2001 Pontiac Montana from North America

Summary:

The jury is still out, but not hopeful

Faults:

Tires on dealer purchase were found to be out of round; replaced at customer's cost at $300 for new better brand, fixed thumping problem (standard balance did not work).

3 or 4 instance of CHECK ENGINE service light (nothing found wrong by dealer and re-set, annoying) ; same for ABS system, sensor replaced.

Driver side window motor sounded like something scraped glass up & down in track; fix under warranty, but noise is starting to repeat.

Some minor interior & exterior trim defects, none major.

Road and wind noise are poor; sounds and rattles seem to vary by hour and nothing more, where conditions outside seem of little difference to rattles which come & go. Strange.

Can't get security system to program.

Poor ride quality for just a long and softly sprung hull; vehicle is much narrower than prior Plymouth, and taller.

Pickup is OK, but not great.

Access to anything under hood is the worst of any vehicle I've ever owned, bar none. Stupid design under long nose.

General Comments:

Poor ride, high noise, questionable electrical to date.

Interior design is convenient, easy to drive despite bumpiness.

Seats are good on long trips, plenty of room in center buckets and rear seat for kids and most adults.

When large MIL was on dinner night out the van did not like that extra weight; I thought we were having a major drive train problem, but turns out is was just Gramma's load. No joke.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 2nd November, 2002

16th Sep 2007, 21:17

Hello, I have a 2001 Montana.

At 165,000 I had to replace the head gaskets, and at 176,000 the camshaft snapped in half at an idle when going from drive, to reverse, to back up in a parking spot.

Did you know GM uses hollow camshafts in there engines. So I will never buy a GM vehicle again, which I have always drove. ps thanks for the lemon

20th Sep 2009, 10:55

The jury is in. We went through all the problems, fixing them as they came up, thinking it would finally be done. It's a hunk of crap and you should sell it now... if you can find anyone to buy it.

2001 Pontiac Montana EX 3.4 V6 from North America

Summary:

Average van

Faults:

The transmission had to be replaced at 34,000 miles. The replacement was covered under warranty, but was in the dealer shop for 14 days before it was fixed.

The air conditioning has a faulty line and had to be replaced and recharged at 38,000 miles.

The passenger side automatic window motor went out at 46,000 miles.

Molding around bottom of van started discoloring around 35,000 miles.

General Comments:

A reasonably comfortable ride, but several problems with the car since it is not being driven hard at all.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 20th July, 2002

20th Mar 2003, 23:14

I agree with this person's comments. I haven't experienced all the problems he did, but I had my fair share and I'm ready to roll my 2000 Montana off a cliff!

9th Jul 2003, 19:53

I have a 2001 Pontiac Montana that I bought in February 2003. We needed to move up from a 4 passenger car. I was wowed by the leather interior, screwed up and signed the dotted-line on an impulse. I did not do any research on this vehicle. I have taken it back to the dealer 3 times for a RPM revving problem that occurs at random when you first start the engine. The engine will rev 3000 to 4000 and the only way to get it to stop is to turn the engine off and restart the vehicle. On the last trip to the dealer for this problem I literally drove 15 miles to the dealership at top speeds of 45Mph without touching the accelerator. The driver's seat buckles when you get out of the vehicle and makes a very strange ratcheting noise when you move around in the seat. The passenger side power door does not reverse react to something or someone in its way. I was squished by the door when someone pushed the door close button. It even squished my mother-in-law's leg hard enough to bruise. Today, it started making a very loud thunk when shifting out of park into reverse. Obviously we have scheduled another trip to the dealer; yippee. I despise this vehicle so much that I am shopping around for a brand new Japanese minivan. I will never buy another American made car, especially a Pontiac.

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2001 Pontiac Montana from North America

Summary:

Looks like a lemon so far

Faults:

The day we picked it up, the remote key-less entry did not work.

2 days after we picked it up the starter died. We had to have it towed to the dealership.

Every warning light has come on at some point. The Service department at the dealership has informed us that this will eventually stop. It has not.

Last week (at 7200 kilometers) the transmission would not work. It is currently in being replaced.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 31st May, 2001

2nd Mar 2005, 20:40

Wondering what the service techs responsibility is? Under warranty your approved for the minimal amount of work to temporally fix. Then the warranty expires and wouldn't you know it the van starts up with the same problem. H'm who feels taken?