1997 PONTIAC Trans Sport

when starting the van, the check engine soon lite comes on and remains on,when starting the engine it misses when it first turns over causing the computer to call for a cold engine misfire, which results in the check engine lite to come on. i have had a computer analysis done on it and nothing shows other than a cold misfire startup.new spark plugs have been put in to hopefully to counter check the reason for this but to no evail.today as i write this again a misfire and only to have it only to fire repeatdly on 5 of the 6 cylinders for 4 miles the distance for me to get home. placing the vehicle in the driveway for 3 to 4 hrs and restarting the engine resulted in a smooth running engine but with the check engine lite remaining on… totally bizare.. untrustworthy, i seriously am considering dumping on trade.

This vehicle was very well maintained oilchange every 3k miles, transmission serviced every 30,000 miles. The Rack&Pinion went out in october 2003. The Transmission went out in May of this year and now the engine. Van was running hot, we replaced the thermostat, water pump, oxygen sensor, main radiator hose and flushed radiator, and purchased a new radiator cap. It is still running hot. It has a blown head gasket, and a warped head, no telling what this will cost.

The windows in the back will not go out. They are powered and the drivers side door window will not go up. The windows are also powered. The clock in the van quit working about a year ago. The abs light at the lower panel control does not work. The gas hand is starting to show a full tank of gas when there is not. The doors sometimes will lock and the keys are in the ignition. Sometimes the sliding door will not open, when you try to open it.

The intake manifold gasket failed- causing the engine coolant and oil to mix. The engine was lubricated with this coolant-oil mix causing numerous problems including, but not limted to; the cam shaft siezing and actually breaking. Repair requires the engine to be pulled from the vehicle and completely disassembled and repaired-quoted prices ranging from approximately $3000.00 (refurbished engine)to over $7000.00 for replacement(new engine). Research shows that this is a common problem caused by poorly/incorrectly designed intake manifold gasket. G.M issued a TSB (technical service bulletin) #03-05-01-01B on 10/24/03 to address this issue, This TBS even states that G.M designed a \"new\" gasket because of the design flaw with the old gasket. The problem with the 3.4 L V6 engines is so prevalent, the \"new\" gasket is on \"national\" backorder and people cant even get it.

THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET FAILED AT 79,000 MILES. I PAID THE DEALER $900 FOR THE REPAIR. THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET FAILED AT 133,000 MILES. I AM ABOUT TO TAKE IT BACK TO THE DEALER FOR REPAIRS. ANOTHER $900 REPAIR AFTER ONLY 54,000 MILES.

The day before I took the van in for repairs it stopped on me and I coasted home with hardly no brakes and bad steering.The repairs that I was about to have done was for a leaking intake gasket.I did not know what had happened until I read about the same thing happening with other people.Some people call it vapor lock. If there would have been people or other cars in my way this could have turned very bad. All the GM dealers say that this is a common problem. When I call GM they say they never heard about it. Something needs to be done NOW about this problem. Thank you , Scott Eggebrecht

Spare tire is stored underneath the vehicle and is raised and lowered by a crank.Due to its location, it is subject to the elements, and over time, the wire used to raise and lower the tire corrodes causing the tire to fall.If you are lucky it happens while closing the tailgate in a parking lot. If you are unlucky, it happens while travelling down the road. GM Canada apparently had an ‘extended warranty’ in place but it was discontinued in Dec 2002.

See failures

our cyl head gaskets had to be replaced and our cyl heads had to be machined, we also had to replace our fuel pump at the same time

Our 97 Pontiac Transport was fine until last year.New transmission (70,000 miles, O.K.) then a few months later it began overheating–new thermostat, which worked for a few weeks, then new radiator, which worked for a few weeks, then, when the mechanic said it probably needed a head gasket ($2000 or more) we decided to get rid ofit. But we were not even able to use it as a trade in, because it overheated so badly. The electrical system had always been quirky, but livable (i.e. the gas gauge had never worked, the windows were very slow and the cell phone plugs never worked) I called the dealer (Peruzzi, inLanghorne, PA) but, of course, it was not their problem. The mechanic told us that GM was using a new coolant in their 97’s which became problematic as it aged–he thought that might have been the original source of the problem, but acknowledged that GM has not admitted to any error. Wewere the original owners and always maintained the car properly, from day one. The mechanic is a personal friend, and has an excellent reputation. The car was sold for junk. It’s value, according to Edmunds.com, was about $6000/7000 .

My Vehicle was taken to; Tinney Chevrolet, 11249 W. Carson City Rd., Greenville, MI 48838For Two (2) Ea. Recall Notices; 1) Power Sliding Door 2) Steering BushingResults of Recalls: 1) Power Sliding Door worked fine till one week after Tinney servie dept. worked on it. (Doesn’t work with power buttons @ all now ) 2) Upon picking-up vehicle from the steering (Bushing) repair we noticed that steering wheel was cocked to left, steers hard & pulls to rightTinney Chevrolet was notified of both problems and said that they had nothing to do with problems. The vehicle was fine prior to taking it to them for the Recalls. Upon confronting them the second time, we were informed tocheck our own fuses etc.

My passenger side power sliding door has a safety issue. It will not open at all, nor will it close all the way.If there was an accident this could not be used to exit the vehicle. I also have concerns about the possibility of the door coming open on its own. The door sounds like it isw trying to open, but the lock never disengages. The Dealer looked at it and said the cables in the door were all unwound and that there was a bad module that controlled the door. I would think I could turn the electric door off (via switch) which I have done and operate the lock electrically or manually to exit the vehicle. The lock does not release even manually.Several seat belts latching mechanisms have come slightly appart and do not function as they should.

Intake Manifold Gasket leak.

Intake gasket failed requiring emergency repairs. Problem signaled by temperature guage hitting maximum.

I was driving on the highway at 60mph and without any warning of any sort the van started to slow down then it shut of and has not started since. The mechanic said it is the head gasket and that I would be bettor off just replacing the motor. I am still paying that car so I do not have money to get it repaired.

I noticed the low coolant light would go on sometimes and the vehicle was going through coolant much faster than any other vehicle I have owned. I performed some research on this issue and discovered a service bulletin regarding the faulty intake manifold gasket in model year 1997 Transport vans, among others. This service bulletin clearly indicates that this issue a result of a poorly designed gasket. Further research indicated that having this problem with your vehicle could result in catastrophic engine failure due to the leaking coolant getting into your engine. This now creates a safety issue due to the unpredictability of when your vehicle could breakdown.I took the van in to a GM dealer the next day. The diagnosis was a faulty intake manifold gasket that was causing coolant to leak inside the engine. The repair estimated to $720, for parts and labor and $130 to pay for a faulty blower motor resistor that was also diagnosed. I called GM to request cost assistance and was told that the \"car has too many miles on it, we can\’t help you now\". I was given the reasons that the vehicle was bought used, and the vehicle was too old.Although I have had this problem fixed, GM claimed no responsibility for this issue. Furthermore, I am not convinced that having this failure did not create other problems that would result in catastrophic engine failure at a later time.

I have had some problems with this vehicle. The one I am trying to get addressed at this time is the rear hatch window. It is falling off. The seal is tearing away from the weight of the window. I can see it. We are getting water inside the back now. I am afraid of it falling off on the highway so I inquired with my insurance company about it and a window replacement business. It is not covered unless it is broken. Well it will be once it falls of completely. I do not want it to harm anyone on the highway if it does. I am alerting you that this is not new its just getting worse. It would cost me $500.00 for the deductible, if I were to let them do it. I can not afford that. I find this to be a safety issue and if it falls off I will advertise this issue to every safety group I can.The wipers also fail all the time. In the winter they stop all together in bad weather. They fly off to the sides. And ice builds up under them and they are just plain crap. We have had problems with our brakes and the heating system. lights kept going on and other crazy things we have taken care of our selves but we feel this is a definite safety hazard concerning the window not to only the owner but to the general public if these windows fall off. Its hanging by a thread.After reading all of those defects from the other owners of the 1997 Trans Sport. I have had the same problems with the abs the axles the lights! You name it we have had it. The wipers and the rear window have a mind of their own and don\’t work sometimes. they fly off to the sides.I just had a recall fix RECALL 02049 POWER STEERING GEAR LOWER PINION / BEARING SEPARATION. Wonderful!!!! I had problems with the brakes and the knobs inside to the heater. The passenger window would not go up or down. This is a definite class action lawsuit. Big LEMON!!!! I posted at first just to complain about the window sliding off the back of the van. But this is pretty serious if it falls off and hits another vehicle! I don

Engine failure due to leaking intake maifold gasket on 3.4L engine. Engine was meticulously maintained to that point, with all service receipts to prove that fact. No pervious coolant leakage was noted before the problem. Engine began making severe knocking noises while driving in mountains of Wyoming. Service tech at Laramie GM Auto Center said that the enging was losing oil pressure and consuming (losing) coolant. Coolant leaked into the intake mainfold through the faulty intake mainfold gasket.I had the repair done, and now 28,000 into the new engine, I am hearing various engine noises again. Will go to new local dealer for analysis. GM should repay me for this–they will not admit any responsibility for this problem, only offering a discount on a new GM car. I am still paying on this vehicle, because the money that would have gone into payments went toward the new engine at 67,950 miles.Driver’s side power window regulator has also failed. $650 estimate to replace it. Numerous other problems with this car–many have been repaired through recalls. The engine issue should be a recall as well, or a class action should be started.

