Problems with 1999 Chevrolet Venture ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

I noticed a smell of hot antifreeze. also it would make a lot of noise when starting up. the thermostat never showed anything overheating. oil didn't show anything on the dipstick. we change the oil every 3000 miles. the dealership that tore into it had said we did not change the oil ever by the looks of the internals. we bought this used 1999 chevy venture lt , august 2000 having 34,000 miles on it already. the previous owner bought this van in october 1998 brand new. how could a vehicle have to have a motor dropped in with only 57,000 on it and have had done everything possible to keep everything in working order. this is not our first chevy, our whole family buys chevys. just to brag we have 13, and all of them maintained well. one even having over 200,000 miles on it,1995 chevy astro. anyway, i watch the gauges very closely and never did i see anything wrong.

I've had a 1999 chevy venture since new. i've had to replace the intake manifold gasket, upper and lower radiator hoses at 69500 miles. replaced the thermostat at 78400 miles. at 78500 miles i had to replace both head gaskets,intake gasket and plenum gasket, both valve cover gaskets and several collapsed lifters, and the cylinder heads needed to be reconditioned. these repairs cost me thousands of dollars. something is surely not right with this engine. *nm

I have a chevrolet venture 1999 that has had an intake gasket leak. i have researched this problem on the internet and there have been many similar problems. many service technicians have also stated that gm has had a problem with intake gaskets. gm should recall all vehicles affected and pay repair bills on all others already fixed. *nlm

While driving the intake manifold crack causing fluid to leak. the dealer was notified. *nlm

Replaced intake manifold gasket on my 1999 chevrolet venture in april 2002. just one year later and my mechanic says i have a leak again. these gaskets have been on national backorder for over a year now which tells me i'm not the only one with this problem. *ak

1999 chevy venture, engine temperature gauge went to about the 50% mark, intake gasket failed, engine seized. needs a new engine at 78000 miles. well maintained vehicle. *jb

Leaking intake manifold gasket and water pump causing loss of antifreeze over a short period of time. no sign of leak other than low coolant light from vehicle.*ak

The vehicle overheated, the dealer replaced the radiator, egr valve, seal, thermostat. and seal on the head gasket. *jb

Intake gasket leaks

The intake manifold gasket failed at 60,000 miles requiring about $800 in repairs. i have been driving vehicles for 35 years and have never seen an intake gasket fail. i understand from my mechanic that this is a common problem and that gm is aware of it. gm should be required to repair this defect as it could lead to a blown engine which would be very dangerous in traffic.*jb

I have discovered coolant in the engine oil. my coolant is disappearing, and i have been forced to top it off. the engine is making ticking noises, and running roughly. i have done a quick check on the internet to see if others are experiencing this problem, and found that it seems to be a common problem, and that gm is aware of this. they have redesigned the head gasket to correct this problem, but have not offered to fix this problem on my car. chevy denied that there is a widespread problem, and refused to help cover the necessary repair (they said that because i had around 70,000 miles it was too far out of warrantee). it cost in the range of $815 to replace the head gasket. as a side note, the air bag light turned on intermittently after i got the car back, and now is on steady. i told my next door neighbor about it, and it turned out they also had the same problem. they had an even larger bill ( i don't remember how much), and they have another friend who has the same problem...

I am the original owner of a 1999 chevy venture mini-van. we had the oil changed at an independent mechanic every 3,000 miles. last week my wife was driving and heard a knocking noise. the van stalled and we had to have it towed to our mechanic. he looked at it and said there were major internal problems. we then had it towed to our dealer and were told it needs a new engine. our mechanic said since we faithfully got the oil changed there is no reason we should need a new engine. the dealer gave us an estimate of $5,300 for the new engine. we called gm customer service to see if they would help pay some of the cost. we just mailed them a copy of all our maintanence and are waiting for a reply

Intake manifold gasket leaks allowing dex cool coolant to enter the engine and mix with the oil. gm customer assistance will not help. they say "there is no problem that they know of". $1000.00 repair bill for a $20.00 part. please see:www.petitiononline.com/gmcnsmrs/petition.html and http://www.gm-v6lemons.com/ there are literally thousands of folks with this problem.

