1999 PONTIAC MONTANA Complaints

1999 PONTIAC MONTANA VIN [XXX] GOOD WEATHER GOOD ROAD CONDITION. WHILE ATTEMPT TO ACCELERATE A BIT AT ABOUT 60 MPH THE CAR BEGAN TO ACCELERATE ON ITS OWN AS THOUGH THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS ON. TAPPED THE BRAKES AND MADE SURE THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS OFF BUT CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. PUT IT NEUTRAL AND THE ACCELERATION STOPPED. PROBLEM KEPT REPEATING AND DIDN'T NECESSARILY STOP WHEN IN NEUTRAL. THEN WHILE CAR WAS IN NEUTRAL AND COASTING AT ABOUT 50 MPH CAR SWITCHED INTO PARK ON ITS OWN AND STALLED. RESTARTED CAR AND GOT IT OVER TO THE SHOULDER AND TURNED IT OFF. TRIED TO RESTART BUT THE ENGINE RACED FURIOUSLY. CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK. THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR TURNED ON THE CAR AND PUT IT NEUTRAL TO POSITION IT TO WINCH IT UP THE FLATBED. THE CAR PUT ITSELF IN DRIVE AND RACED UP THE FLATBED WHICH WAS AT A STEEP SLOPE UNTIL IT STRUCK THE FRONT FRAME OF THE FLATBED AND THE DRIVER COULD TURN IT OFF. THIS WAS VERY SCARY. SOMEONE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.*AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR

INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET LEAK. NEEDED REPLACEMENT AFTER LOSS OF COOLANT INTO OIL. EVEDENTLY A COMMON DEFECT. $700. TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS AT 24K MILES. DEALER FIXED. AT 79K MILES NEEDED REPLACEMENT FOR $3300. *AK

I HAVE NOTICED MY COOLANT LEVEL IS DOWN VERY OFTEN WITH THE "LOW COOLANT" LIGHT COMING ON, AS WELL. ACCORDING TO MY GM DEALER THE LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD IS LEAKING COOLANT FROM MY 99 MONTANA WITH ABOUT 60K MILES. DEALER HAS INDICATED THE REPAIR OF THIS GASKET TO BE OVER $700 WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS. I HAVE OWNED ABOUT 12 CARS IN MY LIFETIME AND NOT ONE HAS HAD A PROBLEM LEAKING COOLANT OUT AROUND THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. AFTER REVIEWING OTHER COMPLAINTS ON THE NHTSA WEBSITE, IT IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECT IN THIS MODEL ENGINE AND CONSUMERS SHOULD BE REIMBURSED, IF NOT FULLY, THEN PARTIALLY FOR THE REPAIRS. A $700+ REPAIR BILL IS WAY TOO MUCH TO EXPECT THE CONSUMER TO PAY OUT FOR THIS DEFECT. *AK

THE LAST 4 CARS I HAVE OWNED HAVE BEEN GM VEHICLES. I HAVE TRIED HARD TO BE LOYAL, WHEN IN 1998, MY 1992 OLDS ACHIEVE BLEW IT'S HEAD GASKET AT 79,000 MILES. A DEFECT THAT WAS SO COMMON ON QUAD-4 ENGINES IN THESE VEHICLES THAT MANY WERE RECALLED TO BE FIZED, BEFORE 75,000 MILES......I DIDN'T KNOW UNTIL AFTER....BY 4,000 MILES!! THE TOTAL JOB COST ME $1700USD. I DID PURCHASE A 1999 MONTANA VAN AND ANOTHER BONNEVILLE (1995) OVER THE LAST 3 YEARS. IN DEC. OF 2002 THE LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS REPLACED ON MY MONTANA WITH ONLY 55,000 MILES ON IT, COST OF $388. THEN THIS PAST JANUARY, I WAS DRIVING MY 1995 BONNEVILLE AND MY HEAD GASKET BLEW. SO $1633 DOLLARS LATER, IT TURNED OUT THE PROBLEM WAS CAUSED BY A PLASTIC UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD THAT BURNED OUT IN THE OPENING FOR THE EGR CHECK VALVE. AS I HAVE FOUND OUT ON MULTIPLE WEB SITES, IT SEEMS THAT ON THE 3.8L SERIES II ENGINES, THAT THEIR HAVE BEEN MANY PROBLEMS WHEN GM CHANGED FROM A DIE CAST ALUMINUM PART TO THIS PLASTIC PLENUM TUB. THE PLASTIC TUB BURNS 1-2 HOLES AROUND THE EGR CHECK VALVE, WHERE THE WATER JACKETS ARE, THUS FAILING AND CAUSING COOLANT TO FILL IN THE UPPER INTAKE AND THEN BE SUCKED INTO THE ENGINE. IT SEEMS THAT GM IS WELL AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM, BUT HAS NOT RECALLED ANY PARTS. AGAIN, THIS WAS MY 2ND BLOWN HEAD GASKET, BUT SINCE THE CAR WAS A 1995 I WAS UPSET, BUT FIGURED THAT NOTHING COULD BE DONE. NOT 10 DAYS LATER THE 1999 MONTANA, WITH ONLY 79,000 MILES ON IT, BLEW THE HEAD GASKET (THIS A 3.4 LITER ENGINE) ANOTHER $1400 LATER, AND I DETERMINED ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. 3 DIFFERENT ENGINES IN 3 DIFFERENT CARS, WAS NO FLUKE. THAT IS WHEN I FOUND OUT ON THE INTERNET, THAT THERE WERE ALL THESE DIFFERENT ISSUES PEOPLE WERE HAVING WITH GM ENGINES. I HAVE SPEND APPROXIMATELY $5200 FIXING THIS ISSUES OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS. I WANT RETRIBUTION!! GM EITHER NEEDS TO OWN UP TO THEIR MISTAKES AND MAKE GOOD, OR LOSE YET ANOTHER LIFE LONG CUSTOMER, HIS WIFE AND THEIR 3 KIDS!!!! *AK

