GM's triplets Venture, Silhouette, and Montana

catam

First thing I would check is the air filter, if its old and dirty replace it.
Next, do you have a check engine light. A bad O2 sensor will give you poor mileage, as well as many other faulty emission components.
There are many other possibles, is tranny shifting into overdrive. Easy to see if you have a tach. If not check tranny fluid level.
If you always use the same brand of gas you may want to try a different one as well.

ohc6sprint

Occasionally my parking brake light and traction control "off" light come on in my 2000 Venture LT. It seems to happen only in cold weather. The lights will come on and then go off after several minutes by themselves or they sometimes go out if I turn off the van and restart. Most of the time they behave as they are supposed to. The van has 25,000 miles on it and hasn't had any other problems. Any similar experiences? By the way, in answer to a previous post, my fuel data center gives a "fuel used" reading that is lower that what is actually used. I believe that all these vans are set up to be optimistic.
I really like this vehicle and expect to keep it forever. I think though, that I will pick up an extended warranty for this vehicle when it nears the end of the 3/36,000 warranty. Everything looks to be a major pain to get to under the hood. I changed the air filter just for the fun of it after reading a prior post. Wasn't too bad after unplugging some wires and taking the hose off between the filter box and the intake manifold. Hardest part was getting the lids' (three/four?) tabs back into the holes in the box after inserting the new filter. The new gasket material was hard to compress and resisted getting the tabs into the holes even though it seemed identical to the original. If it goes too easy, assume that the tabs did not go into the holes and that there will be an unfiltered air leak.

pkcicco

Just curious..... to those folks who are getting over 20 MPG what brand of gas are you using. I've been using primarily Mobil and Sunoco and average 19 MPG...urban driving

artgpo

I use whatever brand of 87 octane is least expensive. I try to use Shell because they have a car wash I like to use between full service washes. In a Consumer Reports evaluation of regular unleaded gas a few years ago it was stated that just about all brands of 87 octane are close to being the same.

tomekk

My wife gets 21-22 city, 25-26 highway not exceeding 75 (but I've seent 28-29 at 65).
I alwyas use 87 octane, primarily Citgo or Exxon.

mizeuml

My 2 cents worth... We had a '99 Montana for 3 years that got around 25 mpg. We traded it for an '02 Montana back in June and I noticed that the '02 does not get as good gas mileage as the '99 did. The '02 gets around 20 mpg. I questioned this myself wondering what changed from '99 to '02. We always use 87 octane, usually from Crown or who ever is cheaper. The '02 does not appear to have any problems, just has not got good gas mileage from the day we brought it home. I hear your complaints and echo them.

As for the intake manifold gasket, the '99 started leaking around 20k miles and was replaced before we traded it. The '02 seems to be ok for now, but I have a Warranty Gold policy just in case.

The '02 has started to collect a heavy film of oil on the bottom of the oil pan similar to the '99. We had several different repairs to the '99 to try and stop it, but was never successful. Dealer said it was normal, and the '02 is doing the same. Doesn't seem normal, but not worth fighting GM again on this problem.

offham

I have read the posts on the above, and there are a number of issues for gas mileage performance. We all know that the overhead read out is optimistic. When I fill up, I am generally putting in over a gallon more than the read out said I have used.

Last trip readout showed as high as 25.9mpg, but can vary whether in cruise or foot on the pedal.

Local around town is around 19 mpg typically stop start driving.

I also make a point to change oil every 3000 and new Delco filter. I have used Exxon 5-30, but got Shell last time at AutoZone. Just as efficient, but tried Castrol GTX and van did not perform as well. Tires should be at the 35 psi all round for optimum performance. Generally go down in cold weather.

offham

Had previously posted about light coming on and checked out connections under drivers seat.

So far it has operated normally, after engine started flashes seven times and goes out.

I have now found that if I stop the van with the engine running in Park and open the power operated door. Upon closing the door, the airbag warning light comes on. Usually I turn off the engine and restart, which re sets the whole procedure.

kkollwitz

I check mpg when we go on vacation. We get 22 mpg at 75 mph, 6 people, A/C, rooftop carrier. I'm happy with that.

BTW, this is day 8 since using "magic pills" on the coolant leak. Not a drop in that time.

stever

Several new vans are coming out soon, but I don't hear any scuttlebutt about changes or updates to the Triplets (just layoffs and the demise of the Olds in a couple of years). Anyone got the inside story?

