2000 Pontiac Montana Base 3.4L from North America
Summary:
Nice van except for gasket problem
Faults:
Brakes
Tires
Intake/Head Gasket.
General Comments:
I was impressed with the Montana when I first saw them. I especially like the plastic mouldings around the vehicle. I was lucky enough to pick up a lease back with only 21K, and believed I had a vehicle that would last me 10 years. Then I woke up from my dream! I had no idea there was a problem with the intake gaskets. It came as a shock when I realized that my van too, was starting to use too much coolant, and my fears were confirmed when our GM dealer tested it. After paying $1400 cdn it was still using coolant and the dealer said the head gasket was leaking. The job was $2300 cdn, but because there was some dispute over whether this was the original problem, they deducted the initial $1400 and we paid the rest. 4 months later now, and it is still using too much coolant. Soon after getting fixed, we went on vacation, and it started jerking as soon as we hit the highway. After returning I changed the 3 coil packs, and discovered plugs 5 and 2 were switched around on one of them.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 29th August, 2006
7th Jan 2007, 19:33
Coming up to a year since the head gasket was replaced, and the van is running really sweet now. It's not losing any coolant now, so I'm really happy it appears to be fixed. I did notice a leak from the motor that is beside the reservoir tank. I replaced this for $30 from a breakers yard. Would have cost $150 from GM! Other minor things are the LED's on the CD/radio, which burnt out. I bought replacement bulbs on Ebay and fixed this myself. Not as difficult as I thought it would be. The plastic strap on the rear tail gate also broke, so I replaced that with a leather belt and a couple nuts and bolts, believe it or not. Works really well I must say. I suppose I can say the interior is partially leather now? OK, nice try... Definitely would not buy another one of these vans though. We've still only driven 65Kms in it!