Engine Cooling System Problems of Chevrolet Venture - part 1

My 2000 chevy Venture van had an overheating problem when the coolant was full. I researched on google and found there to be complaints about this specific van problem on this make and year. Is there a recall or any way that the problem can be fixed for no charge? the repair shop says it has seen this on this vehicle as wll and the cost to fix the cracked head gasket is $1200. 00 I appreciate any help that you can give me with this matter. I signed up for printout of research but please disregard as this complaint form is what I needed. Thanks.

See all problems of the 2000 Chevrolet Venture 🔎.

2004 Venture began overheating a month ago. Dealership said it was the radiator. Had that changed out. Still overheated, next the temp gauge, then the thermostat, water pump. Still overheating. It has now spent 2 days at the dealership and again they have tried other options. When they took it for a test drive this afternoon it overheated and they had to have it towed. I began searching the internet and I am finding numerous complaints like mine for the chevy Venture. Some oof the people have been having trouble for 2 years. I have already pulled out $1,300 on this problem! this seems to be a wide spread problem and needs to be addressed. Please help.

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Heater suddenly stopped functioning on very cold day was initial indication there was a problem. After having extensive diagnostics done and many repairs later temperature gauge still goes into red and no heat coming into cabin when heater turns on. This seems to be a widespread problem as I have done much research, and people seem to be stuck with high repair bills just like me because they made the unfortunate decision to purchase a vehicle that came off the assemble with a flawed design in the cooling system/ head gaskets.

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January 4,2011 philadelphia, PA. I first notice in Aug 2010 that my 2002 chevy Venture was making noise and overheating was told by a mechanic it was my wheel bearings and my thermostat got that repaired that cost about $425. 00 then the van kept overheating and cutting off went back to the mechanic and was told it was my radiator that was repaired drove it and had to take the van back because it was still overheating so the water pump was repaired and the both of those repairs was about $275. 00 needless to say the van was still overheating then I was told that the van need to be put on the diagnostic machine and then I found out it was my intake manifold gasket and that cost me $500. 00. If gm is having this many customers with the same problems this it should be addressed so us as owner don't be put through this again.

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Last winter I left my 2000 Chevrolet Venture van (with a 3. 4 liter v6 engine) idling for about 10-15 minutes while I worked outside it. When I got back inside, the heat gauge was about 3/4 the way to hot, and neither of the (2) electric radiator cooling fans were running. The engine ran cool for normal unconjested traffic after this. In mid summer the heat gauge again went 3/4 hot while I was in slow moving stop-and-go traffic. To prevent heat damage, I ran the heater full blast in mid 80's weather; -no fun! I troubleshoot the radiator fans control system and found that the pcm (power-train control module; (computer)) wasn't working properly. I replaced the pcm myself with an after-market, reflashed (reprogrammed with gm up-to-date software) unit, but I couldn't get the pcm to do its 'crankshaft variation relearn procedure' with my equipment, so I took the van to my gm dealership to have it done, and also to have the cooling fans tested. My dealership tested the fans and found they now worked, finished the pcm work, but they also said that it overheated and blew coolant right out of the reservoir; they diagnosed it with blown head gaskets on both front and rear parts. (it doesn't sound blown, have coolant in the oil, or put exhaust in the coolant that I can see. ) they quoted $1147. 50 labor & $390. Parts, & whatever it cost for a machine shop to correct any head warpage, to correct the problem. They also advised my wife (who brought in the van), that the van should not be driven until the head gasket problem is fixed. I have talked with several people who told me that most everyone who had this 3. 4 liter gm engine has had to have the head gasket replaced. One person said that they thought the government should do something since the problem appears to be so wide spread. I suspect that the pcm failing to turn on the cooling fans was what caused this head gasket failure in my case. Do you have other people reporting head gasket problems?.

I am still paying for a 2002 chevy Venture van that I bought 2 1/2 yrs ago. It has 72000 miles on it. I am having major cooling issues anywhere from over heating to smelling the anti freeze, if it idles for 10min it will get up to about 220 deg and the fans wont kick on till 285 deg. We have had in the shop 4 times now for repairs. The water pump was replaced, the intake manifold gasket was replaced, this time they just replaced my radiator cap and flushed my system. 4 days later its doing it again overheating to 3/4 mark, smelling very distinctly like anti- freeze yet there are no leaks. ? they are now looking into an engine sensor and said it normally runs 184 deg and should be at least 195 deg so it runs low on a normal basis. ( normal to me since I bought it) I paid for an extended warranty through gm and no one can seem to find what the problem is. ? how many deductibles do I have to pay before they actually find the solution to the problem I told them about from the beginning? I have three children I drive around in this van and I shouldn't have to worry about it overheating somewhere.

