1999 Pontiac Montana from North America - Comments

Okay, looks like we are all in the same boat.

We bought our 1998 Pontiac Montana van used - two years old, 17,000 miles on the clock. We loved the way it drove, got good mileage for a van, plenty of space decent seats and good gizmos).

No problems until a couple years later. I had a problem with a loss of water from the cooling system. A radiator shop we visited said we needed to replace all the gaskets, at a cost of $1000. We figured we were being scammed so we took the car to a Pontiac dealer. He flushed the system and did a couple other things, for a few hundred dollars.

At 41,000 miles, we are stopped at a red light. Motor stops - no noise, no previews, it just stops. Tow to the Pontiac dealer (its Sunday, of course). Tells us the engine seized, we'd need a new engine.

We are of course upset- two spun lower rod end bearings at 41k?? Surely GM will help us out on this clearly defective engine.

He asks for our oil change records. I have few, as I change most of my oil myself.

The dealer, after charging $4,000 for a new engine, says sorry, we won't help you out in any way. Can I talk to the district rep? Sorry the district rep will not speak with me.

Did I mention my daughter was getting married in two weeks? I borrowd her 2000 Malibu to visit my DOA Montana - the gas is low so I'm on the way to fill-er-up. BUT - the fuel pump fails -- another $500 dollars, thank you, to fix a fuel pump - did we tell you GM fuel pumps fail if you run the tank low??

I get the engine replaced for $4,000 and write to the brass at GM. Nice polite letter. The have one of their stooges call me and say sorry, we won't help you, but if you want, we'll give you a voucher towards the purchase of a new GM vehicle if purchased in the next year. I say, no thank you, you miss the point. If you help me out on this thing, I will be impressed by GM's commitment to its customers. They say too bad.

I find out later that my cousin had a Montana a year or so newer that cooked an engine with 48,000 miles and my daughter's father in law lost the same engine on a Buick with 5,000 miles. Do we see a pattern here???

Now, a couple years later. The ABS/Brake/Traction Control lights come on. They say we need a new brake system computer, $350 for the parts only. I put a new junk yard unit in, now go.

GM had a chance to make me into a loyal long term customer. Instead, they made a lifelong enemy. I may not have gotten my $4000 reimbursed, but I guarantee I've told enough people of my problems that I cost them at least that much in missed sales.

Does anyone know if any barracuda lawyers are planning a class action suit against GM for this engine??

Signed.

Disaffected in Erie.

I have had the same problems as all of you! We bought our 99 Montana in July of 2001 with 47K miles on it. In April of 2003 with 93K miles on it, I starting losing coolant, and had to have the intake gasket replaced for a grand total of $874. 6 months later (102,042K miles) I was replacing the engine because the camshaft broke! Another $3417. Guess what guys... The NEW engine now has 44K miles on it and I have to replace the intake gasket again!!! What is going on with these vehicles to keep causing these problesms? At what point is a recall made? There have course been many other problems, but this has been the most extensive.

If any of you hear of a class action suit I'd love to get in on it! My Montana has been nothing but a money pit, and I like most of you will NEVER purchase another GM vehicle.

We have had our 1999 Pontiac Montana for 2 years as of this time it has cost well over 4000 dollars in repairs and today quit completely on us... the dealership tells us it is the alternator that causes the a/c to quit working and the ABS and pass key light to come on... we are putting another alternator on it tomorrow and hopefully that will cure yet another problem on it... it has been making a whining noise and we can only hope and pray that the camshaft hasn't broken or spun a bearing... but with all the problems we have read about in this forum the outlook is not bright.. we also had and still have electrical problems on this vehicle as well as the water problems it really sounds like this vehicle should have been recalled a long time ago.. Another Dissatisfied Pontiac Montana owner in Texas.

Hi everyone, just few days ago I bought my Pontiac Transport 1999 with 126k. I was researching on-line for recalls to make sure if there is any recalls, so I can do something about it. Therefore I came across this site. After reading all these problems, now I am afraid to drive my van. Now since I bought it, what kind of maintenance should I do before things get bad??? Any advice will help. Thanks.

Wow. I could have written almost every single one of these letters. We bought our 2000 Montana minivan 4 years ago. Made the last payment yesterday! For the most part, it has been a good vehicle, except for these issues:

The brakes have always squealed, although the mechanic says they're fine. Still a little disturbing.

Electrical! Half of the radio display is dark. The radio no longer turns down when the car slows, sometimes the side mirrors won't move, the left turn signal comes and goes, the gas gauge is possessed! It goes from full to empty in 2 seconds flat. I have actually run out of gas in a busy intersection, wearing a business suit and high heels (Try pushing your car out of the way in those!) during rush hour.

Now, I have no brake lights. The airbag light is always on. The change oil light is always on. The low coolant light is always on. Now, the traction control light is always on. The transmission clucks when it's hot outside. Our mechanic is at a loss, and will be tearing it apart, once again, this afternoon. What a money pit this has been!

