1999 Pontiac Montana review from North America

At 75,000 miles, the transmission started shifting hard. Dealer installed a new Pressure Control Solenoid that fixed the problem. (Approx $350.00 covered under extended warranty.)

At 95,000 miles, the intake manifold gasket "ruptured". Lost all coolant on my way home from work. Dealer repaired. (Approx $800.00 covered under extended warranty.)

At 120,000 miles, the transmission started shifting hard again. Dealer installed another Pressure Control Solenoid. This also covered under extended warranty. (Approx $400.00. Some web sites state that there are still defective solenoids out there that the dealers are still installing.)

Also at 120,000 miles, the rear wiper motor needed replaced. The wiper blade froze to the window and the motor broke. ($175.00 covered under extended warranty.)

As you can see, my van has had the typical Montana problems. I was fortunate to buy the extended warranty. It was $900.00 total cost for a 36 month, bumper to bumper warranty, and that was for unlimited miles.

I think that GM should address some of these problems, but I will still buy GM products in the future.

The van has a great ride, and great gas mileage for the size of the vehicle.

Other than GM vehicles, I've owned a Toyota pick-up. (BIG MISTAKE!) This by far was the worst vehicle I have ever owned. Second worst would be my 94 Jeep Grand Cherokee. This vehicle spent most of it's time in the shop.

I've been very lucky with GM. I also own a Saturn L series, and have had 2 other Saturns previously. These are great cars, and I will continue to buy Saturns.

I see a lot of comments knocking the American car companies. I don't think all the negative comments are warranted. Some of us are proud to drive American! I've had 2 GM vehicles that made it to 250,000 miles. They are still far cheaper to fix than any foreign car.