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Diagnostic mode #1 sounds Diagnostic Trouble Codes ("DTC's") through the sound of the sliding door alarm. Begin the PDS mode 1 by:
Turn off PSD on/off switch (on overhead in my van)
Close sliding door manually. Ensure PSD is latched.
Press and hold PSD "open/close" switch (on overhead console in my van). While HOLDING this switch, cycle the "on/off" PSD switch (10 cycles or more are required to enter mode 1.
The power door alarm will sound for 3.2 seconds, this means you are in Diagnostic mode #1.
After entering the mode, leave the on/off switch "on". Release PSD "open/close" switch.
DTC's are communicated audibily. Example, number 12 is a "buzz...(pause) buzz buzz". This is one for the first digit and two for the second if you're a bit slow on this.
A long pause, then the DTC's are repeated - until you stop. To exit diagnostics - turn PSD "on/off" switch to "off" position (at least 10 seconds).
Codes:
12 - no DTC's stored - no faults.
13 - Door position fault
14 - controller malfunction
22 - door motion error sensed on actuation
23 - no latch input
24 - controller error/speed sensor open
32 - speed sensor shorted to ground
Diagnostic mode #2
Enter Mode #1
Press and hold the Open/Close button 4 secs
Alarm sounds for 3.2 seconds, twice, indicating mode #2.
Mode two is harder to summarize, but basically it tests for switches like on gear selector, the keyless remote, the ignition switch, etc.
Diagnostic mode #3 is for the Unlatch actuator.
#1 should tell you if you have a major problem.
Perhaps N7 Don could post #2 adn #3 instructions from his book, if Steve doesn't mind.
Good luck,
Dirk
I am curious to know if your van too exhibits the cold start engine rattle. Due to family finances I am reluctantly starting to concede to keeping it but being somewhat picky about mechanical noises I am polling everybody to see how these rattletraps hold up in the long run.
If your van rattles with 110K and is still going strong that's pretty good!
Other than the rattle we feel our 2000 Montana was an excellent value purchased used.
Thanks,
Alien10
We get the rattle for a minute or two on cold starts. As I explained in prior posts, I had read where the piston fit is slightly on the loose side, but it expands when it heats up and should pose absolutely no problem to long service life IMHO.
I've replaced the serpentine belt, 2 batteries and tires, brakes, a tie rod end and various bulbs, fluids and filters but its really been a great purchase. Wife thought I was off my rocker to want to buy it, but now its her preferred vehicle and I use it 90% of my trips as well as it doubles as a SUV/pickup with large storage space. Also, used vehicles usually already have a stain or two, so when your kid pukes all over the seat or something like that, you're not quite as upset as you don't have that "new car" mindset.
I'm thinking of eventually getting a DVD/Screen system added for long road trips, but we don't need it now (usually fly) and I don't want my kid vegging to videos more than necessary.
Don't worry so much - everything will be OK!
Just keep eye on leaking coolant. These 3.4 motors did have a known problem of intake manifold gasket leaking. Some are fine, other leaks are barely noticable like mine, others like a guy in my office with a Venture go in a gush of steam. Its not a huge deal, about $600 and then you're good to go. Use procedure to fix described in earlier posts on the subject.
Other makes ALL have issues, even Toyota had a engine oil/sludge problem that had them buying a lot of engines for owners in a "silent recall".
DD
Like you, with 2 kids you have to watch the wallet and the Montana does everything we ask and more. Zero issues so far and great mileage to boot.
Dirk
Thu Dec 23, 2004 09:43 AM ET
DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will recall 717,302 minivans because passengers could hurt their arms or wrists when opening a power sliding door, U.S. safety regulators said on Thursday.
Vehicles affected by the recall are Chevrolet Venture and Pontiac Montana minivans from the 1997-2005 model years, Oldsmobile Silhouette from the 1997-2004 model years, and Pontiac Trans Sport from the 1997-1999 model years, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
GM is recommending that owners do not use the interior door handle of the minivan to open the door, the agency said. The driver can open and close the door from switches at the driver's position or by using the remote key fob.
The agency has received 21 complaints from consumers, including 19 cases of arm or wrist injuries. These include 13 cases of broken bones requiring a cast or surgery.
GM, the world's largest automaker, has recalled more vehicles so far this year than in all of 2003.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=businessNews&st- oryID=7169833&src=rss/businessNews
From a Bloomberg news article.
Steve, Host
There are a few posts on this board about doing this repair, search on it and you'll find them. Its doable but requires some hours of work and a lot of stuff has to be removed to get to it. Make sure you use the new gasket & fasteners & torque in the order GM recommends.
good luck.
D
I my case the noise was related to higer speeds and wind direction.
I'm actually encouraged to see that most people seem to have had much less trouble that we have. Ours is a delight to drive, smooth, quite, handles well and gas mileage is good for a mini van.
We had a 99 Trans Port that had very few problems but many quirks that were fixed in the 2001 model.
