lots of room, comfortable ride.

repairs, repairs, repairs

We have had problems fom the beginning. The electrical system started going bad within the first month so I replaced the battery. The problem continued so I took it to the dealer and they replaced the alternator (at my expense). Still had problems. After looking under the hood they found the battery cable rubbing the alternator (or something), so they used electrical tape to fix it. (I went to the parts store and bought a new cable. Then the right side head lamp cover fell off and I have spent lots of money replacing bulbs because the dealer and the salvage yard wants $180 for another one. I finally bought one on Ebay ($50). I had the recall for the sliding automatic door done at the dealership. Works great now. Then the rack and pinion started acting up. The dealership said it would cost $1000 for them to replace it, so I told them I would wait. Later I had a local repair shop fix it for $500. I then learned (today)that GM has a recall for the exact same problem I had. After calling the dealership and GM customer service they said that my VIN isn't part of the recall. How can that be when it was the same exact problem? Anyway, check with your local dealer to find out what recalls are on your vehicle, it could save you lots of headaches. And it could also help others with these problems if we call them enough. The most recent problem is the air shock sensor(?) malfunctioning. The shocks pump up with air, but won't go back down. Makes the back end look like it has a 6 inch lift. We will see how much that will cost.

Roominess and great visibility.

Engine, cooling system, and air conditioner.

Great when it was new. 4 years into the purchase, the air conditioner went out. $1500. After 4 1/2 years, the intake manifold gasket leaked. Another $1200. 5 1/2 years (74400 miles), the cam shaft broke. Needed to replace the whole engine. $5000. 1000 miles later, the oil intake gasket was leaking. $650. I traded in a Japanese car for this car thinking that American car quality has become better and that I wouldn't have to pay as much for repairs, but alas, I've paid more on repairs for this venture than I did on the car I traded in.

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Toyota Van LE (1985) 5 speed manual transmission.

Let me think...

Where to begin... awful reliability, everything that could go wrong probably will!

I cannot believe the problems that we've had with the Venture! The major item was a complete trasmission failure at 38,000 miles. Thankfully our dealer, Jay Wolfe, replced at no cost as a gesture of good will. It would have cost us $2800 had they not looked on us as loyal customers. Although I have to say that we had mentioned problems with the transmission when we had it serviced at about 35,500, so they were aware that a problem existed before the warranty ran out! We have had other problems including a complete fuel tank replaced. This came about after we complained that every time we filled up with gas, a warning light came on saying that we'd left the gas cap off, which we hadn't. When they took it in to check it over, they discovered that the tank hadn't been sealed to the body of the vehicle! How dangerous a mistake could that have proved? We are due to hand the vehicle back in 2 weeks after a 3 year lease. They had the cheek to ask us if we wanted to buy it! Not a chance. Its back in with the dealer now as it hasn't been idling very well. They rang us about an hour ago to say that the bill would be $798! All the spark plug wires have burnt through and the battery needs changing as it was leaking fluid everywhere. The spark plug wire replacement alone will cost over $400 as it will involve 3 and a half hours of labour! I asked to speak to GM and they put me through to someone on the West Coast. They said they would offer me a customer loyalty certificate if I would agree to buy a GM vehicle next! I said no. So they're now seeing what they can organise with the dealership. Needless to say I'm not very hopeful! We can't wait to get rid of it now. We're buying either the new Nissan Quest or the Honda Odyssey.

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None

It's big

EVERYTHING CHEVY Will NEVER buy another chevy

I have had problems with this vehicle since I bought it. Everything that is electrical malfunctions, when it feels like it, but the service dept. at the dealership just keeps saying its this sensor or that sensor. If its a sensor and they replace it why then do I have the same problem over again and again? I have called GM and have an open claim, but can not get hold of the person handling it and she does not call me back. I want to know what is going on. Venture is back in shop now and I have a rental from them which they say I will have to pay for. I did not buy extended warranty as I didn't feel I needed to with a brand new car. The auto slider opens by itself even when the car is locked and nobody is around, on of these days i will be driving down the road and its going to open with my kids in there, what is chevy going to do then. I do not feel that I should have to pay for any of these thing as they have been problems since it was new and I am the original owner. (I wish I would have kept my 94 Plymouth Voyager that had 110,000 miles on it and not even 1/4 of the problems)

Good gas mileage

see above....crappy chevy service at dealerships....

No problems until I had the intake manifold gasket leak. Cost to repair: 1000.00!! Out of warranty of course. Dealership says this is the first they have seen of it..right!..I have found countless web sites dealing with this problem. I have written Chevrolet and gave them all the info required by the. and was told I would hear something in about 8 weeks. That was in April 2003....it's now October 2003.....I have called them 3 times...and left a meassage and my number to call me back....no calls. Chevrolet and GM are pathetic. This is an obvious recall item that should be fixed by them...yet nothing. ALso, I have had 1 headlight lens fall off and had to replace the whole headlight. 135.00 dollars. I super glued the other lens. This is the last chevy for me.

Roomy

Recalls sucks.Quality service from mgmt stinks.Everything is the customer fault however every customer is having similar problems.DO NOT BUT THE CHEVY VENTURE VAN.

