2001 Chevrolet Venture SE 3.4 from North America

Summary:

Killing Machine

Faults:

ABS brakes failed.

Side door didn't latch properly.

Yellow warning light on the whole time.

Windshield leaked.

Temperature gauge did not work.

Seats heavy to remove.

Over center steering feel.

Gearshift skips to 2nd every time when put to drive.

Bad gas mileage one day, good the next.

General Comments:

G.M. junk. Interior was nice, body was nice.

Nothing else worked. Brakes failed, once to the floor, once with no response and once through a busy red light intersection.

G.M. knows of the many problems, but don't care about safety or customer satisfaction.

I'm surprised that the head gasket never blew.

Stay far away!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 19th April, 2006

20th Apr 2006, 08:51

Used car cough cough.

2001 Chevrolet Venture Warner Bros 3.4L from North America

Summary:

Nice rig, but quality lacking overall

Faults:

Nearly every plastic bit on the interior of the van has broken. Cup holder, switches, seat shroud, covers, clips.

Major intake manifold coolant leak at 50,000. 1100 dollars. Mechanic wasn't surprised, he said "this is a common issue for this motor", and I was "lucky to wait until 50k."

Climate control filter has had to be replaced every 6 months, 100 dollars a pop. Next time I'm going to pull it and leave it out.

General Comments:

For the most part, a good vehicle. Comfortable, good fuel mileage.

Excellent power for a vehicle of this size, handles and drives very well.

Quality of the interior is very poor, plastic interior components started breaking and falling off within a month.

Cup holders were designed poorly, nothing larger than a soda can will fit in them, and there are no cup holders for middle row occupants unless you fold down the center seat, hard to do if there is a passenger in it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 6th October, 2005

7th Oct 2005, 08:13

For the climate control filter, I just vacuumed out, then blew it out with reverse vacuum, and that always seemed enough. I did trade it in at 50,000 miles. Had same problem with intake manifold and was glad I had bought the extended warranty. Just that one repair made it worth it.

Couldn't stand the snow pack in the windshield wipers anymore and traded it in. Wasn't good driving in the snow either.

In reply to 7th Oct 2005, 08:13

29th Nov 2011, 22:41

I have just moved from the south to Kansas.. and I am surprised that for me the van handles pretty well in the snow, even for an inexperienced snow driver like me. Doesn't do well on the icy road I have in front of my house, because they never plow it.. but I don't know of any vehicle that does well on ice, unless you have chains on your tires.

As far as the windshield wipers go, the place they put them is definitely not great when it comes to snow. But I just turn the vehicle off with the wipers engaged, so that they are left on the windshield, which makes cleaning them off much easier.

2001 Chevrolet Venture LT 3.4 from North America

Summary:

Inexpensive, off-lease vehicle that has been a joy to own and roomy for our 1st child

Faults:

Electric rear window gets stuck open occasionally. Push it closed with hands.

General Comments:

Reliable, comfortable and economical van. Blah looks, but it's a mini-van.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th April, 2005

2001 Chevrolet Venture LS 3.4L from North America

Summary:

Expensive garbage

Faults:

Power windows get stuck about half way up and are slow to close. A/C coil replaced $1000.00. Intake manifold gasket was replaced out of warranty. $850.00. My most recent problem was a hard shift resulting in a $3200.00 transaxle rebuild. This van has been maintained in every aspect, exceeding GM's maintenance guidelines. Despite this, the van is falling apart mechanically. It originally cost me just under $35,000.00 Cdn, but with nagging repair bills, is now over $40,000.00. Next time I'll buy something of a different make.

General Comments:

I would never buy another GM product again.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 11th August, 2004

13th Nov 2006, 10:08

I totally agree with everything you said. I have had nothing, but trouble with mine except that the engine always runs. The automatic sliding door has been nothing, but trouble, even with the recall fix. The door handle fell off. The glove box door fell off. The cup holders fell off. There was a short in wiring for the security system (which I don't even have) that cost me $800 to fix. The A/C cost $700 to fix. There's now a leaky coolant gasket which will cost $700 if we were to fix it because of the location of the.50 gasket - the whole engine has to be pulled to replace it. So it leaks coolant.

I HATE THIS CAR! The resale value is squat and I owe more than it's worth. If I could get rid of it today, I would.