1999 Pontiac Montana Visibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors) Problems

“When driving at highway speed (60mph or greater) the wiper will over run the windshield when initially turned on. This is resulting in destroying the blade and creating a safety problem. It has happened for several years but the GM dealers tell me they have never heard of this problem. I was told by a former bosch (current manufacturer) vice-president that when bosch purchased this manufacturing line from ut automotive, they noticed the problem and advised g.m. Of the issue. G.m. Chose to do nothing. While my car is older, this issue has been present even when the vehicle was newer. …”

“Engine: intake manifold gasket leaking. I followed thru with a complaint to the bbb and to Pontiac's 800 number. I was told I needed to have the van diagnosed at a GM dealer before anything could be done by Pontiac. My dealer quality Pontiac in cocoa, florida looked at the van and agreed the intake manifold gasket was leaking (november 2002). Quality informed me it would be about $500 to repair. A phone call to Pontiac's 800 # put pressure on the dealer and they performed the work for $100 plus extra for a coolant flush. The total was around $180. …”

“As appears to be common with the engine in this vehicle, the intake gasket failed causing dexcool to leak into the engine and thus contaminating not only engine oil, but causing failure of critical internal components due to the fact that dexcool deteriorates/weakens certain metals, etc. In our case, the vehicle's engine completely failed while driving 60 MPH on a 6 lane expressway with no prior indication of problems. Gm is aware of the problem but refuses to take any responsibility for its inferior design! A recall should be begun immediately. …”

“Windshield wipers suddenly stopped while we were driving in a torrential 3-hour downpour. Had to pull onto shoulder and drive with no forward visibility until reaching a town with a garage. This was on highway 77 in south texas, a very heavily travelled road. We were lucky to have avoided being hit from behind. The problem was that the wiper drive arm had come off the ball-shaped stud on the drive crank. One of the two 5 mm screws had come out of the clamp holding the drive arm to the drive stud. …”

“The contact stated, while driving in heavy rain at 50 MPH., the wiper blades on the windshield collided with each other. The driver side blade/assembly was torn from the wiper arm and the passenger blade/assembly was twisted out of position for proper operation. Updated 07/25/06.”