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2001 BUICK LESABRE — ENGINE

fire · 1331713 · 2016-11-04

Vehicle

Make
BUICK
Model
LESABRE
Year
2001
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
ENGINE
Miles at failure
144,000

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THERE WAS AN OIL SMELL WHILE MY CAR WAS RUNNING AND THE PASSENGER SIDE OF THE DEFROST STOPPED WORKING. I TOOK THE VEHICLE INTO MY MECHANIC. MY MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF OIL LEAKING ONTO THE ENGINE AND IT WAS NOT SAFE TO DRIVE IT UNTIL THIS LEAK WAS FIXED. I LEFT THE CAR AT HIS SHOP WHILE THE PARTS WERE ORDERED. I LEARNED OF THE GM RECALL OF THE 3800 SERIES ENGINE (OIL SEEPING THROUGH VALVE COVER GASKETS AND CAUSING ENGINE FIRES) AND ASKED MY MECHANIC IF THIS WAS THE SAME OIL LEAKING PROBLEM AND WHY WASN'T THE MODEL, THE 2001 BUICK LESABRE, PUT ON THE RECALL LIST BECAUSE IT HAS THE 3800 SERIES ENGINE IN IT. HE DID NOT KNOW, SO I CALLED GM AND ASK WHY THIS MODEL WASN'T LISTED IN THE RECALL. THE GM SUPPORT STAFF SEARCHED MY VIN NUMBER AND SAID THAT THIS MODEL IS NOT COVERED UNDER THE RECALL. I DECIDED TO CONTINUE WITH THE REPAIR OF THE OIL LEAK, AND MY MECHANIC ORDERED NEW VALVE COVER AND GASKET PARTS. MY MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT THE PARTS WERE ON BACK ORDER DUE TO THE RECALL AND THERE WOULD BE A WAITING PERIOD. AFTER A FEW WEEKS MY MECHANIC CALLED AND SAID THAT THE PARTS WERE IN AND THAT HE WOULD START THE WORK THE NEXT DAY. THE FOLLOWING DAY I RECEIVED A CALL FROM MY MECHANIC THAT AS THEY STARTED THE CAR TO MOVE IT FROM PARKING LOT INTO THE WORK BAY THERE WAS A LOUD POP AND SMOKE CAME OUT FROM UNDER THE HOOD. THEY LIFTED THE HOOD, THE ENGINE WAS ON FIRE SO THEY EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE WITH FIRE SUPPRESSION IMMEDIATELY AND NOTIFIED ME. I CALLED THE GM S

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10924380
Machine
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