Transmission failed in January of 2005 at 50,000 miles. Had it rebuilt for $3,000. 00. Failed again at in August 2009 115,000 miles and at the same time the lower intake manifold gasket failed. Had it replaced and the gasket replaced for another $3,000. 00. Still overheats in city traffic. Left radiator fan never comes on I have to run the heater to get the temp under control and I live in yuma, az. This van is a lemon and has cost me about $8,000. 00 more than it should to own. Never again will I buy a gm product. They are criminals!.

Temp gauge reading hot, decided 95 s in new york city wasn't an ideal place to stop and traffic was very bad had to drive in breakdown lane to get to nearest exit (approx 1. 5 miles) pulled over in a water works lot with my 4 yr olds and wife at 11:30 pm, on way to ohio from rhode island. Called aaa took to garage, several hours later, us to a hotel that wasn't booked. Next garage replaced the temp switch and thermostat. Seemed ok. Continued to ohio. While in ohio temp gauge was reading hot again. Took to dealer and said that the gauge cluster was faulty but did not have the part to replace. Came home , temp gauge has been reading fine if I turn the key on and off to "reset" the gauge back to "zero" still not sure that it is reading correctly at that point. $500. 00 to have replaced. Most car forums people have been complaining of this issue and some other cooling issues that very well may be related to this problem. Safety of my family is very important and having a van that "overheats"is a problem due the fact that if we ignore the gauge it very well may overheat and my family may be on the side of the road not being able to get to a safe place. We were fortunate that aaa was able to help us alot and that I was able to get to a safe place that wasn't the bronx (which was the next exit) or worse. This problem including the stay was $1300. 00 and not to mention being in a strange dark place for nearly 3 hrs. I still have no confidence the new cluster is working the way it is supposed to.

See all problems of the 2005 Chevrolet Venture 🔎.

General motors dex-cool ruined our cooling system in our 97 chevy Venture. Have had to replace entire cooling system and now crankshaft has gone bad. We have spent over $2000 in repairs. Van started having problems at 80,000miles. Van only has 110,000 miles. We are overwhelmed and extremely frustrated. We would have replace the coolant if we would have know about the problems the dex-cool caused. We feel we have been denied very important information in regards to maintaining our vehicle. Consumers need to be made aware of the problems with dex-cool coolant!!!!!!!.

See all problems of the 1997 Chevrolet Venture 🔎.

Was loosing coolant a month out of warr. (less than 36k miles in 2003) dealer replaced head gasket (same on a '97 Venture I had) and squeaked it under warr. Now 5 years later at 63k mile, the same head gasket, same spot. Dealer said that this is common and replace them all the time with these engines but no recall at all.

Strong smell of antifreeze and was loosing coolant. Overheating. Spoke with gm several times and complained. This cost me $1000. 00 to repair and after reading complaints of owners with the same problem, the problem recurred after repairing. Also, signal light bulbs kept blowing and an electrical board had to be replaced.

See all problems of the 2003 Chevrolet Venture 🔎.

I own a 99 chevy Venture the problem is the temp gauge goes back and forth from hot to cold I was told the head gaskets were bad. After a little research I found out that this problem is occurring with a majority of these vehicles why isn't gm doing a recall.

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Our vehicle is a 2001. Has 62,000 miles. The condenser went on the vehicle. We were told that alot of the condenser are going in the 2001 Chevrolet Venture. Have you done any investigating or recalls, or reimbursement ? thank you.

Our 2001 Chevrolet Venture's intake manifold gasket has failed, allowing coolant into the engine oil. We started having trouble with it in January 2007. The check engine light came on and we took it in to our mechanic. He checked the cooling system and found the thermostat was not working properly. It was replaced. In June 2008, we noticed a loss of coolant. We took it in to our mechanic again. He did a coolant system check and found nothing wrong, replaced possible leaking hose. Once again we were losing coolant. We took into our mechanic again (third times a charm). Could fine nothing wrong with cooling system, did diagnostic and found a leak in the intake manifold gasket. We had no warning, no check engine light, no over heating since earlier time. The main problem is the coolant was going inside the engine, no outside leaking to warn us. The car stalled and died on us, luckily it was at a stop light. It could have caused a major accident if I was driving on freeway going 65. It has been parked at my house, non-op with dmv. Gm has admitted to me during more than one call that they have known about this problem for some time, but refuse to fix it. They say they are waiting for the NHTSA to put out a mandatory recall before they will fix any problems. There are thousands of people with this same problem. The 3. 1ll and 3. 4l v-6 engines were put in all body types and different gm makes and models. Now some v-8's and newer models are coming down with the same problem. According to internal memo's from gm, they have known about this problem since 2000. Dex-cool seems to be the culprit. It is a known plasticizer (softens plastic) and is corrosive to aluminum. The gasket on the intake manifold is made of plastic and the some of the manifolds and or parts are made of aluminum. Dex-cool degrades hoses, gaskets and also rusts aluminum, causing a sludge to build up into the engine. Why would any one put this corrosive material into an engine on purpose?.

