2001 Malibu Coolant leak

I wanted to let everyone know about my experience with the dreaded intake gasket problem that plagues the Malibus (it is also a problem with S-10's, but that is for another forum!).

About 3 months ago, I started seeing coolant leaking out of the right front part of the engine and started to have to refill the coolant on a regular basis. I recognized this right away as a bad intake gasket and got the car into my dealer to take a look. The car has 68,xxx miles on it and is way out of warranty, so I knew this was going to be a VERY expensive fix.

I dropped the car off and told the Service Manager the problem. She immediately told me that this is a problem they were aware of on Malibus and that she would call GM to see if they would help with the cost of the repair. She called GM and, much to my surprise, GM agreed to cover the whole cost of the repair, minus a $200 deductible.

When I picked the car up, I asked what the total bill was that GM was going to pay and they told me $980. I feel pretty fortunate to get a $780 discount on this repair. Because of the coolant leaking into the engine they also replaced the water pump and oil pump, as well as flush and fill the cooling system and changed the oil.

I know GM has not been very good to their customers in regards to this problem, but the dealer was very forthcoming in telling me that they knew about the problem and would work with me to get it fixed.

Hopefully this will help somebody else that is in the same boat I was in and maybe, just maybe if enough dealerships complain, GM will finally issue a recall on this.

Scott , thats good to know. My 2000 LS has 57,000 miles and I just recently got a low coolant warning light. I also smell anti-freeze after I shut off the engine.

The car also began using a qrt of oil a month last summer. After reading this board I'm becoming concerned that the two are related.

I'm going to a GM dealer Monday morning and hoping for the best, it sounds like I've got an expensive repair.

Another question for anyone reading this. I've always wondered about this, does it really matter if you take your car back to the dealership where it was purchased? I have a GM dealer much closer to my house than where the car was purchased. Is there any benefit to going to where it was purchased?

Another question for anyone reading this. I've always wondered about this, does it really matter if you take your car back to the dealership where it was purchased? I have a GM dealer much closer to my house than where the car was purchased. Is there any benefit to going to where it was purchased?

Any GM dealer can do the repair...the question is..have you been loyal to the dealer?
If you purchased your vehicle and had it serviced at one dealer they may be able to help you in gaining some factory assistance (if they have met the GM requirements for training and CSI)
Now..many dealers are authorized to do "cross-line" warranty repairs..this means they can do warranty repairs on Buicks if they are a Chevy dealer..
The dealer I work for is authorized to do such and also has the ability to authorize warranty claims beyond the factory warranty period. :smile:

Merlin, we have taken the car to the dealer where it was purchased for all repairs except replacement of brake pads. And actually, we've had few problems with the car and none of them were major.

Its just about a 25 minute drive though and we have a Chevy dealer not 5 minutes away.

I thought maybe our purchase dealer would be more inclined to help with the out of warranty repair however.

Sounds like you found a dealer to stick with. When our new Blazer started leaking internally, coolant into the engine, our selling dealer said "no problem found" and told us to take it to our local dealer. Really. Our local dealer took it in, kept it two days and their fix was to put stop leak in the radiator. Really. I'm not one to complain about squeeks and rattles, and had the Blazer serviced at the dealer since new. Now I'm waiting for the warranty to expire so I can get this fixed right, but it sure won't go back to these dealers. GM won this battle but they lost the war, our last new GM vehicle, and we've been buying new every three or four years. Still in shock on this deal.

Tom3, get the district rep. # from your dealer service manager... tell them you are going to call about the stop leak in the radiator, as temp fix, instead of the correct repair. tell the district rep. that you have been a loyal chevrolet owner for tears and if this can't be handled in a timely manner it will be your last chev. I'm sure he or she will make sure you are satisfied....Hope this helps, Later Mark.