Well, I've officially decided this is on my won't buy list.

My mom has an '01 which has been giving her multiple electrical problems for some time now. I finally had a chance to tear into things tonight and I'm not really impressed. This is, in my opinion, not a well built vehicle.

She has had intermittent problems opening/closing one of the rear side windows and most recently, lost the ability to unlock the doors from the driver side switch console. There has also been an oil level warning for some time now.

So here'* what I found...

There is an open somewhere between the oil level switch and ground. I'm still working on this.

The BCM is located underneath the dash, just above the front passenger foot well. As a result, there is a main body harness that runs down along the floor under the carpet, just inside the front door. When I lifted the carpet, there was moisture present and stuff was growing!

As it turns out, there were about 8 wiring splices in this short section of harness. Since these ones are inside the vehicle, GM didn't use a sealing heat shrink tubing to complete them. As such, there were a lot of corroded splices and some were at the point where wiring was broken. After cutting into the wiring and replacing them all, there seems to be no further problems (except the oil level light which is an underhood issue).

There is no comparison between how the Bonneville (at least the 2K+) is built and the Montana. I can't speak of earlier Bonnevilles since I have no experience with them.

Anyone else out there own one with similar problems???

I have a 98 and I agree with what you have posted. Also add that the 3.4 engine is a piece of crap.

I just found an electrical problem two weeks ago where the right side taillight plug had a bad case of oxidation and caused the lights to malfunction. Basically the current was looking for a better ground and was going through the filaments of other taillight bulbs.

I cleaned the connection and it works fine now but I am sure the problem will return.

I could go on and on. We chose to replace the engine last year at this time of the year. Coolant leak spun the bearings. We had already replaced the LIM twice. Only had 126K on the van. The local Pontiac dealer told me that the engine should have failed sooner. What a bunch of buffoons. I had a Jasper engine installed and the car runs fine.

BTW I called the Pontiac Dealership twice to talk with the owner and he never returned my calls. I have not set foot in that dealership since then and will never go there again. Too bad because the salesman we have dealt with is really nice. Sent the salesman a letter on the side asking him to contact us if he moves to a new dealership.

3.6? Those vans have the 3400.

Corrected post. TY
Did not proof read properly.

Daughter-in-law has a '98 Chevy Venture. It hasn't been too bad, except for some minor electrical gremlins, like an intermittent power sliding door, and the air bag light comes on occasionally. What you found will give me a place to check, as the latest problem cropped up when she cleaned the carpeting. Worst problem was that it blew a head gasket last year. Not fun to work on!

To complete the repairs, I used high quality splices and sealed the connections using heat shrink tubing with an inner adhesive wall. Originally, the harness had been wrapped with tape, but only to keep the wires more or less grouped together. Since there was no overlap, sections of wiring visible between the wraps. To prevent further problems, I applied a contiguous, edge overlapping wrap of 3M vinyl tape along the entire affected section. I'm hoping this will keep the moisture out. I also placed some split loom around it for added protection. There were a couple of spots which looked to be squished against the body, possibly by feet over time.

Good luck with the Venture. I know you'll get it whipped into shape in no time!

My wife bought a 00 Extended Montana in July with 121,000 miles, leather and aluminum rims for $4500. Body and leather are flawless. Other than replacing the battery, front sway bar and rear air shocks, we have had no problems. The prev- owner provided receipts for replacing the intake manifold and valve cover gaskets. I wish it had the 3800 too. But then again it is my wife who drives it so actually "Less is Good" when it comes to HP. OK, now that I think about it more, The heated seats do not work and the radio display has one of the bulbs burned out. In the end, I have to say, I Like It. I think the Pontiac is the best looking of all the GMs, and since we have 7 other Pontiacs either being driven or in various states of "eventual" restoration, we had to go Montana. I will have to check out the wire harness under the carpets to see if it might be the cause of the heated seat issue. My wife started bugging me this week to fix it. Funny,it didn't bother her at all until the temp dropped below 30 deg.

Don't tempt fate. With the recalls on the fuel lines and rusty sending units it doesn't surprise me that I have seen at least 5 '92-'99 Bonnes in the pick-a-part burned to a crisp with little body damage.