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Sedans Pontiac Grand Prix Pontiac Grand Prix Engine fires 3800 series II 1996-2003
317 messages, Last post on Nov 11, 2009 at 3:42 PM
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| So this past tuesday (6-3-08) My 2001 Grand Prix Gt - literally just started on fire maybe 12 minutes after parking it at my work. There were absolutely NO signs to indicate what would happen - there was really nothing wrong with the car- it ran great!! Anywho - I went into work and like I said not even 15 minutes later we were informed that there was a car on fire in the parking lot - after a minute or two i found out it was mine, I ran like a bat outta hell to the outside parking lot and I could see this huge cloud of smoke pouring from the engine. As I got closer you could see the orange flames under the hood, pieces of material were burning/melting off onto the pavement. A co-worker actually came with a fire extinguisher and started spraying it into the cracks of the hood (I think this helped out a little bit - or at least slowed it down for a minute), within minutes of all of this the fire department arrived (they are right down the road from where I work) and started putting the fire out with the hose - after they got it out and had to axe open the hood (the cable by the hood latch was all melted together so you couldn't get it open) - it is just one big mess, everything is all completely melted - A TOTAL LOSS, I have never seen a battery almost completely melted like that before - so ummm, I only have PLPD so I am screwed on the insurance end, so I was gonna call to see if I could at least get money for scrap - I came home & went on the internet & found all of you guys - so I now see a trend and am getting quite upset about this. i don't have the 3.8 supercharger they are recalling (which they admit CAN catch fire) - but obviously it can happen in just the regular 3.8 engines as well - so ihad my car towed back to my house where it is gonna sit while I do a few things - i sent an email to NHTS in detail as to what happened, then I called GM and they set up a 'FILE' with me & said that within 2 days someone from Allegations would get a hold of me. this is my plan, wait till 3pm monday and if I don't receive a phone call I will call them (I have a reference number! lol!) and see where that leads me - but if by wednesday I am still getting the run-around shpeel, I am going to be sending out mass emails to all the news stations (fox investigates) in Detroit & Lansing and try to get something stirring. The way the economy is right now & how GM is having other issues, you'd think they wouldn't want BAD press - it was just an idea I have! My point is they should recall all of the 3.8 engines regardless if they are supercharged or not - because THEY BOTH CAN CATCH ON FIRE- you think that would save them a ton of money in the end. Something should be done, just because I only had PLPD doesn't matter, if it has anything to do with the way the engine was built - thats GM's fault, not mine!!! *I also have pics of when the car was smoking, after they put the fire out & what the inside looks like if anyone may be interested*"> | |
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Replying to: sstarr2484 (Jun 07, 2008 4:14 pm) Thanks, Jeff
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Replying to: sstarr2484 (Jun 07, 2008 4:14 pm) |
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Replying to: grngtp (Jun 07, 2008 5:38 pm) Being that the car was driven primarily by my 17 year old son I decided to carry full coverage on the car, so my insurance company is reimbursing me for the retail value of the car. Which is actually about $1500.00 more than what I paid for it a year ago. But I'll never find one that was in as good shape as this one was. It's still a loss and now my son is looking at different models to replace it with...major hassle. I'd rather have the car back. Here's a link to a video my son took of it burning with his cell phone if anyone is interested. The loud bang right before the end is the tire blowing, which scared the crap out of everyone standing around watching it burn. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uJLMhIrkgU&feature=related |
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Replying to: cartermatt44 (May 07, 2007 5:22 pm) Both the Pontiac and the Buick may suffer an oil leak which can drop onto the exhaust manifold while breaking hard. The problem could get worse if the oil reaches the manifold’s heat shield, this in turn could cause a small flame this could then spread to the spark plug covers, and once that happens it could then turn into an engine fire. |
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Replying to: sstarr2484 (Jun 07, 2008 4:14 pm) As for the cylinder 3 misfires.... thus far I swapped 2 of the coils (top and middle) so I could see if the problem stayed on cylinder 3 or migrated down when the swapped coil. Everything stayed bad on 3 and didn't change. I guess I should mention I have an obd2allinone.com serial tester. So with that, I used a timing light on all wires (which were replaced a year ago along w/ spark plugs). Seemed ok w/ that. Removed the #3 wire at the coil side, sparks like crazy there, seems ok. On the spark plug side on the front of the engine I pulled it and the cover w/ the spring (I am not sure the technical term) off and there was very little if any corrosion, but wire brushed it off and cleaned off the grease on / around it too. So I guess that leads me to where I am now. Engine is still misfiring and with all the above checked would anyone think there could be something w/ the recall repair that affected it? Do you think it's the actual fuel injector itself for the 3rd cylinder? And if so, I am trying right now to look up and figure out which fuel injector is the one for the 3rd cyl. Does anyone have a picture or can you explain where to find the 3rd one? I'm by no means a pro on cars, but my grandpa is a retired mechanic so I've always worked on mine with him, so that's how I was able to do what I've done so far. I really like getting under the hood and dirty plus I am cheap and hate to pay for repairs at all. I appreciate any info some of you pros might be able to help me with! Marianne
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Replying to: basschica (Jun 12, 2008 1:53 pm) I recommend to everyone that has had it done to verify that the area is clean prior to driving. Otherwise you may end up with a pile of ashes where your car once sat.
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Replying to: jettech (Jun 12, 2008 4:15 pm) |
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| Well I worked on the car over the weekend with my grandpa since I was at a point where I needed a few more tools to do the job. I bought a fuel injector where I live since "back home" noone would have one in stock if I needed it. It turned out I did and now my car is running really great. I had over time lost a ton of the horse power and not realized it because the first time I jumped on the highway after I put the new FI in and hit the accelerator at a conservative rate like I normally would, it took off with a ton of boost. Nice! I did clean up the valve cover area a bit more and took a few pics, but I wish I had done so before I initially cleaned it up. Doh... We didn't take the valve cover off to look inside since it would've meant removing a lot more stuff to do so. | |
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Replying to: sstarr2484 (Jun 07, 2008 4:14 pm)  my vehicle and I recieved word this week they were going to include my car in the recall I do not know yet what I will recieve for the vehicle but it was consistant with the recall so try to be patient and keep in touch with them maybe youll come out ok.
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