2005 Pontiac Montana Non SV6 3.4L 3.4 SFI
Summary:
Just get in, start it, and drive. That's all there is to it
Faults:
Nothing. Oh wait, a fog light went out, but that was due to me nailing a garbage can that had blown out in the road in a wind storm.
General Comments:
My family has had our 2005 Pontiac Montana now (*this is NOT the SV6 model**) for just a little over a year now with not a single problem to report. I seems as though Pontiac finally got it right with the 2004 and 2005 Montana, but now they are cutting off the Montana line altogether after 2006 : (... My last vehicle was a 1997 Trans Sport Montana and it was equally as dependable, although we did have to replace the Intake Manifold gasket once at 113,000 miles. No issues with that one either though.
I'm really surprised to see so many people complaining about their Trans Sports/ Montanas. My family is on our 3rd one now and they have all been great. Such a shame...
Our Montana has suited our needs very well. We have the seating for eight, with the 3 seats in the middle and a fold flat bench in the rear. It offers great comfort, and really good performance too. It has the 3400 V6, which I hear from other posters is a bad engine, but I don't think so at all. It has always been extremely reliable for us, and in our previous Trans Sport, took us to 289,000 miles with no trouble at all, other than the one time intake gasket issue. That motor has plenty of pep, even more so than our 1994 Trans Sport that had the 3800 V6. Oh well, to each his own I guess.
I'm really glad to have the Montana, because with today's horrendous gas prices, it really doesn't do too bad. We manage to average about 22 MPG, which in that figure contains about 70% stop and go city driving. The gas will last a little while. We will be keeping this one for as long as it will last us, since '06 is the last year for the Montana. Thanks for the well constructed dependable Pontiac (s) GM!!!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th April, 2006
3rd Nov 2012, 21:56
We bought a used 05 Montana ext wheel base, 3.4, 200,000 kms from GM dealer here at home, gets 30 MPG, but within few days of buying it, the transmission jerks when starting out sometimes, and shifts hard sometimes. I am a licenced mechanic with no automatic experience, took it to a GM dealer, they said no use wasting time with a rebuilt, they can install a NEW trans, with a 3 year 100,000m kms warranty. Just paid them $3000 for the van, now another $3000 for a tranny??? Will drive till it quits. I serviced the trans, and we went on a 2000 kms trip to BC and back; worked great except for a few hard shifts?
Had a 92 Dodge Grand Caravan AWD for 480,000 kms, never let us down... going to find another one I think, a low mileage old Caravan.
26th Nov 2006, 01:45
I'm glad to see that others have enjoyed their 04/05 Montana. It's too bad that GM has remodelled the Montana into a cross between a van and a SUV. Looks ugly!
I have a 2004 Montana and have not had any major issues with the van. Hopefully nothing major as the head gasket will happen, but it seems there has been an issue with previous models.
Keep loving it, as these are the last ones of a good minivan.