Dexcool (GM antifreeze) caused excessive corrosion of cheap and insufficient original equipment manifold intake gasket which caused Dexcool to mix with oil and Dexcool also gummed up causing sludge and overheating of engine that led to engine self destruction. No warning signs. No warning lights. No oil or Dexcool leaks. Over 1,100 other people have same issue as registered on www.gm-v6lemons.com and all mechanics and quick oil and service garages know about this problem. Have oil, antifreeze (Dexcool) and manifold intake gasket to prove the problem.

Coolant leaking into oil – lower intake manifold gasket bad

At 51000 miles the 3.4L engine had lower intake gasket failure in which the dex-cool anti freeze dumped into the crankcase mixing with the oil. This only had one warning a couple months earlier as the low coolant light came on and I added 1/2 gallon dex-cool with no signs of leakage. Next time it happened was when my wife was taking daughter to school and temp. light came on. Van was not driven over 2 miles to dealer, as light went out. Dealer said extreme mixture in both crankcase and radiator. Recommended replace radiator, waterpump, intake gaskets, flush both systems at a cost of 1500 not to be applied toward engine replacement if failure on start up. Dealer had just had van in week before for check engine light and steering recall and found nothing wrong !!!! We traded it in at a loss as I checked into the problem and learned about thousands of other owners with same problems with total engine failures after repairs made. We lost over $3000 equity between what trade value would have been if no problem with engine and letting dealer fix problem after trade. Van had many problems since we bought it new but we always had them fixed and was well maintained. Looked new when we traded with only 50,000 miles. Paint on hood blistered twice, steering / brakes wobbled since new at varyng speeds, always had ticking sound in engine dealer said was "normal", rear seats would jamb up if you tried to remove, wiper arms failed twice, serpentine belt tensioner broke off on engine start up in Dec. 2002. cost $375 with towing, power window switch failed in down position at replacement cost of about $175. Engine under warranty when it had a severe gas smell that nearly caused a fire in about 1999. They kept it a week and never said what the problem was. They had just worked on it for ticking sound. (probably intake gaskets then also). GM was no help after warranty was up.

An oil additive called

The fuel guage gives false reading, the needle will position way pass the "full". after putting in fuel, it will move to the "full" mark or show just any amount without the tank being full. it is avery hard act to follow especially in these times when i cannot afford to top off the tank. in other words, this fuel guage is very unruly and has its own way in registering what it feels like showjng me. is there a recall?. how can i correct this embarassing situation?. *tr

Driving in rush hour traffic, on congested freeway, at 55 mph the brake pedal went to the floor without any warning. the traffic in front of me was slowing down and i almost rear ended the car in front of me. dropped it in first gear, applied emergency brake and made an evasive lane change to get to the shoulder and let it slow down by itself. pulled off on the freeway shoulder got out of the car and i noticed the brake line right underneath the driver side leaking at a high rate and brake fluid puddling underneath the vehicle. only god's grace that i didn't rear end anybody or gotten into a car crash. disappointed is not a strong enough word to use for what happened. i have never experienced a brake line burst in a vehicle. doing some online searches on gm brake line failures i found a lot of reported cases of gm vehicles having severely rusted brake lines that had catastrophic failure with the brake pedal going to the floor. hope that you'll open an investigation into these concerns in order to avoid any future incidents.

In nov. of 2007 i was having a problem with my van overheating and was losing engine coolant but could not see where it was going. i later found out that i had a faulty intake manifold gasket, which cost me over 800.00 to repair. not long after the gasket was repaired the van started overheating again and i discovered that the water pump was blown, that was another 174.00 to repair. now i am still having the same problem with the van overheating and coolant leaking and i was just informed that it is a head gasket which is going to cost me over 1700.00 to fix. this is ridiculous, i know 3 other people who have the same make and model van as i do with the same engine and they are all also having the same problems with their vans. it seems to me that this is too much of a coincidence and that their should have been a recall in place to rectify the problems with these faulty parts. these are extremely expensive repairs and i personally do not have an extra $1700.00 just laying around, so now i am faced with the choice of junking my van and trying to get a new one which i cannot afford or fixing it which i also cannot afford. *tr

I have owned both a '92 and a '97 transport and both had the same problems. the power window controls pop loose of the driver's door and the windows fail to operate. the rear door lock fails. the blinker and cruise control lever snapped off the steering column so the blinker doesn't work. the window wiper control module failed. the transaxle hoses sprung a leak at the metal connections causing the transaxle to loose fluid and the vehicle to be stranded. *tr

Our 1997 pontiac transport has had 3 head gasket failures. the first was at 72000, second at 88,000 and is currently dead in front drive with water in the oil again. had new heads put on at 72000. vehicle overheats and does not show on gauges. you hear it bubbling when it's shut off. also had to replace alternator 3 times and van only has 110,000 miles on it. we've had since new. *tr

My wife's 1997 pontiac transport mini-van has the plastic headlight lenses, that are now yellow and cloudy, and nighttime visibility is so poor that she doesn't drive at night unless she has to. also my 2000 nissan frontier truck is succumbing to the same problem, but it is not as severe yet. i have tried high-output zenon, bluelight, and ultra white bulbs but the yellowing/cloudy plastic lenses greatly reduces the performance qualities of these bulbs. i cannot see the safety benefits of having plastic headlight lenses that won't shatter like glass in an accident if you cannot see more than 20 feet in front of your vehicle at night. i still believe glass is the best material for headlights, i see cars and trucks from the 70's, 80's, and early 90's that still have great working headlights. *tr

Van started on fire, in driver's door originating from power window controls. parked in driveway next to house,not running. van was a complete loss,only vehicle was only one for a family of four. *tr

I have had this vehicle for 7 years and have always had problems with cooling system losing antifreeze. now i am told the intake manifold gasket has been needs replaced. *tr

My 97 pontiac transports has a safety issue. the passenger sliding door is inoperable. the door will not open and apperas to not be closed all the way. the door is turned off via the switch and the lock will not release via the unlock switch or the manual lock mechanism on the door. in the even of an accident this door could not be used as an exit. i also have concerns of the door possible coming open while the vehicle is in motion.

Replaced the upper intake manifold gasket in 2006 . in the last 3 weeks, the van was not putting out much heat and the temp gauge did not rise up to the normal level. i drove into town 6 miles at 60 miles an hour and the temperature gauge went all the way up. i let it cool down and drove to the mechanic ( 1 mile ) and it was going back up again. they replaced the water pump, radiator cap and thermostat and i picked up the van. within 1 mile it started to heat up again. i returned it . they believe the head gaskets are blown. the estimate that i got to repair it is 1200.00. i got 3 estimates with the high of 1600.00. i already replaced one and now have to re replace it and the other. i'm getting really tired of this but i have to fix it because i cannot sell it if it doesn't run. hope they fix this in the next vehicles. i wouldn't recommend it due to this defect. it was also very scary because i was dealing with temperatures of -20 with wind. *nm

Tl* - on january 2, 2007 while driving the brakes failed. the contact found out that therewas recall 98v072000, on this vehicle , and took it to a dealer, and dealer refused to do recall repairs. then, the contact called pontiac at 1800-762-2737, the number sited in the recall summary, and was told by pontiac that they never heard of the recall. *ak

My transmission has been replaced once and i am already having problems with it again, it's only been a year since it was replaced. both of my front windows are power windows and i have had to replace the little motor for them to go up and down twice and the passenger is not working again. my left front signal light never works, it gets replaced and a day later is not working again. i have problems with my steering wheel, it is very hard to turn right, this was already fixed and i'm having problems again. i need to know if there are or there where any recalls related to my problems. i have read about other people having transmission problems. thank you. *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the headlight lenses are fogged up and do not illuminate the road properly. the dealership determined the lenses need to be replaced.

Dt*: the contact stated while driving at 40 mph the vehicle ran hot and the check engine light illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for inspection. the mechanic determined the head gasket needed to be replaced however no repairs were made.

Dt*: the contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it was hit on the driver side behind the door. the vehicle sustained body damage, there were no injuries, and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for repairs. the mechanic determined there was no safety side bar on the vehicle and feels this is a safety defect. the body damage was repaired and the manufacturer was alerted.

