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Chevy Venture

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Comments

  • mitchandsherrimitchandsherri Member Posts: 1
    We bought a 2004 Chevy Venture in July 2004. We're up to 16K miles already because it has restored our love of road trips. I regret not getting the seats with the built in child seats. Anyone know where I can buy them aftermarket, or where I could get a price from GM? I'm having no luck and wanted to have a price idea before asking the dealer. With 4 kids, and 3 in car seats, it would save some hassle having those seats.
    Also looking for fog lights. I noticed that, on the front bumber, are what look like cut outs for where they should go. Anyone have them? Anyone know where I can get those too? (entire kit, switch and all)
    Thanks!
    Mitch
  • janinokcjaninokc Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1999 Chevy Venture. The van is equipped with power windows and the passenger's window has become stuck in the 'down' position. Now it being winter and 'rain/snow' on it's way this is not a good thing.

    The motor makes noise when you press the button .. but the glass doesn't budge even when a person trying to pull on it encouraging it to move.

    It has been suggested that perhaps something is off track in the door.

    My question is .. does anyone have any experience with this? Would the motor still make sound even if it were going bad? (The window performs the same no matter whether it's the button on the driver side or button on passenger side.) And does anyone have a suggestion .. short of taking it to the dealer?

    Thanks in advance,

    ~Jan~
  • tony17112acsttony17112acst Member Posts: 35
    I replaced my battery today and found a long, looong wire all bunched up behind it. It is about 4 feet long and has clips on it every 1 foot or so.

    I have 2 photos at:

    www.tonytonini.com/cord.htm

    I had a very questionable experience with a dealer. After I paid them to replace my plugs and wires at 100k miles, my "check engine" light came on. When I told them, they, of course, denied having anything to do with it. the code was P0440 = EVAP II System Malfunction. I suggested that maybe they pulled a vacuum hose off by accident.

    They did more work on the van and claimed that they DID find a vacuum hose off, which they reconnected. BUT I had decent proof that all they did was clear the trouble code.

    Now, could they have unplugged this wire to prevent the trouble code from appearing again after clearing it?
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    Re your message. The fog lights were an option on one of the other two models Olds or Pontiac and were operated by one of the blank switches under the radio console - were the rear window washer etc. The other two were for heated seats as an option on the the Pontiac. I'd rather go with decent halogen head lamps.

    We have a child seat on Venture LT which came standard in the second row behind passenger. At that time you get an additional one for the drivers side but not in the center.

    People have tried before to get them from GM and dealers but with out success. Only chance is a breakers yard and many are on line to see if they have them, but likely fabric will be different
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    Would sugest that it is from the gas tank evap system and connects to the front end of gas tank.
  • laurie04005laurie04005 Member Posts: 1
    I think its the battery anyway..I have a 2000 Venture and it worked and ran fine this morning. I went to the store, came out 20minutes later and used the remote to unlock my door. I went to start the van and it was totally dead. Nothing. I called my hubby, he showed up with a charger and charged it. I got halfway home and the dashlights started flickering and the ABS light kept coming on and my brakes were acting funny. I got just a few houses from my own home and the van went totally dead while I was driving!! I pulled over to the side and went to get out, I couldn't even unlock my door (power doors) with the remote or anything. I WAS STUCK IN MY VEHICLE!! (By the way, I had 2-2yr old kids w/me) My hubby came around the corner and tried to jump it again but nothing is working. I got pushed the rest of the way home. Any idea what's going on??? There were alot of puddles on the road, could that have something to do with it?? This has never happened before.
  • tony17112acsttony17112acst Member Posts: 35
    Sounds more like your alternator. A dead battery wouldn't cause your car to stop running while driving but the alternator would.

    Do a a google search on "car battery testing" and all your questions about your specific problem should be covered.
  • paulie9paulie9 Member Posts: 32
    Open the door to your van, if your dome light is off or very dim then your battery is dead because your alternator which should be charging the battery is also dead.

    A jump started vehicle will run with a working alternator but dead battery as long as you have minimal electrical load.

    If your hubby has a voltmeter, hook it up and reading should be 12+ volts for a good battery.

    Now jump start your van. If voltage does not go above 13.6 then your alternator is shot.

