1997 Chevrolet Venture Exterior lighting Problems

“I have owned 3 chevy Venture minivans over the past 10 years. All of them had the same problems, the signal and head lights go out, the window switch goes out and finally the head gasket goes. They run great until the day it starts overheating, then your out a vehicle. Everyone I know who has a Venture has had at least one of these problems with their vehicle.”

“I have had to replace the left rear brake lamp in my 1997 Chevrolet Venture van a total of three times and the right rear once. After removing the bulbs, I noticed the base of the bulbs were charred and melted. I have serious concerns about the charring/melting eventually causing a fire. If the bulb assembly is pulling enough power to melt the base, shouldn't the fuse blow? The last incident occurred when my wife was driving home after work when another motorist told her she had no brake lights. After I checked the van, I determined that both brake lamps were charred and melted. …”

“1997 Chevrolet Venture. Headlight lens cover. Last summer I noticed the drivers side lens was loose so I glued it back on with epoxy.(cost $3.00) recently I found out that the passenger side lens had fallen out sometime while driving.(both fell out within 6 months of each other) I went to wash the van and the halogen bulb exploded and flamed when it got wet. Had I been closer to the vehicle I could have been struck by flying glass. If this would have happened during a rain storm I would have been driving without headlights. (the dealership charged me $165 to replace one assembly). …”

“Rear brake lamps keep failing, light bar on top works fine but both side rear brake lamps fail continuously. Upon disassembly of brake light one can see the sockets and bulb contacts are melting. This van has already had the entire rear light assembly on each side replaced but problem is recurring. Cleaning/sanding sockets works temporarily but problem returns within a couple of weeks. Bulb replacement alone does not work. Filaments in bulbs are not burnt out but contacts on bulbs and sockets are burnt. …”

“Dt: the contact stated the plastic covers on the headlights were glued and not bolted onto the vehicle. When the glue wore out water got inside the headlights, and the plastic popped off, causing the halogen light bulb to burn out. The dealer and manufacturer offered no free remedy. The vehicle has not been repaired.”