2008 Pontiac Montana SV6 RWB from North America - Comments

The same day I leased my new Montana, the fuel sensor went on the vehicle. 1 week later back windshield wiper failed.

The Montana is a waste of money. One would think that you would not have any issues with a brand new vehicle within the first week of ownership. The vehicle is also lacking sufficient storage areas and poor seat design.

Having issues with a brand new vehicle is surely aggravating, but get the niggling problems fixed under warranty and give it a chance. My parents have an '03 Montana that hasn't had a single problem in 65,000 miles.

Issues like seating and storage are issues that should generally be addressed if someone takes the time to test drive a vehicle properly. 5 minutes up a road and back is not an adequate test drive of a vehicle. If you are seriously considering a vehicle you should take it out on the road for no less than 30-40 minutes, driving on various road conditions (city-highway-etc...) Take the time to stop it and experiment with the controls. In this case being a minivan, I'd even suggest going as far as taking the seats out and putting them back in.

The other issues, though uncommon in a new vehicle, are simple items that are covered under warranty (that's why warranties exist.)

I understand that this person is upset with this vehicle as it is certainly aggravating, but I don't think it's as severe an issue as it is made out to be.

I've leased a 2006 SV6 since new and apart from a few minor issues, I'm pleased with it.

Prior to leasing the SV6, I looked at both the Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey and Ford Freestar. I liked the Sienna and Odyssey, but I didn't like the prices the dealers wanted. The Freestar was OK and it was priced comparably with the SV6 but I chose the SV6 because I liked it more than the Ford.

My SV6 is loaded with leather, heated seats, DVD, dual power sliding doors, air ride, XM radio, backup sensors etc. It was about $15,000 less than a comparably equipped Odyssey or Sienna. About $200 more a month to lease than the SV6.

I've put 53k on my SV6 and replaced, under warranty, the cruise control switch, a front seat heater element, steering knuckle and sway bar bushings. I just replaced the front rotors and pads which cost me $338. A friend of mine replaced the rotors and pads on his Sienna at 48k at a cost of over $600.

No vehicle is perfect and I'm sure there are problems with other manufacturers offerings, but when all is said and done, I look at my total end use cost. Yes the Sienna and Odyssey are nice, but paying an extra $200 a month over a four year lease didn't make any sense to me. My SV6 has everything I wanted and costs me less. What else can you ask for!

I personally fell in love with the 2000 Montana on the 30 minute highway test, so my wife and I bought it with an extended warranty. Luckily we did this because the fuel sensor on the pump was bad, showing what we thought was a full tank, but never moving until the tank was near empty 2 days later. Then the low fuel light would come on and the gauge would drop to near E. It was covered under the warranty and replaced by the dealership free of charge.

Also this winter 2008, we noticed the temperature gauge would fluctuate wildly and sometimes the low coolant light would come on instead after it would read hot. The coolant was full and having a mechanical background I could tell the thermostat was stuck at these times, and with a quick acceleration it would open and read normal temps. The dealership mechanic did not realize it, even with tests and still has not replaced it even though it is under warranty, so I'll have my friends at Ace Muffler in Rock Island, they will do it right.

However it is still the best van I have ever owned; I still love it. 93000 miles and climbing!

I just bought a 2008 Pontiac Montana SV6. I only have 4xx miles on it so hardly a long term review. So far I am very very happy with the van. The standard 240hp engine is nice and torquey, and a big step up from underpowered van engines. While it could still use even more power, and I would love to see a turbo V6 option, it's at least adequate power now for most drivers.

The van handles very nice and has very low body roll. The brakes are powerful also. The ride is very smooth and the van seems very quiet, in terms of rattles or squeaks, and in terms of wind noise.

I see no big problems with seating. The seats do not go right into the floor like Dodge ones, and they are maybe heavy to take out? I did not buy this van to be a truck and haul stuff around like plywood or engines. I have a truck for that.

I bought it to haul people and it seems very comfortable for that purpose.

I did first buy a 2007 Montana SVS with less options, and traded it up on the 2008 a few days later. The 2007 had no rear heat/air, and I found out this is a 700 buck option that cannot be added later.

So be careful; that is one really stupid thing about these vans, every extended van should have the rear heat/air standard, not optional.

I did not get the power doors, no big deal there. And did not get the ultrasonic parking thing. You can buy the parking thing aftermarket, or get a rear camera pretty cheap these days.

I have had pretty good luck with Pontiac products in the past, and hope this van is reliable. I plan on keeping it a long time.

Also, while I was not originally impressed with the front end styling, it's grown on me and doesn't look that bad to me anymore.

Help I need Help

Do we buy an 07 extended montana (16700) or an 08 extended

montana (18900) basically same kilometres and where the vehicle came from. options seem the same\

Cheers.