2002 CHEVROLET VENTURE — Problems, Recalls & Safety Data

The contact owns a 2002 Chevrolet Venture. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, a fuel odor was detected inside the cabin of the vehicle. Additionally, the vehicle was consuming an excessive amount of fuel. The contact's neighbor, an independent mechanic, diagnosed that there was fuel leaking between the connection of the fuel line and fuel tank. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.

BLOWN INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET. VEHICLE DID NOT HAVE AN OVERHEATING ISSUE, AND HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED SINCE I'VE OWNED IT. DROVE ACROSS A STEEP 7 MILE HILL, TEMP GAUGE STARTED MOVING ABOVE NORMAL. I STOPPED AND LET IT COOL DOWN, MOTOR GOT TO ABOUT 245 DEGREES WELL BEFORE ANY WARNING LIGHTS WERE ABLE TO COME ON. STARTED THE MOTOR AND IT SOUNDED DIFFERENT SO I POPPED THE HOOD AND THE COOLANT OVERFLOW WAS BUBBLING. NOTICED THE WINDSHIELD STARTED STEAMING UP, AND A VERY ROUGH IDLE. SHUT THE MOTOR OFF AND STARTED IT AGAIN. WHITE SMOKE COMING FROM THE TAILPIPE. TURN IT OFF AGAIN AND OPENED THE OIL CAP AND IT HAD THE MAYO LOOK AND SMELLED OF ANTIFREEZE. PULLED THE DIPSTICK AND THE OIL WAS BROWN AND SEPARATED. GOT IT HAULED HOME. DID AN INSPECTION AND ANTIFREEZE WAS ALL DOWN THE BLOCK. TOOK THE MOTOR APART AND THE LOWER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET WAS JUST DETROYED. CHEVROLET HAS HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS OUT OF THESE 3.4 GEN 3 MOTORS. THEY ALL NEED TO BE RECALLED AND THE PROBLEM CORRECTED. DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU KEEP THE COOLANT FLUSHED AND OIL CHANGED. HEAD GASKETS WERE IN THE SAME SHAPE I CHANGED THEM TOO. ALL TOGETHER COST ME OVER $1000 BETWEEN GASKET KITS, HEAD BOLTS, INTAKE BOLTS, COOLANT, OIL, FILTER, FLUSH, AND THAT WAS CHANGING THE HEAD GASKET, LOWER AND UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET COMPLETELY BY MYSELF. THESE MOTORS ARE SO HARD TO WORK ON, I JUST COULDN'T AFFORD TO HAVE SOMEONE DO IT FOR ME. IT'S JUST BAD TO BUY A VEHICLE AND HAVE THIS PROBLEM. MOST VENTURE OWNERS HAVE CHANGED HEAD GASKETS OR INTAKE GASKETS MORE THAN ONCE. TOYOTA RECALLED THEIR 3.0 MOTORS FOR THIS PROBLEM, WHY IS GM NOT MADE TO RECTIFY THIS CONTINUOUS PROBLEM. THE VAN HAS ALOT OF OTHER PROBLEMS AS WELL, BODY RUST, HEADLIGHTS YOU CANNOT SEE WITH, OIL SEAL LEAKS, STEERING KNUCKLE PROBLEMS, SLIDING DOOR ISSUES, RADIO PROBLEMS, ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS, SIGNAL LIGHTS, ABS PROBLEMS. FUEL PUMP PROBLEMS. IT'S A LEMON

SUDDENLY MY VEHICLE HAD A STRONG GASOLINE ODOR WHEN I WALKED UP ON IT IN THE MORNING I SMELLED IT 3 FEET AWAY FROM MY VEHICLE. IT HAPPENED JUST LIKE THAT ALL OF A SUDDEN. I SCHEDULED MY INSPECTION WITH MY MECHANIC AND I TOLD HIM I SUDDENLY WAS SMELLING A STRONG ODOR OF GAS. MY MECHANIC CALLED AND INFORMED ME THERE WAS A CRACK IN MY GAS TANK AND IT IS LEAKING SO THAT IS WHY I WAS SMELLING GAS SO BADLY. WE ORDERED ANOTHER 2002 CHEVROLET VENTURE GAS TANK FROM A SALVAGE YARD. THEY SHIPPED THE GAS TANK AND WHEN MY MECHANIC OPENED IT IT WAS BROKE IN THE SAME EXACT PLACE. THIS IS WHY I THOUGHT LOOKING UP FOR POSSIBLE RECALL. I FOUND RECALL 07V349000. STATED THE FUEL TANK INLET CHECK VALVE CAN CRACK AND LEAK. STATED AFFECTED CHEVROLET VENTURE 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004. I HAVE 2002. MY PROBLEM IS IT'S VIN SPECIFIC ACCORDING TO CHEVROLET THE NUMBER THAT I WAS GIVEN TO CALL ABOUT THE RECALL. 18006302438. MY VIN NUMBER WAS NOT INCLUDED. MY PROBLEM FITS THE DESCRIPTION PERFECTLY BUT THEY CLAIM THEY CAN'T HELP ME. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM FOR ANYONE. I NOW HAVE TO PAY OVER 1,000.00 FOR A NEW GAS TANK OR HAVE NO CAR. I DO NOT HAVE ANY TRANSPORTATION NOW. MY CHEVROLET VENTURE IS SITTING AT MY MECHANICS.

FUEL FILLER NECK CRACKED WHERE IT IS ATTACHED TO THE GAS TANK. FUEL LEAKING OUT OF NECK.

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 CHEVROLET VENTURE. WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, THERE WAS STRONG FUEL ODOR EMITTED IN AND AROUND THE VEHICLE. EACH TIME THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED, A PUDDLE OF FUEL WAS SEEN ON THE GROUND. THE CONTACT'S BROTHER, A CERTIFIED MECHANIC, DIAGNOSED THE VEHICLE AND STATED THAT THE TANK WAS CRACKED AT THE INLET CHECK VALVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 07V349000 (FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE). THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE AND INFORMED THE CONTACT THAT THERE WAS NO OPEN RECALL PER THE VIN. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 140,000.