I own a 1997 pontiac transport that should have a immediate recall. the power sliding door is opening when ever it wants mostly while making left turns. the door opened twice within the last week. once almost losing my son. i turned a left turn and it popped open leaving my son hanging out the door in his seat belt. he has seat belt burn marks on his shoulder and neck. *jb

Dt: the contact states when the vehicle was taken to dealer for repairs of the power steering rack the welds where the power steering rack bolted to the frame cracked. the vehicle has been repaired at the contacted expense. *ak

Dt: there is a problem with the siding door not staying closed. this will occur even when the door is locked. the problem first started on february 1, 2005. this is an ongoing problem. *ak

While driving down the road, the headlight cover fell off and shattered on the street. a new one is almost $200!*jb

I was turning the steering wheel to the left to parallel park next to the curb, then i heard a loud pop noise. when i went to turn the steering wheel to the right it began very hard to turn the wheel. after leaving the store and from that point on every attempt i made to make a right turn, it was extremely difficult. after arriving home i noticed leaking coming from under my van. i called the location pontiac dealership about the my steering problem and they indicated that the van had been serviced for a recall in february of 2003 for the rack and pinion recall something related to the steering. so i checked the internet for the recall and it mentioned the same exactly problems that i was having now. i called the dealership back and they said that the recall was already done once. i told them it is doing the same exactly thing, and when i went to check the steering one more time i noticed a huge puddle under my van of reddish brown fluid. come to find out it was transmission leaking and when i turn the engine on the fluid came pouring out like a faucet. i contacted a transmission shop to take a look at my van and the mechanic told me that the axle was pulled out of the transmission by the steering system. the mechanic also mentioned that he has done quite a few of these same exactly kind of mini-van with the same exactly problem. he said that he knew exactly how the fix this problem because he does it quite often. the repair costed $1,800.00 dollars and the mechanic told me now i need to take back to the dealer to have them repair that rack and pinion again. now this has me very upset, i'm so mad about this because this definitely sounds like a manufacture problem and i should not have to pay for this. i sent the van to karco tranmissions in lancaster, california where i live and the phone number is 661-723-1164. this does not make any sense to me, so this is why i am filing this complaint.

Dt: the consumer states the right and left steering knuckles were cracked, right where the tie rod knuckle connects. the consumer was doing an oil change when he noticed the problem. the dealership was called to find out if there were any recalls. the consumer thinks because they are made of aluminum, it has happened because of old age. *jb

Wife making left turn onto busy road, van would not respond to to turning the wheel. side impact at 40 mile + from semi. injuries sustained by wife, broken hip crushed left arm , fractured tail bone and fractured base of skull. daughter and friend also injured but released with minor injuries. we did not know there was a problem with the van until after the accident. that is when i recieved the recall notice. nothing could be done at this point because the van had been crushed into a cube of scrap metal. i waited this long to file a complant due to legal advice, but as you can see the big guy almost always wins. we recieved no compensation from gm.

The steering rack failed on my 1997 pontiac transport approx 14 months after it was recalled and a pinon bearing changed in the rack. the original recall was performed in order to prevent the bearing failure and subsequent locking of the steering rack on left hand turns. the recall failed because the bearing failed ( 14 months after it was changed out). the failure of the steering rack could have caused a severe accident if conditions were right. fortunatly no persons were injured when the steering locked up

I noticed the low coolant light would go on sometimes and the vehicle was going through coolant much faster than any other vehicle i have owned. *nm i performed some research on this issue and discovered a service bulletin regarding the faulty intake manifold gasket in model year 1997 transport vans, among others. this service bulletin clearly indicates that this issue a result of a poorly designed gasket. further research indicated that having this problem with your vehicle could result in catastrophic engine failure due to the leaking coolant getting into your engine. this now creates a safety issue due to the unpredictability of when your vehicle could breakdown. i took the van in to a gm dealer the next day. the diagnosis was a faulty intake manifold gasket that was causing coolant to leak inside the engine. the repair estimated to $720, for parts and labor and $130 to pay for a faulty blower motor resistor that was also diagnosed. i called gm to request cost assistance and was told that the "car has too many miles on it, we can't help you now". i was given the reasons that the vehicle was bought used, and the vehicle was too old. although i have had this problem fixed, gm claimed no responsibility for this issue. furthermore, i am not convinced that having this failure did not create other problems that would result in catastrophic engine failure at a later time.

Vehicle intermittently stalled when making a right turn. dealer was unable to duplicate the problem. *ak

I took our 1997 pontiac transport montana minivan into covington buick pontiac for work on 8/15/02 and they replaced the actuator (part number 10324035) for the passenger power sliding door under the recall notices for that problem. in june of 2004, the door opened up when we pulled away from a stop light while my daughter was sitting next to it. the doors were all supposedly locked at the time (which the vehicle automatically does when you put it in gear) and there were no warning lights on. i took it in for service at covington pontiac on june 17, 2004 and they were unable to replicate the problem and just cleaned the contacts. the door opened up again on my daughter a couple of weeks ago (jan. 2005) while my wife was driving down the road. we are now using the manual override button but this is an extreme hazard. i'm going to take it back to the dealer but i want this on record. if they did replace the actuator, then there is something still inherently flawed in the replacement part design for this to be occurring now after two other recall notices about it in 2001. *jb

The sliding door opened without warning. *jb the sliding door also would not close unless manually pushed. the door would still open again. *sc *jb

The vehicle's transmission had to be replaced and the engine had to be replaced due to a faulty head gasket. *nm the transmission failed twice. *jb the consumer stated that he has had the vehicle towed on four separated occasions. *tc

Vehicle has the load levelling suspension with air compressor. the compressor goes on intermittently to relevel the suspension due to leak in load levelling suspension hose. this kills the battery. hose has been replaced twice over 7 years. problem has re-occurred about every 2 years.*ak

While driving at any speed, the sliding door would open without warning. the consumer had to manually close the door. please provide more information. *jb

I bought a 1997 pontiac transport in 2001 and not even a year later the intake gasket went bad they told me there was a defect on the intake gasket andgm did not give a recall for it that isn't very fair when it is their fault it keeps going i have to pay $785 again after another 2 years and again now i think somebody should do something about this because people are getting ripped off because they wont give a recall on this part when its their fault please help us with this problem. thank you . *ak

Consumer complained about a headlight problem. while driving headlight cover popped off, causing the light bulb to blow out. vehicle was serviced two times for this problem. it was determined to be due to the sealant.*ak

Todays date- dec 15th, 2004.have had 1997 pontiac transport for almost 1 yr. i just found out today that the rack and pinion are going to have to be replaced, along with the thermostat and water pump.*ak regarding operation of the rack & pinion, the trouble started about a month ago. i first noticed problems w/the steering while backing out. i thought it might have been power steering, checked the fluid and it was full. not terrible problems, but little enough to notice something was not right. it has now gotten a little worse, so i had it looked at and was told the terrible news just this very day.

While coming to a stop transmission slipped gears. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak

Consumer stated the passenger's side seat belt buckle will not latch.*ak

Consumer complained about having all kinds of problems with vehicle. firstly, transmission malfunctioned, and it was repaired. secondly, power steering fluid was leaking, and consumer kept replacing it. thirdly, there was a gasoline leak, which was repaired.*ak

Transmission is slipping out of gear while driving, causing the vehicle to slow. vehicle is also slow to engage gear when accelerating. engine rpm will be very high until the transmission does engage the next gear. this is the second incident for this vehicle, the first time (25,000 miles) the transmission was rebuilt by manufacture. the second time (63,000 miles) the transmission is being replaced. *ak

Driver side headlight missing. the headlight was in place in the a.m. in the afternoon, after arriving at a friends home, i noticed the headlight was missing. *ak this is the third time i have had to replace a headlight at my expense. i am the original owner of this vehicle. it's never been involved in a wreck. i see absolutely no reason why a sealed headlight should fall apart in this manner. the replacement is over 200 dollars. i believe the manufacture should replace this unit at their expense.

Spare tire is stored underneath the vehicle and is raised and lowered by a crank. due to its location, it is subject to the elements, and over time, the wire used to raise and lower the tire corrodes causing the tire to fall. if you are lucky it happens while closing the tailgate in a parking lot. if you are unlucky, it happens while travelling down the road. gm canada apparently had an 'extended warranty' in place but it was discontinued in dec 2002.

Our cyl head gaskets had to be replaced and our cyl heads had to be machined, we also had to replace our fuel pump at the same time

Our 97 pontiac transport was fine until last year. new transmission (70,000 miles, o.k.) then a few months later it began overheating--new thermostat, which worked for a few weeks, then new radiator, which worked for a few weeks, then, when the mechanic said it probably needed a head gasket ($2000 or more) we decided to get rid of it. but we were not even able to use it as a trade in, because it overheated so badly. the electrical system had always been quirky, but livable (i.e. the gas gauge had never worked, the windows were very slow and the cell phone plugs never worked) i called the dealer (peruzzi, in langhorne, pa) but, of course, it was not their problem. the mechanic told us that gm was using a new coolant in their 97's which became problematic as it aged--he thought that might have been the original source of the problem, but acknowledged that gm has not admitted to any error. we were the original owners and always maintained the car properly, from day one. the mechanic is a personal friend, and has an excellent reputation. the car was sold for junk. it's value, according to edmunds.com, was about $6000/7000 .

Engine failure due to leaking intake maifold gasket on 3.4l engine. engine was meticulously maintained to that point, with all service receipts to prove that fact. no pervious coolant leakage was noted before the problem. engine began making severe knocking noises while driving in mountains of wyoming. service tech at laramie gm auto center said that the enging was losing oil pressure and consuming (losing) coolant. coolant leaked into the intake mainfold through the faulty intake mainfold gasket. i had the repair done, and now 28,000 into the new engine, i am hearing various engine noises again. will go to new local dealer for analysis. gm should repay me for this--they will not admit any responsibility for this problem, only offering a discount on a new gm car. i am still paying on this vehicle, because the money that would have gone into payments went toward the new engine at 67,950 miles. driver's side power window regulator has also failed. $650 estimate to replace it. numerous other problems with this car--many have been repaired through recalls. the engine issue should be a recall as well, or a class action should be started.