I've been getting the service checks as required. Prior to this incident my last service check was April 2000. On Monday, I'm sitting at a stoplight and the driver of the neighboring car ask me "do you have your a/c on?" I reply no. She proceeds to tell me that something is pouring out from underneath. I make it to my residence and park it after noticing it is the coolant. The next day I call Reed Lallier to make an appointment only to be told that they would have a service tech to call me back . No one called me back so I decide to drive it to Reed Lallier which is a 20 minute drive. Ten minutes out the low coolant light comes on then I get to the stoplight and it cuts off. I make it to Advance Auto and buys the required coolant from the manual.I put the coolant in.Two minutes after continuing the drive, the temp gage light comes on and the van starts going about 5-10 mph. I continue to try to make it to the dealership. I finally reach the dealership and talk with a service tech and I tell her I had called. She looks through paperwork and finds my call sheet. However, no one had called.To make a long story short. Poor service time getting back with the customers.Then I get a call that a hose was leaking which will be around $250 then another call that the brake cylinder in rear is leaking but ext warranty will cover but I'll have to pay $50 ded. Then another call BAD NEWS : the leaking of coolant has caused corrosion of the radiator which needs to be replaced which will be about $506.82 and extended warranty doesn't cover corrosion. My problem is why the warning lights don't give a "WARNING". The lights didn't come on until two min before the cut off. Coolant had been leaking according to Reed Lallier for several months. Why hadn't any lights come on. Why didn't check this and all things in April.Now we have to come out of our pockets for about $900-1000 for a brand new 3yr old van. This isn't RIGHT.

Great on gas. Reasonably comfortable.

General Motors

An absolute piece of garbage. New transmission at my expense(gm warranty is pathetic). Power sliding door rarely works. Roof leaks at rear dome light. Wipers stay in up position(repaired three times). New starter at my expense. According to G.M., I'm the problem. Say good-bye to a 20 year customer. I'll buy an import.

Ample space, comfort and power for everyday use. Fuel milage is good considering our move from a Civic (25-30$/wk to 35-40$/10 days). Very smooth transmission.

Lacks power up hills (Montreal - Halifax trip)transmission delays long time before shifting down. You have to manually shift or force the downshift via accelerator. Hood corrosion! Fogging lens. Bulging integrated child seat when stowed. Fisher Price instrument panel. tachometer would be nice. Heat, a/c fan should be more powerful (a chronic GM problem). Fit and finish was better in the civic. Spark plugs are changed by shifting engine, undoing engine mounts (according to a shop manual). Mechanic mentioned it was a big job. GM's service hours do not repect anyone else's (as quoted from GM service person in jest). Watch out for break fade. Combination wiper indicator not so great.

Almost 1 year's use and no "major" issues so far, such as the in-take gasket mentioned in other reviews, but I have been watching coolant level carefully. Moving from a 94 2-door Honda Civic to the Venture was a luxury for us with two children. Plenty of room, power and comfort. The base model comes fairly equiped (a/c, remote pwr locks, radio/cassette/cd...), storage compartments. Front seats are comfortable, rear seats are low and would likely not be for adults over a long period of time. Integrated child seat great as a spare, but child's legs are straight and at 90 degrees relative to body and should not replace proper child's seat. Also, when stowed, seat bulges out slightly. Seats are easy to remove, but only rear seats (benches)could be placed in 2nd row, but 2nd row seats do not fit into slots at rear. One front indicator lens fogs up, GM suggested drilling hole to drain water. Look out for hood corrosion! When hood is up, edge closest to winshield will show bubbling along seam. Hood is aluminium so corrosion beneath is white and is more particular to repair. This is only covered by 3 yr/60K km. To think mine is just over 2 years old! Sad. We also looked at Silouette and Montana (same van, different cosmetics for $2 to 3k more. Generally, it has been worth the $, compared to the more expensive second hand imports.

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it moves

its a gmac van

very poor head gasket went due to coolent leak cylinder head cracked?? temp gage does not work, cost to fix $ 2000.00 drinks coolent, do not buy a gmac van. gm knows about this but will do notting for you , but they will take your money and run , headlights , the lens blew of each light , thank god for super glue, roof leaks when parked down hill , the water comes in through the over head consul , cant change the spark plugs

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ford , volvo , honda

As mentioned above. Cupholders, stereo, comfortable seats, lots of room, handling and power.

manifold intake gasket and two head gaskets being replaced now (out of GM warranty but covered mostly under extended warranty purchased),a/c condensor toast, heppa filters expensive to replace as is the condensor. Very disappointing. Replaced coil, ignition wires, plugs, fuel filter, pcv valve to solve hesitation & engine light coming on very frequently.

The van rides beautifully, lots of power, great stereo. Bought it to haul my dogs around in air conditioned comfort during holiday time in our very hot summers. Have had many problems with it and only have had use of it about half of the time I've owned it!

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1989 Chrysler Grand Voyageur - got about 264K on it - replaced coil & wire, brake lines. Was burning oil when sold it.