To Buy A Montana or Not!?!?!?

[3rdOne]

Hi
I am considering purchasing a used Montana.

I currently have a 91 Plymouth Grand Voyager. I really want to get away from Plymouths and Dodges. My Plymouth was good until it began having transmission problems. After talking to several people I have heard Chrysler's transmission are known for problems.

Also I want rear A/C and heat, as I have 3 children. (who either freeze or burn up in our plymouth!)

I know this sounds weird, but when I have to travel to take my youngest child to a distant hospital, I have been renting different types of vans to see which I like driving the best. Well it serves 2 purposes: I get a 3day test drive and I don't trust my Voyager to go that far anymore! lol

So the last van I rented was a Pontiac Montana. I liked it very much. It did seem to have limited visibility compared to my Voyager. But let's face it my voyager is like a bus with no tinted glass!

Anyway I just wanted some feedback on Montanas. (I also like Nissan Quest) Any known major problems? Opinions? I usually drive my vehicles till they croak so is Montanas reliable? I don't want to get stuck alongside the road with 3 kids.

I can't afford brand new so what year models are good?

Sorry to ramble. Vehicle buying is a huge deal for me. appreciated

[goat455]

I would recommend against it. I bought my 1997 Pontiac Montana brand new in Oct 1997. I drove it thereafter for 7 years until in Nov 2004 it finally broke down. It had less than 93K miles. It turns out that GM motors of this vintage (1997-2003) maybe later are infamous for their bad head gaskets. The coolant that these engines require - DEXCOOL - the orange stuff, prematurely wears out the head gasket. This is what cause my engine to fail at only 92,500 miles. I'm now involved in a class action suit against GM hoping to recover some of my cost for the replacement of the engine. Other than the bad engine, I loved my Monty. Sleek design, very comfortable.

[muzzleman]

i just spent $3000 on new tranny and head gasket on my 2000 montana with 113000 kms on it.funny thing is we still like the van!

my mechanic summed it up wisely- "if someone owns a vehicle, they own trouble,but you don't see too many people riding a bicycle"

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by goat455

I would recommend against it. I bought my 1997 Pontiac Montana brand new in Oct 1997. I drove it thereafter for 7 years until in Nov 2004 it finally broke down. It had less than 93K miles. It turns out that GM motors of this vintage (1997-2003) maybe later are infamous for their bad head gaskets. The coolant that these engines require - DEXCOOL - the orange stuff, prematurely wears out the head gasket. This is what cause my engine to fail at only 92,500 miles. I'm now involved in a class action suit against GM hoping to recover some of my cost for the replacement of the engine. Other than the bad engine, I loved my Monty. Sleek design, very comfortable.

I own 2 1997 Chevy Ventures, a sister to the Montana. I like my vans, one has 161,000 miles while the other has 92,500 miles on it. I thought these vans were more well known for their intake gasket problems, not their head gaskets. Anyways, GM has issued a revised intake gasket to replace the ones that were faulty. The jury is still out on reliability on the 2004 vans pertaining to the intake gaskets. Having worked in a garage, and seeing all makes and models, my thought on the matter is if you like the van, buy it. Each make and model has it's own idiosyncrasies, and if you know about these in advance you can take measures to correct, or limit them from occuring in advance. Keep up a good maintenance routine, (oil changes, fluid checks/replace,tires, brakes, etc.) plus good preventative maintenance, replacing normal wear items before their useful life is up, will keep the vehicle in good running order. Also, keeping tabs on this forum for other owners problems and solutions can better educate yourself on how your van operates.

[sparky65]

Mine is a 2000, yes the intake and head gaskets are a known problem. My mechanic said that all other brands of cars have re designed there engines and trans execpt for gm which is long overdo. Also I think that 2000 models with the power sliding door has a leak problem, put your hand down into the 1/4panel behined the rear wheal were the jack is stored and see if there is mud in there.

[daman]

I have 2, a '95 trans sport and a '02 Montana no problems with eather
even pulled out the old coolant(green)in my '95 and put in the dex-col(orange),with 20,000 TRUBLE FREE miles since then,I love my vans

[NitrousMan]

Originally Posted by goat455

I would recommend against it. I bought my 1997 Pontiac Montana brand new in Oct 1997. I drove it thereafter for 7 years until in Nov 2004 it finally broke down. It had less than 93K miles. It turns out that GM motors of this vintage (1997-2003) maybe later are infamous for their bad head gaskets. The coolant that these engines require - DEXCOOL - the orange stuff, prematurely wears out the head gasket. This is what cause my engine to fail at only 92,500 miles. I'm now involved in a class action suit against GM hoping to recover some of my cost for the replacement of the engine. Other than the bad engine, I loved my Monty. Sleek design, very comfortable.

