Faults:

Everything. I replaced everything. This is the worst motor that was ever created.

- Intake manifold gasket

- Timing chain

- Starter

- Alternator

- Rear plugs filled with water and fouled out

- Gas lines

- Gas tank brackets

- Fuel pump

- Some O ring on the back of the motor leaked

- MAF sensor

General Comments:

Bad buy. Skip the "performance" model and get the 3.1 in the regular Lumina. I had to borrow my dad's Cutlass with the 3.1 while this thing was worked on multiple times, and I didn't lose that much power.

I was stalled and left for dead everywhere I went. I never drove it out of a 30 minute range of my house, and never felt like it would start again. I put more money into fixing it then I did to buy it.

Got a great "deal" from the dealership that my dad worked at. It looked great (he was a body-man not mechanic, dang it!) and was quick for it's size. It had very aggressive and intimidating styling, but it was a heavy vehicle and very unreliable.

The motor had to be loosened off of the motor mounts and rocked forward just to change the spark plugs. Not cheap. Like I said, save it and get the more reliable 3.1 motor instead.

Faults:

Exhaust system rusted around 120,000 miles.

Oil pressure sensor blew out at 160,000 miles.

Keep getting an ignition short.

On 3rd alternator.

Main belt wore out soon after getting the car (just wear and tear).

General Comments:

Great horsepower and torque.

Great car for tweaking with engine and exhaust upgrades.

Nice throttle sound with a performance "fart can" on it.

Getting an electric turbo system, which I calculated to give me 25 to 30 more horse power, making my Lumina about 300 horsepower with the cold air intake and performance exhaust.

Great handling

Great street racing car (beat a Subaru STi, fox body Mustang, Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunfire, and a Mazda RX-7)

Great car overall. Still needs a little work here and there; just normal maintenance.

Faults:

Turn signal

Radiator

Coil Pack (3 times)

Oil leaks.

General Comments:

This car has awesome power!

Believe it or not, I get between 32 to 35 mpg on the interstate going 70 mph. For some reason though, if I drive on a highway going 55 mph, I only get about 28 mpg. I have added a racing air filter, slick 50, tornado, and keep it tuned.

The repairs listed above can be attributed to high mileage.

Faults:

The transmission has been rebuilt (still slips, but better than it was)

Power Window problems

Door handle has broken several times due to freezing

Power steering pump exploded (figuratively speaking)

Normal hose breakage, nothing major.

General Comments:

I was given this car by my mother before I even got my license. Despite the problems that its had, its still a really cool car and it kicks ass! It holds right in there with a lot of the bigger, more powerful cars out there (beats them most of the time, HA HAAA!) The transmission is kinda shaky, but it still gets out there and goes as soon as you punch the gas pedal to the floor. The only accident that it was involved in was when someone stopped right in front of me and I couldn't stop in time. Luckily it was a truck. The only thing that happened was that my hood got air dams built into it (HA HA HA) and the dude's truck didn't sustain any damage. Other than the problems listed above, its been a really good car and I hope to get another 40000 miles out of it. I don't hold anything against this car. The problems seem to be a common problem with these cars from what I read before. Ever since I got the power steering pump fixed, there has not been ANY mechanical problems with it.