Dex-Cool Customers Losing Their Cool

Houston, TXA disgruntled Malibu owner from Albany, New York was not pleased that she had to replace the intake manifold on her GM vehicle after only 47,000 miles. Grace drives a Malibu, but she couldn't drive it for the time it was in the shop having a repair that cost her $683 out of pocket after the factory-installed Dex-Cool antifreeze destroyed the manifold gasket.

Sandra, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, encountered the same problem with her 2001 Malibu. She purchased the car used in December 2007 and writes that she has been facing repair bills ever since.

Such is the case with GM products manufactured over a ten-year period starting in the mid-1990s and equipped with factory-installed Dex-Cool coolant, an orange-colored anti-freeze that was warranted by GM to be maintenance free and ward against corrosion for a period of five years or 150,000 miles (whichever came first—100,000 miles for 1996 vehicles).

The reality has been anything but.

Tim, of Noblesville, Indiana needed to replace both his head gasket, and manifold gasket on a GM vehicle he bought new for $23,000. That price suggests a reasonably high-end model. And yet, with parts and labor they were faced with a $2,000 repair bill after the Dex-Cool anti-freeze corroded their engine from the inside, and the gaskets failed.

The stories keep coming. William of Lodi, Ohio had a 1999 Chevy Venture develop leaks in the engine after gaskets failed at the behest of Dex-Cool coolant. Replacement of the intake gasket, and the water pump cost him $800. After that, he decided to cut his losses and get into a newer model, purchasing a 2003 Chevy Venture from a Chevrolet dealership.

Two weeks after starting to drive the 2003, he discovered that the heater didn't work. A mechanic inspected the car and saw that the intake gasket had failed, and the newer car needed $700 in repairs.

Brian, of Caldwell, Indiana owns a 1998 Olds Cutlass that used to have the Dex-Cool anti-freeze. He doesn't now. Even though the high-end car had only 68,000 miles on the odometer, Brian's repair bill was $1000.

But he doesn't have the orange stuff anymore. He went with the 'reliable' green stuff.

Although details are currently being worked out, a Dex-Cool Class Action lawsuit has been certified in the state of Missouri but will have jurisdiction throughout the United States. Potential participants who choose to opt in would at the least be re-imbursed for out-of-pocket repairs, provided certain criteria are met.

Scott, a military man from Houston, Texas suggests a more important issue than the cost. An army mechanic, he spends months at a time deployed away from his family. While diligent about repairs to his vehicles when he is home, that responsibility falls to his wife when he is deployed, often in active combat zones. The stress of that deployment, and the potential risks provide enough stress, without the added worry of transportation issues that may crop up when Scott is away, and so far from home.

It was for that reason that the family sold a less-than-reliable vehicle, and switched to a 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette. However, the Olds has proven equally unreliable, due to the Dex-Cool antifreeze, which corroded the intake gasket. The repair was made, and the enlisted husband and father is hoping there was no damage done to the head gasket, heads or engine block.

He notes, quite correctly, that an engine seizure in city traffic could be very dangerous, potentially causing serious injuries and even death. He is about to deploy again, leaving his wife and four children to drive the Oldsmobile, still equipped with Dex-Cool.