All 1996 and later GM Cars Trucks - Dexcool -General Motors and ChevronTexaco Sued

[HD-Nate]

Dexcool

General Motors and ChevronTexaco Sued in Class Action

The law firms of Cory Watson Crowder and DeGaris, P.C., Whatley Drake LLC and King Marker Armstrong LLC have filed a class action suit against General Motors, ChevronTexaco, Equilon and ChevronTexaco Global Lubricants alleging defective engine coolant systems in most General Motors vehicles, light trucks and SUVs sold since 1996. That was the year that General Motors made the decision to begin using Dexcool as the antifreeze/coolant in theses vehicles. Dexcool is manufactured, distributed, and marketed by ChevronTexaco, Equilon and ChevronTexaco Global Lubricants.


The suit, ROBIN FLYNN and CHERYL HALL et al. vs. GENERAL MOTORS CORP., et al. filed in Madison County, Illinois seeks to compensate class members for damages to their vehicles. The most commonly reported damages included corroded, rusted and clogged radiators, eroded aluminum cylinder heads, eroded water pumps and thermostat housings, rotten and leaking radiator hoses, leaky heater cores and freeze plugs, corroded radiator caps, deposits within the cooling system, damaged and leaky cooling system gaskets, damage to the head gaskets, chronic overheating, damage to the engine, oil in engine coolant system, leaking coolant, deposits on the overflow tanks and sludge in the engine coolant system.

Dexcool was initially marketed as a long life universal automotive engine coolant that would last for 5 years or 100,000 miles of service. It is now marketed to last for 5 years or 150,000 miles of service. Manufacturers of traditional antifreeze/coolants generally market that their antifreeze/coolants will provide dependable thermal control and corrosion and rust protection for twenty-four (24) months or 30,000 miles. The major difference in Dexcool over traditional coolants is in the corrosion inhibitor protection. Traditional antifreeze/coolants contain inorganic salts of borate, phosphate, silicate and other chemicals to prevent rust and corrosion, whereas, Dexcool

[More Power]

I think it's important that everyone read the following article as well.

http://www.thedieselpage.com/members/features/dexcool.htm

MP

[JRM]

DO you need to to be a member to view? Iv been browsing these forums before the dmax was lanched and i cant get into that link :confused:

[jcummins]

I can't either. ID and password works here...why not on the link???

[Scott Duprey]

This is of concern.

Should we be changing the dexcool out for something else/better?

[HD-Nate]

Here is the address to fill out the form if you have had problems.

http://www.bigclassaction.com/class_action/dexcool.html


PLEASE NOTE, I POSTED THIS FOR INFORMATION ONLY TO FORUM MEMBERS. I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST GM OR DEXCOOL AND HAVE HAD ZERO PROBLEMS WITH EITHER. BUT I KNOW THAT SOME HAVE. DO WITH THE INFORMATION AS YOU WISH

[More Power]

Contact me using the email address below if you are a member and cannot access it.

The article contains information that explains what class of GM vehicles is affected (six-cylinder engines in GM's mid-size pickups and SUV's), and it contains a dialog I had with a national radiator service organization regarding Dex-Cool and cooling system corrosion in GM vehicles.

This has not been a problem 6.5 or Duramax owners need to be concerned about. But then, we report - you decide.

MP

[ 12-10-2003, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: More Power ]

[Heartbeat Hauler]

But then, we report - you decide. Fox News....Thank God.

[RocketsDmax]

In my experence, The real problem is all this long life hoop-La, and no maint. sales gimicks. The dexcool deal is only good in an "Ideal" environment, The reaL world is the farthest thing from an "Ideal environment". People need to stay on top of the goings on with there vehicles, Find a service guy you trust and get your vehicle looked at on a regular basis, Not a jiffy lube oil jocky, But some one you can talk to whos not wet behind the ears. You should also know that on some of GM's new vehicles the coolant is red but not dex-cool, Its glycol based. :confused: What the F are they thinking, We are being advised on those vehicles when flushing and refilling to use Green (old style )coolant. I advise all my 4.3 eng customers to switch to Green coolant and service every year before summer. A simple coolant flush is much cheeper than most cooling system repairs! As for GM's V-8 line, They for some strange reason have side stepped the dex-cool problem with only a few exceptions. I find this interesting because the 4.3 and 5.7 vortec engines have all the same cooling system components, and share the common intake gasket failure, In as little as 10 to 12 thousand miles. My 96 6.5 Sub has had dex cool from the start and shows no signs of cooling system problems what so ever! But i change it every 2 years. MY 97 S-10 4.3 gets nothing but the green every year. Service your vehicles people thats the bottom line. I know every one on this board pays no attention to the factory oil change intervals on the Dura-max. Who here would go 10,000 miles :eek: on a conventional oil change!LOLOLOLOL Thanks for the time gentleman!