1999 chevrolet venture minivan intake manifold gasket failed causing dexcool coolant to leak into the engine and mix with the oil. a simple internet search found literally thousands of other folks with the same problem. gm customer assistance denies a problem. it costs an average of $650-$1000.00 to fix this gasket with no assurance that a new improved gasket is in place. this seems to happen shortly after the 36,000 miles warranty coverage is up. please see: www.petitiononline.com/gmcnsmrs/petition.html. *nlm

I took my van in for an oil change and they told me i had anti-freeze in my oil. therefore i needed to have the intake gasket replaced, otherwise the engine would fail. this job cost me $777.00 to have corrected. i had owned the van for less than one year when these problems occurred. the van had 55,133 miles on it at the time. the funny thing is a few days after i purchased my van my mom purchased one also. about 2 months after she had hers the same problem happened and she had to have her intake gasket replaced also. apparently there is a problem with these gaskets and gm should replace them. or at least reimburse us for this money we had to fork out for a problem that is apparently a little more than a coincidence. *nlm

Coolant level kept dropping and the brakes felt spongy. took to local dealer and found that mainfold gasket was leaking and needed to be replaced and the rear cylinders were leaking and needed to be replaced. repair cost $1078.00 for both. this van only has 56,000 miles. good to see that others are having problems with these components, maybe the manufacturer needs to recall and fix these problems. a vehicle owner shouldn't have to spend this kind of money(for these kind of repairs) and risk their family on the roadside on vehicles with this few of miles and age. i've also had an air bag warning light on for most of the time that i've had the vehicle. it was worked on a couple of times during the warranty period. the dealer said it was an air bag sensor problem. this vehicle has front and side air bags. i hope the air bags deploy in case of an accident.

I have a 1999 chevy venture with a leaking intake manifold. my daughter also drives a chevy and had the same repair performed on her vehicle two months ago. both of these vehicles have less than 75,000 miles on them.

I have dex-cool coolant in my oil. it seems that i have a bad gasket, and that there are a lot of others who also have this problem with leaking gaskets (which have been redesigned). i think that gm should fix my car prior to total catastrophy of engine failure with my less than 1-year old child on board.

We own a 1999 chevy venture. the intake manifold gasket has failed three times. the first time was 1-28-03 at 55385 miles. it was leaking fluid in the front. it was diagnosed as the intake manifold gasket and repaired. the second time was on 10-30-03 at 67823 miles. this time, the repair shop took responsibility for the charges as they felt the adhesive failed. the third failure just happened on 2-11-05 at 85500 miles. *jb

Intake manifold gasket leak. 1999 chevrolet venture with 3.4 litre v6 engine. noticed some coolant loss in resevoir. few days later loud mechanical noise from engine. brought to dealer. dealer diagnosed coolant leaked into engine mixing with oil (from intake manifold gasket) causing top end engine damage (hydralic valve lifters had to be replaced and intake manifold gasket) . mechanic who worked on my van said it was very common problem the 3.4l v6. had vehicle for little over 3 1/2 years with 36227 miles (cost $862) when problem occurred. *ak

While traveling on the highway without prior warning. the vehicle shut down and will not restart at all. please fill in additional information dealer is aware of the problem. ts

The engine blew with no indication of major trouble while driving at 70 mph on interstate 5 at around 6pm. major safety concerns with no power to the accessories, having to coast off the freeway exit and having to push the van to safety. dealer says that it may be the cam shaft. i have read many cases of the cam shaft breaking or cracking in these vehicles, especially after having the intake manifold gasket replaced ( which i have at 45000 miles).

Intake manifold gaskets started to leak and needed to be replaced. have heard of several of these being replaced on the 3.4l v6 engine.

Has 3.4 l engine with lower intake gasket leaks. i purchased an extended warranty when new and it covered the $700+ repair cost. will this happen again in another 48k when out of my extended warranty?

Low coolant light comes on and then start to up shift hard, intake gasket. 3.4l v6

Failure of engine gaskets

Coolant flowed back into the engine. ph

Consumer called complaining while driving at 40mph the temperature gauge went up and down, took the vehicle to the near shop, a technician diagnosis the head gasket was leaking, manifold failed at 78000 miles and the cool found leaking will paid a couple thousand of dollars ph

Defective cooling system caused interior to become all fogged up. luckily we were not going fast. used my daughters sweatshirt to wipe fog off windows. *jb

Leaking head gasket on my 1999 chevy venture with low coolant light coming on frequently the van has about 70000. ts

My 1999 chev venture van required the replacement of the intake manifold gasket at about 65,500 miles. service department stated that this was due to a bad batch of manifold gaskets and that gmc was now getting gaskets from another supplier. this appears to be a major problem within gm products; however, no recall has been issued; nor was there any offer of a discount or refund from the dealer for this apparent defect. this could be considered a safety problem as the engine could get water in it and freeze up. if this happens during the winter, on a backroad in minnesota when the temperature may be well below zero, serious consequences could follow. i see a pending law suit coming.

My 1999 chev. venture started losing antifreeze when it had about 75,000 mile on it. it was not leaking so i replaced the coolent when it was low. then at 100,000 miles it began leaking. upon taking it to my local dealership, they informed me that the head gaskets were bad and needed replacing. the repairs totaled to $2,400.00. i know of one other person that has experienced the same problem with their chev. venture. i believe this is design fault and should be covered by general motors.

