is the 1999 venture reliable?

[shizznizz980]

title says it all

[534BC]

Mines been good since I bought it at 30,000 miles , It now has about 80,000.

Before warranty was up I had them do some intake recall, cv joint abs brake work, power door work, one power rear window.

Since then (36,000) the only trouble I've had is a bad battery and the power door opens some times after shutting it. Brakes and tires, and oil,ect.

['97ventureowner]

Well, that's a loaded question. If you scan through these postings on this forum, you can get an idea of some of the issues that owners experience with their vehicles. Some of the biggies are, intake manifold gasket failures, head gasket problems (to a lesser extent), electrical issues ( sliding door, taillights,turn signals)and replacement of spark plugs. Some of the smaller reported problems include brake issues (ABS and sensors), transmission, rust (mainly older vans in bad weather areas) water leaks, AC issues, and fuel gauge issues. Working for garages in the past, I have noticed that the vehicles who were maintained on a regular basis and preventative maintenance performed in a timely manner, tended to be more reliable. With that said, if you are looking at a vehicle , try to see if it has maintenance records or reciepts for service done. These vans do have their problems but so do other vehicles. I have owned 2 1997 Ventures, and were very pleased with them. I probably would consider a later model Venture or Uplander when the time comes to replace my current one. You can also do research into these vehicles with Consumer Reports,( you may have to look at back issues of their annual report to get stats for 1999. You also can look online to some consumer opinion sites to get more info.

[DRW1000]

Originally Posted by 534BC

Mines been good since I bought it at 30,000 miles , It now has about 80,000.

Before warranty was up I had them do some intake recall, cv joint abs brake work, power door work, one power rear window.

Since then (36,000) the only trouble I've had is a bad battery and the power door opens some times after shutting it. Brakes and tires, and oil,ect.

I suppose it depends on what sort of issues bother you. All vehicles have issues. Some seem to upset their owners more than brands. I have a 99 Windstar and a 99 Venture. I have a bout 1000 posts on AF and all but about 20 in the Windstar section. That would seem to indicate that the Winstar is more troublesome. But really it is mostly because I drive the Windstar and my Wife drives the Venture.

I would say that between the two they have a similar number of issues. Here is a list off the top of my head of what issues we have had:

Venture (140000KM)
- Intake gaskets (warranty)
- Battery post internal break
- Fan resistor pack
- Water pump
- rear fan loose connector
- melted brake lamp sockets

Windstar (230000 KM)
- Intake plenum port seals
- DPFE (EGR system feedback)
- ABS non-operative
- Cruise control (PC board problem)

The Windstar was purchased used so I don't know the entire history (I purchased it in 2002).

[shizznizz980]

Oh I don't know but minivans don't really catch my attention because it usually seems like they always give more problems. The other day I went and looked at a 1999 venture and everything in the engine bay was so compact and the the battery looked like it was hard to get to. are all minivans fwd?