Least reliable rating???

According to a recent report on Consumer Reports, the Chevrolet Uplander was rated one of the least reliable vehicles available for sale.http://autos.msn.com/advice/CRArt.aspx?contentid=4023544
Do you agree or disagree? I think it's total BS. I love my Uplander and think it's a much better improvement over my previous Chevrolet Ventures that I owned.( Maybe the folks at Consumers Report mistakenly identified a Venture as an Uplander during their study, yeah that could be the reason:lol:) What do you think?

I read many of your very insightful posts from the Venture forum.


I just rented an Uplander from Hertz yesterday to drive from Dover, DE to Norfolk, VA. I was most curious about this vehicle because of the extensive work I have recently completed on my 1997 Trans Port. The Uplander, in my opinion, is just another Venture. The one I drove has a 3.9L motor, but what I liked about it is the engine well is longer, so changing the rear plugs is probably doable. If the 3.9L performs as well as the 3.8L, you should get 200k, easily, with no major problems, but other than that, I would expect the same reliability issues found with the TP's and Ventures. If you picked yours up cheap, I'd say you have a great vehicle.

I read many of your very insightful posts from the Venture forum.


I just rented an Uplander from Hertz yesterday to drive from Dover, DE to Norfolk, VA. I was most curious about this vehicle because of the extensive work I have recently completed on my 1997 Trans Port. The Uplander, in my opinion, is just another Venture. The one I drove has a 3.9L motor, but what I liked about it is the engine well is longer, so changing the rear plugs is probably doable. If the 3.9L performs as well as the 3.8L, you should get 200k, easily, with no major problems, but other than that, I would expect the same reliability issues found with the TP's and Ventures. If you picked yours up cheap, I'd say you have a great vehicle.
Actually, I believe the Uplander pretty much was based upon the Venture and was meant to get GM to the next "redesign" of their crossover vehicle platform,(they don't call them minivans anymore.) GM was supposed to replace these vehicles in 2009 with a version of their Lambda platform, but it was canceled due to poor minivan sales,( Gee, I wonder if the poor sales are in relation to how GM handled the intake gasket problem??)
There are improvements in the Uplander which IMO make it better than the Venture. GM increased the front end length, making the engine bay a lot bigger, like you said, "making it easier to change the rear plugs." What I also like about the increased size of the engine bay is you can also check or add brake fluid and the power steering fluid, something next to impossible with it's predecessor.It also is easier to service the battery and it won't take "a whole weekend" just to remove and replace it :lol: The van also rides on 17" tires making it a lot better on the road. I immediately noticed the difference as you sit up higher, almost like an SUV. I also think the new headlamp design may do away with the issue of the lens popping off as it ages. I also got my van without the power sliding doors. I had enough with the one on my Venture to the point where I just stopped using it in 2001, and reverted to using it manually.I also like the radio/CD player being a whole assembly, rather than having a separate CD player practically on the floor. It seems as if GM had finally listened to it's customers as it was designing this van. Let's hope this rings true as time goes on.And also let's hope the intake gasket issue has finally been put to rest. I always said that GM is backwards in some ways. They tend to work out the bugs in a vehicle over a period of a few years, then they go and discontinue the model once everything has been worked out. Maybe this will be the case again this time around. Come back in 10 years and I'll let you know how things held up :p

that was probably based on the fact that the uplander is nothing more than and venture with a different motor in it.and gm still has the same electrical problems in the uplander that have haunted them for 10 to 12 years. i had one gm salesman tell me that all the problems with the older style minivans[venture,montana, silos] are in the past. and i told him if gm does not straighten them selves out with all the **** they have sold then gm will be in the past.i don't know what gm's problem is with their quality but they need to address it asap but it's probably too late for them to recoup most of the people that they sold **** to. the imports are looking pretty good as for as quality and price. if your going to buy something to drive then skip from g to o then go on to z. leave the g and m alone.. this is just the way it is in my book:licka: :licka: :licka:

that was probably based on the fact that the uplander is nothing more than and venture with a different motor in it.and gm still has the same electrical problems in the uplander that have haunted them for 10 to 12 years.
Do you have any evidence that the Uplander has inherited the Venture's electrical issues? From my experience and those of others that I know who own these vehicles, there are no electrical issues that have manifested themselves. Shortly after taking possession of my first Venture the electrical issues began, not so with my Uplander. While it may share some commonalities with it's predecessor , the Venture, there are many ways that the Uplander is way different. I've noticed, especially concerning the taillight/brake issue that plagued the Venture was hopefully corrected on the Uplander. The taillights on the vehicle stick out a little farther and with better sealing, the runoff from the rain should not wreak havoc with the sockets. There are many improvements GM made to the Uplander to set it apart from the Venture.