Steve, Host

catam

Steve, I recently read a brief statement in a Motor Trend online article, which stated an all new Venture/ Montana/ Silo is coming for 04. The only details given were that it would be slightly larger, (about Odyssey/ GC sized), and would have an all new 3.6L engine. This info was in a mix of the future vehicle forecast, and it did not seem to me in reading that they had done much homework on any of the automakers. So I am still waiting to hear this from another source before I'll believe it.

catam

My wife gets around 22 in mostly city driving in our 01 Venture. I get 25-26 on the road driving 75 mph. I use the cheapest 85 octane, (I live at 4500 ft altitude), that I find, usually Sams Club, which is supplied by Flying J.

lamr5490

we replaced a 3800 motor in our 94 oldsmobile silhouette and it runs great we had to buy a new alternator then it still wasn't charging so we put our computer on it and it says the qdm#1 and #2 wasn't working but we have one promble no books says were it is located I have checked the internet and no one can tell me were it is can anyone help!!!! we were wondering if the pcm is bad if the qdm is because one definition of qdm was it is a chip in the pcm?

greg32

Our 97 Venture LS extended power side door stopped working a few days ago. I checked the fuses but they looked ok. Does anybody know of anything else I can check before taking it in?

Thanks.

kkollwitz

Direct your question to "Master Tech" here: http://forums.vmag.com/mvventure1199

If you cull thru the Venture and Montana boards there, you may find an answer.

shifty4

I have an extended version 97 Silhouette with an incredible 35K miles. (Driven primarily by Soccer-Grandma) Lately about 30% of startups result in both the ABS and TCS warning lites coming on. Shutting off and restarting cures it. Any suggestions on what to look for? Have checked brake fluid which is OK. Still have original brake pads. I have ckecked Maint & Repairs forum with no success. Any suggestions appreciated.

mesazone

I too am interested in the warning lights issue. I have a '97 Grand Prix with the same problem. It used to be they would only come on when I turned right and go off when I stopped. But then come back on when I got over 10 MPH. (I could watch closly with my HUD.) I just haven't had time to take it in to my mechanic. I will hopefully take care of that in the next couple of weeks and will post what I find out.

infinia1

because of a very unexpected child on the way, i find myself in the market for one of these 2 vans since 3 child seats will not fit in the back of my alero. i have found both 02 gm certified used. the venture has 14,500 miles and the montana has 17,600 miles. both are extended, 7 passenger seating, 1 power door, rear ac/heat, aluminum wheels, listed for $17,490. they are both about $1000 below edmund's tmv for certified used. what does everyone think? does one have any benefits over the other?

tauberj

Have you disconnected the battery recently for anything? If so, there is a reset procedure for the power door in the owners manual. I think you have to turn the ignition key to the on position then off again 3 times within 5 seconds. It's been a while, so check you manual. I hope this helps.

ronsmith38

You might want to look for a Venture or Montana with 8 passenger seating so you can put 3 car seats in the 2nd row for more convenience.

arr2

Bought 99 venture on Sept 17, 35500 miles. Dealer gave 3 month, 4000 mi warranty. On Dac. 12 at 42400 mi it developed a coolant leak. Took to dealer and service dept. guy says it's probably intake gasket, that's common. I said that was crazy, no gasket should be gone at such low milage. They inspected and found it was the head gasket. They wanted $800 to fix but because I had just gottrn the van they would give me a brake even though it was off warranty. $500 plus tax. Wow. I asked if the other head gasket would be cheeper to change now or later since there seems to be a problem with them. They said they would do the other one for $75 and they have to change the intake gaskets at the same time. After the job was complete the mechanic who did it says the intake gasket on the other side from the head problem was almost ready to go,and G M is using cheeper gaskets than they did a few years back. $614 for job. Called G M 800 number and was told the head gasket failing was a maintenance problem and that I inherited the problems from the previous owner. I told them that was bull but since it was over the 36k miles they did not want to know anything . This gasket problem seems to be in 98,99,00,01, 3.4L engines. G M is putting in bad gaskets and does not want to take responsibilty for the bad parts.

ryles

Those prices look good. I just paid 19,000 for a 2002 with 15,000 miles with 100k warranty. Mine has the 8 passenger seating as we just had our second and third children. This seating layout was the key reason we went with the Montana. Three car seats in second row leaves you lots of room for cargo. If you have captain chairs, you have to use half or all (depending on seating config.) of the third row, thus reducing cargo capacity.

Ryles

rickslick

I have a 00 Montana and a family member has a 97 Transport. I've noticed recently that when the 97 is at idle at a stop light or something, it makes a continuous humming noise. It's not noticeable when you accelarate though. I remember back in the 80's a friend of mine had a 82 Chev Celebrity that made the same sound but I don't remember what caused it. Anyone have any ideas??

tomekk

I had this happen - coming from left front, kind of strange whining noise - revving the engine just a little bit and putting load on the transmission would make this noise go away. However unbelievable that is, it was the alternator, replaced under warranty, noise went away. I'm not sure how long you can continue driving like this... we had that at least for 6 months before I pointed it out to the dealer and they took care of the problem.

