2000 Pontiac Montana

MY 2000 PONTIAC MONTANA HAS COOLANT LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE THROUGH THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. I NOTICED THE PROBLEM TODAY WHEN I CHANGED THE OIL. PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN CORRECTED YET. AT ABOUT 50,000 MILES I HAD TO START ADDING A LITTLE COOLANT TO THE RESERVOIR WITH EVERY OIL CHANGE, BUT IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO NOTICE THE WATER IN THE OIL. NOW, WITH NEARLY 80,000 MILES THE LEAK IS BAD ENOUGH THAT THE COOLANT LIGHT RECENTLY CAME ON. *NM

2000 PONTIAC MONTANA 3.4 LITER NUMEROUS COOLANT LEAKS AT INTAKE AREA AT ABOUT 60,000 MILES. ALSO COOLANT COOLER ALLOWED OIL TO GET IN TO THE COOLANT SYSTEM. I RETORQUED INTAKE AND ALEVIATED PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 10,000 MILES AND THEN CAME BACK. ENDED UP HAVING DEALER REPLACE INTAKE GASKETS AND THEY INFORMED ME THAT GM HAD REDESIGNED THE GASKETS BECAUSE OF AN EPIDEMIC OF THIS EXACT PROBLEM. THE DEALER DESIGNATED 1 MECHANIC TO SPECIALIZE WITH THIS DEFECT AND I TALKED TO THE MECHANIC AND HE INGFORMED ME THAT HE HAD DONE THIS SO MUCH THAT HE COULD DO THE WOKK IN ABOUT 3 HRS VERSUS THE ORIGINAL 6 TO 7 HOURS IT TOOK HIM THE FIRST TIME HIS QUOTE "YOU DO IT AS MUCH AS I HAVE AND YOU GET VERY EFFICIENT". GM SHOULD HAVE RECALLED AND MADE GOOD ON THE REPAIR. IN THE LAST 20 YEARS I HAVE BOUGHT 6 NEW GM VEHICLES AND I AM VERY DISSAPPOINTED THAT THE DEALER/CORPORATE WOULD NOT MAKE GOOD ON THE REPAIR. IT COST ME $550.00 FOR DEALER REPAIR. I WANT TO BE REIMBERSED FOR THE REPAIR COST FOR THIS IS A KNOWN DEFECT THAT GM CHOSE TO IGNORE OTHER THAT MAKING SURE THAT THE NEWER MONTANAS (3.4L) HAVE THE NEW DESIGNED GASKETS.

NEW MARCH 2000. VAN ALWAYS RECEIVES REGULAR MAINTENANCE. THE FOLLOWING IS A HISTORY OF REPAIRS: 4/00 WINDSHIELD WIPERS WOULD NOT RETURN TO CLOSED POSITION - DEALER FIXED. 12/03 (37,179 MI) TPS SENSOR BREAKING DOWN CAUSING IDLE TO SURGE - DEALER REPLACED THROTTLE POSITION SENSOR, COMPLETED REPROGRAM ($255.14) 12/03 (37,182 MI) AIR BAG LIGHT COMING ON - DEALER REPLACED RIGHT FRONT SEAT BELT BUCKLE UNDER WARRANTY (LABOR $134.51). 12/27/03 (37,555 MI) WAS IN COLLISION (OTHER VEHICLE PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF ME AS I WAS COMING DOWN SMALL OVERPASS, HE WAS CITED). MY VAN SUSTAINED $4,500 IN FRONT END DAMAGES, HIS CAR WAS TOTALED. MY AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY. NO ONE INJURED. 5/04 (40,983 MI) REAR HATCH WOULD NOT STAY UP - DEALER REPLACED BOTH HATCH PROPS ($258.73) 7/04 (43,437 MI) VAN WAS "SHIFTING" HARD, WOULD NOT PICK UP SPEED CORRECTLY. DEALER REPLACED PRESSURE CONTROL SOLENOID, FLUSHED TRANSMISSION AND REPLACED FRONT BRAKE PADS AND MACHINED ROTORS ($986.48). 12/04 (48,284 MI) VAN WOULD NOT START ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. KNOWN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP REPLACED BATTERY, CHECKED OIL LEAK. ($114.90). 4/05 (51,646 MI) LOW COOLANT LIGHT /CHECK ENGINE LIGHT COMING ON. SAME INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP REPLACED INTAKE GASKETS, THERMOSTAT, SPARK PLUGS AND FILTER, AND OIL PUMP SHAFT 0-RING. CORRECTED AIR BAG LIGHT ($791.03) 6/05 PURCHASED NEW TIRES AND WERE TOLD NEEDED ALL NEW TIE RODS. WE WENT ON VACATION JULY 9, 2005 (OHIO TO VIRGINIA AND BACK). CONCERNED THAT THE VAN SHOOK TERRIBLY WHEN APPLYING THE BRAKES ON LONG DOWNGRADES THROUGH WV AND VA. WE WERE TOWING NOTHING. THE VERY NEXT DAY, AFTER RETURNING HOME, THE VAN WOULD NOT START CONSISTENTLY. 7/05 (56,533 MI) TOLD THAT THE COMPUTER CRASHED. SAME INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP REPLACED ECM, CRANK SENSOR, IGN MODULE AND MACHINED FRONT ROTORS WHICH IF YOU REMEMBER WERE JUST DONE IN JULY OF 2004 ($982.02). AFTER RESEARCHING THE TRACK RECORD OF PONTIAC MONTANA, HAVE FOUND THAT MANY CONSUMERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEMS. *NM

FUEL GAUGE READS FULL WHEN EMPTY AND EMPTY WHEN UNDER 3/4 OF A TANK. MESSAGE CENTER ALARMS TELLING ME THAT I AM OUT OF FUEL BUT WHEN I STOP AT THE GAS STATION IT WILL ONLY HOLD NO MORE THAN FIVE DALLORS. ALSO I HAVE HAD TO HAVE THE BREAK LIGHTS REPLACED SEVREL TIMES. THE REAR MOTORIZED WINDOW ON THE DRIVER SIDE DOES NOT ALWAYS SHUT WHEN PRESSING THE BUTTON. AND ENGINE IS QUICK TO OVERHEAT. ALSO THE PASSANGER SLIDING DOOR DOES NOT ALWAYS LATCH PROPERLY, LOCK AND UNLOCK WHEN BUTTONS PRESSED. THE SAD THING ABOUT IT IS I HAVE ONLY HAD THE VAN FOR JUST UNDER A YEAR. THE VAN IS ONLY FIVE YEARS OLD AND I AM ALREADY HAVING THIS KIND OF PROBLEMS OUT OF IT. NEEDLESS TO SAY I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER PONTIAC (GM).

WHILE DRIVING THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. CONSUMER PULLED OFF THE ROAD , CALLED THE MECHANIC, WHO TOLD THEM TO CHECK THE WATER LEVEL, WHICH WAS FINE , THE ANTIFREEZE LEVEL WAS EMPTY. CONSUMER REFILLED THE ANTIFREEZE AND DROVE TO THE DEALERSHIP, WHO INDICATED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET HAD GONE OUT, AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THIS WAS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THIS VEHICLE. *AK