1999 Pontiac Montana review from North America

We bought the 1999 Pontiac Montana in 2001 with 66,000 miles on it, to take trips across the country for my daughter to compete in dance competitions. We live in the Detroit, Michigan area, and the first trip we christened the Montana with was a trip to Pigeon Forge, Tennesee.

The van ran great until we returned to Michigan and we found the A/C was blowing warm air. Well, we took it back to the dealer, and they replaced the A/C compressor and it's been working great since.

Two years later, the Montana made the round trip down to Palm Beach, Florida without incident.

The vehicle has been a pleasure to drive. Change the oil twice a year, keep an eye on the coolant level and drive it.

Earlier this year I added a bottle of Barrs leak to the radiator because of the puddle of coolant on the driveway, but that seemed to remedy the problem.

I did put a water pump in at about 160K, and the bearing in the idler pulley for the fan belt locked up at 170k, so I replaced the pulley and belt. So besides keeping the maintenance up on the vehicle, I feel it's been pretty good.

The reason I came across this web site is because the vehicle has 171,000 miles on it, and I need to figure our how to get the spark plugs out of the rear of the motor, so I can replace the plugs and the wires after 105,000 miles.

Sometimes ya get lucky, but this is why the North American Auto Industry is losing market share. They have to figure out how to keep the customer happy without marketing their service to keep the bottom line healthy. My bad experiences came with Chrysler transmissions. They all break sooner or later, but standing behind their product is the key to repeat customers. If we don't stop giving the foreign competition all the breaks, they will take over the market share for everything.

Long distance trips have been a pleasure with the Montana. Hate to buy a new vehicle because at least now, I know what I've got.