I bought the car October 3 and started having problems with it 2 to 3 weeks later first there was a leak in the coolant department it took them a week to fix and did not do a good job, then the air bag light came on they fixed that then I heard a noise under the hood a loud noise like metal was rubbing together they said it was the belts they tightened them ok the sound went away a week in a half later I hard the noise again and it was even louder.... I had to have the car towed to them.... it took over a week before I received the car back they said it was the air conditioner compressor... ok 2 weeks later I hear the same noise again, now remind you this is the same noise for the third time... now hey are telling me to bring it in for servicing... and I'm gonna have to pay for what ever is wrong with the van... I only had the van for about three months.

- East Orange, NJ, USA

Chevy garage discovered an intake manifold gasket leak during routine maintanance work on my 2000 Venture at 50,000 miles. It would cost $900-plus to fix. Three separate mechanics told me that this was a common problem on this particular engine and that I could expect to have it done again in the next two to three years. It seemed common knowledge that this component was due to fail in a relatively short period of time, however, Chevy garage told me that General Motors was not offering any recalls or discounts on the service.

- Crestline, OH, USA

Leaky intake manifold. GM is aware of the problem. Van has only 42000 miles. It is a 2000 Chevy Venture. Intake manifold leaks can lead to any number of very serious, and expensive, problems. While the part itself isnT costly, the labor to repair it is very intensive, and has been quoted around $800 usd (give or take a couple hundred depending on the vehicle). This is in addition to any other costly problem(s) the intake manifold gasket leak may have produced.

- Napoleon, OH, USA

2000 Chevrolet. Venture van at 45300 miles the intake and the head gasket went. I had my van service at denny hacken polar Chevrolet. In white bear lake, mn and the total cost was $1550.

- White Bear Lake, MN, USA

Van was brought in for service with a "low coolant" light and a loud noise coming from the engine. The van is 3 years old with 48K miles. I was told that I had an intake manifold gasket leak. This caused coolant to mix in with the engine oil which caused a cam bearing failure. The engine was completely damaged and needed to be replaced. My car was at the dealer (scott Chevrolet in emmaus, pa) for 17 days getting repaired because of a defective $20 gasket! the dealer service manager told me that this gasket failure occurs often and it is something that they normally inspect in vans with this style engine at 40K miles.

- Allentown, PA, USA

Leaking lower intake gasket failure at 42,727 miles. Apparently very large number of vehicles experiencing same failure- over $800 repair! GM will not take any responsibilty for the problem.

- Aquebogue, NY, USA

On 2-18-03 my 2000 Venture was serviced for a tow package. The invoice is ctcs280208. When I picked up the vehicle I noticed on the job sheet "note intake gaskets leaking coolant approximate cost 450.00" I met with service manager roy stoner to discuss other issues which I am happy to report were satisfactorily resolved. I am meticulous about watching for leaking fluid in my vehicles and having had none on the Venture I asked him to show it to me. When we lifted the hood I noted that my coolant reservoir was empty. With the use of a flexible light he showed me the puddle antifreeze on the rear of the intake manifold. I asked him how this was detected since none of the work involved this part of the engine and there was no drip indication. Roy informed me that they routinely check the intake manifold gasket on these vehicles because there have been chronic failures of them. "I can probably pull one out of the garbage can right now." Was his response. "this is a horrible design or a torque problem." He called over one of your mechanics who suggested it be repaired immediately or risk replacing the engine should the leak become internal. I have an appointment scheduled for Thursday February 27. Since then I have done considerable research on this issue. I have discovered a web site petition signed by over 2,000 GM customers with the same issue at www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?gmcnsmrs I tried calling GM customer assistance center and was given a service request number of 1-75030610 and told to get the tsb number and call them back. My research shows that many customers are having the repair done with a $100 deductible or at no cost. In September of 2002 this gasket was on a "national back-order." It appears a class action lawsuit is also in the works and the ntsb has launched an investigation. It also appears a new gasket has been or will be available soon.

- Lincoln, NE, USA

Temperature guage malfunctions.

- Riviera, FL, USA