"How reliable is the 2002 Pontiac Montana?"

"Based on 161 NHTSA complaints, the 2002 Pontiac Montana has a median complaint mileage of 60000 miles. The most common issue is Engine And Engine Cooling."

"What are common problems with the 2002 Pontiac Montana?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2002 Pontiac Montana is Engine And Engine Cooling, accounting for a significant portion of the 161 total complaints filed."

2002 Pontiac Montana: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 161 complaints

161

Total Complaints

60,000mi

Median Mileage

Engine And Engine Cooling

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

38,000 25th Percentile

60,000 Median Mileage

90,342 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine And Engine Cooling

Fuel System, Gasoline

Brake Lights

Latch

Fuel/Propulsion System

Cooling System

Manifold/Header/Muffler/Tail Pipe

Structure

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Electrical

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"AIRBAG LIGHT COMES ON INTERMITTENTLY. DEALERSHIP IS AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. *AK"

"WHILE DRIVING CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE WOULD STALL THEN JUMP INTO GEAR, DEALER WAS CONTACTED, REPLACED TRANSMISSIOM, CONSUMER STATED THAT DID NOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM. NLM"

"WINDSHIELD WIPER STOPPED WORKING, WIPER BEARLY TAKES THE SNOW AND PUSHED IT BETWEEN HOOD AND WINDSHIELD, FORMING A BUILDUP OF ICE THAT SLOWS THE WIPER FROM WORKING. WAS TOLD IT WAS AN ENGINEERING PROBLEM."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Engine And Engine Cooling 10 complaints

25th: 53,750 mi Median: 57,966 mi 75th: 74,750 mi

Fuel System, Gasoline 9 complaints

25th: 71,179 mi Median: 80,600 mi 75th: 92,671 mi

Brake Lights 8 complaints

25th: 53,000 mi Median: 56,000 mi 75th: 74,062 mi

Latch 8 complaints

25th: 38,600 mi Median: 50,000 mi 75th: 51,500 mi

Fuel/Propulsion System 7 complaints

25th: 100,201 mi Median: 112,602 mi 75th: 144,059 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 33 OH: 22 PA: 10 MN: 9 NY: 9 TX: 7 FL: 6 IL: 6 CA: 6 GA: 5

Who Files Complaints?

38.5%

Original Owners

61.5%

Second+ Owners

Pontiac Montana — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1997	25	80,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	2
1998	62	75,110	Door	3
1999	329	59,500	Engine	18
2000	310	65,000	Door	16
2001	208	59,000	Automatic Transmission	13
2003	113	64,000	Electrical System	19
2004	46	44,518	Latch	11
2005	130	32,000	Door	11
2006	61	78,051	Electrical System	2

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28