1999 Pontiac Montana: engine failure

Filed Nov 26, 2007 · Engine · VA

Every year, a week or two after turning on the heat in the van, the heater stops blowing warm air. While sitting at idle the temp gauge rises extremely high. Every year the dealer has fixed the problem. This year they are telling me that I need a new engine! After researching online, here and at respected sites such as edmonds.com it seems to me like these problems should have been addressed long before I even bought my van so many years ago!!!!

Filed Mar 13, 2007 · Engine · CA

Driving the van I noticed the vehicle started to over heat. I turned it off and waited 1 hour for it to cool down. Started it up again after filling the radiator, with the engine running I made sure the coolant was at the correct level. Within 5 min the car overheated again and this time it died before I could turn it off. I have been told it would be best to replace the engine at 4100.00 for that. I searched the internet and found out there are many other van owners with the same problem. They used a rubber seal without steel so that it coolant leaks into the engine and mixes with the oil, and dries out the camshaft and then it breaks. In canada there is already a class action lawsuit for this reason. They (manufacture) know there is a problem but wont say that it is there fault. I am also looking to find someone to take the case as I currently have a lswn ornament due to I don't have the 4100 to replace the engine.

Filed Apr 16, 2006 · Engine · 99,000 miles · CT

My 1999 pontiac montana has had persistent problems with a faulty intake manifold gasket where antifreeze is required to be added every few weeks. The manifold gasket was replaced by a gm dealership at 65,000 miles, but shortly after began to leak again. The vehicle has now at 99,000 miles has had a catastrophic engine failure, and an estimated $5,000 repair. I believe the engine has ceased as a result of the faulty intake manifold gasket.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Engine · 70,030 miles · PA

My 99 montana (70,030 miles but never a problem) failed on us about 15 miles east of hagerstown md while returning to pittsburgh from ocean city on 7/13/2003. The short story is that the engine failed with little prior warning and had to be replaced. There was a catastrophic failure of the intake manifold gasket, I have it as well as photos. The leaking coolant mixed with the engine oil and the resulting emulsified combination resulted in a ruined engine in a very short time. The engine had new oil because I changed it on 7/5 at 69,000 miles as specified in owner's manual prior to leaving pittsburgh. I still have the old oil in my garage and it is in good condition. I had the van towed 180 miles to my dealer, the power of bowser, so that they could tell me that there's nothing they or gm can do for me. The local gm service rep looked at it on 7/17 and said no goodwill warranty as did the people at pontiac customer relations. (1-800-pmcares should be 1-800-wesayno). The people gm "empowers" to make these decisions are not technically trained such that they can even understand what happened and yet they make the decision that it's tough luck. I wouldn't be so upset about this situation if I had done something that contributed to the failure of the engine. But, I'm a fanatic, I change my oil every 3k and do all the other stuff that's recommended in the owner's manual. There is no way that a competently designed and manufactured engine should experience the type of failure that the engine in my montana had. I've had no choice but to have the engine replaced at a cost of $4,100. I just paid it off in may. The fact that gm has internally recognized a problem with the gasket via internal service bulletins and didn't give their customers this information is malpractice as far as I'm concerned. I'd be in jail if I did this in my work. We pursued action with the bbb auto line but, were turned down for an arbitration hearing based on the mileage.

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Engine · 53,000 miles · SD

My wife and I own a 1999 pontiac montana. In september of 2002 (~53000 miles)we noticed that the low coolant light came on. So we added coolant. Then again in november the light came on again so we contacted our personal mechanic since the vehicle was no longer under warranty. He told us that the plastic upper intake manifold and the gasket was bad. He told us that this was a common problem with this type of engine. He said that gm dealers in the area told him that it was due to the manifold being made of plastic and the fact that gm uses dexcool coolant, which eats up the plastic and the gaskets. He also told us that because of this some of the coolant spilled into the engine oil. The cost of the repairs were $392.57. We now will have a good chance of spending $2000 - $2500 on a new engine because of the coolant in the engine oil. We did call the dealer who sold us the van and they told us to call pontiac. We did call the pontiac customer service center in michigan and filed a complaint. They told us that they have never heard of such a problem. We feel that gm should stand behind these problems. Please respond. Thanks

Filed Jan 15, 2004 · Engine, Transmission · 70,000 miles · UN

Engine. Poor gasket/coolant design allowed coolant to leak into engine causing cam bearings to sieze causing my cam shaft to break. Vehicle is still 1,500km away at a dealership who is currently replacing with new engine. My cost= engine+labour+extra week holiday for being stranded+plane ticket to return home {and to fly back to pick it up once everything is repaired} I checked the internet on a hunch and was absolutly amazed at the extreamly high amound of people having the same problem. The smacks of a bad design/ insufficient testing/ and cover-up on gm's part even with their bullitens for this available on the internet.

Filed Sep 24, 2003 · Engine · 59,000 miles · TN

Complete engine failure and radiator slude on 1999 pontiac montana as a result of dex-cool coolant

Filed Aug 3, 2003 · Engine · 95,000 miles · MA

Gmc knew of a problem with leaking manifold intake gaskets. I recently had the problem, paid over $600 to have it repaired, and a few weeks later, the engine blew...costing me close to an additional $3500. I contacted gm before the repairs were done, and they refused to help me.

Filed Jan 20, 2003 · Engine · 53,000 miles · SD

My wife & I own a 1999 pontiac montana. In september with 53,000 miles we noticed that the low coolant light came on. We added coolant and about 2 weeks later the light came on again. I then contacted my personal mechanic (since the vehicle was no longer under warranty). He told me that the intake manifold was bad and that this was a very common problem with this type of engine. He also told me that gm dealers told him that it was a result of the intake manifold being made of plastic and that the dexcool was eating up the gaskets and the plastic manifolds. The cost of the repair on the intake portion of the engine was $392.57. He also told us that as a result of this, coolant spilled into our engine oil. This means that we have a good chance of engine failure in the near future and would have to replace the engine. Replacing the engine would cost $2000 -$2500. We did contact the dealer where we bought the vehicle and posted a complaint. They told us to contact pontiac. We did call the pontiac customer service center in michigan an filed a complaint over the phone. They claimed that they have never heard of such a thing. Please respond. Thanks

Filed Nov 8, 2001 · Engine, Transmission · PA

We have occasionally had problems with the transmission shifting hard, whining & banging into gear-this goes away if you turn the vehicle off & then back on . It occurrs at slower speeds not highway speeds & seems to happen only on short trips or longer trips with several stops. Recently there was a coolant leak in the system , which a local shop "repaired" for $67 the first week of october. Almost two weeks later the vehicle began running hot again & we were then told it needed a new head gasket. We had the vehicle back for a week when after getting off the highway & stopping for a red light the vehicle started to stall & the low oil pressure light came on. After parking the car & restarting it -it started making a horrible sound & we had it towed in to the nearest pontiac dealer. There we were told that the head gasket shouldnt have needed to be replaced that those engines almost never leak from the head gasket but apparantly they commonly leak from the intake valves. In addition, they said that the garage that did the head gasket did something wrong which caused a blockage in the engine & prevented oil from getting into the top of the engine. They said there were two bolts that were loose & eventually found to be sheared off & that one of the outer heades-not the cylinder heads - were cracked. I have no way of finding out what actually caused the engine failure. I found no technical service bulletins on the head gaskets or the intake valves. Rif the engine had to heads a ardiastiotnetrstarting ccor.