27th Apr 2004, 14:59
Bough 01 Montana (short version) in June 2003. Love the ride, handling so-so, different seat configuration is great (better than any other van we saw).
Dexcool (lower intake gasket) problem... fixed by dealer for free way out of warranty when pressured by my mechanic.
*%# (*&^ wipers and Canadian winters - they will self destruct if they get stuck in ice or packed snow.
There is an issue with front roof posts each side of windshield: if windshield needs to be removed, seems the pressure opens up the posts just enough to let water in and soak the carpet... impossible to notice without removing the windshield a second time.
Otherwise no serious issue in 20,000 km (12,000 miles)
22nd Jun 2004, 19:30
Would have to agree with other comments. Great looks, runs good, good room, but more problems than there should be for 69,000. (We bought it in December '03 with 59,900.) We had the dreaded intake manifold gasket problem -- we were blessed and a backyard mechanic fixed it for $225. We had the head gaskets fixed and some other stuff at the same time. Unbelievable how difficult it is to get at rear spark plugs-horrible design. Anyone know anything about a rear water leak? It might be coming from near the red light located in the middle of the van, just below the roof bt not sure. Or, weatherstripping? Or maybe something beneath the roof luggage rack?
3rd Apr 2004, 20:58
My wife and I bought our 01 Montana in Sept. 03. It had 21k miles when we signed. The wipers malfunctioned in Jan 04. Bent something under the hood as we live in Maine where there is plenty of snow. If you don't pop the hood and clean all snow and ice out they won't come to park. Awful design.
At 30k miles a friend noticed a anti-freeze leak, but we weren't sure it was our car. Started having heating issues in Feb. -lack of anti-freeze in system. Took to dealer to have checked and get wipers fixed. Turns out intake manifold gasket is leaking and needs to be replaced. Luckily we opted for extended warranty and gasket is covered, but wipers weren't. Gm dealership is charging me 50 bucks to unbend a bent piece of metal.
Haven't got gasket replaced yet. Scheduled in a couple days. If any thing else goes on this van we will be looking for another. Love the way this one looks, but no car should have this sort of problems with so few miles.
I've got a 91 Toyota with 194k that has never had these issues.
This is why people buy foreign.