1999 Pontiac Montana review from North America
"Join AAA - towing gets expensive"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
When I bought this vehicle, the driver's seat had a broken mounting bracket that had to be repaired.
From the day of ownership, the front brakes have pulsated under moderate braking conditions. This is typical of warped rotors.
At 74000 miles, the radiator developed an internal leak allowing transmission fluid to be siphoned into the engine coolant. Since transmission fluid eats rubber engine gaskets, a complete top-end rebuild was necessary. This cost $1700.
One month later, at 75000 miles, the transmission quit shifting. Moving in forward requires shifting into low gear, then manually upshifting as speed increases, but transmission shudders violently under the mildest of acceleration.
General comments?
This vehicle is in the shop right now, awaiting an estimate for transmission repairs. I've owned several makes and models since 1976, and have never had this type of problem in even very old vehicles. This van is four years old, only slightly above average in terms of mileage, and it's falling apart at every turn. This is not only my last Pontiac, it's my last GM product. I'll never buy another.
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| 1999 - Montana extented wheel base 3.4 LT Poor quality product, failed to live up to expectations. |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 1999 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 4.3L Automatic |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 2 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 4 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 5 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 54000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 75000 miles |
| Previous car | Geo Prizm |
| Date of Entry | 28th October, 2002 |