2002 Pontiac Montana from North America - Comments

I bought a Montana 2000, 87,000 kms two years ago. The first year the fuel gauge went bad. It cost me $450 to fix. The front wiper will not "home" and is a problem all the time. Last year I had to put a new engine (Total cost $2500/-). I also agree with the rest that there should have been a recall on this van.

Bought a 2002 Montana in August 2004, with 41,000 miles on it. It's now March 2008,and I've put only 16,000 miles on it. Since I bought it from a dealer, it supposedly was given the GM 151 point check-up prior to being sold (LOL). It was to have a 90 day warranty, which turned into a 30 day warranty after the paper work was done.

In 16,000 miles I have had to replace the alternator, the A/C, the brakes and the driver's side window works on occasion.

Someone made the post that we should move to another country if we want to buy foreign. Maybe you're not aware that Toyota makes hundreds of thousands of high quality cars here in the USA. You want to buy junk? Fine, I'll sell you my Montana.

I bought my GM Chevrolet Transport here in Switzerland new 2002, equal to a Montana in the US. But what a nightmare; front windscreen wipers mangled up when not much rain, car radio system freezes up frequently, then needs to be reset, by disconnecting the battery.

The air conditioning compressor does not work anymore and would cost here in Switzerland approx $2700 US. Do I need to say more? The first and the last Chevrolet or any GM for me.

PS: Does someone know a parts dealer for Chevrolet Transport where I could get the parts for a reasonable price, Thanks

2002 Montana. Bought new. At just over 5 years and at exactly 60000KM had the gasket issue. Managed to get GM to cover the cost. 2 months and 2500KM later need to replace condenser and radiator. That's an awful lot of serious issues for 62500KM.

I was hoping to have a vehicle that I could not have car payments on for a while, but GM is not the brand for that. I am going back to Honda, previous Accord was 11 years and 140000KM with ZERO issues.

I own a 2001 Montana that I bought from my parents with 32000 miles.

At 65000 the heater core and intake gaskets had to be replaced, along with flushing the whole system. ($900).

Now at 75000 miles, the head gaskets, intake gaskets, water pump, heater core, radiator and thermostat, along with flushing the system ($2500).

This van is a shiny turd. Rides and looks great. I have always been a G.M. man but I am going to buy my first foreign make next time. I never thought I would see the day.

First they killed off the oldest American car company in the world, (Oldsmobile) instead of getting rid of Buick, who only offered 2 or 3 cars at the time; that was smart.

Everyone needs to get together and not buy any new vehicles for one year and starve these greedy car companies into lowering the prices and creating more reliable fuel efficient vehicles for less. People don't need new cars, they want new cars. If you would just hold off one year and just maintain your older vehicle, we could send the strongest message in history. I'm fed up, how about you? P.S. I've never bought a brand new vehicle.

I also own a 2002 Pontiac Montana. My windshield wipers have been a problem for the last several months. They want to stay in a vertical position, rather than wanting to stay in the "home" position.

I also have a problem with my driver side automatic window. It seems to go both up and down, however, it bounces back and forth. For a period of about 1 year my passenger window would not open, then seemingly it "fixed itself".

Other than these two odd experiences with the vehicle, it runs well.

I purchased a used 99 Montana with 51,000+ miles in 2003. I thought I might get lucky because the previous owner had the engine replaced at 44,000.

I now have 116,000+ miles and have had rear brake seals replaced, a couple tie rod ends, headlight assembly leak, front wheel bearing, ABS out, several lights on the dash on and off (ignored), drivers window binds, transmission shifts hard after driving for period of time, lower intake leaking but must be very small leak at time, fuel gauge not working, fan switch replaced.

Car rides nice, but a lot of problems for the miles put on. I have and will continue to live with the nuances for another year or so, refusing to pay for all the fixes.

Overall I wouldn't recommend a Montana unless you want to spend a lot on repairs or live with a lot of problems. I may look to a Honda or Toyota for my next minivan. Never thought I would deviate from an American made company, but have a Dodge company van with issues also. It's time for a change.

I bought a used 2002 Montana last year. Right away leaking coolant from gasket.

Gotta love that "brainwave" for the designing of wipers, I mean front wipers 'cause the rear one was non-operational when I bought the van. I turned on the front wiper when covered by snow and now it only works on high speed.

Power locks quit, rear small power windows quit, heater blower motor only works on high speed, GM check engine light now on, windshield squirter broke, seatbelt release sticking.

