Owners have filed 807 complaints on the Pontiac Montana, covering 1997–2008. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (194 reports). Worst years by volume: 1999, 2000, 2001; cleanest: 2008, 1997, 2006. 51 reports describe a crash, 13 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Montana
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 807 Montana complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 194 Read
Vehicle spontaneously caught fire while stuck in snow drift. Fire was all consuming - fire truck had to come out it out - just shell of van was left. We were able to get out as fire was slow to take off. Fire started in engine compartment. Fire chief said we would never know cause as no engine compartment remains
The contact owns a 2006 pontiac montana sv6. When the vehicle is stopped and idling, the battery voltage begins to decrease. The vehicle has been diagnosed by the dealer several times; however, the failure continues. Also, when the contact places the vehicle into drive, the RPM's increase, but the vehicle does not…
2005 pontiac montana experiencing problems with the windows and the windshield wipers. *mr the consumer found damage on the door which was remedied, then the consumer reported that both windows rolled down hard. The drivers side was fixed but not the passenger side. Wiper failure occurred intermittently and were…
Structure 69 Read
Consumer stated that while driving at 65 mph and without warning subframe fell to ground, causing and accident. Dealer notified
2006 pontiac montana sv6 with faulty rear passenger sliding door. Vehicle has been taken to dealership several times over last year and problem has not been resolved. Multiple repairs and calibrations. Door reopens after closing
Power sliding door not closing power sliding door opening while driving
Electrical System 68 Read
The contact stated the vehicle caught fire while parked. The fire was localized in the engine compartment. The vehicle was considered a total loss, and a police report was taken. The vehicle was not taken in for service, and the cause of the fire was not determined
For several days we noticed as strong chemical like smell in the car and then noticed that the mirror control no longer worked. I took off the driver's side door switch panel to investigate the mirror problem and found the mirror control had been smoldering for days. The assembly was completely charred and mating…
While driving down the road, 35-40 mph, heard a pop that sounded like it came from under the hood area, smoke started coming from under hood area, pulled to side of road and exited vehicle, had smoke and fire from under hood area, tried to get back into the vehicle, had smoke inside vehicle as well, vehicle destroyed…
Air Bags 59 Read
The contact owns a 2005 pontiac montana. The contact was driving approximately 60 mph and crashed into a deer. The air bags did not deploy and there was damage to the hood, head lights, fender and passenger side door. The contact sustained a bruised eye and injuries to the lips. The passenger sustained a broken finger…
I was driving on the road at 30 miles an hour, suddenly the car in front made a sudden stop, I pressed the brakes immediately but they failed to work (they got hard when I pushed them) I tried to avoid the crash but it was too late. Air bags popped out instantly, there was no injuries that occurred
My wife was traveling on highway 401 in canada when she lost control of our 2004 gm montana and went straight into the center concrete medium the front of the van was pushed in 3 inches, but no airbags were deployed . The damage to the van was 22000. My wife was taken to the hospital with severe injuries because she…
Fuel System 57 Read
My 2006 pontiac montana sv6 was parked on a small incline, and while low on fuel (it had about 3 gallons) the van acted as if it was out of gas and would not start. Gas had to be added and the van pushed to a flat surface
The contact owns a 2005 pontiac montana. The contact stated that the fuel gauge does not display an accurate reading after refueling and when driving at various speeds. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the fuel gauge would need to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The…
2004 pontiac montana-- service engine light continued to come on. Smelled gas in our garage daily. Were told by mechanic that fuel neck had a fracture and that was causing fuel leak. Researched NHTSA site and found that my vehicle had been recalled. The dealer said our particular VIN number was not covered and that…
Service Brakes 56 Read
My daughter had un-buckled her seat belt because it had locked up, so I went to make a quick stop so I could buckle her back up. I stepped on the brakes moderately hard and the anti-locks activated for about 1 second, then suddenly the wheels completely locked up and the van went into an uncontrollable skid. I hit an…
The attached date is the latest of the failures. I already had a complaint submitted regarding a crash due to ABS failure on december 31, 2005. Since the damage was fixed from the accident and the ABS was supposedly fixed, we have had many more ABS failures. It has been to the dealer 3 times (this time being the 3rd)…
ABS system failed when applied on wet pavement
Power Train 51 Read
The contact stated while driving 60 mph, there was a loss of vehicle control without warning and the vehicle crashed into a highway barrier. The driver sustained minor injuries and there a police report was not taken. The vehicle was towed to the dealer, who determined the rear axle fractured. The vehicle was deemed…
I backed up to the laundry to wash clothes and proceeded to put the car in park and get out to get clothes out of the back. I pushed the brake and thought I had put the car in park because the key came out. When I started to step out of the van to get my clothes out of the back and my foot came off the brake, the car…
The front differential flow control valve failed causing the all wheel drive to become disabled
Latches/locks/linkages 41 Read
I have two complaints that no one seems to be interested in. First one is the back up sensor not correctly installed. People at the service department said it was working fine, but it only worked occasionally. It finally showed me that it wasn't working on a date that I backed into a parked car not knowing it was so…
While driving on march 16,2004 I hit black ice in the road,went off the road, rolled over and both front doors came open by themselves and I suffered a head injury that I am still recovering from due to the doors opening. It could have been alot more seroius because during rollover I felt my legs go outside the vehicle
- the contact stated that the 2006 pontiac montana sv6 had a problem with thecrossover vehicle. On 03/05/07 the right rear sliding door was opened without activating the key less entry remote. They checked all the other doors and they were locked. He stated that he drove the vehicle to the dealership and informed them…
Montana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Air Bags,service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2006 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | — | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 5 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 8 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 12 | 1 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 9 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags,seat Belts | 1 | 1 |
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 | 287 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.8 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.1 years |
A model average of 2.8 hides a worst series at 16. 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
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- 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 Montana?
By complaint volume, 1999, 2000, 2001 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 Montana years are the cleanest?
2008, 1997, 2006 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac Montana have?
807 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2008. Of those, 51 describe a crash and 13 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.