I HAD TO HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED ON MY 1999 PONTIAC MONTANA. THERE WERE ONLY 53,000 MILES ON IT AT THE TIME. THE REASON FOR REPLACING IT WAS BECAUSE OF A PROBLEM WITH THE COOLING SYSTEM THAT CAUSED "GUNK" TO BUILD UP AND EVENTUALLY RUIN THE ENGINE.

FRONT/REAR SEAT BELTS DID NOT RETRACT BACK TO THE LOCKING POSITION. CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO WEAR THE SEAT BELT WHILE DRIVING/RIDING IN THE VEHICLE. DEALERSHIP WAS NOTIFIED, BUT DID NOT RESOLVE THE PROBLEM.*AK

AT 54K MILES THE INTAKE GASKET REQUIRED REPLACEMENT ON A 1999 PONTIAC MONTANA WITH A 3.4L ENGINE. HAD BEEN TOLD THAT IT HAD BEEN LEAKING COOLANT OUTSIDE THE ENGINE BLOCK FOR SOME TIME. LOCAL CERTIFIED MECHANIC PERFORMED GASKET REPAIR STATING THAT HE HAS REPLACE MANY GASKETS ON THE GENERAL MOTORS 3.4L ENGINES. MORE THAN HE COULD COUNT. THE BOLTS HOLDING THE TWO PIECES OF THE ENGINE TOGETHER WITH THE GASKET BETWEEN ARE FINGER TIGHT IN MOST CASES. I HAVE OBTAINED A PRESENTATION FROM GM POWERTRAIN EXPLAINING WHY GASKETS LEAK ON THE 3.4L ENGINE. PRESENTATION SUGGESTS MODIFICATIONS TO THE GASKET AND TO BOLT TORQUE SETTINGS. I WAS TOLD BY THE ABOVE MENTIONED MECHANIC THAT THERE IS A MORE ROBUST GASKET FOR THE REPAIR ALONG REVISED TORQUE SETTINGS FOR THE BOLTS AND SUGGESTED APPLICATION OF LOCTITE TO THE ENGINE BOLTS TO PREVENT THEM FROM BACKING OUT.

INTAKE MANIFOLD FAILED AT 35,888 MILES. DEALER ADVISED THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF THIS PROBLEM. VEH OUT OF WARRANTY DUE TO AGE. *AK

THE DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL BEARING WAS MAKING A GRINDING NOISE DUE TO A LACK OF GREASE ON THE BEARING. THE DEALER WAS CONTACTED. *AK *SC *JB

ENGINE. POOR GASKET/COOLANT DESIGN ALLOWED COOLANT TO LEAK INTO ENGINE CAUSING CAM BEARINGS TO SIEZE CAUSING MY CAM SHAFT TO BREAK. VEHICLE IS STILL 1,500KM AWAY AT A DEALERSHIP WHO IS CURRENTLY REPLACING WITH NEW ENGINE. MY COST= ENGINE+LABOUR+EXTRA WEEK HOLIDAY FOR BEING STRANDED+PLANE TICKET TO RETURN HOME {AND TO FLY BACK TO PICK IT UP ONCE EVERYTHING IS REPAIRED} I CHECKED THE INTERNET ON A HUNCH AND WAS ABSOLUTLY AMAZED AT THE EXTREAMLY HIGH AMOUND OF PEOPLE HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM. THE SMACKS OF A BAD DESIGN/ INSUFFICIENT TESTING/ AND COVER-UP ON GM'S PART EVEN WITH THEIR BULLITENS FOR THIS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET.