GM settles DEX-COOL (aka Dex-goo) class action lawsuit

[Pablo]

I just found out that GM settled a class action lawsuit for the use of Dex-cool in a multitude of cars from 95 to '04.

I just went through (about a year ago) a MASSIVE repair of my daily driver 98 olds intrigue because this orange SH*t completely sludged over the cooling system, blew the TB to upper intake manifold gasket, and proceeded to consume coolant which ended up eating up my valve seats. I found this all too late since my mother was driving the car for the first 100k miles. I had to replace or repair everything from the shortblock up, water pump aswell. I'm still flushing brown crap out of my radiator to this day three flushes later (its almost all gone though)

They say they are paying between 50 and 800 dollars worth of repairs outside of warranty on cars that were repaired with less than 150,000 miles and repairs done within the first 7 years of original ownership. Bastards Screwed me on that one because I repaired the car at about 104k at the 9 year mark but the problem was there well before it.

Anyway just wanted to give you guys a heads up, the website is Dex Cool Litigation Website

and don't ever use this crap! It will turn to sludge and ruin your cooling system. Whoever came up with this obviously skipped out on a huge portion of R&D. From what I've read, if the system has any air exposure, sludge forms which is why cars like my intrigue were doomed to start with. The overflow tank is not pressurized.

 

[Rodney87GN]

Dex cool is total garbage, I don't care what anyone says. I ended up replacing the entire cooling system in my 95 Z28 because of the brown sludge it turns into. Everything from the heater core to the water pump and most of the hoses was changed out. I flushed out as much as I could but I know some of the brown crap is still there, probably from the block itself.

My 98 Tahoe faired much better. I flushed it out in the early stages so no major parts were replaced.

Funny how I never had any problems like this with the good ol' green stuff.:wink:

 

[klrv6]

My 1995 S10 had it in there. I took it to the dealer so many times because of grit and chunks in the overflow tank. They said because I lowered it, it was sucking up dirt from the ground and it may void the warranty on the entire engine. I worked there so they were pretty cool about it. As time went on there were more and more other trucks showing up with the same problem. I drove it in one day and they did a complete flush on it and put the green stuff in. I was more of a trim guy so I didn't get to or have to work on the thing.

I will say that my suburban has been running has had the havoline extended life in it for almost seven years now with no problems.

 

[57loboy]

They said because I lowered it, it was sucking up dirt from the ground and it may void the warranty on the entire engine.

That is just about the funniest thing I have ever heard!

 

["Turbo-T"]

I recall my 95 Cavalier that I bought used from a police DWI auction...I guess it had Dex Clog in it. When I got it, the coolant in the puke bottle looked like mud.

When I went to drain it out, it looked like rust water. I actually had thought the car came originally with the green stuff. When did they start using this crap anyways?

After a good flush I put in the green stuff. never had anymore problems...until a few months later when i found green anti freeze in the oil. Turns out the aluminum head cracked on it allowing coolant into the oil pan.

 

[jwillettgn]

Dex-Kill eat up the intake gasket on my 96 Suburban and I had to pay to have it replaced. I was working out of country and the wife needed it so the dealership did it. After we got it back we then had an oil leak at the rear of the intake so I made them do it again.

Jim

 

[Joe Kelsch]

So far so good with my 99 Regal GS with 120,000 miles, but the brown floaties are there. I really need to flush and put the green stuff in this car. I've heard though that Dex-cool and the green stuff react with one another. I've also heard that when converting from Dex-cool that you should use some yellow stuff instead of the green since it can work with either.

 

[SloGN]

no guys it was designed like that for a reason. Water pumps and other cooling sytem parts are just lasting too damn long. so they came up with another way to make us spend some more money!

 

[BlackMetal]

Okay sorry to bump this thread, but just replaced a dead battery on my sisters Olds Aurora today and noticed the overflow tank filling with brown pudding.

So, this class action suit covers people who ALREADY paid for repairs. What about a car that hasn't been addressed yet? Is GM flushing the coolant for free? Sure I could handle it myself but then I'm burdened with disposing of the Dex properly, and (like someone mentioned above) I've heard of other coolants reacting badly with Dex, so I wouldn't want to risk it. So if she takes it in will they replace it free?

Appreciate any info. It would be nice to catch this before the cooling system starts failing.

 

[turbofish38]

Read the link. Well maybe it's not all on that lawyers site. IIRC this lawsuit only covers the 3.1/3.4 V-6 cars. Technically it's not a Dexcool lawsuit. It's a bad intake gasket lawsuit. Here's another thread. GM To Pay Up In Dexcool Repair Cases - TurboBuicks.com

 

[esinger]

I had a 2000 Grand AM GT with the 3.4 V6 that the intake gasket had to be replaced about 4 years ago. Seems like I could claim for the $400, but there's only one problem. It asks for a proof of payment and this repair was done under an extended warranty I purchased with the car and not directly out of my pocket. The extended warranty was not free with the car, so it seems in a way I should get something, but it probably would not pan out that way.