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Pontiac Montana

1485 messages,  Last post on Feb 15, 2013 at 1:58 PM

You are in the Pontiac Montana Forum.

What is this discussion about? Pontiac Trans Sport, Pontiac Montana, Van

Messages Page 106 of 149

#1051 of 1485 Re: Montana A/C [jarhead03e] by swsh

Jul 01, 2005 (7:15 pm)

Replying to: jarhead03e (Jun 29, 2005 9:17 am)
I have a 2001 Montana and I just had my condensor replaced. Ran me $1050.00. I called Pontiac because my van seems to be self destructing since the warranty ran out -- I've had the video player replaced, the weather stripping around my doors, the master cylinder for the brakes, the condensor, the MAF. The car has leaked since I bought it ("we can't reproduce the problem.") and that makes my car call On Star when it rains. I called Pontiac; they offerred me a free oil change.

#1052 of 1485 2000 Pontiac Montana Extended... 2 issues by accordseman

Jul 02, 2005 (8:18 am)

I bought this car used, a few weeks ago. It has approx 4700 miles on it. It was a 1 owner vehicle. The person seems to have taken pretty good care of it. The only 2 issues I've noticed with this vehicle, is:
 
1. The power doors seem to unlock themselves, randomly, while driving. Sometimes, I can be driving for quite a while, when the fun starts. And sometimes, after only a couple of minutes the fun starts. I can't seem to figure out where the problem is originating from. At first, I thought it was the power sliding door's fault, but then I start to suspect the rear hatch. I can't figure it out. Any ideas out there?
 
2. This 'problem' has only shown itself once. While driving, I noticed the car shifing 'hard' when changing gears. It was very noticable. I could feel the van 'jerk' when accelerating into higher gears. I stopped, parked & went into the store for a few minutes. Once I returned, the van seemed to shift normally again. Smooth as butter. Just as I've been used to since I purchased the vehicle. Any ideas on this one as well?
 
Thanks for your time!

#1053 of 1485 Just passed a year with our 2004 Monata by vanman1

Jul 02, 2005 (12:32 pm)

Still no issues to report. Gas and go. Just a cracked washer fluid cap in the winter from the cold replaced under warranty. I think the 03 - 05 3400s are the newer version but it also came with a 5 year power train so hopefully we are ok.
 
Love the Montana though the new vans do have a nicer interior.

#1054 of 1485 97 Montana Version by tickle1768

Jul 07, 2005 (10:51 am)

Hi there....very new to this site....
 
Wondering if anyone can give me some input on purchasing an used 1997 Trans Port with Montana package. It has 97K miles on it, but the body and interior is immaculate. I am going to test drive it tonight and the dealership is making a list of what needs done to it, since it's basically an "as is" purchase on a trade in they do not want...as a result I am going to be able to buy it for roughly $ 3000.00.
 
I am a single mom with three kids and two dogs and need something besides my reasonable used 2001 Saturn to take little trips and carry things from home store etc. I am apprehensive about buying a "trade in" and am afraid that I will buy this and get stuck with repairs and failures that no one will cover....
 
Any information or input would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!
 
Thanks!
 
Tickle
 

#1055 of 1485 Re: water leak [mlovse] by btaylor

Jul 07, 2005 (1:21 pm)

Replying to: mlovse (Jun 20, 2005 1:45 pm)
Thanks for your input with this problem. Would you know where underneath the truck it would be located. Again thank you for your help.

#1056 of 1485 new to site by sdouglas1

Jul 09, 2005 (9:19 am)

Hey everyone,
 
I just very recently got a 2001 montana with 110000km on it. Used to have a FOrd Focus but wife and I have a 16 month old baby and another on the way so we thought we should upsize a bit on vehicle size. Anyhow both wife and I like the Montana but I have noticed the temp. gauge on the dash seems to float a bit. While driving it usually sits around the 70 range but when we come to a stop ie. red light etc the gage goes to maybe 1 tick above 1/2 way. Icalled the dealer and the sales guy said he has aa 2002 and his does the same thing...is this normal. The last car I had where the gauge moved like that ended up with a major head gasket issue. Should I be concerned?

#1057 of 1485 Re: new to site [sdouglas1] by mommyof3kids

Jul 11, 2005 (8:16 am)

Replying to: sdouglas1 (Jul 09, 2005 9:19 am)
In short: Yes, you should definitely be concerned!!
In Long:
Good luck with this one. You are like me and didn't do research on the Montana before purchasing! My mechanic (a very small business) replaces at least 2 head gaskets in Montanas a WEEK! He said that this is a major design flaw in these vehicles and nearly everyone who owns one will have this problem. The longer you let it go, the worse it gets until you have to replace the entire engine. We noticed it when we went in for a routine oil change and the guy freaked out because we were leaking coolant into the oil! We took the van right in to our mechanic and it was already too late, it had gone a little further and ended up costing us $1500. This just happened about two months ago. Our van had 61,000 miles when this all happened. I would DEFINITELY bet with the mileage your van has, that it has been an issue for a long time. Get it checked!
We love the look and everything about the Montana, except the engine!! We'll never own another GM vehicle. They know about these issues, but because they aren't "safety" issues, won't do a recall. It doesn't help to fight them on it. People have been trying for years. Even if you replace the engine, you still have the issues eventually because you'd be replacing with the same engine, with the same problems. I'd see about getting your money back for it if possible. This van is nothing but trouble! Dealerships know about it also and pretend they don't because they don't like dealing with it!

#1058 of 1485 Re: 3400 engine problems [bill_mourar] by annies

Jul 11, 2005 (3:23 pm)

Replying to: bill_mourar (Jul 01, 2005 9:11 am)
I also have a 1999 montana i just had the engine replaced about a month ago had 91000 miles on it. Have no idea what caused the head gaskets to go out on it we were comming home on easter and lost power then hot light came on. Being aluminum heads we replaced the motor costed 2600.00 to replace then my rear wheel bearings went out right after they are 175.00 to replace. The new motor has 70,000 on it i hope it dont go out again at 90? Other then that i love my van.And yes i still owe on mine also or it would have been in the bone yard.To your remark cars aren't made like they used to be i agree we were just looking for a beater car for my husband to go back and forth to work and everything we looked at the head gaskets are going?? What happend to the 500.00 beaters that ran for years?

#1059 of 1485 actually by vanman1

Jul 12, 2005 (6:23 am)

Newer 3400 engines should not have the gasket issues as the design flaw that causes this sometimes was fixed. We researched it before we bought our 2004 Montana. GM also has a 5 year powertrain warranty on the newer models and the new vans have a better 3500 engine.

#1060 of 1485 2000 Montana Window Problem by castlerock

Jul 12, 2005 (9:19 am)

I love my Blue Montana. It has 164,000km. I have been having a problem with the drivers' side window. It keeps getting stuck down. Anyone else have this problem?
 
Also, the engine starts ruff. We paid $1,200 to have this fixed, but it still does this? What problem could this be? We have also had 3 recalls on our passenger sliding door.
 
I would like to buy a new Montana, but I can only find new SV6's here in Canada. (I DO NOT like the new styling, but are they any good? Everyone is telling me to buy a Sienna, but it looks like they have major sludge problems.

Messages Page 106 of 149

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