We had the buzzing at the base of the windshield on the 99 and I fixed it with foam under the plastic cover as someone else tried unsucsesfully.
We are trying decide whether to get something else or another Montana (this one has to go). Either a low mileage Montana or an older lower mileage Odessy.
I take it you have replaced the AC air filter? That can really affect airflow. Ours is not "strong" but we hardly go to 4 even in Texas heat.
I think they used some cheap tie rod ends, as mine went too, but it was really inexpensive to replace myself.
Tranny, wipers, those should not be breaking, I have not heard of a many people complaining about either (well a few on wipers). Are you sure the of the compentency of the shop doing repairs?
Good luck. I heard the Oddy has a weak tranny, and its loud, radio/soundsystem is trash, many people get a pull to the right they cannot fix and not as comfortable, but it is a good van and has great resale, which makes it expensive to buy used, as you probably are aware.
Any van that has folding seats into the floor, I'd be suspect of the seating comfort. My '98 olds with leather CChairs and 3rd bench has bulky seats that don't dissappear, but when you have to ride a few hours in them you still feel good, so that's a trade off.
Dirk
Sorry to hear about your troubles with your van.
We got a 2000 Montana w/ 42K on it now, we have put on about 10K ourselves. Should you consider purchasing another Montana or Triplet van I would suggest you take it home or someplace and let it sit overnight to assure you start it absolutely dead cold. The colder the better. This would help you determine if the van has the famous GM piston slap. Even a '02 could have it as a family member has a '02 Monte Carlo with the same 3.4 L and it is starting to exhibit the cold start noise.
Check out the previous postings here, Dirk and n7don have rattlevans as well but they have around 100K on theirs I believe and still going.
To me the noise is annoying as hell.
The intake gasket change was implemented in early '03 maybe?
We have not had any trouble with the AC/Heat, the van is a bit slow to warm up when it's cold
(7 degrees this morning) but I can live with it.
We are currently experiencing an occasional "nudge" forward when starting the van on flat garage floor. I have only noticed it a few times so it would probably be one of those "can not duplicate conditions" if I took it to a dealer. Besides I not found a good dealer service department in my area yet. Anybody else had the same happen to them?
Good luck.
Alien10
AC performance and airflow are very good, again contrary to what some are reporting. I live near Phoenix.
It's brutal. These vans have been relegated to below average, apparently due to recent repair record. The books says dodge and Ford alternatives are better in comparison. (Gasp!).
Sandy.
Personally I think these vehicles are cheaply made .. lots of rattles, wipers are horrible/lot
of mechanical problems .. lots of little things
breaking. Just a poorly engineered vehicle.
The vehicle feels cheap/drives terribly.
After 5 years .. the vehicle will start to
experience the above. The price is competitive
but they will get you in repairs down the road.
They will get their money sooner or a later from you. I would never buy this vehicle again.
This is one reason why GM is loosing market share.
2 trips to the dealer for warranty work, one for bad gas (new injectors and fuel pump required and warranted) the other for a bad electric window switch.
one new set of tires
replaced front brakes once
Rebuilt rear wheel cylinders
one broken rear door hatch pull (fixed by zip tie)
A battery
Replaced VCR $125 (the kids wore out the original. The guy at the stereo store put a extra bracket on the new VCR and no more rattles.
Rotors turned several times (mountain driving)
Something in the transmission made it shift hard $400.
Normal fluid and filter changes.
That stuff all seems pretty normal except the transmission thing.
I suppose I'll have to have it tuned up and replace the belt someday. We will keep this van for many more years. Smooth, quiet and comfy, it's like traveling by living room! It does need a sound proof glass partition just behind the driver though...
If its 7 deg inside your garage, the tranny fluid is thick at that temp and the parasatic drag is enough to push the vehicle forward a little even though it not technically in gear, but I'd have to say this is probably fairly normal, I wouldn't know however as I live in Houston and a cold day here is below 35 degrees for a few hours at night before it warms back up (was over 70 today in January).
GM vehicles, vans included, generally are fairly reliable vehicles with some warts but also many redeeming qualities. Depends on if you want what they offer for the price you pay, there are a lot of choices today. Personally, I wouldn't buy a Chrysler for transmission problems and the Ford isn't much better, my sister had two transmissions on her Ford Minivan before it got to 100k miles.
I'd have to check the Nissan or Honda, the Toyota is too fluffy riding for me.
To the guy who said the van doesn't handle well you drove one with cheap/bad/wrong tires. I had same feeling as you until I drove one with good michelins.
DD
Did GM ever fix this on the 3.4 engines as they are being phased out I think?
I hope I am not annoying every body with this same subject but I am still new to this van and haven't gotten numb to the noise yet!
Ambient temp in our garage has been in the 40s and 50s when our van has nudged forward on start up. Again it is only very occasionally so I won't bother taking to a dealer.
At this time I do not know if the van does it after sitting out in single digit temps during the day as my wife does not always tell me car stuff as it happens.
