- #301 of 317
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98 gtp fire
by doughboy3
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Jun 15, 2009 (3:43 pm)
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After reading all of your stories, about your engine fires I thought I would chime in. On december 1st 2008 my wife drove to work ten minutes from our house, parked the car and within five minutes a lady came in and said that a car was on fire sure enough it was ours. The fire dept was called and was on the scene in just minutes but the car was totaled. We had recieved a recall notice four days prior and had set up an appointment to have it fixed. We were sick, we loved our car. All we wanted was to get it fixed. After waiting for three months (Mr Brian Swartz) called us back and offered us 900.00 dollars (salvage price) and said we should be grateful that GM even admitted guilt. Furious we dicided to take them to small claims court. We would have taken the blue book value at the begining. But they said no deal and would not even call us back. At the day of court their lawyer asked us what we would settle for we asked for 3000.00 but settled for 2750.00. So in hind sight it can be done if your are patient( p.s. took six months). Hope this helped, and yes we purchased another GTP, Still Love That Car:)
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- #302 of 317
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97 gran prix fire
by mmcginnis
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Jul 03, 2009 (9:52 am)
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I was driving down the road today my 97 gran prix sputtered a little bit and died. When I went to restart the car I noticed smoke coming out from under the hood. As I raised the hood to investigate the engine went up in flames. I immediately called the fire department and they had to come out and put the fire out. When I got home I immediately google this and found out the gran prix had been recalled. I did not know this nor did I receive a notice from any place. The insurance company I have does not really seem that concerned about this since they had it towed to a auto body shop. I tried to explain the engine is destroyed and completely melted. Has anyone had similar problems with 97 gran prix. Who else should I contact. Thanks for any help you can provide.
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- #303 of 317
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Re: 97 gran prix fire [mmcginnis]
by stadlereric
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Jul 28, 2009 (11:54 am)
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Replying to: mmcginnis (Jul 03, 2009 9:52 am)
Today I got to work and 10 minutes later somebody ran over and told me my car was on fire, needless to say I did not believe them. Well it was true my 2002 GTP went up in flames today in parking garage. Fire Dept. came and put the fire out but the car is totaled.
Have there been any lawsuits about this or has anything received anything from GM. Has nyone called GM and received any results?
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- #304 of 317
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Re: 97 gran prix fire [stadlereric]
by grngtp
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Jul 28, 2009 (1:22 pm)
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Replying to: stadlereric (Jul 28, 2009 11:54 am)
Sorry about the fire and totaling the car.
Did you have the recall work done on the valve cover gasket that was part of the safety recall?
Jeff
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- #305 of 317
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Re: 97 gran prix fire [stadlereric]
by cmabry
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Jul 29, 2009 (6:30 am)
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Replying to: stadlereric (Jul 28, 2009 11:54 am)
I talked with GM for about 2 months and they finally decided NOT to cover the "problem". My insurance company did cover the costs and the sued GM. I do not know how it turned out with the lawsuit. (but do not expect anything from GM)
Good luck with it.
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- #306 of 317
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Re: 97 gran prix fire [cmabry]
by juliehaugland
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Jul 29, 2009 (6:38 am)
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Replying to: cmabry (Jul 29, 2009 6:30 am)
My car was totalled due to engine fire in April 2006. My insurance totalled the vehicle less my $500 deductible. After hearing about the recall I contacted GM. They did refund me my $500 deductible that the insurance company took. I suggest calling GM. They are taking care of the problem. They have issued the recall. I have received dozens of notifications from them regarding the recall. If the vehicle is titled in your name, you should be getting recall notices. Bring your vehicle in and have it repaired. If you already suffered a total loss, contact GM. They will take care of you. I would like to add that I had to sign an agreement that I would not take part in any future law suits regarding the issue though. Good luck everyone!
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- #307 of 317
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hey [zacknhs]
by jamison1990
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Aug 04, 2009 (11:09 am)
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Replying to: zacknhs (Jun 10, 2009 2:55 pm)
whats still usable and will u sell it? and if so how much? i got a 1998 grand prix gt 2 door
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- #308 of 317
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timing chain
by grady4
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Sep 09, 2009 (4:55 pm)
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I just purchased a 1998 pontiac grand prix GT 3.8L with 130,000 miles on it. I can't find out if the timing belt or chain has ever been replaced. Will it ruin my engine if it breaks? Has anyone experienced this issue? I would appreciate it if I could get some feedback. Is this something I should replace right away?
Thanks
Chris
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- #309 of 317
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Re: timing chain [grady4]
by tommy231
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Sep 09, 2009 (5:42 pm)
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Replying to: grady4 (Sep 09, 2009 4:55 pm)
You should hear this from several sources besides me before considering it to be fact, but that timing chain and gear set should last well past 200K miles if the oil has been regularly changed (even longer if synthetic oil has been used). If regular oil has been used, be careful changing over to synthetic as it may cause some seal leakage (or maybe not). I'd be more concerned about the transmission if I was you. Regular trans fluid and filter changes (done right) will also be helpful.
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- #310 of 317
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Re: 97 gran prix fire [juliehaugland]
by bradleybones
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Sep 22, 2009 (1:54 pm)
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Replying to: juliehaugland (Jul 29, 2009 6:38 am)
Julie - I would appreciate knowing who you talked to who would even grant you your insurance deductible. My car caught fire on 9/1/09 while I was home from work for 5 minutes to let my dogs out and pick up my cell phone. Came back out to the car, (parked directly under my master bedroom windows in front of the garage and found smoke coming from the hood. I suspected a broken radiator hose, opened the hood and instead of steam, I got flames. I shut the hood, got a bucket of water from the garage quickly and opened the hood and put out the flames. A dealer tells me it's repairable. GM says they won't cover this becuase in Kanass where I live, the Breach of Warranty Statute of Limitations is 4 years from the date of original purchase. I argued that this is not a warranty issue, as it's a SAFETY RECALL issue. They say in Kansas that it doesn't matter. Anyone interested might like to look at the NHTSA's Office of Defect Investigations web site, http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/recallprocess.cfm and check out this document entitled "Motor Vehicle Defects and Safety Recalls: What Every Vehicle Owner Should Know" If you have any names of people you talked to at ESIS/GM Central Claims Unit, please share those. I have already contacted the Kansas Attorney General's office, NBC Action News' Call for Action team and will try whatever I can. In the meantime, unless GM covers this, I will do my part to see that no one I know will ever buy another GM car again. I will say that the dealer I went to was very nice and tried to assist, but GM simply doesn't give a damn about the people their product might kill.
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