The day before i took the van in for repairs it stopped on me and i coasted home with hardly no brakes and bad steering.the repairs that i was about to have done was for a leaking intake gasket.i did not know what had happened until i read about the same thing happening with other people.some people call it vapor lock. if there would have been people or other cars in my way this could have turned very bad. all the gm dealers say that this is a common problem. when i call gm they say they never heard about it. something needs to be done now about this problem. thank you , scott eggebrecht

The windows in the back will not go out. they are powered and the drivers side door window will not go up. the windows are also powered. the clock in the van quit working about a year ago. the abs light at the lower panel control does not work. the gas hand is starting to show a full tank of gas when there is not. the doors sometimes will lock and the keys are in the ignition. sometimes the sliding door will not open, when you try to open it.

This vehicle was very well maintained oilchange every 3k miles, transmission serviced every 30,000 miles. the rack&pinion went out in october 2003. the transmission went out in may of this year and now the engine. van was running hot, we replaced the thermostat, water pump, oxygen sensor, main radiator hose and flushed radiator, and purchased a new radiator cap. it is still running hot. it has a blown head gasket, and a warped head, no telling what this will cost.

At 51000 miles the 3.4l engine had lower intake gasket failure in which the dex-cool anti freeze dumped into the crankcase mixing with the oil. this only had one warning a couple months earlier as the low coolant light came on and i added 1/2 gallon dex-cool with no signs of leakage. next time it happened was when my wife was taking daughter to school and temp. light came on. van was not driven over 2 miles to dealer, as light went out. dealer said extreme mixture in both crankcase and radiator. recommended replace radiator, waterpump, intake gaskets, flush both systems at a cost of 1500 not to be applied toward engine replacement if failure on start up. dealer had just had van in week before for check engine light and steering recall and found nothing wrong !!!! we traded it in at a loss as i checked into the problem and learned about thousands of other owners with same problems with total engine failures after repairs made. we lost over $3000 equity between what trade value would have been if no problem with engine and letting dealer fix problem after trade. van had many problems since we bought it new but we always had them fixed and was well maintained. looked new when we traded with only 50,000 miles. paint on hood blistered twice, steering / brakes wobbled since new at varyng speeds, always had ticking sound in engine dealer said was "normal", rear seats would jamb up if you tried to remove, wiper arms failed twice, serpentine belt tensioner broke off on engine start up in dec. 2002. cost $375 with towing, power window switch failed in down position at replacement cost of about $175. engine under warranty when it had a severe gas smell that nearly caused a fire in about 1999. they kept it a week and never said what the problem was. they had just worked on it for ticking sound. (probably intake gaskets then also). gm was no help after warranty was up.

My vehicle was taken to; tinney chevrolet, 11249 w. carson city rd., greenville, mi 48838 for two (2) ea. recall notices; 1) power sliding door 2) steering bushing results of recalls: 1) power sliding door worked fine till one week after tinney servie dept. worked on it. (doesn't work with power buttons @ all now ) 2) upon picking-up vehicle from the steering (bushing) repair we noticed that steering wheel was cocked to left, steers hard & pulls to right tinney chevrolet was notified of both problems and said that they had nothing to do with problems. the vehicle was fine prior to taking it to them for the recalls. upon confronting them the second time, we were informed to check our own fuses etc.

Dexcool in 1997 pontiac transport corroded intake manifold gasket enabling oil and dexcool to mix in oil and gumming up, causing engine to overheat and self destruct. no warning whatsoever. no warning lights. no lost oil or coolant. maintained at manufacturer intervals. requires $6,000 engine replacement. old oil and dexcool samples are available as are all parts (manifold intake gasket). over 1100 people have this registered complaint -- see www.gm-v6lemons.com for others.*ak

Lower intake manifold gasket is leaking due to faulty plastic materials. dealer advises immediate repair to avoid engine failure. dealer indicates this is a common problem with no relief from general motors. gm has issued a technical bulletin to its dealers regarding the problem. bulletin #: 03-06-01-010 march 2003. *ak

Headlight assembly plastic falls off exposing bulb to moisture/rain which causes the bulb to burn out. therefore, losing the illumination of one lamp and limiting visability while driving at night.*ak

Rear passenger power sliding door will not close properly due to a faulty latch. dealer will replace the latch only at consumer's expense. *ak consumer has to physically lean on the door to close. *la

General motors 1997 pontiac transport minivan- intake manifold replaced at 55,000 miles and 72,000. *nm

Faulty head gaskey causes major engine failure in gm behicles. *ak

The brake locked up and the pedal became hard to press to decelerate the vehicle. the consumer also heard a loud clicking noise coming from the brakes. the dealership has been notified, but did not resolve the problem. *nm

Both, not just one of my headlights casings popped off without warning. i have had to replace them. which i have never had to do with any other car i have owned. *ak

The power steering pressure line malfunctioned, which caused the vehicle to be uncontrollable when driving. the vehicle was taken to the dealership where the cause had not been determined. please provide additional information. *jb

My windshield wipers stay straight up when they are turned off. this is obstructing my view while driving. *nlm

No steering control. steering wheel spins freely. internal power steering gear problem. *la

Since having the rack/pinion steering replaced twice (once before the recall and once after), i have again noticed difficulty pulling out of parking spaces turning left or right (hard to turn the wheel/loss of power steering?), especially, in cold weather. as you straighten wheel and start driving, problem seems to resolve itself. went to dealer who thought it could not possibly be the rack so therefore replaced the power steering pump in early november. the failure happened again today. *la

Windshield wipers works intermittently while driving at any speed.*ak

The rear power lock door did not lock. the dealer was notified. *ak *scc *jb

I own a '97 pontiac transport(montana) and for the second time in 6 years i am having windshield wiper problems .. the problem is when you shut off the wipers they don't close correctly .. they close with the blades straight up vertically. *ph

In october 2002 vehicle was taken to the dealer for recall 01v264000 repairs concerning power sliding door. after the repair was done consumer noticed that the problem still occurred. the vehicle was taken back to the dealer on 7/14/2003. dealer will replace the actuator module at the owners expense.*ak

The steering on our 1997 pontiac transport montana is very hard. i noticed this earlier this week. while driving, when i wanted to turn it takes a lot of effort to make a turn now, and the passenger side rear sliding door still comes open sometimes after you close it. it seems as if it's going to close and then it would just open. i know my husband took the car in for repair and they said it was a recall on these two things and they were fixed, but it still seems as if the problem is there. *ph

Consumer states the sliding door is not working properly with the automatic switch. dealer about year ago fixed the sliding door, and still problem recurring. this vehicle is not any longer on warranty. *ak

I have owned my pontiac transport 2 years. in that time i have driven it 17,000 miles. it has 78,500 miles at present. for most of that time the add coolant light has come on intermittently. my pontiac dealer tells me that i need a $900 repair to replace a intake manifold gasket. in conversing with other gm owners, i have learned that this is a common problem with the cooling system possibly due to the dex-cool antifreeze which gm says should last 150,000 miles. i feel that gm should take responsibility for these failures. e g armentrout. *jb

Coolant light started coming on over a year ago. took the van to bob neil pontiac in winston-salem nc. they checked it out but said they could find no reason. had been checking and adding coolant regularly. problem had increased and had it checked again in march 2003 while the van was in for a recall notice. this time they told me it would cost $600.00 + to fix the problem. the van has started having sudden swings in thermostat readings and using over a quart of coolant a week. i have read of others complaining on this site of the same problem and worse. i also reviewed numerous service bulletins from pontiac regarding this type of problem. why would gm not offer to help correct this problem if they know about it?*ak

The drivers and passengers rear seatbelt latch did not latch. the vehicle was taken tothe dealer who stated that they needed to be replaced. *nlm second row seats seatbelt did not latch properly.*ts

While driving 45 mph, the hood flew open and cracked the windshield. *nlm both hood locks failed. *scc *jb

Fuses blow within minutes of being installed. rear signal light does not flash. ph

Fuel pump stopped running, causing engine to quit. happened three times. found connector contacts at both ends of fuel sender harness severely corroded. contacts in fuel tank end of harness fell out when unplugged. dealer has had other customers with same problem. harness is on backorder.*ak

1997 pontiac transport transmission failure under 70,000 miles $2,500.00 repair faulty intake valve gasket under 70,000 $650.00 repair. *nlm

Front head lights have always had moisture. at certain times of the year they have contained 1-3 inches of water. pontiac refused to correct problem. the past month both lens covers have fallen off while driving. *jb

The exhaust fumes from other vehicles caused the consumer to get sick from carbon dioxide poison. *nlm

My 1997 pontiac transport only has 54000 miles on it and the engine intake manifold has gone up on it. after looking into it i have found this is a common problem with gm cars and trucks with a 3.4l engine. there seems to be a faulty design to the gasket. i have taken care of this van doing all maintenance on schedule. gm will do nothing to fix this problem even though they are well aware of this happening. they have even issued a service bulletin to dealers on how to diagnose the problem quickly (tsb#02-06-01-014). when the gasket goes there is a loss of power in the engine or stalling making it hard to steer and break. *jb

