Our 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6 minivan, less than 3 years old with 44,888 miles on it, recently failed the North Carolina vehicle safety inspection because both front wheel hubs had developed unacceptable play. Pontiac refused to correct the problem under the vehicle warranty because the vehicle was over the 36000 mile limit (but under the 3 year time limit). Because of the potential safety consequences of a total failure of the front wheel hubs, and because the vehicle could not be licensed in North Carolina without passing the North Carolina safety inspection, the vehicle was repaired at our expense be replacing both front wheel hubs. I currently have possession of the old replaced parts if a closer inspection is desired.

- Pisgah Forest, NC, USA

This vehicle is equipped with an all wheel drive system, which is necessary in our environment to climb icy or muddy hills to get to our house, or friends' houses, all on dirt roads. It's also very beneficial for driving on icy and slushy roads which are frequent around here. We have three vehicles, all AWD or 4WD. On the 2005 Pontiac Montana SV6, however, there appears to be a sensor on each wheel which is integral to the AWD system. This sensor is apparently easily obscured by ice, slush, or mud splashing up into the wheel wells, and when this happens the vehicle disables its all-wheel drive system, leaving the driver with a fwd vehicle, which can often be insufficient to handle conditions entered with an AWD vehicle. So far we've been stranded at the bottom of icy hills and narrowly averted two crash incidents due to the AWD system disabling when driving through slush puddles or mud. The dealer has been able to clear the sensor and reset the system twice - on the third incident we were told the entire right front hub assembly would have to be replaced, so apparently slush can permanently damage the AWD system as well. This problem was reported to Pontiac via their website and they haven't bothered to respond.

- Plainfield, NH, USA