My parents bought a 2000 montana van in november of 2002. It seems to be leaking antifreeze. The local gm dealer where they purchased it, says it is the intake manifiold gaskets. For $2,500 they could repair the problem. I took the matter up with the owner of the dealership, and showed him a copy of a gm service bulletin which talks about the problem with the gasket material and asked him what they would do about it. He said he would look into it but could not promise anything. An update is that he said that gm would possibly cover 99.9% of the bill. The reason he gave was that the origional owner of the van purchased it at the same dealership and had it regularily serviced there and they have all the service records. The van had 97,000 km when my parents purchased it, since then they have only added 1000km, my parents also figured it was leaking from the day it was purchased. I am not sure if the dealer did an inspection, you would think they would and a leak would have been found.the van is being repaired at the moment, so we will see what comes of this.
2000 Pontiac Montana engine complaints
Page 3 of 4: complaints 41 to 70 of 72, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My montana has had problems since I bought it used at a certified gm used car lot at lindsey cheverolet. It has been buring through at least 2 quarts of oil or more with-in less then 700 miles. I took it in to the dealership and they checked for leaks but could not find any. There is no smoke from the engine or tail pipe. There is no leaks on the engine anywhere or at the oil pan. They would not do anything about it. I have browsed the web and have found other owners that are having the same problem with their 2000 pontiac montana. I do not have the kind of money to spend on oil like it is going out of style. Is there any recalls on this problem or can anyone else help me.
Loosing coolant, coolant in oil. Problem was diagnosed as intake manifold gasket leak. Problem still exists after repair on 04-01-03, 24,535 miles. Current mileage 26,000. Extended warranty covered $301.21 of the repair. Rowan pontiac/gmc did not want to honor extended warranty for the rental car, zero deductible, or the repair itself.
Transmission went out at around 44000 miles. Dealer said the "lip seal" failed inside transmission, after taking it in several times for diagnosis. Would not assist with repair cost. Ended up having it repaired at aamco. A/c is currently out on the low setting (#1). Not yet repaired. Just repaired the cooling system. Dealer said it was an internal leak. Van kept getting low on coolant, had to keep filling it up, however never saw a leak. Dealer said problem with the manifold, and coolant was leaking thru and being evaportated, therefore no telltale leak. Cost $600 to repair (at 53,000) miles. I hate this van. This is the worst one I've had. Unfortunately, I did not buy an extended warranty.
Engine - vehicle was leaking coolant through intake manifold gasket into engine. Intake manifold needed to be resealed. Pontiac assistance is refusing to help at this time. This is a common problem with the v6 and gm is refusing to acknowledge it. Emission - secondary air injection pump failed at 33025 miles and was covered under warranty. This pump failed again at 44000 miles, just 8 months later and cost 160.00 for labor. Emission pumps should last longer than 8 months. Power window - drivers side power window motor failed 9/2002 at 38500 miles. Faulty wiring cluster needed to be replaced at 12528 (n/c).
1/3/04 van failed to start-reason unknown. Took to mechanic to check out and discovered oil leak in the engine at 50,000 this is crazy, this type of thing should not happen at 50,000 miles this is obviously a problem in the engineering or part that are being used.
Consumer complained about engine problems. A variety of gaskets were replaced; however, engine problems still exist.
Lower intake manafold leaking coolant into engin oil.
My wife and I were on a rural road in northern michigan when our van stopped running with no prior problems. We ended up walking almost seven miles in bitter cold to get back home. Later on we learned that the dex type coolant had leaked into the engine and caused the cam to fail.
Consumer complained about vehicle cutting off. Took vehicle to a mechanic, and mechanic stated water was getting into the oil.
Intake manifold gasket leaked coolant into the engine crankcase. This caused hydraulic lifter damage - lifters had to be replaced and gasket replaced. Additional engine damage is unknown at this time.
Consumer noticed that vehicle had a low coolant level. Took the vehicle to the dealer, who determined that the intake manifold was cracked, and had to be replaced.
Lower manifold and water pump are both leaking on vehicle.*mr the water pump and the manifold gaskets needed to be replaced. The first major failure occurred the day after the consumer took delivery of the vehicle. The vehicle wouldn't come out of first gear. This was the result of the vehicle being shipped without transmission fluid. The transmission had to be replaced. *ph
Dealer replaced lower intake manifold and related sealer. Also, replaced the water pump, and flushed the cooling system. Coolant went into the engine.
Problems with paint, gaskets, brakes and cooling system. *mr there was a hissing noise which had come from the tire area due to misalignment, low coolant light had come on, the gaskets ,oil pump and drive o-ring were replaced, the brake pedal had gone to the floor while stopped at a light which happened more than twice and seemed as if they weren't going to work at all and had to pump the pedal to bring the pedal back enough to allow stopping. There was an incident where the consumer had to activate the emergency brake to avoid an accident. The warning light never had come on. The master cylinder was replaced, the front brake pads, resurfaced rotors, cleaned and adjusted rear brakes. Other problems are as followed: the trim on the driver side windshield had come apart, the handle on the back latch had come off, and both turn signal bulbs needed to be replaced. *scc
Intake manifold gaskets failed at 50k, were replaced in january of 2002. Now in april 2003 we have the same problem with the intake manifold gaskets leaking and have antifreeze leak in the water pump as well.