    Good luck.....
  • angel5angel5 Member Posts: 2
    I had the same problem with the driver side window.It turned out to be the window switch and it cost me $55.00.It was simple to replace,u just have to be careful unclipping it from the door console.The pieces are plastic and very cheaply made!!
  • angel5angel5 Member Posts: 2
    MY CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WENT ON AND I PUT THE ODB2 COMPUTER ON IT.IT GAVE ME THE CODE PO449 EVAP EMISS CONTROL SYSTEM VENT VALVE/SOL MALFUNCTION.I REPLACED IT AND RESET THE COMPUTER W/ODB2.IT MAKES THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT DISSAPEAR UNTIL I SHUT IT OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND THE CHECK ENGIN LIGHT COMES ON AGAIN.I PUT THE ODB2 TO IT AGAIN AND IT STATES THE SAME PROBLEM EVEN THOUGH I REPLACED IT.ITS A 2000 CHEVY VENTURE .I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP ON THIS!!
  • mitzijmitzij Member Posts: 613
    Please don't tell me you really thought you could not get out of your van because you have power door locks!
    There is a manual switch on each door that will unlock the door from the inside.
  • dkenrightdkenright Member Posts: 2
    I have a new 2005 Venture. In the front, under the cup holder, is a storage area. It looks like some type of bin should be in there to organize things. Can anyone help with this missing part
  • smithy1smithy1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 97 Venture (131K) with 3 issues:

    1. I keep having to add coolant---There are no visable leaks at all.

    2. My -Service Engine Soon- light won't go out (I have replaced the gas cap)---It's been on for weeks with no discerbable loss of performance.

    3. My wiper blades are out of sync.

    Any Suggestions?

    Thanks!
    Mike

    "I had a wonderful evening, but this wasn't it."
    Groucho Marx
  • duraflexduraflex Member Posts: 358
    I had flickering lights on my 2000 VENTURE van and my stupid Chevrolet dealer diagnosed it as a bad alternator that was overcharging and probably a bad battery as well. They estimated the repair cost at $800!!! and that erroneous diagnosis alone cost somewhere around $50.

    I went on the internet - including this EDMUNDS site - and discovered a ground screw problem with the alternator for which a GM TSB (technical service bulletin) had been issued years ago. The screw was only 5 dollars and I got my local ProCare auto shop to replace it while having an oil change done. I think they charged me about $20 additional. That was months ago before a rough cold winter with temps here as cold as zero and our van kept outside. Never had another problem.

    Bad battery or alternator - maybe all the above but don't overlook the ground screw - and I would ask the shop to try that first. Lots of GM vehicles had the problem.
    Check out: TSB 01-06-03-005

    Don't wait- print it out now and don't lose it. It could save you a lot of money and aggravation.
    http://www.impalahq.com/TSB/TSB01-06-03-005.html
  • cbullcbull Member Posts: 1
    I have the exact same problem on my 2004 Venture. I thought it might be the areodynamics of the roof rack or something. My roof rack does not have cross members but has an airfoil on the back. Dealer said that he has never heard of such a problem.
  • riverknollriverknoll Member Posts: 12
    Smithy1, 1) I also have to add coolant every so often, with no visible leaks to my 2001 WB. Although I do smell antifrezze inside the car. 2) I also replace the cap for $10, the light went off and came back. Dealer diagnosed problem to be mis-fire between #5 and #6 cylinder, so I had the fuel injector cleaned ($99) and fuel fileter replaced ($40). SES has not returned. 3) Out of sync as the intermitten stops in the driver's view vice lower near the base of the windshield?
  • mbroomembroome Member Posts: 3
    My A/c/heat fan inside the car also blows weak sometimes and makes a raspy noise when it does, also the zone control does not seem to always work, Has anyone found the solution to this? Thanks
  • mbroomembroome Member Posts: 3
    The low coolant level light keeps coming on when the radiator is full, but I don't see any mention of a coolant level sensor in the chilton's manual. Has any one else found and replaced this sensor? How bad is it?
  • dhehndhehn Member Posts: 3
    I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there is a design flaw with the intake manifold gaskets on the Venture and similar gm models with the 3.4l engine. There are a number of sites on the internet related to this problem (for example http://www.geocities.com/gm_intake/).

    I have just discovered this problem with my 2001 venture (65k miles). I spent the last 3 weeks going back and forth with GM over this issue. There answer to me was "We handle these problems on a case-by-case basis and unfortunately because of your mileage, we will not provide any assistance".

    Of course, I am furious and will never buy another GM vehicle. Unfortunately, the resale value on these vehicles is significantly lower than it should be because of this well known (at least to mechanics) issue.

    All I can say is kick and scream at GM and demand resolution. I guess they are not that concerned about the 80% reduction in forecasted earnings for this year.

