9th May 2010, 20:16
Hey guys, I bought a 1999 Venture extended minivan at an auction. I was expecting problems, but nothing serious.
1. Air bag light is screwed up.
2. Fuel gauge is also screwed up.
3. Replaced transmission for one grand, but still shifts hard.
4. Possible compressor problem (goes away when I turn AC on).
5. Another weird noise coming, maybe one of the belts.
30th Jun 2010, 08:42
I have a 2000 Venture and, like many, I have a long list of issues. I'll try to dwell on the solutions I've found.
The rear widow wiper: can be disassembled and lubed. It binds up pretty easily (apparently). I don't think I would pay to have it done.
Vent controls: they are powered by a vacuum hose near the window washer tank-on the passenger side. This also helps the engine some too.
Radio volume: I saw some early post about this - most of these radios have a speed sensitive volume control. It can be set to get louder to compensate for wind noise. It's weird if you don't know whats going on. Just fiddle with the controls on the right of the unit you find it.
I'm in the house and not in the van, so I can't say what to hit to adjust.
1st Jul 2010, 09:37
I have a 97 Venture. I bought it with 150,000 miles. The camshaft broke in two after 400 miles. I spent 1800 to have it like brand new again. I did the work my self. I realised I didn't hook up a ground wire, so I hooked it up, still my battery won't charge. I only have 50 miles on it since the new motor. I think the alternator is bad, but the auto parts places test it and say it's good as well as the battery. What do you think?
6th Jun 2011, 19:30
Well I am with everyone else on this van. It is a nice van, it rides nice when it does not have anything wrong with it, and it is just comfy, but man, I could have a brand new car right now with how much money I have put into it.
I have a 99 Chevy Venture, and sometimes I think it has ears or is just plain out hates me. I have replace my head gaskets 2x in less than a year, and new motor, new transmission, water pump, thermostat 4x, rack and pinion, struts, control arms. Let's just say the van is brand new.
But now I just ran into another problem here. I thought I would be good, but nope my driver's side vents blows out hot air, and the passenger vents blows out cold air, and the back blows out cold air while on A/C, but I can't figure out why it is doing it. All the vents work, everything works fine, but nobody can can tell me what is wrong, and if it is a hard problem, then forget it.
30th Jun 2011, 21:39
I must say I loved the interior of this van. I had the 3 seats in the middle and 2 in back, so it was much easier with my 3 kids. Seats were so easy to remove and replace. But unfortunately, the engine is absolutely terrible. In my opinion, they should have a class action lawsuit against Chevy for this vehicle.
I purchased a 1999 Chevy Venture in 2002 for $10,000. It lasted me 4 years, then all of a sudden on the way home from the mall, the temperature gauge went way over hot. I had to have it towed, and came to find out, the engine was blown.
So, since I loved the vehicle, I purchased another 1999 Chevy Venture in 2007. It lasted me 9 months and the intake manifold gaskets went. I could not take it anymore. Along with the window arm bar bent, the constant squealing in the front axle, which I had fixed 6 times. I had to go with another.
Now I find out 2 of my cousins up north own the same vehicles. One has had to replace the engine 2 times and the transmission, and the other cousin has replaced the engine 1 time and the transmission. Now the transmission is going out again. Plus the squealing of the front axle and the window arm bar problem too.
I should have known the first Venture I looked at, I took for a test drive and the heat wouldn't work, and it overheated as I drove it. It was on the lot for $9000. They would not budge on the price, even after they found out the problems. I wish I would have thought twice then.
6th May 2010, 09:29
We have had a '99 Venture van for a few years now. 145,000 + miles on it. We've replaced the rack and pinion, and had some transmission work done. Now the list of what's wrong is growing. Rear wiper stopped working, rear sliding door is a joke, we now have 4 lights permanently "on" on the dash board (low coolant, air bag, brake, and Service Engine Soon), the passenger doors won't lock with the buttons anymore (sometimes they don't unlock either). We also are having issues with one of the front headlights continuously going out. I see lots of Ventures with the front wipers stuck in the "up" position. It's been a half way decent vehicle, but I will not be getting another one. Sorry GM you lost a future sale.