[bob]

had the dex-cool problem with my wifes 98 gmc jimmy.trip to the dealer for a new heater core.one year and 11000 miles later trip back to dealer for another pluged heater core(thank god for extened warranty).that vehicle ha d a lot of other problems so i fixed it by buying a ford explorer.problem for me solved!

[JRM]

I flushed the Dex-cool from our Z71 after i noticed all rubber hoses getting real spongy and tons of sludge (and i changed the coolant every 30K)
I searched for another silicate free coolant and found that our 2002's civic uses sillicate free coolant that is green as honda has always advised agenst useing normal auto coolant in there motercycles and now cars for years to avoid water pump cavation. i used it in our Z71 with no problems yet :rolleyes: knock on wood

[David Utz]

I had to take my 96 Tahoe in this morning for a leak. The estimate came back at ~$950.00. They will pull the intake to replace the connectors that have disintegrated, replace the water pump and thermostat, flush the cooling system and change the oil. Also will be using a new gasket under the intake that GM just put out. I hope it stays sealed better than the old one. This is the second time it's been replaced and resealed in 71,000 miles.

[RocketsDmax]

Pull the intake to replace what connectors? New intake gasket, Well if Illinois GM dealers have new intake gaskets for the vortec engines, send some to California cause I havent heard of GM making new gaskets for the V8 or V6(4.3) Just for the 3.1 and 3.4 V6 engines, who knows why?! Dont put the dex back in and just service every year with the green stuff and she'll treat you good, after that the intake gaskets will be your weakest link, and dont let them reinstall the same old style quick connector back in the intake manifold, Have them install the coolant nipple from a 98 or 99 G van with a 5.7 vortec engine and a new section of heater hose and screw clamps and that will never cause you problems again! Take it easy.


Rocket

[mark45678]

DEXCOOL is JUNK it must be changed ever 3 years or you will cost your self A LOT of money! I have seen MANY cases of older cars 96+ with very bad problems cause be poor care! head gaskets, intake gaskets, intakes ,rusty blocks! And the show stopper is when someone full up the over flow with the green stuff! orange pudding any one!

[rjschoolcraft]

Well, the Dexcool in my Suburban went to over 100,000 miles with no problems. I did the cooling upgrades last summer, or it would still be running that coolant. The inside of the radiator and water pump looked like new... I mean brand, spanking new! "Dexcool is junk"... I think not :rolleyes: . I don't know what people are doing to cause those problems, but my engine gets Dexcool! :cool:

[More Power]

We took a look inside the radiator of our 6.5TD Power Project truck, that has been on the road for nearly five years and has covered more than 130,000 miles.

We filled the cooling system with a 50/50 solution of Dex/Distilled water in January of 1999. Just yesterday, I could still see halfway down inside the radiator - looking through the coolant. The radiator core tubes and transmission cooling coil still look like new.

http://www.thedieselpage.com/members/features/dexcool.htm

The above article includes NARSA's (National Radiator Service Association) answers to my direct questions about cooling system corrosion and continued use of Dex in 6.5/Duramax equipped vehicles.

The Diesel Page and NARSA both recommend using Dex-Cool in all 1996 and newer 6.5 and Duramax equipped vehicles.

MP

[turbovair]

The FIRST time I changed my orange coolant was @ 86,000. I pulled the radiator, flushed it and looked carefully into the hose opening and saw absolutely no corrosion. The tubes looked like they were new.When I upgraded my coooling system later, I put orange back in. Dexcool in a 6.5 doesnt seem to be a problem.

[David Utz]

Picked the Tahoe up hast night. $574.18 for labor and $338.64 for parts for a total of $912.82. The problem with this vehicle has always been keeping the intake manifold sealed. It has leaked oil and/or Dexcool most of it