    As much as I want to buy american, I can't do it any longer. Prior to this van, I had a 96 ford windstar. At 89k miles, the head gaskets went in that engine. Again, I received the "yeah, that happens alot" response. I don't get it. I have 2 Acura cars that have had over 175k miles on them. No problems and they bend over backward for customer service.

    Again, sorry for the bad news, but these vans are garbage. In addition to this problem, I have had to replace 4 of 8 seatbelts (when have you heard of seatbelts failing???), several windshield wiper transmissions replaced during the warranty period, power door lock switches failing, rear vent window motor failing, and other stupid annoying problems that should have never occurred.
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    The coolant sensor is mounted on the drivers side of the radiator about 3 inches down at the rear of radiator. I only learnt this the other day when I blew the part out of the radiator due to an incorrect radiator cap.

    It is light gray plastic and how it plugs into the radiator is hard to tell.

    I had same problem and it was replaced under warrany. Anyway that is where it is and is switched on when the level goes down.

    It will probably like the air filter replacement, exceedingly frustrating.
  • jrdwyerjrdwyer Member Posts: 168
    I am curious about the seatbelt failure. My wife mentioned with our 2001 Silo about the seat belts locking up and having to unbuckle to get the thing to unlock again. With most seatbelts all you usually have to do is release the pressure on the belt and the lock stops. Is this the problem you had?

    Your issues sound quite similar to ours. We just caught them a little earlier. Intake gasket at 13K miles and new tranny at 23K miles, both covered under warranty. Did you buy the van new?
  • dhehndhehn Member Posts: 3
    On 2 of the seatbelts, the female part of the buckle failed (wouldn't secure the male end) and fell apart. The other 2 simply locked up. We couldn't get them to "unbuckle".

    Yes, I purchased the van new in July 2001.

    As soon as I get this van repaired, I will sell it and buy a new Honda mini-van.
  • jrdwyerjrdwyer Member Posts: 168
    That surprises me that GM is giving you the shaft with the intake manifold gasket. Warranty expired or not, this is a known engineering defect, and they should make it right, especially since you bought the van new. Eating high depreciation and paying for expensive, flawed design repairs is just not right.

    This is a great example of why GM is on the way down. You should have better luck with the Honda. My bother has a 2004 Odyssey and I've ridden in it and it seems well put together.
  • rymerarymera Member Posts: 1
    I have a 1999 Chevy Venture and they told me there was never a recall on any of the vans. I had to have a new motor put in my van because of the intake gasket. They replaced the gasket on the new motor that they put in so that I would not have the same problem on down the line. It had a crack in it when they took it out. If I had not had it replaced before it was put in, I would have had the same problem with this motor....I have spent almost $3,000 on this problem to get it fixed.
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    The missing part is a CD holder that sides in and out.
  • amy312amy312 Member Posts: 1
    Hi. Did you ever find out what the problem was? I'm having the same problem.
  • dkenrightdkenright Member Posts: 2
    Thank U...!! The dealer had no Clue.
  • mbroomembroome Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the info on the sensor, found it an replaced it without busting too many knuckles and it fixed the info light from coming on.

    Thanks,
    Mark
  • fishingdanfishingdan Member Posts: 7
    Tonight I received a quality assurance call from an agency working for GM. They wanted to know how my "customer experience" was related to my interactions with the GM customer service center. Needless to say, they didn't get any positive ratings. The 10 minutes survey ends with "would you buy another GM vehicle in the future?" and "would you recommend GM to your friends and family?". :D:D:D:D

    GM deserves the poor earnings they are expecting. They have earned them with their approach to customer satisfaction.
  • chukchuk Member Posts: 10
    We have a 99 Venture with 73k miles on it. Every once in a while, it will shift very hard for one trip, every shift. Then, go in the store, or whatever, come out 15 min later, and all is well. Had this occasional problem now for 4 years. Looking for any ideas of what to fix. I have not had it to the dealer because it would never misbehave if I took it there. . .
  • UNSATUNSAT Member Posts: 1
    I just found out that my driver side regulator might need replacing. I nearly fainted when told the cost at a dealer. any suggestions on finding at replacement a little cheaper than ($400-600) total repair cost?
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    It would be worth taking to a transmisson specialist and I don't mean Aamco etc.
    or the dealer. Look in your yellow pages. When did you last change the fluid and have the filter cleaned? Should not be more than $50 to $75

    I have the transmission fluid changed very 35K and I had installed a transmission cooler as on one long trip loaded up with college stuff from NJ to Boston and AC going the transmission started slipping and the fluid was foaming. We were staying over night and it was OK the next day for the return drive but never had a problem since the cooler went in and new fluid

    The manufacturers cheap skate it by running it through the radiator which is quite ineffective compared with a front mounted transmission cooler. They are easy to fit and best performance is on the front of the radiator. No more that $50 plus installation.