I am thinking about looking into fixing the airbag light as it comes and goes at will. I have done the wiring connection checks under the seat and moved the seat and got it to go out but only to return sometime later. Not sure if the airbag would deploy with the light on.
Other than this so far so good.
The OEM General tires are needing to be replaced soon, any thoughts?
Alien10
The van rides fine on normal pavement but horribly on even mildly bumpy roads.
I was wondering if anyone else experienced this and what they may have done to fix the problem.
I also think that as the tire gets older the rubber compound changes with age plus you have less rubber tread to cushion the blow.
Just a thought.
The problem is a noise which starts at 2300RPM on up. It gets harder to hear as the engines RPM increase. The best I can describe it is a mild "pinging" noise. It sounds like there is a diesel truck pacing me two lanes over. By that I mean it is not too loud, but is definitely there.
Strange that it started after I got it back from the dealer for replacement of steering box and tie-rods.
Dealer confirmed the noise only after I rode with the Mechanic supervisor. Could not isolate. The noise is more apparent from the drivers seat.
Any guesses? I ran a tank of premium fuel injector cleaner with Chevron Supreme without any change.
Thanks,
Brian K.
2001 Pontiac Montana Ext 1SG
Seems like I read they started using a coated piston. The engine is still being used in several lines such as the Aztec and Equinox and their brothers and sisters.
Tires?? I put on a set of Michelins and they would have gone forever but I hit a curb and couldn't blame it on my wife... she was the passenger! I thought the Michelins were harsh riding and noisy. Not as bad as the OE Generals however. I didn't want to spend the extra to put Michelins back on so I replaced them with BFGoodrich Premiers from Costco at about 1/2 the Michelin cost. Frankly I like them better. Ride is less harsh and far quieter.
Also had trouble with my Gaberial hijacker air shocks - one sort of "froze up" but Auto zoned swapped it out no problem and changing them was pretty simple, hard part is getting it to extend to put it on.
Now we're good for another 100k on my Olds!
Dirk
Next project is to remove and inspect the belt tensioner. The belt is not riding fully on the pulley. It may have been this way since day-one and I just noticed it.
The engines did get a mod so newer 3.4L engines should not have the gasket issue.
1. Disconnect the battery ground (negative) cable from the battery.
2. Raise and suitable support the vehicle.
3. Remove radiator air baffle assembly.
4. Remove the starter motor BAT terminal nut and electrical leads.
5. Remove the starter motor "S" terminal nut and electrical lead.
6. Remove the torque converter cover.
7. Remove the starter motor bolts.
8. Remove the starter motor.
Install in the reverse. Starter motor bolts torque to 35 lb. ft.
Use this information at your own risk!
i have been under and over and still can't find it.
Do you suspect a problem?
The brake light was coming on and the low brake fluid light was also coming on. I took the drivers front wheel off and looked at the pads. Got out the ruler and measured the remaining thickness. Both inside and outside were still acceptable with the inside thinner at 3/16".
The coolant tank level had dropped around 2" in the last two years since we had the intake manifold gaskets replaced under warranty. Plus, I saw a small leak on the passenger side on the gasket.
And finally, the cheap plastic clip that holds the hood rod in place had snapped.
So the dealer says we need new front brake pads (fine) and quotes my wife the $99 special. She wisely asks if this includes turning the rotors, and he says yes. When we pick up the van we get a bill for $150. The service writer says that the $99 he quoted did not include servicing the rotors. My wife reminded him that she specifically asked this question on the phone. He paused, went to his manager, and came back with an apology and agreed to refund the $50.
Regarding the intake manifold gasket, he said they did a pressure test and all was ok. The small leak I noticed was oil and not coolant. And he said that Dexcool will evaporate over time more than standard green coolant and unless it drops quickly, it is not really a problem.
The plastic clip was not covered under GM 5 yr/60K warranty plan that came with the van. It is considered a body part. CHEAP!
Finally, after doing the pressure test, they reset the oil life meter to 100%. I quickly noticed that neither the oil or oil filter had been changed. He said that this happens automatically when the hook the computer up to the vehicle. Sounds silly to me.
My Olds bottom cladding clips are about 1/2 broke so its not exactly tightly secured
The rear hatch strap MOUNT broke one side, I thought the problem was the strap itself? Wife uses it, I don't. Luckily she's tall and can use the hatch itself now. Probably won't repair or will look at junk yard some future time.
Replacing my rear shock that was defective really made the van ride nicely - must have gotten used to the harsh ride when it was nearly frozen up and extra rattle noises.
N7don - My buddy has a 2001 and is now experiencing coolant leak, told him of the infamous gasket. My coolant was low a bit too (again), thinking of trying that myself now that I have done the rear plugs. I bet a lot of private shops replace 3 plugs and charge for 6! I guess if you had to do it again, it wouldn't take me that 1/2 that long....
DD
If the strap itself is still good, send me an email: n7don at yahoo and I send a couple pix of what I did to salvage the mount.