Good luck -

Tomek

rdparp

Looking to buy first minivan. Found a 2001 Silo Premier, loaded. 47,000 miles. At a dealer. Seems pretty clean. Didn't ask about the manifold leak, but will. Wants $15,500 including the remaining factory warranty. Is this a good price? Or too good?

thanks,

artgpo

rdparp,

Check the used Silhouette prices here on Edmunds or go to kbb.com. Those prices should give you a good baseline. Remember too that used Silhouettes do not hold their value. This is do for several reasons including the end of the Olds brand next year, the poor repair record of earlier models plus the poor crash test results from the IIHS.

I own an '03 Silhouette since mid-October. So far, so good. It is a comfortable and luxurious van.

rickslick

Thanks for the advice, I'll check it out and let you know how we came out!

hhua1

Just want to report.

The front passenger side heated seat didn't work, still under warranty, dealer replaced the cushion heating element (1.7 hours labor + $45 for the heater).

The "Service Traction System" warning light on, with the "ABS" and the "Track Off" lights on. This was the left from wheel sensor extension hardness connector had a bent terminal. Dealer replaced the damaged connector (.5 hour labor, $0.00 for part, under warranty)

The passenger power sliding door sometime caused the doom lights on while driving. Dealer couldn't duplicate the problem, cleaned the door plunger contacts. No charges.

Also took a total 2500 miles trip with the Silo during the Christmas, enjoy the van very much, and the video sure made the trip seemed short.

rickslick

from a 450 mile one road trip. Hadn't taken one in a while due to new baby and work schedule. I love the comfort level of this van. I did all the driving and I never felt tired the whole trip. We were climbing some steep hills on our trip and this van quickly reminded me that it didn't like hills when it was loaded with 7 people plus luggage and going 85-90 miles per hour. The transmission reminded me of the mid 80 thru early 90 GM cars with the 3800 engine that struggled with hills when it was loaded.

shifty4

Hhua1, thanks for your feedback. I have had intermittent simultaneous TCS and ABS warning lites illuminate on my '97 Silo. So far it has always cleared by shutting off ignition and restarting. You have given me something else to check.

hhua1

Shifty4, I would think there may be a code registered in the computer when the warning lights illuminated, that the dealer was reading to find out where about the problem came from. You may want to have the code read and may be able to isolate the problem sooner.

dirkdaddy

try loading that much luggage in ANYTHING and driving through the moutains...ok, maybe a diesel 3/4 ton PU might not strain, but most "ordinary" vehicles with 7 people and luggage will be straining.

The vans are not rocket ships but come on, you're you're talking a heck of load. esp. if they are fat (LOL). Not that there's anything wrong with that...

DD

jeber

the g.m. minivans have a decent balance, I think, of power & gas mileage, always a tradeoff there.

An acquaintance of mine recently got a full size '03 ford van with the 6.8 L V-10....try 305 h.p.in those mountains! mpg isn't as bad as you might think although still atrocious compared to the 20 - 25+ I'm getting in the silhouette

artgpo

I am averaging about 22 mpg in mixed driving in my '03 Silhouette with 5,400 miles on the odo.

missedbass

Had the lights come on in my van. problem was a bad ground wire connection in the left rear tailight. the warning lights would come on whenever I put the left turn signal on.

offham

These cost $20 for the two, but are not as strong as the other after market makes or suppliers. The ends are cardboard rather than plastic and have to be handled more carefully when installing.

artgpo

Wix now has the GM cabin filters for the triplets. The part number is 24868. I do not know the cost.

mizeuml

Just picked up my '02 Montana today from the shop, 14k miles. Have had good luck so far till today. Last week the left half of the radio display went dark. Called the dealer and they ordered a new radio. They were familiar with the problem. I would hate to guess what the radio/CD/cassette player cost.

Had a heavy oil film on the left side and bottom of the oil pan that kept coming back after wiping it clean. Had the same problem on my old '99 Montana and they never got it fixed. On the '99 they replaced the rear main seal and oil pan & gasket, but could not stop the problem. They told me it was normal and after 8 or 9 attempts to fix it and complaining to the GM Area Manager, I gave up. It started on the '02 before my first oil change at 4k miles. Decided to have the dealer look at it while he was fixing the radio, since it was a different dealer than what I used to service my old '99 Montana. They kept the van all day today and fixed the lower intake manifold gasket. They said they could see the oil leak from the gasket and it was running down to the pan. I was very surprised, but glad to have it fixed while under warranty. I had the intake manifold gasket replaced on my '99 because it was leaking coolant down the side of the engine block. It started around 20k miles and I got it fixed around 75k miles, never got that bad, but had the 100k GM warranty. I was not aware that the failed intake manifold gasket could allow oil to leak also. I has been watching my coolant level and bought an extended warranty because I expected it to fail sometime on the '02 van, just not this soon. I talked with the service advisor about the problem and explained that my '99 had the same problem. He said that all the 3.1L and 3.4L engines have the problem. I asked if the gasket had been improved on the '03 models, but he was not aware of any changes. He said that once the gasket is replaced, it rarely leaks again. He said the leak occurs at an area where 3 different type of gaskets join. I would check my van before it goes out of warranty because this is an expensive repair.