Premature failure of the intake manifold gasket caused my car to lose power while driving.

Vehicle cooling system is faulty. My research and experience proves this point and chevy needs to be held accountable! at approx 120k, the engine overheats and the vehicle cannot be driven like that. Mechanical replaced intake gasket for $1100 and recomended changing the head gasket for an additional $1000 but could not afford that. 1 year later, same problem, overheating and cannot drive with that, mechanic tests and finds faulty head gasket, $2000+ estimate, will not pay that for a faulty cooling system. Legal resolve to be sought, please contact me if you can to assist or join a potential class-action suit!.

Intake manifold leaks, causes engine to overheat which resulted heads were warping. My family and I were traveling eastbound on I-10 coming home from our family vacation from disneyland and heading back to phoenix az when the engine overheated on the 2001 Chevrolet Venture minivan. We waited on the side of the road in the desert for the engine to cool to add water into the radiator. 45 minutes later the engine cooled enough to add the water and for some reason it would not draw the water out of the reservoir. The engine would not start. We called the state police and a highway patrolman came out and could not do anything for us. He called a tow truck and we were charged $250. 00 to be towed 25 miles from where we were to the truck stop at tonapah. He wanted $700. 00 to tow us home to chandler, az. However, a friend came to our rescue by towing us home with a strap from his truck. By the time we got to the 101 freeway in the east valley the battery died, adding to the drama and stress of the evening. We finally got home after 1 am , we were expected at 5 pm. I was told by the mechanic at the Chevrolet dealer that the heads were on national back order because of faulty intake manifold, and it was a well known problem in engines over 75,000 miles , we have 77000 miles, causing the engine to over heat and damaging it.

Coolant leaking. Turns out gaskets need to be replaced. Car has only 47,000 miles on it. Research shows this is a common complaint. Cost approximately $750 to fix. I see where gm knows about problem and issued technical service bulletin, yet consumer must pay. Gm should pay.

I have a 2002 chevy Venture van that earlier this summer started to lose engine coolant. Web research shows many other fails of this type on the chevy Venture van. I took it to a local mechanic who performed a coolant leak check and found the head gasket failed in two places. It appears to be a design problem but gm refuses to help, cost of the repair was over $500. The vehicle just came out of warranty the first of the year. Not a safety problem - design problem. Would like a recall and gm to pay for their design problem.

Took the Venture minivan in for brakes at the dealership and they told me the intake manifold gasket needed to be replaced. I was not losing any radiator fluid but how do you argue with a dealership that wants to make money. From the web and this site, gm has a defective intake manifold seal that should have been fixed free to charge. A service bulletin was even issued for this problem. Shame on gm.

Intake manifold gasket failed causing coolant to mix with engine oil.

We have spent 3 years flushing radiator with dexcool--still having overheating which causes problems with our transmission--every time seeing sludge in overflow tank within a month after fresh flush--this month we have replaced water pump, and replacing radiator, oil cooler, and going back to regular green antifreeze after hearing of similar problems and worse in Chevrolet models using dexcool!! unknown if damage has been caused to transmission for 3 summers of overheating. . . Can't drive in stop/go traffic safely in warm weather knowing that cooling system/transmission will fail in those conditions. We've spent several hours stopped under shade trees to let engine cool down enough to get to destination.

Noticed coolant leaking brought into my mechanic he diagnosed " replace intake manifold gaskets", brought van to chevy to see if perhaps a recall because I was told by mechanic that this problem is common with this engine, but I was told no recall and they are unaware of a problem with this engine. So I paid $1,265 to chevy to repair their defect on a 2000 chevy Venture with just under 25k miles. And they wonder why people are buying foreign made cars!!!!!.

Venture was making a smell that I remembered from my 95 chevy lumina. Pull over realized the same thing was going on with this van. Coolant going into engine. This van only had 51,652 miles on for a 98 that is great I took very good care of it and chevy lost a customer for life. We were looking a tahoe but I would even look at it now chevy is the worst car maker out there but then again they are making me now look a Toyota,Honda in a whole new light.

See all problems of the 1998 Chevrolet Venture 🔎.

: the contact stated the vehicle stalled intermittently. This happened at various speeds and under normal driving conditions. The vehicle was taken to the local dealership for inspection numerous times. However, the dealer could not duplicate the problem. The dealer replaced the intake manifold and anti-freeze in an attempt to remedy the problem, but it still exists.