The intake manifold cracked while driving, which caused coolant to leak onto the engine.
Engine spuddering and died. Will not start. Garage found coolant in oil. Had internal engine damage. Engine being replaced. Suspect premature failure of intake manifold gasket or dex-cool coolant causing problem. Need to investigate.
2000 pontiac montana with faulty intake manifold gasket at 42k
00 montana has been at dealer 3 times in 8 days.the low coolant level light came on & would not go off.took veh to dealer on a tues was informed would have back in 2-3.after review there was a leak in the lower intake manifold but leak was not external since no fluids were on ground.supposed parts were replaced along w/gaskets.advised dealer coolant had to be going "somewhere" if not external; so requested for an oil change to be done since bad coolant may have gotten into oil. Dealer refused but service mgr approved.veh was ret'd to me on fri.upon leaving dealer engine had a chirping noise not there previous.spoke with salesman and he confirmed there was a noise & to bring veh back in next day for service to look at.on way home, low coolant light came on again;problem not fixed.upon taking vehicle to dealer following day they claimed their was coolant or some form of liquid on belt and would clean off.service department stated the low coolant light did not come on.assured us vehcile safe to drive.the rest of weekend low coolant light kept coming on at sporadic intervals. Contacted dealer monday morning;was advised to bring in on wednesday for further investigation.dropped vehicle off & dealership had vehicle for additional day & advised the sensor was bad and was replaced.dealership states chirping noise was gone as they took apart belts and fully cleaned again. Engine at time of drop off was running rough.dealer states after computer and diagnostic testing engine is fine.recv'd vehicle back w/ sensor replaced;chirping noise somewhat dissipated-however not fully & was advised vehicle is safe to drive.vehilce appears to be okay but still notice not running as crisp as before.dealer affirms since vehicle under warranty to see how things go & advise if any further problem.another pontiac dealer w/in 15 miles had 3 montana's in service depart. For same related issues.one of those vehicles sustained $5,100 on a 99 model manufacture defect w/engines &/or parts?mll
Low coolant light intermittently illuminates. Dealer diagnosed problem as a leak in the lower intake manifold. Dealer has attempted to repair several times, but problem still occurring. Ph
Pontiac montana 2000: my car only has 49,000 miles yet has a major problem. I just got a repair estimate for my intake manifold gasket which is leaking dexcool out and into my engine. Repair, which after researching on the internet, appears common yet has not been recalled by gm.
Consumer states that while driving and without warning the intake manifold cracks causing fluid to leak. Dealer notified. Ts
Vehicle will not start. Second occurrence. Fearful of vehicle safety and reliability. Informed on previous failure that problem was fuel pump. Fell vehicle has too few miles to be having these types of problems.
A malfunction is present in the exhaust system that causes exhaust fumes to escape into passenger's compartment that causes passengers to become ill. Dealer has yet to be contacted. Please provide further details.
Vehicle stalls at any speed, has stalled 10 times so far. Consumer noticed it never stalls in sunny weather, always when it rains or after it has rained. Vehicle taken to dealer 4 times, cannot find a cause for problem.
Since 10/25/00 when the first time this van proceeded to overheat and the theromstat was changed in ohio on vacation. Brought it back to the dealer in mo and was told they had to tighten a clamp and check the theromstat and they said problem solved. Its been in the shop for various other problems but always smelling antifreeze and then the air conditoner wasnt cooling the way it should and the radio was replaced due to the fact the lcd screen went out. On 9-13 - 01 was back in the dealer ...different dealer than it was purchased from ...for various items and one to check on the air conditioner for we were going on a trip...was told everything was fine. Went on trip and on the way home ..the van started to overheat again...stopped pulled over and let the van rest and shut off AC and proceeded to hotel and then drove home the next day and in the dealership it went only for them to tell me it was a defective raditor cap and debri in between the raditor and condersor.
While vehicle was in park in garage without keys in ignition, vehicle caught on fire. Police report stated that fire began in engine compartment. Fire spread from vehicle to the garage and also melted the neighbors vinyl siding.
Heavy valve lifter noise - indicating possible early engine failure
Several days prior to engine overheating experienced electrical affecting the radio -- then engine overheated requiring vehicle to be towed -- two more time that same week after being repaired each time the engine overheated -- on third time mfg. Replaced engine completely. Three weeks after new engine installed the electrical problems with radio reoccurred as well as interior & exterior lights flickering followed a few days later with the "new" engine overheating. In repair shop now for fourth repair.
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