Actually the problem that caused the head gasket to go bad was your leaking intake gasket. It would leak out enough antifreeze to cause you to have a hot spot in the head from low coolant and blow your head gasket. Just fixed this problem on my 97 Transport so I know.

[boss44057]

We have a 99 Montana, would not recommend purchasing one. This has been the WORST van ever. Granted has great features, VCR, Climate control, etc. But mechanically after 95,000 miles, your in trouble and expect major repairs. Just had months of repairs done. Thank goodness we purchased extended warranty, so we didn't pay out of pocket, but lost months of having vehicle. Transmission replaced, T-stat, water pump, intake manifold gasket, head gasket and now power sliding door is acting up and interior lights will not shut off, unless overriden. Constant service engine soon light on, becoming part of norm for van. Good luck!!

[mhall02]

Well, here is my story. In June of 2005 I bought my in-laws 1999 Montan, which they bought new. The vehicle now has 140,000 miles and runs good. The in-laws had the 100,000 mile warranty and had a few high dollar items fixed under warranty. The intake gasket was replaced twice, the last time was the newest version of the gasket and so far so good. The transmission rebuilt at around 50,000 - 60,000 miles and it seems good (so far). The only item I've replaced since I had the van has been the serpentine belt tensioner, the old one froze up and threw the belt, fortuanally it happened in front of the house so no problem to replace. I like the van but am skeptical about seeing 200,000 miles w/o some additional major repairs. We bought the van at trade in value (since the in-laws were just going to trade it in) and it looks great and seems to run great. Doesn't burn oil, AC and heat work great, paint is in good condition, so far a good deal but time will tell. Truthfully I think the Dodge, Ford and GM mini-vans all have automatic transmission issues and the 3.4 is well know for its intake gasket issue, so I am aware of what I may potentially be dealing with. However, for what I paid for the van I can have some pretty major repairs and still be under what a similar Honda Odyssey would have sold for. My 2 cents worth.

[hufhouse]

I have a 2000 Montana with about 84000 miles. I just repaired the intake gasket problem, as well as all maintenance (plugs, wires, belts, hoses, etc.). We love the van and we are planning to keep it for a long time, if possible.

This is a traveling dream. I can drive from my house in NE Ohio all the way to Myrtle Beach, SC on one tank of gas...that's about 10-11 hours of highway driving.

Comfortable, quiet, lots of features. I wish I could just keep it the rest of my life...but I doubt that's going to happen!

A lot of the folks who use this board show up here because of problems, including myself. I found the board when I had a problem. So, you probably aren't going to get a good "sample" of Montana owners by asking folks on this board.

The intake manifold gasket problem has been solved, so a newer model Montana won't have that problem. That was undoubtedly the biggest problem with the engine in the older Montana.

[shogunl]

Think very careful before making commitment. I got 2 of them and I would say they are not the most reliable vehicles around. Don't get me wrong it is OK but great.I honestly beleive GM can do a lot better job.
Last year my buddy had his engine replaced (Intake gasket leaked coolant and blew the engine $5000) then within a month his transmission blew up costing him another $3000. I haven't had that much bad luck but I have replaced intake manifold gasket on both vehicles as well as rear tail light circuits along with other small little things. Like I say it runs but small little things going wrong just plain annoying.

[tksorensen]

As a 2000 Pontiac Montana owner I would Highly recommend THE NISSAN!! This Montana has been a pain in the butt! The usual intake and head gaskets, but also front hubs, front struts, strut bearings, rear air shocks (twice) It goes through brakes way too quickly and wears them unevenly, erratic, hard shifting, failed power window switch, burned out display on the radio.

What is really crazy is that when it is running good it has great creature comforts and is a pleasure to drive. It has good heating and AC, good instrumentation and controls, comfortable seats, sliding door is great, the built in air compressor is very useful. GM could have a great vehicle with a few quality controls. It is a real shame.

['97ventureowner]

PLEASE do not bring up old threads! This one hasn't been active in over a year. Please re-read he AF Guidelines you accepted to follow when you join for more info:http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...uidelines.html

[redly1]

why are people spending $5000 for an engine and $3000 for a transmission??

Buy used/reconditioned stuff!!

I've had an 03 montana for the last two years without any major hiccups. Right before it went off warranty, I took it to the dealer and pointed out the leaking Intake gasket, which they surprisingly took care of with no arguement or fees. We've got 65000 miles are still running well (knock on wood)

Only getting about 23MPG, all highway (75MPH freeway), which isn't bad but less than the van it replaced - a 93 Silouette with the 3800.

I'd buy another 2-3 year old Montana, as they can be had for about half what you'd pay for an Oddy or Sienna.
Probably not going to get another van, though. Fell in love with the GMC Acadia a while back.