I noticed red fluid on one of the lines below in the area of the coolant reservoir. I do have dexcool in the system. I have not diagnosed the problem as to where the coolant is leaking from but I notice the reservoir gets low periodically. I fear it is leaking from the gasket but not sure yet. I have nothing but problems with this vehicle. I have had to spend $600-$1000 every year which a couple of the repairs gm took care of after reaming them out. Their product is terrible and I will never buy another gm again.

The intake gasket on my 98 Venture failed and leaked dexcool into the engine. The engine temp fluctuated and the vehicle overheated damaging the head gasket. I see gm is ignoring the issue as well as NHTSA. There is however a law firm in putting together a class action suit for this problem. I encourage all to join in the suit and to leave gm and become loyal Honda owners.

Similar problems with cooling system as reported by other posts. Purchased vehicle new. Serviced at shop regularly. At 60,000 miles the supposed "100,000 mile" cooling system suddenly developed leak in lower intake. As the temperature gauge rose into the hot, I turned the engine off to let it cool off. When I drove it to the shop (maybe driving a total of 10 miles after problem started), shop diagnosed it as lower intake gasket leak. The manual says it has a engine safety feature to alternately fire the cylinders to keep heads from blowing. Didn't work for me. Both head gaskets blown. Warped heads. Had to have heads shaved. $2000 repair bill during a vacation at a gm shop. The shop put on "newer gaskets" this isn't right!.

My wife with my 4 small children were entering mo hwy 412 when the vehicle started stalling and quit. When the vehicle quit it was partially on the hwy and partially on the turn from where she was exiting. While she alone was trying to push the vehicle off the hwy a tractor truck and trailor almost run them over. Take in mind that when these vehicles die they have no brakes or power steering. When I had the vehicle checked out it seems that it had a intake valve gasket blown leaking dexcool into the oil and broke the camshaft. At this time I can't afford to have the vehicle fixed because from the research I've done it will cost $4,000 to $5000 to get the vehicle fixed.

The intake manifold gasket on my 2002 chevy Venture van with a 3400 cc engine failed and over heated. My wife who is a visiting nurse was luck enough to get off the road in a safe area. This problem has been going for at least 6 yrs without any help from the government to force a recall on a known defect. There are many web sites that have documented this problem. What is safe about overheating on a highway or at night with family and kids in the car. Gm has already issued a service bulletins about the gasket problem and what dealers are to do to fix the problem at the customers expense. I believe that the government should force gm into a recall. These repairs are costing about 6oo. 00 to 1200. 00 dollars. Thank you. Robert s. Ingersol, nremt-p.

1998 chevy Venture Mini-van. Have had to replace the radiator (now twice) due to overheating caused by "sludge" in the cooling system. Also, mechanic reports a coolant leakage in intake manifold gasket, which apparently is a well-known problem. Have only put dexcool in system, so wonder where sludge came from. Have not had gasket repaired yet because I think gm should do it for free.

We bought a chevy Venture in October, 2004. It was supposed to have been a "gm certified" vehicle, since we bought it in October and in the midwest we did not need to turn the air conditioning unit on until about six months later. That is when we noticed that it was not blowing cold air. According to the dealer the air conditioner condenser had a leak, by then the 3000 miles warranty had expired and we got stuck with the $900 dollars bill. The second incident happened in March 2006, while at the service station for an oil change and state mandated safety inspection the mechanic informed me that the engine cooling system manifold had a leak. I think this vehicle is a lemon but it is to late to do anything about it, this second problem is going to cost me another $900 dollars. Why is it that everything that goes wrong with this van costs $900 dollars?.

I had to replace intake and head gaskets at 105,000 miles on my 1999 chevy Venture. They are leaking at 180,000 miles. I am very unhappy about this.

When our van (2001 chevy Venture) reached about 75000 miles, we noticed the temperature on the gauge rising. I contacted our mechanic and he recommended flushing the cooling line and changing the thermostat. I took the van in and had the cooling system flushed and the thermostat changed. At that time he noticed a coolant leak below the intake. Now that the cooling system has been flushed and the thermostat changed I was hoping to not see a fluctuation in the temperature. I was wrong, the temperature is still fluctuating and now I notice when it gets hot the car shifts very rough. He recommended I contact a gm dealer and have them look at it, due to the Venture van being known for this issue and hopefully gm would cover the cost. I have contacted the local gm dealer and have an appointment this week. I searched the internet and found several others with this same issue and I hope that gm steps up to fix the problem.

1999 Chevrolet Venture had the transmission repaired and the intake manifold replaced. ** answer required***. The intake manifold was leaking. The consumer's mechanic explained that he believes the transmission failure was due to faulty valve body installation at the factory.