Vehicle: 1997 pontiac trans sport, vin [xxx], 96,634 mi. engine developed severe knock and strong smell of coolant. took vehicle to franklin pontiac gmc in franklin, tn and was told the intake gaskets had failed and contaminated oil, and that this was not uncommon for this vehicle. required replacement of lifters, pushrods, intake gaskets, oil and coolant on jan. 17, 2003 for cost of appx. $1,100. replaced water pump on oct. 18, 2002 for cost of appx. $250. low coolant light had been coming on intermittently for past several years, with faint smell of coolant, and i filled up radiator reservoir with dexcool thinking it was a normal evaporation through reservoir cap. i have since learned of many other similar intake gasket problems on gm vehicles, and am worried about another gasket failure as well as what unknown damage has occurred to my engine's bearings. *nlm information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6). *tr

The intake manifold experienced a leak. *jb

The power steering failed. *jb

While driving at night, the right headlight lens blew off the vehicle. *jb

The vehicle sliding door failed to unlock. door was repaired, but failed two months later. *jb

My wife and i are the original owners of a 1997 pontiac transport with 71,000 miles. since about 65,000 miles, it seemed to very slowly lose coolant, but we could not find out where it was going. at 70,000 miles, a "white milky sludge like jelly material" appeared in the engine, and right away i knew we had a problem. this vehicle has been meticulous maintained, so immediately i took it to our local pontiac dealer and informed them that we had coolant leak. the service department at the dealer confirmed that the lower intake manifold gasket had failed, allowing coolant to mix in with the oil. they had to replace the gasket and flush out the motor all to the tune of $731.00. calling gm customer service was a waste of time because they "denied" any problems, and they said since the vehicle was out of warranty, we were responsible for any repairs. come to find out that a lot of others were experiencing the same intake manifold gasket issues with gm. i am hoping that our problems was caught in time as it seems like many folks are worse off. i know that my vehicle is out of warranty, but since the problem seems to be widespread across many gm vehicles, models, and engines, i think that gm should be held responsible for some/all of the costs associated with this gasket defect/service issue. i didn't know if you might be able to help out?? *jb

I took my 97 pontiac transport into the christensen dealership at 2125 n. university parkway. p.o box 1487 , provo utah 84604 for a recall on my windshield wiper parking assembly. the dealership charged me $40.00 to look at the windshield wipers and told me that they could not honor the recall because another person had taken the car in before me and had already fixed the recall. if a recall is placed on a item and the dealership fixes the item with another faulty item shouldn't they be responsible to fix the problem until they get it right? should the owner of the vehicle continue to pay to fix the problem over and over with a faulty item that could enable him to drive his vehicle in a safe manner? i hope this is not the case. thank you for your time. james baldwin. *nlm

The headlight lens popped off without warning, the mechanic diagnosed the seal around the lens was excessively corroded.*jb *ts

Engine has been overheating for a year now. took vehicle to pontiac. they tested it and replaced the water pump. still overheating so they replaced the thermostat and radiator cap. still overheating. pontiac stated it needed a new head gasket and wanted $3500.00 to replace it. they further stated they were not sure this was the problem either. i have already paid $500.00 for the previous service. i have read there are many others with this same problem with gm 3.4 liter engines. *nlm

The vehicle experienced a coolant leak, which caused the vehicle to stall. *jb

The consumer was informed that no parts were available regarding the recall on the rack and pinion. *jb *scc

Nhtsa 02-v-286000 consumer received a recall notice regarding the rack and pinion, however the dealer stated the tools to correct the problem were broke.*jb

No parts were available regarding the recall for the steering rack and pinion.*jb

Consumer stated, while driving the vehicle noticed a smoke under the hood. plastic manifold was causing the burning, damaged the head gasket. dealer has been notified. ts intake manifold resealed. *tt

Day before i was going to have my 97 pontiac transport repaired for a leaking intake manifold gasket i was coming home and the van shut down on me, leaving me with poor steering and hardley no brakes. after leaving it sit for about a hour it restarted. i did some checking on the internet and read about the same thing happenig to other people with leaking manifold gaskets.i called gm about the problem and they said they never heard of any problems like this. the oldsmobile garage that told me what the problem was said this happens all the time, that the gaskets are defective. my concern is that if there would have been people or cars near me when this happened this could have been deadly. for gm to sit and lie to me that theres nothing wrong and then i see petitions with arond 1350 people who have had the same problem on the internet, something had better be done.i think a recall should be done.

Repair power sliding door because it would not work, replace pso module, door failed again. changed all the parts in the door at no cost. door opened while the van in motion, will not close all the way, may close but alarm sounds, failed to operate at all.

Rear axle left bracket broke at the speed of 15mph. rupturing the brke line puling the vehicle to the side.

After 17 repair attemps, electric sliding door still does not work properly.

Consumer states that all the middle seat belt tabs, that holds the seat belt is malfunctioning, unable to secure a child safety seat,tabs it will break off after being fastern.dealer contacted. mr

Consumer states his vehicle stalls while driving, problems is due to a faulty fuels injectors. injectors clog every six months, also has problem watering leaking under the dashboard through the windshield, problem with the sliding door. dealer and manufactures has been notified. please provide further information mr. kersh. ts

The van was involved in accident which the intake manifold gasket was damaged. the van was repaired by a pontiac dealership. anti-freeze is leaking by the intake manifold and mixing with the oil, which wasn't from the accident. the owner has found similar reports on "nhtsas' website. please describe details. ts

Both headlight lenses keep falling off without warning,resulting in loss of headlights.*ak

Consumer state that while driving and no warning the master brake cylinder is linking fluid cause extended stopping distance. dealer notified. mr

Loss of coolant from the tail pipe. vehicle taken to a repair shop and informed that intake mamifold gasket was cracked. dealer and manufactuerer were notified. *ak the coolant is getting into the motor oil which could cause engine failure. consumer would like attention to this matter because if the problem gets worse, a new engine would have to be put in. *jg

While traveling on a side road and without prior warning was making a left turn steering locked up, preventing vehicle to move. vehicle was towed. dealership was aware of problem.*ak

Consumer hit a bump and both lenses fell out of headlights. adhesive that holds lenses dried up. dealer contacted. *ak *yd

Sliding door would not close automatically. door would not latch. buzzer would sound and door would come open, even while driving. vehicle was taken in twice under recalls. once under recall 01 v 224 000 for sliding door and second time under recall 01 v 067 000. neither recall corrected the problem. *ak. consumer also stated the left turn signal was inoperative, the dealer replaced the turn signal bulb, also there was a rattle noise when vehicle was in idle, dealer replaced the belt tensioner.*jb

Recall 01v067000 on power sliding door was done in april 2001, vehicle has since been taken back to dealer 3 times for the door opening right after closing it. dealer cannot remedy the problem.*ak *yh

While turning left, front wheel would not turn, steering was popping. vehicle had to be towed. defect in gear was the cause per dealership.*akconsumer had to run into the curb to avoid traffic. *jg

A pin fell off from rack and pinion steering while traveling at 25 mph. consumer could not maintain control of vehicle.*ak

Headlights covers had fallen one after another within a week apart. consumer tried to find out what had caused this situation, covers could not be put back. please provide more information.*ak

When i was traveling down a residential street at lesss then 25 and hit a bump the spare tire became disengaed from the undercarriage of my van. the cable that was connected to the center cap that was used to secure the tire to the undercarriage of my van had rusted through. the tire bounced on the road and camme to rest in the street and became an obstacale to on coming traffic, one vehicle had to make an abrupt stop. if the spare had disengaged on the expressway it would have created a significant hazard with the possibility of fatal consequences. i contacted the pontiac customer assitance center on two ocassions and was told that someoone would get back to me but have not had any reponse. the defect has not been corrected to date. *nm

Rack and pinion steering broke while backing out, vehicle started to hesitate, and then all power steering fluid ran out. contacted dealer, and dealer stated that consumer needed to replace rack and pinion. please add vin . *ak

Consumer was pulling out of a parking lot and without prior warning steering wheel locked up and couldn't turn it. vehicle had to be towed. dealership was aware of problem. *ak

Windshield wiper arm is wearing through brake line, causing a loss of brakes. dealer installed a retainer to prevent contact between brake line and windshield wiper arm, but defect has reoccurred twice even after retainer was installed.*ak *slc

While driving 40 mph consumer tried to make a left hand turn and vehicle would not turn. only able to go straight or make right hand turns. dealer replaced rack and pinion.*ak

Passenger's sliding door was working when she took it in for manufacturer's recall. 00000115967 repairs. when she drove vehicle home passenger's door would not open. consumer had a talk with dealership mechanic, and he told her that electrical motor was not running. *ak

Steering wheel would lock up when making a left turn. vehicle taken to dealer for inspection, and informed that rack and pinion steering was broken ,and needed replacement. *ak a nut had broken on the bottom of the rack and pinion system causing it to fall apart, the air bag coil was twisted also causing a bind up in the steering wheel. *slc

Transmission is slipping out of gear while driving, causing vehicle to slow down. also, while pulling out into intersection transmission takes longer to engage gear. manufacturer has issued tsb, but is not covering cost.*ak the manufacturer paid half of the transmission repair cost but the original transmission was defective. *yh

Sliding door opened while driving down the street, took vehicle to dealer, and could not duplicate problem. three weeks later on april 11th, same thing happened again. dealer still couldn't find problem. on april 26, dealer fixed door, and currently it was like car had a mind of its own, consumer tried to start car, and it would start 3 minutes later. april 26 through may 4 they had the car. dealer said to take car back to gmc.*ak