Low coolant lite comes on and starts upshifting hard, checked coolant and isnt low, left stranded several times, intake gasket

Noticed that coolant level was slowly going down and needed to be refilled. took van in for coolant flush. dealer would not do flush because intake manifold gasket was leaking coolant. van had 74,853 miles on it but was leaking for at least a year. paid $936 for repair and flushing of coolant and oil. spoke to local mechanic. he has encountered this problem many times before with chevy ventures. luckily, coolant had not yet leaked into engine oil.

Seems everyone with the venture needs to have there intake maniflod gasket replaced shortly after warranty.. what real gets me mad is the dealer told me he knew of no problems with the gasket....

The intake and head gaskets failed, which caused anti-freeze to leak.*ts *jb

Defective intake manifold gasket on 1999 chevrolet venture minivan with 3.4 liter v-6 engine. intake manifold gasket leaked coolant into engine "gumming up" and caused engine to seize. stranded my wife and 3 kids. impact of seizing engine simulated a rear-end collision as described by my wife who was driving at the time.

Failure of intake manifold gasket resulted in coolant leaking into engine causing \\gumming\\. this caused cam shaft/engine to seize. subsequent \\knocking sound\\ and check engine light. seizing engine simulated a rear-end collision as described by my wife who was driving at the time. she was picking up our kids from school at the time. after 3 trips to the service dealership and 4 weeks engine required replacement.

Replaced head gaskets

1999 chevy venture 47,827 miles had to replace intake manifold gasket. so far we are out $1027.54

Intake manifold gasket failed at about 64, 000 miles. coolant was found leaking out in the rear corner of the intake. also there were signs of coolant found in the motor oil after removing the valve covers. this repair has cost me almost $600.00 on a vehicle less than 4 years old. the auto repair shop that did my repair said they are changing 1 to 2 intake gaskets a week on these 3.4l v6 engines. dt

Intake manifold gasket on the 3.4l engine in my 1999 chevrolet venture failed. this is a pervasive known problem with the 3.4l engine produced and sold by gm. gm has had a nationwide backorder on the gasked involved indicating redesign due to poor initial design. i had to wait 4 months for the gasket to be delivered and there were 2 other ventures in the repair facility unable to be repaired or driven due to the backorder. my cost for repair was $538. others have had to pay over $4,000 due to engine failure. this should be investigated and gm made to conduct a nationwide recall/reimbursement of said repair costs. if you desire i will provide my repair invoice. due to the part failure and waiting on gasket delivery and repair, i may have hidden engine damage that may surface at a later time.*jb

We have a 1999 chevrolet venture that we purchased in dec. 2001. we did not purchase a warranty. a couple of weeks after the purchase the "check coolant" light came on and stayed on. we had to keep adding coolant. i do not work on cars and had a very sick wife, so the light was a minor stress at the time. i'd taken the car to get looked at and they said "the coolant is leaking into the engine, and the engine is going" well for a car with just over 23,825 miles on it, i was very steamed. it lasted till 47,359 miles and my wife was stranded on the road. the car was towed and sat at the chevy dealership from sept. 9th till dec. 12th 2002. while still paying $437.00 a month payment. we had a used engine put in it by the chevy dealership which had 20,000 less miles on it, and today has 74,000 miles on it.we paid $2,400 for this used engine. i just found out that the o2 sensor just went out on us. but if there is a defective engine or similar parts on it, is this going to happen again- just a matter of time?

Premature head gasket failure. mr

Vehicle lost coolant due to a crack in coolant container. dealer has been notified. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

Consumer states while driving the check oil light and the battery line came on. the vehicle shut off, loosing all power. contacted dealer. there was anti- freeze in the oil.*jb gm has had previous problems with the intake manifold leaking. consumer feels gm should recall these faulty intake manifolds. *jg

Water pump failed -- fog filled car when pump failed. i was completely fogged in and could not see. i had to use my daughter's sweatshirt to wipe inside of windshield. intake manifold gasket failed power window drivers side failed 2x shattered when it fell from track the second time

Passenger sliding door window shattered while driving for no reason at all. nothing hit the window and it just popped loudly and shattered.

I contacted chevrolet for assistance regarding my 1999 venture van. it developed a leak in the intake manifold gasket which allowed water to get into the oil. this vehicle was only 3 years old and had only 50,000 miles on it. i did some research and determined that other ventures, montanas, and silouettes were having similar problems and i wanted to know if chevrolet was covering this repair as it was so widespread. it was my belief at that time that my own vehicle was out of warranty, but considering the general failure of the part and the new condition of the vehicle, i hoped chevrolet would at least assist with the repair. chevrolet case no. c06820805. chevrolet rudely refused to assist me with the cost. later i proved to the dealer that the failure was covered by an extended california emission warranty. the dealer refunded me the cost of the repairs.*ak

Gasket failure is due to manifold being made of aliminum and engine block being made of cast iron. any gasket material placed between the two metals is subject to mechanical wear caused by differences is the coefficient of expansion of the two metals. presently, the manifold gaskets are on a nationwide back order; some vehicles have been on dealership lots for weeks.*ak