIS WAS ALSO THE 3.4L V6 ENGINE. IT IS OBVIOUS THIS IS A PROBLEM GM HAS KNOWN ABOUT FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND HAVE NOT TAKEN CORRECTIVE ACTION IN A TIMELY MANNER. AN EXTENSION OF THE WARRANTY ON THIS ENGINE IS CERTAINLY CALLED FOR. I HAVE ADVISED MANY FRIENDS TO AVOID PURCHASING A GM CAR WITH EITHER THE 3.1L OR 3.4L ENGINE. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR