Wife Just Got a Check for Class Action DexCool Litigation

PDJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Location
Northern Virginia
TDI
'04 Jetta GLS TDI Pumpe Duce Platinum Grey w/ Leather
About three or four years ago I found out that there was a class action lawsuite against GM for the problem with their 3.1 and 3.8 liter engines (lower intake manifold gasket leaks and sludge build-up in the cooling system) that their Dexcool caused. So, I put in a claim for her '01 Buick Century (her car before we got married) for the parts cost for me to replace the lower intake manifold gaskets. It was about $350 (the gasket set was expensive). Did not hear anything else about it, then GM went belly up and I thought that was it. Well today a check was in our mailbox from the Dexcool Settlement Fund with my wife's name on it. The check was for a whopping $20.77. The short letter stated through the litigants' valiant efforts, they were able to keep the class action open through GM's bankruptcy procedings and the check represented my wife's share of the compensation from the available funds. Not a lot of green, but I thought it was amazing she got anything.

--Nate
 
Last edited:

dieseldorf

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Oct 11, 2000
Location
MA
TDI
ex- 1996 wagon, ex-2000 Jetta
(I wonder what the attorney's got for their part..:confused:)
The attorneys keep nearly all - - that's why this class action suit is such a growing, healthy biz in the USA :rolleyes: and the people who have been affected don't end up with enough to buy a ham sandwich. It's a bad joke.
 

PDJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Location
Northern Virginia
TDI
'04 Jetta GLS TDI Pumpe Duce Platinum Grey w/ Leather
I just wonder what the poor folks got that paid a shop for lower intake manifold gasket replacement on the GM 3.1/3.8 engines? It's a $1,200 job.

--Nate
 

corvettecrazy

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Location
Boston, MA
TDI
2010 Jetta TDI manual
Having done multiple LIM gaskets on 3.1's, 350 is really expensive for just parts.

Ironically, many of the failures of the 3.8 was not the LIM but UIM itself would deteriorate and crack around the EGR stove pipe.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
That used to be a good cash cow for our shop. Many of those cars no longer come in here now. There was a time when pretty much every single day, at some point, in some bay, a tech was resealing a GM 60 degree V6 intake. The 90 degree V6 often needed a NEW intake (plastic) as they would be warped so bad.

The new thing now is the 3.6L V6 water pumps. Those things cannot seem to make it much past 50k miles.

Still, the cars coming through here have seen GM dwindle quite dramatically in recent years. Foreign brands have really started to dominate here, when I think back to the early '90s it is quite amazing how much it has changed. Back then, ChryCo minivans were all over here, now we easily service more Odysseys and Siennas than we do Caravans. In fact, in the shop currently we have a Sienna, an Eclipse, a Maxima, a Spectra, a Prius, an Accord, a Passat, and another Sienna. Only 'American' car here right now is an Explorer that has pretty much been abandoned here with a dead trans, sitting out back collecting dust.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Oh, just realized we have another Ford out back with a dead trans, but that one is actually getting replaced. E250.
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Still, the cars coming through here have seen GM dwindle quite dramatically in recent years. Foreign brands have really started to dominate here, when I think back to the early '90s it is quite amazing how much it has changed. Back then, ChryCo minivans were all over here, now we easily service more Odysseys and Siennas than we do Caravans. In fact, in the shop currently we have a Sienna, an Eclipse, a Maxima, a Spectra, a Prius, an Accord, a Passat, and another Sienna. Only 'American' car here right now is an Explorer that has pretty much been abandoned here with a dead trans, sitting out back collecting dust.
Putting things in perspective, rather than just knock U.S. branded cars, the above just goes to show how the world is becoming a global marketplace, and not just for autos. Note that Ford and GM make and sell lots of cars in other countries, although with more diesel engines, and on different platforms.

In our business line, we see lots of foreign buyers for oil, gas and energy assets coming here. Currently, we are working with an Italian firm buying land to build a chemical plant and I recently finished a multi-billion dollar acquisition for a Korean company buying part of a oil & gas production company.
 

CmdrData

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2000
Location
North of 401, where the snow double/triple up!
TDI
2001 Golf - used to
That used to be a good cash cow for our shop. Many of those cars no longer come in here now. There was a time when pretty much every single day, at some point, in some bay, a tech was resealing a GM 60 degree V6 intake. The 90 degree V6 often needed a NEW intake (plastic) as they would be warped so bad.

The new thing now is the 3.6L V6 water pumps. Those things cannot seem to make it much past 50k miles.

Still, the cars coming through here have seen GM dwindle quite dramatically in recent years. Foreign brands have really started to dominate here, when I think back to the early '90s it is quite amazing how much it has changed. Back then, ChryCo minivans were all over here, now we easily service more Odysseys and Siennas than we do Caravans. In fact, in the shop currently we have a Sienna, an Eclipse, a Maxima, a Spectra, a Prius, an Accord, a Passat, and another Sienna. Only 'American' car here right now is an Explorer that has pretty much been abandoned here with a dead trans, sitting out back collecting dust.
So does that mean domestic are more reliable nowadays compare to before OR foreign cars are just as crappy as domestic?! :rolleyes::D
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
So does that mean domestic are more reliable nowadays compare to before OR foreign cars are just as crappy as domestic?! :rolleyes::D

Not sure what that means, but I assume if you ask that you are under the assumption that auto techs only work on 'broken' cars...which is a myth that refuses to die, sadly.

All I meant with the latter part of my statement was that the brands of the cars on the road around my area have shifted.

However, to answer your question: probably some of both. Toyota and Honda have gone south, it started in the '90s, and has come more to public attention in recent years with Toyota's now public admission of quality control slippage in favor of increased sales. The Local 3 have gotten so beat up, stepped on, and changed completely so much recently it is almost laughable, if it was not so serious. ChryCo is just a complete trainwreck in so many ways, and it is not just something that can rest on the quality of the cars themselves... much deeper than that.
 
Last edited:

MrMopar

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2003
Location
Bloomington, IL
TDI
none
There was a time when pretty much every single day, at some point, in some bay, a tech was resealing a GM 60 degree V6 intake.
Just a guess: prior to that it was a steady trickle of Chrysler vehicles getting valve jobs done on those POS 3.0 Mitsubishi V-6 engines? :D

Ah, fun times in the domestic automobile repair business . . .
 

CmdrData

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2000
Location
North of 401, where the snow double/triple up!
TDI
2001 Golf - used to
No, I wasn't trying to poke fun at anyone or car company. My impression is that you're a full time auto mechanic and have worked on lots of cars in the past. With what you said above, just wondering has the market share changed or domestic has really changed for the good, that's all.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Oh, yeah, well both I guess. We have lots of long-time customers (decades) that used to own exclusively [insert your American brand-loyal name here] and now drive something else, mostly Toyota or Honda.
 

vwa1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Location
SW Iowa
TDI
1982 Rabbit Turbo Diesel. I think it counts! Please don't banish me to the Vortex!
$1200? Boy, I am under-charging. Most at my shop are out the door for around $6-700 after parts and labor. Also, the aftermarket has solved these problems for the most part. Fel Pro makes improved lower intake gaskets for 3.1, 3.4, 3800, 4.3, 5.7 etc... Dorman makes an improved upper intake plenum. The funny thing is that it's called the DexCool Setlement, when it should really be called the "Poorly designed lower intake manifold gasket settlement." If they had stuck to green antifreeze most of those gaskets would have failed anyway. Oh, and from what I've read, Ford is now switching to OAT (similar type to DexCool) globally. Good article here in Motor magazine http://www.motor.com/article.asp?article_ID=1655
 

PDJetta

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 6, 2003
Location
Northern Virginia
TDI
'04 Jetta GLS TDI Pumpe Duce Platinum Grey w/ Leather
"$1200? Boy, I am under-charging".

Yes, I got a couple of quotes. I live in an area where everything is expensive. The VW dealer labor rate is up to $110 an hour now. They charge $1800 for a timing belt change with the other parts that need changing (you have to ask for this, as they do not stock the engine mount bolts) and about the same for a clutch replacement! Welcome to Northern Virginia!

--Nate
 

vwa1

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Location
SW Iowa
TDI
1982 Rabbit Turbo Diesel. I think it counts! Please don't banish me to the Vortex!
I wish I could get away with that. Local GM dealership was at $90/hr last I checked, with most independents running 65-75. Since I am in a town with only 800 people I've been at $50/hr for the last couple years and am doing pretty well. Really should have bumped up the price this year, but I wasn't hurting. Going to probably $55 or $60 next year though.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
We are $99/hr here (independant). Funny how things vary so much. If you go outside the STL area it drops some, maybe as low as $70/hr for some smaller shops.
 

Power_Not_Speed

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2008
Location
Nicaragua
TDI
2006 Jetta
That's been going on for a couple generations before you, since the days of 19.9 cent gas and $29.95 Earl Scheib paint jobs.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Are you guys fooling anyone by not just saying $100/hr? Economist and Marketing student inside me wants to know the reason for the psychological price point.
Well, it seems to work. While lots of other shops have folded up, we are still kicking over 20 years now... we just hired another tech, too! :)
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Well, it seems to work. While lots of other shops have folded up, we are still kicking over 20 years now... we just hired another tech, too! :)
That's some longevity to be proud of in the repair business. There are several reasons repair shops fold up, but the quickest way out is getting a bad reputation for shoddy work and dubious ethics. I have seen shops close around here and it ain't from their shop billing rate. Local shops are just that: local. Reputation is everything.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Funny thing is, many of our customers are not really 'local'. They come from all over the place. One guy makes a trip from Indiana every 10k miles :eek: (not kidding!).
 

aja8888

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 25, 2007
Location
Texas..RETIRED 12/31/17
TDI
Out of TDI's
Funny thing is, many of our customers are not really 'local'. They come from all over the place. One guy makes a trip from Indiana every 10k miles :eek: (not kidding!).
Reputation goes a long way (even in miles). Last time I was in Ft. Worth at Steve Glover's shop for a timing belt job (250 mile drive for me - one way), there was a fellow in his shop having his car worked on from Louisiana (Baton Rouge). That's a good 8 hour drive!
 

MrMopar

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Mar 1, 2003
Location
Bloomington, IL
TDI
none
That's been going on for a couple generations before you, since the days of 19.9 cent gas and $29.95 Earl Scheib paint jobs.
Yes, I mean I know in theory why there are constantly prices adjusted down by 0.1 or 0.01 units. I'm just honestly at a loss as to why? The Rainman inside of me knows that there is NEVER anyone who doesn't look at a $29.99 price tag and think $30 mentally added to their tally.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Maybe if you knew why that 'economist and marketing student' inside you would be getting better grades and getting further ahead in life. ;)

Keep studying, maybe you'll find your answer. I don't know what it is, but I am not going to school for that stuff, either. :)
 
Top