2002 Pontiac Montana from North America
Summary:
Too many things going wrong
Faults:
The tranny failed at 13,000 miles.
The Air Conditioning blew out at 40,000 miles.
The CD player makes a noise when you brake.
The passenger side window switch is erratic.
General Comments:
I took the car into the local Pontiac dealer at around 13,000 and again around 20 some K, and explained (in a very polite way) that the transmission slips & shifts up hard. Both times they assured me that they checked it out completely, and that it was fine. The problem worsened at 37,000, and I took it in again. (again I was very polite). They called me and said "It is fine, there is nothing wrong with your transmission, but we can do a flush and fill and filter change if it will ease your mind (for 129.00). I said OK, and when I went to pick it up the next morning, I was told..."You have metal in the pan... we need to rebuild the tranny... (2600.00) They rebuilt it, I got it back... It was worse than ever. Took it back, they replaced a solenoid??. It runs great now.
GM (via my local Pontiac dealer) refused to pay one penny on it because I had "exceeded my factory warranty" They looked me right in the face, and told me, "The first two times you brought it in were UNRELATED PROBLEMS".
I have had many GM products... But I will never again buy a GM. And I doubt if my four teenagers will grow up and buy a GM, after witnessing this donnybrook.
-Vince from IL.
PS...They ignored the CD and lock problem too.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 13th September, 2003
4th Nov 2004, 13:00
Our 2000 Pontiac Montana (with only 35,000 miles) has had problems recently with the transmission slipping in reverse and first gear. I took it to the transmission shop to have it checked and they found lots of metal in the pan and recommended a rebuild for $2,400 (plus tax). I called the dealer and was told that I'm out of luck because the van was past the three year warranty period.
The transmission shop also said that my tie rod ends were shot and needed to be replaced... A call to the dealer confirmed that this is a problem with this van... also, not covered under warranty.
It appears that GM is aware of its substandard products as it's one of the few auto makers clinging to the 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty. While we like the van, we won't purchase another GM (or any other product) that doesn't back it for at least 5 years or 50,000 miles.