Owners have filed 1,766 complaints on the Chevrolet Venture, covering 1997–2005. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (355 reports). Worst years by volume: 1998, 1997, 2000; cleanest: 2005, 2004, 2003. 112 reports describe a crash, 29 a fire, 7 a death. On average the car was 4.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Chevrolet Venture
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 1,766 Venture complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 355 Read
The contact owns a 2002 chevrolet venture. The contact stated that her vehicle would overheat. In addition, there was smoke coming from the rear of the vehicle. The failure has occurred on two separate occasions. The mechanic repaired the thermostat; however, the failure continued to occur. The current and failure…
1 inch of sludge in engine, lost of coolant, the engine pinging and knocking, steering and brakes locked up which caused the accident while driving. We changed the oil pump, oil connecting rod, spark plugs, spark plug wires, coils and still engine is broken. Started with coolant in the oil. Unsure symtoms leading up…
I have had numerous problems with my 1999 chevrolet venture which my husband purchased new for me in december 1998. Last year I experienced problems with the engine light staying on, coolant level constantly dropping no matter how often we added dex cool, and then in the spring I had to have the intake manifold…
Structure 152 Read
(xxxxxxxxx) craigslist lemon law parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Due to rusted rear right brake line, vehicle lost all brake fluid without warning and prevented vehicle from stopping in a timely manner. The lack of brake control caused right rear side of the van's body (just in front of the rear right wheel) to hit the protective barrier at the gas station. Upon inspection rust is…
The driver side door's inside panel had smoke coming from it. The door panel had caught on fire. Door has power locks & window switch. Police took a report. Manufacturer could not look at vehicle until week later
Exterior Lighting 135 Read
My wife hit a old style van that had stopped for a dog crossing a the road. The whole front end had to be replaced. Hood, grill, lights, both fender had to be repaired, also the steal tube under the radiator frame had to be cut out and replaced. On 11/5/2010 I hit a deer going 30 mph, again front end damage. Both…
The contact owns a 2003 chevrolet venture. The contact stated that while driving at 30 mph, there was a strong odor of burning wires. The contact mentioned that while attempting to park, the turn signal lamps failed to illuminate. The contact parked and observed that the lamps were melted and the bulbs were dark. The…
The contact owns a 2002 chevrolet venture. The brake light worked intermittently. The bulb was changed, but the failure continued. The passenger and driver side plastic input for the bulb melted. The vehicle was not inspected by a dealer. The failure mileage was 65,000 and current mileage was 79,000
Electrical System 135 Read
Cigarette lighter shorted with the phone charger plugged in. The fuse did not blow, which caused an electrical fire which totaled the van
Dt the vehicle caught on fire. The fire department came and extinguished the fire. The fire department claimed it was the electrical system up under the dash. This happened on september 26, 2005. Smelled something burning while driving on the highway, but in this area it could smell like that at certain times. The…
Reverse sensing system failed to work resulting in the driver striking a pole. Fortunately no one was behind the vehicle at the time
Air Bags 117 Read
Dt: the contact stated he left the road vehicle struck a tree and went into an embankment. Striking the tree kept the vehicle from going over the embankment. The accident occurred while swerving to avoid hitting a dog. The road conditions were dry at the time of the accident. Upon impact, front air bags did not…
The contact owned a 2005 chevrolet venture. While driving approximately 35 mph in the rain, the vehicle hydroplaned to the left and then back to its lane. The rear tires rolled off the road and caused the vehicle to crash into a ditch. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed. The contact sustained…
The contact owned a 2004 chevrolet venture. While the contact's vehicle was at a complete stop, it was rear ended by another vehicle traveling approximately 50 mph. None of the air bags deployed. The contact was pregnant and had to be transported to the hospital via ambulance. A police report was filed. The driver of…
Service Brakes 117 Read
Driver was turning at traffic light at low speed, 200 ft from her home. When turn was complete, driver was unable to return steering wheel to forward position, nor was she able to stop the vehicle using brake pedal, until the vehicle crashed into another one parked along the street. Driver was unable to explain how it…
Dt: the contact stated the ABS brakes activated at low speeds. The ABS engaged when approaching a stop sign which resulted in extended stopping distance and caused the vehicle to collide with a vehicle which was stopped at the stop sign. The police arrived on the scene. No injuries were sustained. The vehicle is…
Consumer applied brakes at 40 mph, pedal went to the floor, and vehicle rear ended another vehicle. Dealer stated that the right brake line had a hole. Damage to vehicle unknown at this time. *ak 2 people were injured in the accident
Steering 113 Read
The contact owns a 2005 chevrolet venture. The vehicle does not steer properly and the brakes fail in cold weather. The failures caused the contact to crash into an electrical post. The police arrived at the scene and filed a report. The vehicle was destroyed. The dealer and manufacturer have not yet been notified.…
The driver was slowing or stopped when she was rear ended. The front driver seat airbag deployed. It is unclear whether the airbag deployed prematurely or whether it deployed after the vehicle was rear ended
While driving vehicle at 30mph steering went out and the engine caught on fire. Due to the power steering fluid line leaking and spraying fluid onto the engine
Fuel System 109 Read
The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Venture. The contact stated that while his father was driving at an undisclosed speed on the highway, the vehicle suddenly lost automotive power. No warning lights illuminated. In addition, the contact stated that his father managed to pull over to the shoulder of the road, and upon…
The contact owns a 2001 chevrolet venture. The vehicle was parked and shut off for a long period of time when it ignited into flames. The contact stated that the fire began where the fuel filler neck was located. A police report was filed and the fire department appeared to extinguish the fire. The vehicle was…
I had a 2001 chevy venture minivan. It caught fire around 2:00am on march 31 2011 what can I do. Talk to chevy with no answer back need help!!!!
Venture years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 16 | 2 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 10 | 3 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 12 | 3 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 20 | 4 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 15 | 3 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 19 | 3 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 8 | 9 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 439 |
| Average complaints per series | 4 |
| Worst single series | 26 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.2 years |
A model average of 4 hides a worst series at 26. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Venture?
By complaint volume, 1998, 1997, 2000 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Venture years are the cleanest?
2005, 2004, 2003 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Chevrolet Venture have?
1,766 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2005. Of those, 112 describe a crash and 29 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.