Passenger's sliding power door quit working. a recall was received for latch on door, but did not fix problem. also, both seats belts in middle will not stay latched. *ak

While driving passenger's side headlight lens cover blew off, almost causing an accident, smashing against another vehicle's windshield. also, less than a month later, driver's side headlight lens blew off too. consumer could see that the sealer dries up and crumbles off.*ak *jb

When headlights are turned on at night tail lights do not function. in daytime when headlights are not in use, tail lights will function. this is due to rain getting in tail lights and causing a wiring shortage.*ak consumer states when lights are on, the light at the top of the hutch work, but the tail lights,brake lights, flashers and reverse lights don't work, the radio flashes and the left and right flash light on the dashboard stay on, consumer took vehicle into repair shop and it was determined that the entire harness system was burned out and needed replacement, consumer also stated fuel guage not reading correctly, also abs light and brake light coming on at times. *jb

Front headlight lenses fell off in street while cleaning snow off. consumer noticed that lenses were missing. dealership was aware of problem.*ak consumer states that both of the righ and left hand lamp lense covers fell off due to faulty seal, dealer split the cost with the consumer. *slc

Headlight covers fell off, moisture caused bulbs to explode. both covers fell off while driving, signal light covers and other light covers are full of moisture.*ak

Headlights had fallen of vehicle on two occasions. first one while driving, and other one when just touched. there was no prior warning of defect.*ak

Plastic lens covers on headlight assembly have fallen off, exposing bulbs, and causing them to prematurely blowout. please give any further details.*ak

Going 15mph sight seeing and side sliding door came open. buzzer was disengaged due to parts being ordered. was no warning when door opened. been to dealer 3-4 times concerning sliding door. entire door electrical system was replaced. *ak

Passenger's headlight has condensation build up that affects driving at night. passeenger headlight has a 1/2 of water build up that keeps blowing the bulb out. there' s nothing they can do. gmc knows that it's a design defect, but has no remedy.*ak *slc

Took vehicle in for routine service & noticed left rear brake light needed replacing due to overheating & melting the surrounding plastic. it was warped. *ak *slc

The right rear firestone fr680 tire p215/70r15 dot w2m3 experienced tread separation, consumer noticed the left rear tire was worn and the treads had begun to pull away from the inside, previously in may while having a safety inspection, the 2 rear tires were worn badly and failed inspection. *slc

While making a turn steering wheel locked, causing a collision which totalled the vehicle.*ak

Steering failed and locked up while vehicle was in motion due to failure of rack and pinion steering. total failure of steering.*ak

While pulling out of a driveway steering will would not turn to left, but it would turn to the right. consumer feels he was lucky there was not any traffic, vehicle could have crashsed.*ak the consumer thinks that the steering problem is due to defect. *yh

Was driving in the rain & went through a puddle. this caused power steering to go out, and lost control. but there was no accident. finally, went to a dealership & mechanic indicated that shield was missing. missing shield caused water to get inside the steering area. mechanic replaced the shield. *ak

Due to a defective driver airbag sensor air bag system light stayed on, indicating a problem with air bag system, which may deploy unexpectedly or won't deploy in event of a crash and won't protect the occupant (s). please provide further information.*ak

Passenger's middle side door opens intermittently. consumer took vehicle to the dealer for repair, but door now rattles because it isn't lined up with the panel. *ak *ml

While driving headlight lens cover fell off, causing the bulb to blow out. the manufacturer has been notified.*ak

Brake fluid was leaking onto brake lining. if leak developed any more consumer could lose all braking power. took vehicle to dealer, and both rear wheel brake cylinders had failed, and were replaced. *ak

Power door does not latch when it is closed by using the remote button. dealer is aware of the problem, power door has since been repaired. this is the second time it has happened. *ak *ml

While driving about 40 mph consumer's vehicle crashed into another vehicle that crossed the line. damage was from the front to dashboard, and the air bags did not deploy. *ak

Rack and pinion power steering mechanism disintegrated without warning, failure of power steering pump. causing loss of steering. dealer has repaired vehicle. *ak *ml

Upon turning into a parking lot traveling 10-15 mph, steering wheel locked up, causing loss of steering control. consumer contacted t dealer, delaer replaced the entire steering wheel and column. please provide any further details. *ak

While making a turn steering wheel jerked and went to the right and locked up. the dealer is inspecting and repairing the vehicle. *ak

When it's raining, and when turning windshield wipers off they stayed up and won't go down, so that they are could be in the driver's view. this was the 5th time this problem has occurred. also, consumer has problems with rear drum brakes. *ak

The covers for the left and right headlights fell off while driving. dealer has not seen vehicle. *ak

While pulling into a bank drive in consumer was sittnig in the line waiting for transaction to be concluded when brakes had gone out. pedal was pushed all the way to the floor.once pulling out of the parking lot, consumer took the car to the dealer. *ak

While driving over water puddles or in the rain power steering belt slips, causing loss of steering until it dries off. please provide further information. *ak

Automatic door locks lock and unlock while vehicle is motion. the dealer has attempted to repair the locks several times with no success. manufacturer has been notified. *ak

Automatic door locks lock and unlock while the vehicle is motion. the dealer has attempted to repair the locks several times with no success. manufacturer has been notified. *ak

The driver side seat back broke, and seat continued to lean back to the right. dealer said it wa sdue to poor design, if fixed it will reoccur. ealer has seen vehicle at least 8 times. *ak

When turn on defroster, defogger, they won't work, affecting visibility. *ak

About every 3months vehicle would stall out for no reason. have taken to dealer numerous times. was cleanedout 3 different times. engine gets the cleaning. vehicle loses power. also, the engine check light keeps coming on. *ak

Automatic sliding door has opened for unknown reason while baby was seated by the door. dealer contacted, and informed consumer that this problem was caused by water corrosion by door post. *ak

Consumer has been experiencing problems with power steering.everytime water splashes onto the driveblet, the power steering goes out. the manufacturer has been contacted. *ak

Plastic gas tanks lets fuel inside splash around in tank. when vehicle comes to a stop it feels like another vehicle rearended it. dealer says that's a design flaw. *ak

When it rains the steering wheel locks up, and makes squeaking noises. dealer and manufacturer were contacted. *ak the vehicle was anable to steer when hit a puddle. *yh

When there is snow the windshield wiper blades do not clear snow properly. ice freezes under the blades. manufacturers says there is no problem. *ak

Abs brake light illuminates, indicating malfunction within the system. please give any further details. *ak

When vehicle is in reverse and backing up fuel slushing occurs.the dealer has replaced the gas tank in march of 97 and problem reoccurs. manufacturer has been notified *ak. consumer has been trying to get vehicle remedied, however has not been successful. *slc

Side window located on driver side, would not close or latch properly. vehicle been in/out of dealer shop on numerous times, and condition still remains unresolved. dealer/mfr. are notified.*ak

Recall 98v072000; the stopping distance hasn't gotten any better since the recall work has been performed, and when turning on the windshield wipers the radio failed. there had been an crash before and after the recall work had been performed because of stopping distances of the brakes. *ak

Throttle cable wears in two, causing the throttle to get stuck. cable jammed up in housing ,caused engine to speed up. consumer had to turn off engine. pulled to the side to avoid an accident. dealer replaced throttle cable. *ak

The passenger's sliding door will open by itself. the dealer has been notified. *ak

The defective abs braking system malfunctioned, causing the pedal to go to the floor and extended stopping distance which almost caused an accident. dealer will not cooperate and cannot determine the problem. *ak

Vehicle has 2 built- in car seats that contain a plastic latch , this latch does not hold harness strap together in any type of movement or pressure done to it, resulting in loss of protection to child that is restrained in seat. *ak

While driving the sliding door attempts to open. the dealer is aware of the problem. parts have been replaced. problem still exists. *ak

When coming down mountain grades and applying the brakes, the brakes smell like burning plastic. when pulling over can see smoke coming from brakes. brakes were cleaned on 8/15/97 for brake noise. consumer is still experiencing problem with brakes. the truck is being looked at by dealer at this time. *ak

Owner has abs brakes, while driving at 20 mph and applying the brakes, pedal went to the floor. owner notes that brake line was cut on the right front brake which connects to abs system. dealers have corrected problem, but owner still has concerns. *ak

Vehicle was parked when the power doors opened/closed on its own. took to dealer 7 times. informed no problem. the 2nd time doors opened was in mechanic shop. windshield wipers failed to work. do not know what causes the problem. *ak

Fire started on driver's side of vehicle in the fuel filler area. *ak

The vehicle electrical sliding side door won't shut properly, causing the door to intermittently be opened, could cause an occupant to fall out of the vehicle. the only way to close the door is to close it manually. dealer cannot determine the problem. *ak

The lens cap fell off of the front light headlight. they will not replace it. it is a definite defect. i have to pay $200 for a whole new light. they should make a lens cover. pontiac claims that they have not gotten many complaints about this but when i called one salvage yard he told me that he alone gets 10 calls a week on this part!!!*ak

Steering locks up while trying to turn vehicle to the left. power steering seems to push vehicle to the right. occurs at any speed.

