Most recent issue working back wards:
58,000 - Rumbling in front wheel well went turning steering wheel at a stop.
58,000 - Driver window switch won't raise window (it will lower it!)
57,000 - Leaking front brakes.
56,800 - Replaced fuel injectors as check engine light would come on (over the two years) and engine would run very poorly.
56,500 - Front lens of right light just popped off.
Lifetime of van - Passenger sliding door rattles. Finally had a dealer who knew how to fix the problem in 2002.
Passenger sliding door would contact body of van during close then would re-open. Recall #01013! (if not would have been a $800 sliding door actuator)
48,000 Rear AC/Heat stopped working. Fan works (blows warm in the summer, cool in the winter. Front A/C OK.
26,370 - Radio died. Warranty replacement.
Great looks.
Functional and relatively solid.
Like the on-board air pump (an extra).
Handles well.
Beware the intake manifold gasket problem, on all the
1997 on GM 3.4 L engines, may be fixed by 2002 models???,
requires new gasket set, maybe something else, but that
is all that GM dealers are able to provide for an up-
grade, & that costs about $60.00. GM needs a Recall
campaign on this problem. Finally, GM has admitted to
that basic same problem with the 3.1 L engine. GM needs
to get rid of that *#* Dexcool for sure.
Nice van in some ways, but doesn't compare to the new
Nissan 2004 Quest, probably no mini-van compares to
the Quest. Maybe GM will get it right when they intro-
duce the new mini-van line in 2005?or 2006?, to be made
in Georgia.
Really dislike Dex cool. Was told by dealer that it is supposed to clot up in the reserve tank. Is it also clotting up in the hoses and radiator as well? Had the van a couple of months, and needed a new water pump. Related to Dex cool? Is there anyway to get recall #01013 on my Montana? I never received notification, and Dealer won't touch it unless I have this notification.
Bought our 1997 Pontiac Transport used in 2000 from local dealer. Check Engine light was on so took to mechanic who hooked it up to a machine and said that it was just the oxygen sensor so he disabled it.
A few months later the driver side electric window motor went out throwing the window off track in the process. The motor has since been replaced, but window will not stay on track. Window lets down, but you have to push the button up and push the window at the same time to get it to go up.
A month or so after that the electric sliding side door ceased to work for good. Every other month or so since we've owned the van we've had to replace the fuse to the door in order to keep it working. Guess it finally blew its last fuse.
Just last month the rear drum brake hardware fell apart inside the drum tearing up everything inside the drum and turning it all to mush from brake fluid and wear, also causing the front pads to wear quickly causing drum and rotor damage.
The blower for AC/Heat has never worked properly and the temperature dial is all off. We finally took the knob off and now just turn the metal piece until we hear the air or the heat kick in...we've got the sounds down to a fine science now.
This is our third mini van and I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy as I would be afraid I'd be the one in front of them when the brakes fall apart, the the window falls down, the side door flies open, and all those hot fuses blow us all up!
Buy American! Even Ford is better than this!
Our 1997 Pontiac Montana has finally bit the dust. Granted, it's 9 years old, but anything expensive that could go wrong -- did. Replaced transmission, replaced head gasket, intake gasket; now transmission is acting up again. Not particularly hard on our vehicle. I suppose it's just seen it's last days. Cars don't last as long as they used to, however, I don't think I'd buy another Pontiac Montana.
I baught a 1997 transport Montana for my girlfriend about 1 month ago. About a week ago we were driving on the thruway and the left caliper came off and jammed up against the rim. It pulled us towards the wall and we just missed it. My driver window came off the track, it is getting hard to steer, and my fuel gauge is all over the place. I never know how much gas we have. I would not recommend this van. If anyone knows what the problem with the fuel gauge is, please e mail me at harleyf15077@aol.com
I have a 1997 Montana, 76000+ miles, had electric door problems, rear wiper, electric window problems, within past year, replaced water pump, power steering pump, problems with wheel bearings? and now head gasket/intake gasket problems, and yes it had the Dexacool coolant in it. Oh yeah and the horn doesn't work and hood doesn't shut well and I also had to have a new gas line.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site