This complaint is directed at potential safety issue concerning vehicles using the gmc v6 engine. In my case, with a 1999 chevrolet venture, a poorly designed intake manifold gasket caused the dex-cool coolant to leak into the engine. This coolant is corrosive and will lead to catastrophic engine failure. The problem is especially serious since the leak cannot be easily detected due to its internal nature. A brief investigation on the internet found well over 5,000 other persons reporting the same failure. Gm has refused to issue a recall on this problem, but should do so immediately.
1999 Chevrolet Venture engine complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 115, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Plastic manifold intake gasket failed on my 1999 chevy venture mini van.
1 inch of sludge in engine, lost of coolant, the engine pinging and knocking, steering and brakes locked up which caused the accident while driving. We changed the oil pump, oil connecting rod, spark plugs, spark plug wires, coils and still engine is broken. Started with coolant in the oil. Unsure symtoms leading up to the accident.
Early failure of the lower intake manifold gasket, which caused lost of coolant. 40,000 miles on 1999 chevy venture. Believe a poor design of gasket and that the radiator level is below that of the manifold. An air pocket can be trapped in the manifold and when the engine is off the residual heat of the engine cooks the gasket. Believe this theory is supported by the coolant sensor is on even though the level in the radiator is full and the reservoir is full.
Heater fan does not operate on the two lower speeds. Bottom inside of tailgate is rusting from the inside. Power locks will not operate from door switches, only from the remote or when activated by putting vehicle into gear.
Intake gasket leaks
Intake manifold gasket leaks allowing dex cool coolant to enter the engine and mix with the oil. Gm customer assistance will not help. They say "there is no problem that they know of". $1000.00 repair bill for a $20.00 part. Please see:www.petitiononline.com/gmcnsmrs/petition.html and http://www.gm-v6lemons.com/ there are literally thousands of folks with this problem.
I am the original owner of a 1999 chevy venture mini-van. We had the oil changed at an independent mechanic every 3,000 miles. Last week my wife was driving and heard a knocking noise. The van stalled and we had to have it towed to our mechanic. He looked at it and said there were major internal problems. We then had it towed to our dealer and were told it needs a new engine. Our mechanic said since we faithfully got the oil changed there is no reason we should need a new engine. The dealer gave us an estimate of $5,300 for the new engine. We called gm customer service to see if they would help pay some of the cost. We just mailed them a copy of all our maintanence and are waiting for a reply
Failure of intake manifold gasket resulted in coolant leaking into engine causing \\gumming\\. This caused cam shaft/engine to seize. Subsequent \\knocking sound\\ and check engine light. Seizing engine simulated a rear-end collision as described by my wife who was driving at the time. She was picking up our kids from school at the time. After 3 trips to the service dealership and 4 weeks engine required replacement.
I have discovered coolant in the engine oil. My coolant is disappearing, and I have been forced to top it off. The engine is making ticking noises, and running roughly. I have done a quick check on the internet to see if others are experiencing this problem, and found that it seems to be a common problem, and that gm is aware of this. They have redesigned the head gasket to correct this problem, but have not offered to fix this problem on my car. Chevy denied that there is a widespread problem, and refused to help cover the necessary repair (they said that because I had around 70,000 miles it was too far out of warrantee). It cost in the range of $815 to replace the head gasket. As a side note, the air bag light turned on intermittently after I got the car back, and now is on steady. I told my next door neighbor about it, and it turned out they also had the same problem. They had an even larger bill ( I don't remember how much), and they have another friend who has the same problem...
I noticed a smell of hot antifreeze. Also it would make a lot of noise when starting up. The thermostat never showed anything overheating. Oil didn't show anything on the dipstick. We change the oil every 3000 miles. The dealership that tore into it had said we did not change the oil ever by the looks of the internals. We bought this used 1999 chevy venture lt , august 2000 having 34,000 miles on it already. The previous owner bought this van in october 1998 brand new. How could a vehicle have to have a motor dropped in with only 57,000 on it and have had done everything possible to keep everything in working order. This is not our first chevy, our whole family buys chevys. Just to brag we have 13, and all of them maintained well. One even having over 200,000 miles on it,1995 chevy astro. Anyway, I watch the gauges very closely and never did I see anything wrong.
The problem with my venture turned out to be a leaking water pump based on the mechanic's diagnosis. So far, so good. Although, replacing a $300.00 water pump at 82,000 is somewhat ridiculous! The mechanic says it was due to the fact that the extended life coolant (dex-cool) doesn't perform like chevrolet says it should, and it is the cause of many water cooling system problems. He recommends changing the ext. Life coolant every other year just like regular coolant, and judging from the look of the old coolant, I believe him! August update: I am now facing a transmission rebuild that the transmission man says is "typical" of these ventures due to a mfg. Defect causing the transmission oil pressure to drop and kick the oil pump into high pressure mode forcing fluid through the system at such high pressure that every time it shifts, it feels like the transmission will jerk itself loose from the vehicle.