I am filing this complaint because, even though we no longer own the vehicle, i understand that you are investigating it. i was lucky that no one was hurt. i had three children in the car, driving them to school, when the steering just gave out while we were in the middle of rush hour traffic; fortunately it was on a city street, so we weren't travelling very fast. i was able to get the vehicle pushed over to the side of the road and out of the way of traffic. the vehicle was taken to a pontiac dealer for repairs, which totalled well over $1000. the dealer said that they were not a aware of any problems like this with the vehicle. since the vehicle had just passed 60,000 it was noo longer under warranty for this type of problem. we called gm, and they insisted that they were not aware of this type of problem, and confirmed that the repair would not be covered by warranty. they did give us a discount off of the purchase of our next gm car, because of this and all of the other problems we had with the vehicle, includ ing rearseats that did not work properly - they wouldn't stay locked into the floor, and a just a nice little shove from behind would knock them out of the floor. if you are still investigating this, keep at it. i hate to think about what might have happened if i was on the freeway travelling 70 mph during rush hour and the steering just quit.*ak

Replaced right hand lens and it failed also.*ak

Problem #1 - seat belts. four out of the seven seat belts in the car have failed. specifically the retraction system. four out of seven going bad to me, means this is not an isolated failure. i'm concern about the other 3 working if in an accident. dealers contacted want to charge me $800 - $1000 to fix four seat belts. need to get it fixed, but nothing to believe i won't be asking that same dealer to fix the other 3 seat belts when they go bad too. dealers say high cost of repair is directly attributed to the cost of parts. unlike an alternator, or other engine component, the seat belt assembly is sole sourced from one manufacturer. locked in to a non-competitive price (and obviously over inflated). problem #2 - rack and pinon steering. i noticed on your web site what i believe to be the same problem under pontiac transports. basically told by dealer the rack and pinon steering system is bad. out of warranty, so big bucks. have had to pay quite a bit in dealer repair bills already on vehical. for example, problems with automatic sliding door, windshield wipers, back hatch, side window, push buttons on door arm rest, air conditioning.....also poor design with plastic parts in high stressed point areas.*ak

While driving at 40mph steering momentarily locked up. vehicle then locked up making left hand turn. had to pull steering wheel a few degrees to the right to free up bind. took vehicle to pontiac dealership, and was told that rack and pinion had failed and needed to be replaced. was also informed that the rack and pinion failure destroyed the air bag coil which had to be replaced.

The steering completely locked up without warning. fortunately i was just pulling out of a parking place in a shopping center, so there was no other accident or activity envolved. i payed to have the rack & pinion unit replaced and have had no further problem. i read the other day that your organization was conducting an engineering investigation on steering lockup problems for certain gmc models. among these models listed was my 97 pontiac transport so i thought i would report my experience.*ak

I received a serious concussion in a rear end/front end collision due to the fact seat belt failed to hold me in place. i hit the sunvisor and then hit the back head rest so hard i broke the seat.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I had no problem with power sliding door, until recall campaign # 01v067000.. repoted problem to nhtsa and also pontiac customer relations. was instructed to take van to dealer and did so many times for replacement of parts in the door. finally was informed of a recall on the recall.. campaign # 01v264000... dated in october 2001... local dealer could not get parts, since i live in florida for winter months was told by pontiac customer relations to take the van to carl's pontiac, stuart, fl. did so and they performed the campaign. door still fails to work properly, will not always latch, and will open when van in motion. have been told by pontiac customer relations to return car to dealer. but each time i do they claim to find something wrong to charge me for. after first recall, and failure, it took pontiac customer relations 10 months to reimburse me for charges. have no confidence in pontiac trained mechanics, since the van has been to 3 dealers, at least 15 times for the same problem, that was caused by first recall.*ak

Recline latches - do not properly re-engage. small child can easily lift latch while vehicle is moving. until latch is manually pushed back down, seat back will not catch in any position. seat belt retractor - we have had multiple failures on the seat belt mechanism in this vehicle that either prevent the seat belt from being pulled out for use, or can leave seat belt hanging out of door. closing door might damage belt or latch. both issues have been discussed with gm. gm claims (file # c06088691) neither is safety issue.*ak

Very loud engine knock, leaving the car undrivable. this, according to the gm dealer service department in laramie, wy, has been caused by either a spun bearing/bearing failure or other failure causing lack of oil flow to vital engine parts. i must now ei. *ak

Intake manifold gasket leaks oil/antifreeze down the engine. this problem is known to gm but it does nothing.*ak

Transmission pump went out with no warning while driving on a 4-lane highway. engine started racing, no pull. new pump assembly, torque converter, pump shaft & various others parts had to be replaced.*ak

1. front heater and defroster only blows cold air. front windshield fogs up considerably. heater system blows warm air in back vents but cold air only in front vents. 2. gas gauge stops working at about < tank. after reaching that level, the gauge pegs to past the full level and does not work again until the tank is filled again. *ak

The problem i am having is the power sliding door opening while vehicle is in motion, failing to close properly, or failing to operate at all. the problem has been happening over a six month period, and started after a safety recall of the power sliding door to fix a problem with the door opening while vehicle is in motion. had no problem with that till rework was done. i have had the vehicle to the dealer at the request of pontiac but all attempts at repairing the psd have failed. the door will open while van is in motion, will not close, or stops working all together. very concerned with what may happen if door opens while driving at turnpike speed.*ak

No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak

The vehicle's engine failed resulting in a blown motor. there were no warnings or indications of impending failure. we purchased the vehicle approximately one year ago. the vehicle has been regularly maintained(every 3000-4000 miles)by us and the previous owner and we have the documentation to show it. our independent research has found that a similar defect existed in model years prior to our vehicle's. gm has been reluctant to assist us with this problem. *ak

Power slide door will automatically open. when door button is pressed to shut, door will go all the way to the shut position and then immediately open again. i have had this examined once when the warning buzzer would not turn itself off. dealer supposedly fixed the problem, but now the door will not stay shut. the door will sometimes stay shut, but you can't predict when that will happen.

We have a repair shop. all of our customers owning pont transport,chev venture and olds sillouhette have had headlight problems. the seal between the headlight reflector and lens becomes brittle and allows water into the light and causes reduced lighting. eventually(3-4 yrs old) the seal fails completely and the lens falls off. when the lens falls off bulb failure is assured causing loss of total loss of lighting from the unit. not aware of any accidents yet but seems a matter of time. gm not offering any recall, campaign or extended warranty yet? i see you have multiple complaints on file- can't you do something? these vehicles only a few years old and failure is 100% in my experience. also these units are $200 per side and i dont see any improvement in replacement part. sorry for no specific vin but i can have individual owners contact you. check this out gm has bulletins but are a copout instructing dealers to only replace lights with less than 50% moisture on glass . most will barely make it out of 3/36 under this standard. thank you.*ak

Steering wheel locked up during curve, unable to turn wheel, van crached into canal. is considered totaled by insurance. *ak

Defective driver airbag sensor diagnosed by the dealer, but the dealer refuses to repair this important safety system. please refer to odi id (865567) which is a similar by different report by another 1997 pontiac trans sport owner. i am seeking assistance in convincing the pontiac dealership and gm that this is a safety related problem that should be repaired by the dealer. the dealer estimated the cost of parts and labor to be in excess of $1,000. *ak

No summary

The headlight cover fell off while driving when i realized it i checked the other lights and saw that they are all loose and ready to fall off. now that the cover fell off, the bulb is blown because of rain. we had complained about moisture in the covers to our dealer and were told that is normal, which anyone would know it isn't normal. did call pontiac but haven't heard back yet. i found out there are many vehicles that this is happening to. *ak

Both headlights and one front sidemarker (turn signal) light were replaced under warranty due to excessive moisture/water droplets inside the assembly. one of the replaced headlights now has the same problem again (twice in 2.5 years). pontiac has issued a service bulletin to dealers saying not to replace any more headlight assemblies because the moisture that forms within them is normal. they say the moisture should dissipate after the headlights are on for a few hours. some of the moisture does go away, but i consider it a safety issue when half of the headlight lense is covered with steam/water even if some of it eventually clears up. i contacted pontiac directly and they refuse to do anything about this.*ak

Sliding door cannot be repaired properly by dealer. have taken vehicle many times. *ak

Poor seal around headlights, water leaks and lightbulb has exploded. *ak

Rear window imploded with glass flying into passenger area. i do not know why window failed. i know of no previous damage such as scratches or cracks. *ak

Power sliding door opens automatically after being closed

I have had the seat belt latches replaced 4 times on the mid-row seats. 2 times i have had to take it in to have the window latch repaired on the mid-row,left window. it kept popping open when driving in bumpy conditions. the water pump has given out 2x. the power sliding door keeps blowing the fuse and will not operate. the rear window wiper and washer has been inoperable on 2 occasions. dealer has attempted to fix all these problems repeatedly, but they are only temporary fixes! these things are obviously defects because they occur again and again. *ak

1 week prior to incident sliding door would not open electronically, therefore owner used manual door on left side. on the way home up a hill, the right door suddenly opened very fast, catching and crushing child passenger's foot.

The first problem is a "clunking" in the gas tank when it is over 1/2 a tank but less than full. when coming to a gentle stop, forward or reverse, the tank makes a physical 'thunk'. i have had the vehicle in to repair the problem 5 times now. the dealership has tried isolation pads, tightening fasteners, installing structural bracing straps, and even replaced the gas tank. all to no avail. this problem has been going on for almost 2 years now. i am at a loss as to what to do now. the second problem was with my serpentine belt. i was on my way home from work and i suddenly lost my power steering going into a 90 degree turn. i navigated through it, and the dealer retrieved my van the next morning. they found that the serpentine belt was shredded with no explanation. they replaced it, and i have not had a problem in that area since.

