The rear passenger suspension system has failed and the tire is sitting on the tire-well. The frame appears to be loose due to rust and has caused the spring coil to pop out and wobble uncontrollably. I was driving when this incident occurred and it would begin to "fish tail" around 40mph or when I would hit bumps, make turns or switch lanes.
The worst 1999 Pontiac Montana problems
Ranked by number of owner complaints. Mileage and cost come from what owners wrote.
Problems by type
Tap a problem to see which part fails, at what mileage and in which other years.
- Engine100
- Airbags32
- Transmission32
- Brakes24
- Body22
- Electrical14
- Locks12
- Visibility12
- Fuel system10
- Lights8
- Seat belts8
- Acceleration6
- Suspension5
- Steering4
- Tires4
- Wheels4
- Seats3
Specific symptoms reported on the 1999 Pontiac Montana
Airbag light 17Overheating 16Engine failure 10Door locks 8Stalling 8Seat belt 7Wipers 7ABS 6Transmission failure 6No deployment 5
Recalls 5
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- What is wrong
- On certain minivans equipped with second-row bucket seats or captain's chairs and a power sliding door on the passenger side of the vehicle, a passenger using the interior handle to open the power sliding door could be injured.
- Risk
- If a passenger uses the interior handle to open the power sliding door and holds onto the handle while it is being opened by the motor, the passenger's arm may be pushed into the seat back or armrest and a wrist or lower arm injury may result.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the power sliding door interior handle on the passenger-side. If the vehicle is equipped with a power or manual sliding door on the driver-side, the interior handle will also be replaced for appearance reasons. Note: before the vehicle is serviced, gm advises owners to not use the interior door handle to open the door. The driver can open and close the door from switches at the driver's position or by using the remote key fob. The driver should tell passengers to use the switch located in front of the door to open or close it. The driver should use the override switch to prevent operation of the power door by children or by others who are not familiar with its use. The owner notification letter mailing will be conducted in phases with the first phase beginning on may 31, 2005. The second phase mailing began on july 18, 2005. The recall began on may 31, 2005. Phase 2 began on july 18, 2005. Phase 3 (final phase) began on august 24, 2005, to all remaining customers. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438; pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668; or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑630‑6537.
Recall number 04V597000 · Recall details
Air bags: frontal
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles and mini vans, the driver's air bag inflator modules could produce excessive internal pressure. In the event of a crash that would trigger a driver's air bag deployment, the increased internal pressure can cause the inflator module to explode.
- Risk
- Metal and plastic debris could cause severe injury to vehicle occupants.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. Owner notification began february 1, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact pontiac at 1‑800‑762‑2737.
Recall number 02V027000 · Recall details
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: 1997-2001 chevrolet venture, pontiac montana/transport, and oldsmobile silhouette mini vans equipped with passenger side power sliding doors that were serviced in campaign 01013 (01v‑067) from april to august 2001. Also 2001 chevrolet venture, pontiac montana, and oldsmobile silhouette mini vans equipped with passenger side power sliding doors assembled in january through april 2001. These vehicles have inadequate front welds. If a front weld fails, the actuator can jam in the unlatched position and, when the sliding door closes, it will not be latched.
- Risk
- If this happens, the power sliding door can open while the vehicle is in motion, particularly when the vehicle ascends a hill, makes a turn, or travels over a rough road surface. An unrestrained occupant could fall out of the van and be injured.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect and, if required, install a new power sliding door unlatch actuator assembly. Owner notification began on october 22, 2001. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020, pontiac at 1‑800‑762‑2737, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑442‑6537.
Recall number 01V264000 · Recall details
Latches/locks/linkages: doors: latch
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: minivans equipped with passenger side power sliding doors. The door closes but may not be latched. If this happens, the power sliding door can open while the vehicle is in motion, particularly when the vehicle ascends a hill, makes a turn, or travels over a rough road surface.
- Risk
- An unrestrained occupant could fall out of the van and be injured.
- Remedy
- Dealers will install a new un-latch actuator assembly to the power sliding door. This recall has been continued under safety recall 01v‑264. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within a reasonable time should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑222‑1020, pontiac at 1‑800‑762‑2737, or oldsmobile at 1‑800‑442‑6537.
Recall number 01V067000 · Recall details
Steering: gear box: shaft sector
- What is wrong
- Vehicle description: passenger mini vans. The left and/or right front lower insulator to cradle center metal sleeve is collapsed, which can result in loss of clamp load in the joint. If the clamp load is reduced or lost, the bolt can be lost or broken and the joint can separate.
- Risk
- If not repaired, separation of the opposite side joint could occur resulting in steering shaft separation.
- Remedy
- Dealers will replace the left and right front lower cradle-to-suspension insulators and the attaching bolts.