the uplander has problems with the dash instrument panel lights, the interior lights.and what the thing has been on the market 2 years. i think that gm had to do something because noone in their right mind was going to buy a venture,silo,and montana after the 12 years that gm did nothing to correct the problems with the 3.4 motors. so they came up with the 3.9 and being gm there has to be problems with this motor too .may not be intake/head gasket issue but there is an issue in it that hasn't surfaced yet..i have driven an uplander to me it's just a remodled venture that they changed the front and rear look and put a different motor[ to get away from the 3.4] gm could have changed the 3.4 and had a good motor if they knew what they were doing with it. but gm doesn't give a **** as long as something sells and they aren't held responsible for it...as for myself i wouldn't buy an uplander if gm were selling them at buy one get one free..you wanted one you got one enjoy

But... Wait! Isn't this the same bunch of Consumer Reports editors who called the 1988 Dodge Reliant K a "Consumers' Best Buy" back then? Yeah... I'm hanging on their every word, since they are engineering and technical "experts." Just ask them.

Lemon-Aid confirms, Pg 68 of the SUV book refers to them as "poison", and here's a wonderful page of GMs that includes this van, with mostly negative comments. The old Lumina APV series was better built and longer lasting.
http://thetruthaboutcars.com/?cat=10

How about some reviews by REAL owners and not a bunch of older men sitting around berating vehicles for a living:http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_102956.html

LOL, you were joking right, becouse they have turned around i honestly hated chevy/gmc/buick/saturn for many years but they have brought thier act together. the new uplander has MANY differences than the venture but most important is the build quality, which is as good if not better than any import( I'd know ive owned many). Honestly most profetional car ratings are SO bias when it comes to american auto makers(exept when it comes to ford, they really do suck) if you look 90% of the cars in the ratings for reliable are toyota or honda. if you ask me the uplander is the best van I've ever owned.

that was probably based on the fact that the uplander is nothing more than and venture with a different motor in it.and gm still has the same electrical problems in the uplander that have haunted them for 10 to 12 years. i had one gm salesman tell me that all the problems with the older style minivans[venture,montana, silos] are in the past. and i told him if gm does not straighten them selves out with all the **** they have sold then gm will be in the past.i don't know what gm's problem is with their quality but they need to address it asap but it's probably too late for them to recoup most of the people that they sold **** to. the imports are looking pretty good as for as quality and price. if your going to buy something to drive then skip from g to o then go on to z. leave the g and m alone.. this is just the way it is in my book:licka: :licka: :licka:

LOL, you were joking right, becouse they have turned around i honestly hated chevy/gmc/buick/saturn for many years but they have brought thier act together. the new uplander has MANY differences than the venture but most important is the build quality, which is as good if not better than any import( I'd know ive owned many). Honestly most profetional car ratings are SO bias when it comes to american auto makers(exept when it comes to ford, they really do suck) if you look 90% of the cars in the ratings for reliable are toyota or honda. if you ask me the uplander is the best van I've ever owned. well i guess you could look at it this way it took gm 9 years to get it right!!!!!!!!!:evillol:

At least Toyota has been "knocked down" a few notches in quality ratings recently to the point where the "all heralded" Consumer Reports can no longer recommend certain models to their subscribers.

I own one of these and it has been in and out of the shop so many times. Take these for example.....rotors, A/C, swaybar and endlinks, voltage reg, alternator (sp), doors (4 times) and fuel sensor (said you had no gas when the tank was full). Please dont think these are the "great" vans the salesman makes it out to be. I cant even get rid of the thing because I cant get more than 10k on trade in and its a 2005 with 48k miles. I got more than that on my 01 tahoe i got rid of in sept this year. Stay far away from the uplander.

well i guess it's going to take gm a little longer to make something that will last more than 40,000 miles before living in the shop. i don't think they can ever build a good reliable vehicle again ever . just my rock in the window