Has 3.4 l engine with lower intake gasket leaks. I purchased an extended warranty when new and it covered the $700+ repair cost. Will this happen again in another 48k when out of my extended warranty?
Main problem: jan 03 cam shaft broke, engine must be replaced. Mar 02 : intake manifold gasket replaced. Leaking coolant into engine. Oct 02 brake rotors warped. Shakes violently while braking.
Replaced head gaskets
Vehicle has been in shop since 8/6/03 for repair on engine, due to continues lost of oil that cannot be found. Engine need to be clean,gaskets was to be replace on two separated times and was not. Have been told that van is losing oil due to block engine. Wires were pulled and not replace back in correct order.
Water pump failed -- fog filled car when pump failed. I was completely fogged in and could not see. I had to use my daughter's sweatshirt to wipe inside of windshield. Intake manifold gasket failed power window drivers side failed 2x shattered when it fell from track the second time
Low coolant light comes on and then start to up shift hard, intake gasket. 3.4l v6
Seems everyone with the venture needs to have there intake maniflod gasket replaced shortly after warranty.. What real gets me mad is the dealer told me he knew of no problems with the gasket....
Passenger sliding door window shattered while driving for no reason at all. Nothing hit the window and it just popped loudly and shattered.
Intake manifold gaskets started to leak and needed to be replaced. Have heard of several of these being replaced on the 3.4l v6 engine.
While driving consumer heard a ticking noise coming from the engine.
1999 chevy venture passenger van with less than 58,000 miles experienced an intake manifold gasket failure. Chevrolet customer support representative indicated an "advisory" has been issued for the 3.8 litre v6 engine but that she has also received "several" calls on the 3.4 litre v6 engine. Given vehicle age, number of miles, and driving patterns, a failure of this magnitude and cost should not occur.
3 failed engine manifold & head gaskets and expensive repairs in 2 years.
1999 chevrolet venture at 60,000 miles had to have intake manifold gasket replaced. Repar cost was $874.66. Upon further research, it is apparent there are thousands of venture owners who have suffered the same problem and expense.
At 71000 miles intake manifold gasket failed. If not repaired this will lead to engine damage and possibly total engine failure. At my own expense I had it repaired using the proper "re-engineered" gasket. Expense was $550.
I have a 1999 chevy venture. I have had nothing but problems with the injectors causing the check engine light to come on. This happens every couple of months. I also have a problem with the intake on the same vehicle. It is the 3.4 engine and there are a lot of people with the same problem. I feel that a recall needs to be required to fix this. After spending thousands of dollars on a vehicle is should be right or at least fixed on good faith.
My husband and I own a 1999 chevrolet venture. We bought it august of 2002. With in the first month my airbag light came on. Called the dealer and we had to have the seat belt tension replaced on the drivers side. About a year later the samething happens again this time on the passengers side. About a month ago our antifreeze light keeps coming on and shutting off. We notice no leaking on the ground however the antifreeze is slowly disappearing. Well this weekend my husband took the van on a trip and comes back the next day and the engine is making a ticking noise. We found out that the antifreeze is leaking into the oil causing the gasket to be replaced and the hydraulic lifts to be replaced. This could of resulted in the engine freezing up. This has obviously been an issue with this vehicle and I want to know why anything has not been done about this. Just because someone was not injured does not allow the company to overlook the fact that they have a defect with this year of ventures.
I contacted cheverolet for assistance regarding my 1999 venture van. The intake manifold gasket was leaking causing over heating. Repairs were made at a cost of $706. The representative at cheverolet (1‑800‑222‑1020) said that there was a recall on the the intake manifold gasket, but not for my vehicle. I asked the representative how can the recall not cover my vehicle with the same problem. That does not make common sense. The representative could not answer the reason why my vehicle was not included.
As the weather has gotten cooler I tried to use my heating system and just got cold air. The engine temp gauge was going up but I only got cold. Then I noticed that the temp gauge kept climbing and I was afraid it was going to 'redline' and it suddenly dropped to normal and I started to get heat in the car. The problem then kept coming and going as I drove. The car is now in the shop and I am told that it is a leaking intake manifold gasket and will cost me $650 to fix. I only have 59k miles on my car. The shop owner also mentioned that he has seen 'a lot' of this problem in chevy ventures (and other cars with the same engine) and that he had another one in his garage as we spoke. This sounds like a desing fault that gm should take ownership of. I haven't heard of a recall so I'm faced with paying so I can have a functional car.
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