    I have just bought a Suzuki SL7 it had been on lease and getting the same thing done next week the cost is insignificant compared with a transmission replacement.
  • paulie9paulie9 Member Posts: 32
    I have the very same problem on my 2000 OLDS Silhouette with 88K miles on it. Like you, once, twice or three times a month it would start shifting hard for the duration of a drive. I tried pulling over and shutting off and restarting the engine which did not clear the hard shifting. Letting the van sit for 30 minutes or more did clear up the problem till the next time.

    After a couple of months of observation I noticed that hard acceleration from a standing start while making a turn tends to cause the hard shifting, so now I accelerate gently while making turns and haven't had this problem for several months.

    Hope this helps. Good luck....

    BTW - My Silhouette has the towing package which includes a heavy duty transmission fluid cooler and I changed my transmission fluid and filter which did not resolve the hard shifting problem.
  • pbasspbass Member Posts: 8
    Last thursday I brought our 2000 Venture to the dealer for it's regular oil change and annual checkup. I have the oil changed every 5000 km or 3000 miles as reccomended by GM. (I have kept all the service/maintenace invoices) Well it seems the dreaded head gasket leak is back. The first time this problem occured both the intake manifold and head gaskets were replaced under warranty summer 2001. Now the van is out of warranty (how convenient) and will cost major $$$ to repair. Tomorrow I'm headed over to the dealer to try and get GM to do the repair free, or at least give me a big rebate on repair costs. I've always had this van serviced at a GM dealer so they can't use the lame "well you didn't have it serviced properly" excuse. Geez what's the freakin gasket made out of sugar? There should have been a recall a long time ago.
  • jbinghamjbingham Member Posts: 1
    I am a military spouse who's husband seems to always be deployed now and I cannot continue to poor money into my venture. We have a 2001 and first it was the head gasket which by the looks of things seems to be an ongoing problem that should have been recalled a long time ago. After that $800.00 to fix, then it was problems with the spark plugs and wires. Now it has started not wanting to start and today when I got in the message center read SECURITY. i have no clue what that means and could not find anything related to it the automatic door had been forced open because the battery seems to be draining so I thought maybe that was why. it also sputters while sitting idle now and I just hate this van at this point. and will never buy another one. We were pretty much ripped off by the Chevrolet dealer. If anyone knows what the Security thing means please let me know. There are so many posts I searched a while and didnt find anything relating to this so I thought I would do one and see what happens thank you.
  • pbasspbass Member Posts: 8
    So I took it back to the dealer for an estimate on repair costs. I was quoted $828 including labour. So I said no thanks I'll shop around. I was then referred to an independant, honest mechanic who does repairs and maintenance on the fleet of trucks where I work. He is all too much aware of the dreaded gasket leaks on 1997-2001 GM cars equipped with the 3.4l engine. He quoted me a price of around $400 for the job. Apparently GM has redesigned the gasket as of 2003 so let's hope this time the repair lasts longer that the first time it was done. Also the bolt torque specs were changed. I was wondering if anybody had the gasket job done with the newer design gasket?
  • rfourtrfourt Member Posts: 2
    Before anyone even asks, the (*&% car is paid for and I can't afford a new one. With that out of the way here's the prob. Same as everyone else I had intake gasket failure. Unfortunately my wife drove it for a couple of days with a good amount of water in the crankcase (foamy oil to the top of the dipstick). We had the intake gaskets replaced, the mechanic changed oil 3 or 4 times and all seemed well. This was about a month ago.
    All of sudden she gets the oil light and the lifters are barking like wild dingos. I checked the oil and it barely touches the stick. There's no oil in the carport and no plumes of blue smoke. I top it off and things quiet down a little and then later that same day get WAY worse. Almost no power and much noise from the head. When I rev the engine I can see whisps of oil smoke coming from somewhere near the front (nearest the radiator) side of the engine but I can't pinpoint it.
    Now to the question. Could the water contamination have caused the oil pump the fry? It has sufficient oil level but doesn't seem to be getting to the top of the block. Of course it's quite possible the mains are gone but I live off of hope. Please lie if you think it will make me feel better.">
  • rfourtrfourt Member Posts: 2
    Well, just to follow up, the mains are GONE and the engine will need to be replace/rebuilt. Thanks a shitload GM! Minimum $2000 repair.
  • offhamoffham Member Posts: 344
    In the Owners manual page 2-101.and page 2-36 and it is to do with the ignition key and if it has been damaged because there is a transmitter in the key and may require a new one to be re programmed. I have a 2000 so the manual pages may not be the same.
  • torquez1torquez1 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2004 Venture with 27000 miles on it. Last week the rotors were resurfaced because they had warped and rusted. Why didn't the dealership simply replace them? How long would I expect the resurfaced rotors to last before they will need repair again? Any advice on this matter would be helpful.
  • agt_cooperagt_cooper Member Posts: 202
    Brake rotors can typically be resurfaced once (maybe twice) during their lifetime. Each rotor has a minimum thickness specification. Once you reach it, the rotor must be replaced. A resurfaced rotor may offer good service, or it may tend to warp faster than a replacement. Resurfacing removes some of the rotor, thereby cutting down the material in place to dissipate heat.