It's not the fault of the workers on the front lines but the people making mega bucks at the helm. How could a piece of junk like this make it past the design table, let alone testing. GM seems to be focusing on producing products made for consumers with bottomless pockets for repair bills. I sure won't be buying GM again. GM SMARTEN UP AND PRODUCE SOMETHING RELIABLE!!!

We have a 2000 Pontiac Montana, and it's the worst van ever. If I had my choice, it would be crushed LOL..

We had problems with the intake head gaskets; had to get them changed, and that cost 1100 dollars to fix.

Then both or one side where the window buttons are, they aren't working right either. It was changed once on the passenger side and it cost 300.00 dollars to fix. And still having issues with that.

Then the block heat cord ripped off and then blew the block heater itself; had to replace it, it cost me 397.00 dollars because only GM could fix it. Same with the other problems.

Now we are having issues with the front passenger tire; seems like it wobbles with a sound you can only hear from the inside.

Then just lately the gas gauge stays on full, but it's not stuck..

I think this van was built very poorly, it's really annoying on how it's hard to fix anything in that van. To even get at the air filter is difficult.

This van sucks.

I own a 2002 Montana that I bought new. The car has 60,000 miles on it and I have been happy with the car so far. However, this past winter there appeared about a half cup of white 'crude' on the carpet next to one of the floor vents. I initially thought this was road salt, or other foreign material washed into the ventilation system with all the snow we had this past winter. However, after reading all the complaints regarding failed gaskets, I am wondering if this is a symptom of that problem. I am baffled about the color of this. Wouldn't leaking Dex-Cool be pink? This is pure white. Anyone with ideas about the cause?

For those who don't know about it, there is a major class action lawsuit that was recently settled by GM regarding their use of Dex-Cool. It seems to turn to sludge in radiators. I have a 1999 Olds Bravada, bought used, and have had nothing but problems with the cooling system. The first time it started to overheat I popped the radiator and had what looked like really thick molasses in there. Had to replace the radiator, hoses, the heads had to be re-ground due to major overheating (I only drive about 15 miles each way to work, no major road trips) and have had to have the crank shaft replaced and valves done all due to severe overheating. This problem with DexCool affects a LOT of GM cars, if you search for Dex Cool Litigation you'll probably find out more. GM knew there was a problem but denied it. You can still file to get in on the lawsuit, check out the DexCool Litigation web site.

We owned a 2002 Pontiac Montana for about 4 years - We never had a problem with it even with running the warranty out in a year. We traded it in with 155,000 km's on it for a crappy 2500.00. That vehicle had no rust, no engine problems (besides a faulty wire that made it accelarate to 80 km/ph without pressing the gas) and for our family, it served it's purpose.

I was very pleased with the vehicle - and especially for the cheap parts. Try calling the junk yard when you have to replace those expensive parts. You can get them used for a fraction of the cost.

And another, AVOID DEALERS. GM dealerships are extremely overpriced when it comes to labour and do not have half the quality of service your local mechanic does. They will tell you exactly what's wrong and if it needs to be replaced. Which could save you money in the long run.

My current vehicle needed a ABS unit and the dealer quoted 1400.00. My local guy got me the part (from a junk yard) from a vehicle with less than 20000 KM's on it for 200.00 and in total with a oil change it costed me 500.

I have a 2002 Montana and it will just stop when I'm driving. It loses all power including losing brakes. Then when you come to a stop and wait a few minutes it starts up again. No one seems to know what's wrong. Any suggestions?

Sandy.

I purchased a 2001 Montana 4 years ago. At the time it had 45K miles. This has been the worst experience in vehicle ownership I have ever had. The head gaskets have been done three times, intake gaskets twice, the AC twice and the corrosion issues are beyond belief for a modern car. The dealer actually told me to dump it and buy something else, haha.

I would highly recommend not purchasing one if you are considering it. I come from a long list of GM purchases and my next van will be a Toyota.

I bought a new Montana in 2000. Only a few problems with it so far.

Intake gaskets = 900 dollars, headlights fill with water, transmission, gas gage quit working at 50000 miles, 02 sensors, fuel injectors, 4 sets of brake pads and rotors, new wheel bearings (all 4) windshield wipers won't go back to original position, fan only works on high.

Next car will definitely not be American. Hyundai has a 10 year - 100,000 mile warranty, GM, Ford, Chrysler have 3 year 36000 mile warranty. Need I say more???