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Pontiac Montana

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

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

Messages Page 66 of 150

#643 of 1485 MISERABLE MONTANA by carnatic

Mar 07, 2002 (5:50 pm)

I have a 1999 Pontiac Montana. It Has only 22,000 miles on it and it has been nothing but trouble! It has been in the shop over 1 DOZEN times. 3 times for problems with the power sliding door, brake problems, anti-lock problems, transmission fluid leakage, coolant leakage, excessive oil consumption, electrical problems, drivers seat came apart, and more squeaks and rattles than a YUGO w/ a hundred thousand miles on it. Does GENERAL MOTORS OR THE DEALER CARE?? ANSWER: They could care less!! Moral here of the story: I have purchased my last piece of GENERAL MOTORS JUNK!! I would like to hear from others who also have had numerous problems with their Montana. BY the way, my second car is a 2000 DAEWOO LANOS-- 22,0000miles on it--not one single problem. The Daewoo cost $9000-- the Montana $25,ooo-- GO FIGURE!!

#644 of 1485 Anyone can make a bad vehicle by bcd99

Mar 10, 2002 (5:19 pm)

Prior to buying my 2001 SiloI had a 99 VW Passat Wagon. Loved the car, sunroof, tiptronic tranny, great gas milage, fast turbo 4cyl. Everything I expected from a German engineered car, except the repeated problems that made any American look like a gem. Every 1000 miles the check engine light came on, it lost oil (not leaked), it was in the service manager possesion more than it was in my garage. After 2yrs of repleacing eveything except the engine they said it was the gasoline causing carbon build-up. They said the oil comsumption was normal. Three weeks after it was changed by the dealer (2 yrs of free maint) there was no oil in the pan at all. So to sum it all up there can be a lemon from any carmaker.

#645 of 1485 Miserable Montana by mizeuml

Mar 10, 2002 (8:31 pm)

Don't think you got the only bad apple of the bunch. I am having a similar experience with mine and got the same response from the GM Area Vehicle Manager. They could care less if you bought another GM from them. Your van must have been built the same day as mine. Check your VIN and see how close it is to mine. 1GMDX03E7XD268031
We bought the van in June 1999, but the dealer got it in April 1999. Our van has 66,000 miles now and has been in the shop at least 15 times, I lost track. I tried to get GM to take it back under the Lemon Law when it had 20,000 miles, but they would have no part of it. They had tried to fix an oil leak 5 times and were not successful. In fact, it is still leaking today, I just learned to live with it and crawl under the van every couple thousand miles to wipe it clean. Their attempt to make me happy was to give me the GMPP extended warranty up to 100,000 miles. That has been ok for now considering they have spent over $3500 in warranty repair, but after 100,000 miles, the repairs will be on me and I'll be looking to unload this lemon.
 
In fact, the Air Bag light has started coming on intermittently again. This has been fixed 3 times already.
 
You can see some of my previous postings for the problems we have had. Here's a quick summary of the one's that come to mind. Replaced power mirror twice, replaced oil pan twice, replaced rear main seal on engine, replaced intake manifold gasket, replaced both rear vent window motors, replaced third brake light, replaced A/C compressor, installed electronic dryer module for stinky A/C, fixed Air Bag light three times, replaced knobs and other plastic pieces on seats, unplugged drain hole in rear quarter panel for rear A/C unit, replaced passenger door interior panel. That covers most of it. We owned a 1996 Grand Caravan before this and it had problems also, but not as many as this Pontiac. Our 1992 Honda Accord was a dream car, I didn't even know how to get to the Honda dealer.
 
Good luck!

#646 of 1485 Coolant leak by mjb56

Mar 11, 2002 (5:41 pm)

We've got a 1999 Montana with 45K mi. and just found a coolant leak which the Pontiac dealer diagnosed as a leaky manifold gasket. Price of repair $500. Has anyone else experienced this or know of any secret recalls involving this problem? The garage told me that they've seen a few of these but I find it troubling that this happened with only 45k. We're about to head south, so I'm glad I caught this in time but I'm still not happy about it. Just happier than if I would have discovered it in the middle of the night somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Any help is appreciated.

#647 of 1485 Coolant leak by mizeuml

Mar 11, 2002 (8:58 pm)

Hello mjb56. I just had my 1999 Montana fixed about two weeks ago. It was covered under my GMPP 100k warranty and cost GM about $320. Scroll up 20 messages and checkout my postings #608 and #610. I noticed mine started leaking around 21k and didn't start dropping the level in the overflow bottle till around 55k. If you are not adding any coolant to the overflow bottle, then you are probably alright to take the trip and go for a while. I ran a long time with mine, from 21k to 66k. But if it is running out on the ground, then get it fixed. I added some coolant the last couple of oil changes, but just decided to go ahead and get it fixed while it was in for other warranty work, it has 66k on it now. Let me know if you have any additional questions after reviewing #608 and #610.
 
Good luck,
Matt

#648 of 1485 mjb56 by montanafan

Mar 12, 2002 (7:35 am)

You mention heading south, what state do you live in? When did you purchase the van? The Intake Manifold and Gasket are covered in the Northeast Emissions States for 36 months and 50,000 miles. If the leak had been occuring for a while you could make a case for coverage if older then 36 months.

#649 of 1485 Coolant leak update by mjb56

Mar 12, 2002 (4:02 pm)

Thanks for the advice. I'm in Wisconsin so I doubt that the warranty would cover. We are in the 36 month window though. I've had to add coolant twice in a month and there's been a little coolant sitting on top of the engine so it really needed to be fixed. We just had the "low coolant" light come on about a month ago. I'll try to pursue the warranty angle, just out of principle. Thanks.

#650 of 1485 board / coolant by dirkdaddy

Mar 13, 2002 (9:01 am)

Hey folks, how about we all start posting on the GM tripets board instead of the chev/olds/pont van boards?
 
Also, my 98 is losing coolant, but I can't see it. Has anyone seen other signs that go along with the manifold leak problem, such as water in the oil, discolored spark plugs, etc? I'm trying to narrow down what it might be. Could be heater core(s) and associated plumbing as well. Thanks for help. I plan on getting a cooling system pressure tester soon and see if I can ID what is going on.
 
DD

#651 of 1485 Coolant leak update by mjb56

Mar 13, 2002 (4:31 pm)

Well, we got our 99 Montana back today after having the lower intake gasket replaced along with the following items: spark plug wires and 2 coils (replace due to severe corrosion), 2 hepa filters and an oil change. Final tab: $743.00
   I've got to believe that there is some sort of design problem here. Those gaskets looked like swiss cheese so something is fishy. This should not have happened to a 2 1/2 year old van with 45K on it. Do you think it would help to complain to some GM regional office?

#652 of 1485 gaskets by dirkdaddy

Mar 14, 2002 (8:06 am)

agree something is fishy regarding intake gaskets. If designed right and made from proper materials, these should last the life of the engine! I'm not sure if its a engine design problem or saving $1 on each gasket (that would be the GM way), but they should not be failing. I also have coolant leak, but will be investigating the cause before tearing into the motor.

Messages Page 66 of 150

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