The front valve cover looked like it was also leaking and was fixed while they repaired the intake manifold gasket.

The black plastic trim pieces on the outside of the captain seats in the middle row were broke on both seats. The plastic is thin and the screw pulled thru. We have the leather seats. You can see this piece when you open the sliding doors. It is held on by the lever that tilts the seat back and this screw that pulled thru. Seems to be a bad design and will probably happen again.

Overall we have been much happier with this van over the '99. We had several problems with the '99. This new van has the DVD player which it great for the kids. The only problem is we never get to listen to the radio anymore. I have also noticed that the '99 got better gas mileage than the '02. I have mentioned this in previous postings.

montanafan

What I have read seams to back up your dealer. You do not read about many repeat failures of the gasket. Believe that is must be an assembly problem. The replacment procedure includes putting sealant in the corners and RTV sealant. Think I heard/read somewhere that new gaskets were going into production engines in the first quarter of 2003.

jpc47

Had my intake manifold gasket replaced by my local mechanic for $499, which included $17 for shop supplies. Trying to coax a couple more years out of this thing, and then if GM doesn't come up with something better I'll look for alternatives in minivans.

dirkdaddy

A co-worker just has his Venture gasket replaced, it was pouring out coolant pretty bad leaving large puddles. A local repair shop must have seen him coming and charged him $900+ for the repairs. Granted there's a ton of labor involved, but still.

JPC47, hopefully I can find a cheap shop doing good work like that when the time comes, and I belive it will come eventually. I can smell the coolant leaking, but never see any. I'm going to try the GM leak stopper tablets when I change the coolant.

DD

jpc47

Check engine light came on and it was a bad plug. Going in for replacement Moday. Mech said it should have lasted 100,000 miles but the leaking anti-freeze might have caused it to burn out faster.

ryles

Does anyone know if there are any headlight upgrades available for the Montana, etc. To me the headlights are not very bright and pattern is not very efficient. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Ryles

kkollwitz

My 99 Venture has been leaking about 12 ounces a month (or less) of coolant from the right rear of the engine for 3 months now. It's no big deal, I just add a bit of coolant every now and then. It's occurred to me that maybe I just need to tighten the right rear bolt that holds the manifold and gasket down, but I can't access it. How hard is it to tilt the motor forward and access the bolt?

jpc47

The danger is internal leaking.

dirkdaddy

When I replaced my shocks, I didn't get the upper bolt tight enough and I had that knocking sound. You can do this in your driveway with a suit on, its easy. Get a socket set and put on the appropriate size, through the wheel well stick the socket and extension through the hole to access the bolt. First loosen the bolt a few turns, then tighten to spec or just "pretty darn tight". That should do it.

offham

Re above, and have been prior discussions on this subject re poor headlights. There are a variety of Halogen "Cool White" replacements at WalMart etc.

I found Philips the best ones, but I also raised the headlights up to get a longer beam. Do it on a levle surface - in side garage against the rear wall. The headlamp units have a built in adjuster.

offham

I fitted a set of Michelin Symmetry at 34000K and now at 59000K and despite rotating on schedule do not think will more than another 15000K out of them despite the 75000K rating.

How are other people doing with these tires or is there anything else come along since that people are happy with in terms of ride and endurance.

jeber

over the years it seems I've had a lot of tires where the wear warranty was way optomistic. If you got 'em from a decent tire place (I've had good luck with Discount Tire & Sam's Club) they are usually pretty good about giving credit towards some new ones. That is, if it isn't some strange alignment problem where half of the tire is down to threads and half still looks new.

As I understand it, if they make a tire that truly has a REALLY long life, the materials are such that there is some compromise with grip & ride quality.

I think there's a tire discussion or two in "maint/repair"

lennx

2002 extended Venture - One year and 14k miles.

A couple of minor problems: hatch handle broke, loose bracket in the back end, small rubber door stop stop fell off and slider needed adjustment. All fixed under warranty.

Also need to Armor All drivers door gaskets every few months to stop a squeak. And I do hear an occasional whine shortly after starting up while rolling along. When I start to accellerate it goes away. Dealer said it was normal alternator sound.

Gas milage 26 on the highway at 65-70 mph with 5 people and stuff. 20 to 22 kicking around town.

3.4 engine has enough power even when pulling our small boat.

Overall good vehicle - not great. However it is a great value for an 8 passenger van with good gas milage.