    Resurfacing is a cheaper alternative than replacing. I'm sure if the mechanic recommended that rotors be replaced every time, he'd hear complaints from those that would ask "why not just resurface them?"

    It is my opinion that the GM-triplet minivans are "underbraked". In other words, the braking system is just adequate for the weight. As a result, warping rotors is a fairly common event on these vans. You can probably expect to have warped rotors again in another 15-20k miles, at which time you'll likely need to replace the rotors altogether. At that point, you might consider high-performance rotors that may help dissipate heat better and not warp as readily.

    Hope this is helpful.
  • afnugalafnugal Member Posts: 1
    When ever is rain or I wash the van, signal, back up light, stop light are acting funny, whenever i push the brake and turn the signal, signal flashing fast the normal when i hold the brake pedal. Also ABS light come on when tail are have moisture.

    I did put electrical tape on electrical harness for tail lamp, but again is doing the same.

    Is there is anyone known how to fix this, did I need new tail lamps etc ?

    Thanks
  • cat9hicat9hi Member Posts: 3
    I have a 04 venture and it only has 25,000 miles on it. The problem I am having is that driving down the road it dies without warning, you don't get a warning light or anything. I take it for repairs and it does not give the mechanic any codes. Does anyone have a clue? If so please post a message!!!!!!!!!
  • vanman1vanman1 Member Posts: 1,397
    Odd. Could be many things, you are under warranty so I would bring her in.
  • y2kventurey2kventure Member Posts: 1
    I have read many pages of comments about leaking intake manifold gaskets, but not once has anyone mentioned using the sealer tablets to control the leaking. We purchased a used 2000 Venture in 2002 with 38k miles on it. It now has 74k. It has always used a slight amount of coolant. I have had to add some coolant every time I check it when changing the oil. It has used about 1 gallon of coolant over that time. Having had an 85 Eldorado, I am well acquainted with the Cadillac tablets. I have used them in some of my other GM vehicles and have never had any problems. The GM service bulletins don't recommend using them as they might clog passageways. Seems like a good preventative measure to use them. Does anyone have any experience using leak sealer in the 3.4 V6?
  • thinbluelinethinblueline Member Posts: 2
    Has anyone had any trouble with the crankshaft pulley? I noticed a new belt that I had just replaced a couple of months back beginning to shred. I kept my on it and was trying to understand what was going on. Well today I found out what the problem was; the crankshaft pulley is separating into two parts. It looks like the pulley itself is separating from the part that connects it to the crankshaft. I checked the main bolt that goes the crankshaft and it's tight. Could these two pieces have been pressed together? Has this happened to anyone else? Of course it's out of warranty, and I've got the same head gasket leak everyone else has. :cry:
  • thinbluelinethinblueline Member Posts: 2
    I tried it on our's and it seemed to slow the leak down quite a bit. I'm adding coolant about every 3 to 4 months versus every couple of weeks.
  • torqueztorquez Member Posts: 1
    Thank you for the information. This is what I had thought but I was not sure.
  • toolman5toolman5 Member Posts: 2
  • toolman5toolman5 Member Posts: 2
    Hi ........ Can anyone help with my wipers not going into Park, removed the metal plate on top of motor and checked motor to see if it was working ok, seems alright while on low turns clockwise when off turns approx. 1/2 counter clockwise then stops in the same spot. The metal part on top that holds the arm doesn't seem to be working right, nothing moves on it ....... it has a spring that holds tension and all looks good, can anyone explain how these wipers suppose to work, especially that part on the motor ............... thanks for any info.
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