As for Pontiac giving a darn-they don't. I've tried calling them, e-mailing them, and writing them. All they care about is if their mechanics have always done the work on my car. Well, they haven't! Who can afford that? Plus, they never fixed it properly in the first place! And yes, they also offered me a coupon for money off on my next GM purchase. Yeah, right! I'd rather take the bus. I have been driving since 1976. I have always owned GM cars. This, however, will be my LAST!

Does anyone know if there have been recalls? Class action suits? If so, sign me up!

Well I bought a 1999 Montana 4 years ago and this past year alone I am going broke.

Leaking Prestone - got it fixed.

Gas meter is going nuts.

Two wheel bearnings, shock absorbers, tie rod ends, air bag light stays on and goes out, hood paint peeling, low traction light stays on, TCS light is on, motor pings, CD player quit.

5 September, 2006. Oh my goodness gracious alive. I, too, have had the coolant, intake, ABS, brake light failure, right front hub bearing shenanigans on my 1999 Pontiac Montana. Wish I'd been able to read something like this before diving in to the purchase. I've no choice at the moment, but to drive the thing until I'm able to save $$ for another vehicle. I'm thinking about a Jeep Wrangler. What says y'all?

After going through the comments here I became convinced we are qualified to join the class action suite too. Here are the problems with our 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport:

1/ A few months after acquiring it in 1997, both headlights accumulated moisture inside. The moisture stayed for days even through long rain-free period. To make the story short on this problem, after the first trip to the dealership who drilled holes in the lenses, but did not fix the problem, they replace both headlight lenses. That fixed it.

2/ Both rear side window motors were replaced in warranty. Less than a year after the replacement, either one or both started to work intermittently.

3/ Driver side outer tie rod end wore out (prematurely?) around 45K mile, causing severe vibration at highway speed.

4/ Last straw: A few days ago (early September 2006), at 63,000 miles on the odometer, without warning the van died on a local road a few miles from home. After two days, and two hours worth of diagnostics, the mechanic told us the camshaft broke. And the repair bill ranges from $3000.00 up, depending on whether we want an old (~90K miles) engine or a newer one. With a blue book value of about $5000, and trade in value about $3500, we are not sure if it is worth getting repaired, particularly in view of other problems that other members reported.

Count me in on the camshaft class action suite!

I have a pontiac montana 99,i am just curious has any one had a problem where it won't start. we drove it on to a town about 20 miles from where I live. got back in the vehicle and wouldn't start. OK like 5 days later my husband goes back to make sure it was OK in the spot where we left it and it started. it drove fine for about 2 weeks. went to a yard sale got back in the vehicle and it act like it did not want to start. finally it did. so through out the day when we had to get out we did not turn it off. got it home and it sat across the street for about another week. my 13 year old went out a started it. park it under or drive way and it has not started since. my husband put 68$ of gas in there. and it started after that and since that. no water in the tank no trash... i don't know. does anybody have a clue?thank you.

Take your van to a good mechanic as soon as you can. The next time it stops, a broken camshaft may be the problem, JUST LIKE WHAT HAPPENED TO US a few days ago.

Comments from one of the members listed earlier here explained to me what happened to our 1997 Trans Sport: Failed lower intake manifold gasket sprayed coolant on to camshaft and bearing, effectively removing oil (lubricant) and causing seizure of the camshaft. If you wait long enough (DO NOT CRANK!) oil will seep back in and the engine runs again. If you try to restart immediately, the camshaft WILL break!

I purschased a Pontiac Transport with 60,000 KM after owning it for 3 months the camshaft split in half for no apparent reason. The engine oil level was fine. We contacted GM, but were not willing to do any thing about it.

2001 Pontiac Montana 3400 engine.

My first and last, horrible vehicle. Enough said.

Bought a 1997 Trans Sport 2 years ago, with 96K, now at 150k Miles. Mysterious beast, especially electrically. From the get go, had a wierd wobble at the 45-55 mph mark, but initially, only occassionally. My wife and I narrowed it down to specific sections of highway and didn't think it was the van. The wobble is pretty bad now though, starting sometimes at 35ish, sometimes not till 50mph. I've jacked it up, pulled the rotors, pushed, pulled, mentally thinking it must be the CV joints? Can't swing the $500 to have those done, can't really swing the $200 if I get both left and rights to do myself. Wobble is ONLY while giving it gas. Let off the gas, smooth as silk, so it's not tires/balance. BTW, whenever I jack it up, immediately afterwards, the wobble is gone--for about the next 20 miles, then it returns. In all cases, wobble disappears though, at about 60+mph so we just suffer the 35-55 mph zones.

The odd electrical problems:

right rear popout window hasn't worked in a year, in the beginning it would occassionally fail, then 'fix' itself for a while. The passenger front power window sometimes won't respond. It fixes itself too. The radio light is gone, along with on occasion, rotates through each memory position on the radio (We actually set all the memories to a single station, so that when it changes to memory 2, 3, 4, etc, it's still the same station and we only hear a slight break in the audio.)

Sometimes (we used to blame the kids for this), the right passenger power mirror is adjusted all the way out. This happens about once per week.

Oh yeah, the service engine light is and has always been on. In the first week we owned it, took it to the dealer 4 times for the engine light. Each time, the light is cleared, but quickly came back.

One day, the motor just started missing and whatnot, running rough, no power through the midrange of RPMS, mileage was BAAADDD, like 12-14 mpg. Changed out the spark plugs, things went immediately back to good. BTW, it isn't easy to change spark plugs in any sideways mounted 6 cyl. Took about 4 hours total, lotsa cursing and the like. The problem returns after a couple days--the poor mileage, lack of power. Changed the air filter and the plug wires this time, and back to good. Realized now though, it's not a bad part that I've been replacing, rather a poor electrical connection somewhere that's going back and forth. Got pretty good at pulling over, popping the hood, tapping about 10 different spots, twisting about 6 different connectors, tugging another 6 different wires, rotating the plug wires at the coils, etc. Finally have narrowed it to a wire group near the alternator. Specifically at a connector that has a blue zip tie through it. Just have to touch this and it's OK. The odd part--The ohm meter shows fine continuity on all the wires from both sides of that connector. It's just the general vicinity, I guess. Still not sure. I'm no PRO mechanic, but I've learned to fix engines out of necessity. Still suspect that connector though, even though there's no corrosion, the wires are supple and not brittle, the connectors are semi shiny, everything that makes for a fine electrical connection. I think there must be a gyroscope inside that plastic that's sensing attitude :). Also, recently, developed a small crack on the left side of the radiator. Hisses a bit, did some plastic welding on it, didn't really hold. About to try some Stop leak on it. Did I mention that the low engine coolant light is on/flashing almost always? I figure that I'm not maintaining proper coolant pressure because of the leak, but since there's no leak when the motor is first started (the engine is still cold, not much pressure in the coolant system), the sensor SHOULDN'T be indicating low, even after a fresh fill. The sensor must be bad. Have been thinking of just shorting the leads. This would at least get rid of one of the many warning lights that I've come to love that greet me each time, and stay with me on every trip.

Getting really tired of this van. I know that there's a goofy electrical problem, probably in one or two spots that's causing 95% of the electrical oddities. For the life of me though, I can't find it. I do believe though, when I do, that friggin right rear popout window will start working again, along with the rightside passenger power window. I do know for sure that the BULB is burned out behind the clock/tuner window on the radio--took the radio apart, found the bulb, but just haven't found such a tiny bugger in my parts bins. Someday I guess.

Any ideas on the wobble or the most likely spot for these electrical issues? They're soooo odd. If you've ever done trailer 4 wire hookups and have had bad grounding, you'll know that the craziest things can happen to trailer lights. Kinda feels that way with this electrical issue--they're all so crazy, that I suspect a short to ground or a bad ground somewhere.

Oh, another thing, the exhaust system... Right up to where the pipe is bolted onto the engine, front and center, at the rear of the motor--my bolts are tight just fine, however there's still 'play' and was thinking that this could be a source of the wobble too? Kind of like perhaps a bushing or pad is missing/fell off where the pipe is connected, but none of the pictures in my repair guide show anything. On a properly mounted exhaust, is it snug? Feels more like a flexible PVC hose type connection rather than a compression/exhaust that I'd expect is rigid.

Overall, we just keep telling ourselves that GM/Pontiac goes too far in 'gadgetry', with the increased complexity of the convenience features, comes the increased difficulty of troubleshooting when something does go bad. Heck, with the old hand crank windows, you could at least count on them always working.

As a general statement about technology in life today--do we really need a that little click in the driver side window button that completely opens the window after just one push? Does it really take too much effort to hold that button down for the full 4 seconds? As a general statement to Pontiac/GM--why so many overly complex systems?

Thefullerfamily at cox dot net.

We purchased our 2002 Pont. Montana new. We started having problems with it within the first year. First the ABS breaks went and we had to replace. Next the air condition broke and we had to replace. Just recently the ABS breaks went out again. We can't afford to replace again. The gas gauge is broken, so we keep track of mileage as to when to fill up. The biggest expense so far has been replacement of the intake manifold gasket - over $800.00. We didn't have heat because the car was leaking coolant. That was four months ago. Now, we once again, do not have heat and we were told the head gasket is leaking and we need to replace it. This could cost anywhere from $900 - $1500. We still have one year left of payments. Frankly, we can't afford to fix it right now. They put a sealant on the leak as a temporary fix. I wonder if this could last for at least through the winter. They couldn't tell me. Needless to say, I will never buy another GM! This vehicle has been a money pit!