Both manual siding doors have excessive rattles and noises in them. the minvan has been returned to dealership for repairs which have been only temporary fixes. within one month of dealership visit, the rattles and noises reappear. the minivan has been brought in many times since september 1997 without been fixed.

Loss of power steering during wet conditions. other conditions noise for belt and battery light on.

Headlamps have moisture on the inside of the lens which could distort the lighting. this moisture does not go away. pontiac says this is a "normal" condition.

Sliding door slides right off the tracks regularly.

The door locks on this minivan open while driving the vehicle

While my 13 year old daughter was throwing a temper tantrum (which i don't necessarily condone) in the rear passenger's side seat, the seat came out of its support tracks. while this did not cause an injury, i am afraid that an actual collision would cause much more severe "jerking " in the seat, and result in the passenger being thrown inside the van and being injured. the seat had come completely loose as if it were to be stowed away. *ak

"skip shift" feature extreamly dangerous. numerous rear accidents because of this feature.

The power steering will quit for 10 seconds when driving in rain or splashing through water puddle. brakes did not work properly. first brake repair, dealer bled air out of system. second brake repair, dealer replaced rear slave seals.

When there is a lot of water on the road from it raining for a while, the brakes effectiveness decreases greatly, bad enough that if the driver isn't careful a wreak could easily occur, brakes fail while going over inch of water. *mjs

The vehicle has been returned three times for wheel cylinder failer. left rear has been replaced two times. the right rear has been replaced once. when the failers occurs..braking distance is increased a great deal. i am worried that i won't be able to brake in time if something were to arrise..

While in motion, consumer discovered that there were no signal lights. a fuse had blown. this has been an ongoing problem for consumer and this vehicle. the signal light fuse blows without any indication or warning. *jg

While driving in rainy weather, the head light len covers fell off due to inferior adhesive causing the bulbs to burn out. manufacturer notified. *tt

Consumer states paid twice to repair electric door. door was later recalled. manufacturer notified. *tt

Coolant leaking from radiator. consumer speculates head gasket is blown. manufacturer notified. *tt

Consumer stated while driving, he discoverd the signal lights were not working, the fuses have been replaced over a hundred times.*mj

Vehicles seat belt buckle in the middle behind diver will unlatch once buckled. now the buckle release button stays down and seat belt is of no use. *jg

The power sliding door suddenly ceases to open or close. the dealer repaired it five times for the same problem. after the last repair the consumer received a recall notice 01v-067. the recall repair was done but vehicle is still experiencing the same problem. *yh

Prior to recall repair 01v-067 for the sliding door actuator the vehicle never exhibited any symptoms of the recall, after the recall repair the door would not open at times, the vehicle was taken back to the dealer where a module was replaced at the consumer's expense, the day after repair the door failed to operate again, the vehicle was returned on several occasion because the door would not open or would open while the vheilce was in motion. nlm

Consumer received a recall notification, vehicle has been into dealership on four different occasions, even after the repairs were done, the latch still does operate properly.*jb

While performing recall 01v-067 the dealer failed to reinstall the locking pin on the handle making the automatic door take an unusually long time to lock, the vehicle was returned to the dealer for second repair. nlm

Consumer states while driving on highway in bad weather, one of the headlight covers flew off, immediately following this the affected headlight bulb exploded from sudden exposure to cold air and rain, sometime that night the other cover fell off in the driveway, the next day consumer also discovered condensation in other front light assemblies such as the side marker, and turn signal lights, consumer states he was told the dealership does not sell headlight covers as a separate part, because the headlight assembly is not designed to come apart, consumer states manufacturer is aware of the problem but does not consider it a safety issue requiring a recall. *jb

Consumer states while driving one of the headlight covers flew off. immediately following the affected headlight bulb exploded from sudden explosure to cold air and rain. on another occasion, consumer found headlight cover in driveway. there was also condensation discovered in the other front light assimblies (side marker, turn signal, etc.). *tt

The steering wheel malfunctioned and noisy due to rack failure. yh

Vehicle accelerated in reverse from neutral position. yh

Check the engine light came on due to gas filter failure. yh

The right sliding door opened during accident. yh

Rear tires are badly damaged on the inside, due to rear suspension failure. yh

Serpentine belt fails causing loss of power steering assist when driving in wet weather.

Power steering fails after vehicle goes through the slightest level of standing water because wate spashes on the single accessory drive belt and starts slipping. if the vehicle goes through more than the slightest level of standing water, the engine cuts off.

Loss of power steering when driving in rain.

Transmission interlock cable mispositioned resulting in movement of gear selector while in the locked position. (qcaw)

Power steering fails temporarily after going throgh water. (qcaw)

Serpentine belt replacement did not remedy driving problems.

Power steering fails continually in wet weather.

Sliding electric door on passenger side opens without warning. door rarely closes all the way without a warning that it's open unless you take a look at the interior light.

Power sliding door opens automatically after being closed. door alarm would sound while door was closed. door failed in closed, but not latched position.

Power steering locks up on wet roads.

When driving in wet weather, the power steering pump and belt get wet, and slip. the power steering will lock at this point and will resume within a few seconds.

Windshield had a crack in the center above rearview mirror. consumer thinks it is a stress crack

Missing bolt caused tie rod to come apart and stop vehicle.

Cover for front-left headlight fell off due to moisture build up in the headlight assembly, component was replaced at consumers expense, front/right headlight assembly was starting to show moisture buildup, but has not disconnected to this date. *ak consumer replaced the right front headlamp at the same time as the left, as it has already lost a good amount of the glue, it was loose and had a serious misture buildup causing corrosion inside the light.*slc

While driving in a rain storm the protective covers on the headlamps developed leaks around the seal, permitting water to leak on to the halogen bulb and blow out. the dealer has been contacted. *ak

Odi has received 200 complaints fromt consumers and 1,238 from gm alleging failure or lockup of the steering rack and pinion unit (r&p).this alleged condition can result in the loss of steering control of the vehicle and a crash can result.gm has reported six crashes in which eight people have sustained injuries ranging from bruises, airbag burn, seat belt abrasion, facial injury, neck and back pain.all crashes were single vehicle crashes.gm states that one possible failure mode is failure of the lower pinion bearing in the r&p.an engineering analysis has been opened to determine if a safety defect trend exists.

There is no summary currently available

On november 18, 2002, odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe02-086) to evaluate allegations of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles (u-van) which included two reporting crashes.on april 9, 2003, odi upgraded pe02-086 to an engineering analysis (ea03-005) to continue its examination of the issue. the trailing arm design in these vehicles has been used in the u-van from my 1997 through the present.the gm analysis concluded that the subject trailing arms could crack or buckle if they were damaged during assembly, pre-delivery handling, or subjected to certain service related abuse conditions such as improper towing or jacking.analysis of odi and gm data has identified 19 incidents of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles.there have been no new reports to odi or gm in the last 12 months and only one new complaint in the last 21 months. due to the low complaint rate and the absence of a continuing trend in reported failures, a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist. the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. for additional information, see the attached closing report.

Odi identified 59 reports with the alleged defect.odi was able to contact 44 of the 59 consumers in order to determine the specific cause of the latch problems.of the 44 owners contacted, odi determined that four failures were due to an out-of-tolerance latch plate, and that 23 failures were due to a displaced buckle housing cover.the remaining 17 failures had indeterminable causes.of the 59 reports, there were three alleged minor injuries.no legal claims or lawsuits have been filed with regard to this alleged defect.based on the limited number of reports, and a declining report trend, this investigation is closed.a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appeared to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed.the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist.the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. see additional summary report.

The lower pinion bearing in the rack and pinion steering assembly may fail.gm will recall 1997-98 grand prix built between 1-mar-96 and 31-oct-97; and 1996-98 u-vans/j-cars built between 1-jan-96 and 31-oct-97.see attached summary.

On november 18, 2002, odi opened a preliminary evaluation (pe02-086) to evaluate allegations of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles (u-van) which included two reporting crashes.on april 9, 2003, odi upgraded pe02-086 to an engineering analysis (ea03-005) to continue its examination of the issue. the trailing arm design in these vehicles has been used in the u-van from my 1997 through the present.the gm analysis concluded that the subject trailing arms could crack or buckle if they were damaged during assembly, pre-delivery handling, or subjected to certain service related abuse conditions such as improper towing or jacking.analysis of odi and gm data has identified 19 incidents of rear axle trailing arm failures in the subject vehicles.there have been no new reports to odi or gm in the last 12 months and only one new complaint in the last 21 months. due to the low complaint rate and the absence of a continuing trend in reported failures, a safety-related defect has not been identified at this time and further use of agency resources does not appear to be warranted.accordingly, this investigation is closed. the closing of this investigation does not constitute a finding by nhtsa that a safety-related defect does not exist. the agency will take further action if warranted by the circumstances. for additional information, see the attached closing report.

The lower pinion bearing in the rack and pinion steering assembly may fail.gm will recall 1997-98 grand prix built between 1-mar-96 and 31-oct-97; and 1996-98 u-vans/j-cars built between 1-jan-96 and 31-oct-97.see attached summary.