Recall number 99V071000 · Recall details
See all 5 recalls for the 1999 Pontiac Montana
Defect investigations
Power-sliding door
Subject vehicles are available with an optional power sliding door.the interior handle is oriented in the vertical position in the door panel and lines up at the elbow level when the occupant is seated in the 2nd-row outboard position.if the occupant holds the interior handle in the thumb up position during power-assisted opening, the arm/wrist can be push back with force against the 2nd-row bucket seat or captain's chair seat back creating a risk of injury (other seating configurations have ample seat to door clearance to avoid entrapment of the lower arm).among the 103 total reports, there were 102 alleged injuries including arm/wrist, thumb and shoulder injuries.a count of injuries reveals that 76 injuries were a fractured or a broken arm/wrist requiring an immobilizing cast for four-to-six weeks.all injuries involve the right side power sliding door.the left side power sliding door is on far fewer vehicles, but more importantly, it produces less force.gm notified the agency by letter dated december 21, 2004, that it will recall model year 1997 though early 2005 gm u-van vehicles equipped with a right side power sliding door and with 2nd-row bucket seats or captain chairs (the federal safety agency recall #04v597).as part of the recall remedy, gm will replace the door handle with a flush mounted handle that will prevent an occupant from grasping the handle with the palm between the handle and door panel (thumb up orientation) and thus eliminate the potential for arm/wrist entrapment.this investigation is closed.
PE04064
Rear axle trailing arm failure
On november 18, 2002, odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe02-086) to evaluate allegations of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles (u-van) which included two reporting crashes.on april 9, 2003, odi upgraded pe02-086 to an engineering analysis (ea03-005) to continue its examination of the issue. The trailing arm design in these vehicles has been used in the u-van from my 1997 through the present.the gm analysis concluded that the subject trailing arms could crack or buckle if they were damaged during assembly, pre-delivery handling, or subjected to certain service related abuse conditions such as improper towing or jacking.analysis of odi and gm data has identified 19 incidents of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles.there have been no new reports to odi or gm in the last 12 months and only one new complaint in the last 21 months. Due to the low complaint rate and the absence of a continuing trend in reported failures, a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. The closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by the federal safety agency that a safety-related defect does not exist. The agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. For additional information, see the attached closing report.
EA03005
Shoulder harness clip
PE02017
Air bag inflator
EA01014
Air bag tear during deployment
PE00045
Unexpected opening of sliding door
There is no summary currently available
SQ00014
Traction control
RQ00006
Technical service bulletins for the 1999 Pontiac Montana 79
Bulletins tell dealers how to fix known problems. A warranty extension means the manufacturer pays for that repair for longer.
- This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy...
- Fuel system, gasoline
- Equipment: electrical: anti-theft devices
- Equipment
- This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy...
- This informational bulletin provides information on wheel bearing P/N 13582664 being received new with...
- This technical bulletin provides a procedure to reprogram the media disc player with the latest...
- Equipment: electrical: anti-theft devices
- Power train
- Vehicle Recalls
What 1999 Pontiac Montana owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
Airbag light came on and transmission shift lever moves but does not engage transmission.
I had an accident where a car fish tailed in front of me slid directly in front of mine. I hit the other car while going 40 MPH, it was a t*bone collision. My front air bags deployed at the time of collision. After getting out of the vehicle I noticed that the passenger side air bag was laying in the front passenger seat with the air bag still inflated. I do remember that for a long time before today the red airbag light was on. I thought this would cause the air bags not to work. I do have pictures of the damage, and the defect with the air bag.
It seems that the this particular make and model has known problems with the cooling system. On a family trip to virginia the car started to overheat and I stopped the vehicle. When parked red fluid was visible under the car and upon testing was found out to be coolant leak. Car was towed to pa and mechanic reported loss and replacement of radiator/hoses and lower intake manifold (gasket) a labor intensive work costing about 1700 to fix all the issue with this over heating.
Electrical components and rear light failure including breaks an turn signals.
1. Events unknown 2. Cooling system failure, all the time, undriveable 3. Unable to correct failure.
First the driver's side window stopped working, then the tail lights just went out on the 99 pontiac montana. They were just working and then on my way home they just stopped working. I replaced all bulbs and they still aren't working. Went to see a technician and he says it is an electrical problem. After that the radio display flickers in and out when the brake is pushed on. I've searched to see if I could find an answer as to why this happened and there are many websites with the same complaints as I have stated here with the same problems.
Vehicle spontaneously caught fire while stuck in snow drift. Fire was all consuming - fire truck had to come out it out - just shell of van was left. We were able to get out as fire was slow to take off. Fire started in engine compartment. Fire chief said we would never know cause as no engine compartment remains.
Dealer sold me a pontiac montana minivan and I only had it for 2 weeks, and it won't start, it had a carfax report that said it was in a car accident, this was not told or revealed to me by the dealer. Now I am stranded without a car to get around and no warranty was given. I ask for a warranty the salesman said it only comes with financing.
Two separate gasket problems on my 1999 pontiac montana mini van. The most recent was today in aug. Of 2008 the local garage told me that my vans lower intake manifold gasket needed replaced for about $700. The problem was noticed when my temperature light came on and after filling radiator I saw water leaking underneath vehicle.
Compare the 1999 Pontiac Montana
Other model years
Questions about the 1999 Pontiac Montana
Is the 1999 Pontiac Montana reliable?
Owners have filed 235 complaints about the 1999 Pontiac Montana, 2.9 times a typical Montana model year.
What is the most common problem with the 1999 Pontiac Montana?
Engine and cooling, with 100 complaints, typically around 61,139 miles. Next is airbags (32).
How many recalls does the 1999 Pontiac Montana have?
5 recalls, covering latches/locks/linkages, air bags and steering.
What year does the Pontiac Montana have bad engine?
The Pontiac Montana model years with the most engine complaints are 1999 (100 complaints), 2000 (72 complaints) and 2001 (38 complaints).
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