Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (engine, cooling system, oil leaks, timing chain, exhaust).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2000 Chevrolet Venture owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
In January 2022, I noticed white smoke coming from the engine and a mechanic said it was the water pump that needed to be replaced, so I have it replaced. Recently, I noticed the same white smoke coming from the engine and took it back to the same mechanic who installed the water pump. The mechanic said it was the intake manifold that caused the white smoke. I decided to take it to another mechanic to see if the first diagnosis was correct and that mechanic confirmed the first mechanic's diagnosis and my previous experience with another GM vehicle (1997 Vhevy Lumina) that had the exact same problem: water pump went out and intake manifold also started to fail until the Lumina's engine was fried.
Tl* the contact owned a 2000 Chevrolet Venture. After being parked for two days, the vehicle suddenly caught fire. The contact mentioned that the fire originated in the engine compartment and caused a garage located next to the vehicle to catch fire. The fire department extinguished the fire. There were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 115,000.
We own a 2000 Chevy Venture that we bought used about 4 years ago. When we bought it, the button for the doors to open automatically didn't work as well as the gas gauge. Since, we have replaced the heads, the water pump, rack and pinion, wheel hub, tie rod end, as well as replacing the head lights every couple months and now having problems with the brake lights.when we had the heads replaced, they flushed the radiator and we are still having problems with the low coolant light coming on and the fluid looking cloudy. They told us that the cloudiness sometimes happens, but still doesn't explain the light coming on saying its low!!! We were also notified that the ABS box is bad and needs replaced...also, sometimes there is water that leaks from the weather gauge or the top of the windshield. …
I'm writing you this letter since GM has refused to acknowledge they have a factory defect in the intake manifold gasket and bolts of May of their GM vehicles.: to include my 2000 chev Venture. Recently while on a long trip over the holidays I noticed the low coolant light had illuminated and discovered our coolant was leaking. I took it to the shop today and it cost me $895 for the repair...not bad compared to some but still a cost one wouldn't expect to pay on a car only 3.5 years old and 70K miles. My wife and I have done some extensive research and found this seems to be a significant problem with GM cars but yet there is no recall for the problem. The result of these gasket failures is clearly a design flaw and we've n documentation where your company is paying for other models manifold repair cost. …
I have a Chevy Venture 2000. For the last 6 months I have had oil spots on the ground in the garage, and have had to keep filling up the coolant resevoir tank for a few weeks now. I had the car checked at the dealer for the oil spots after having them do an oil change months ago. They told me not to worry about that small amount of oil. However when I took it in to get checked why I was having to add coolant they found that the intake manifold gasket was leaking. It cost me $600.00 to have this repaired. My van has 86K miles on it. It has had the gasket replaced twice now. I have researched info for this problem and have found many other vehicle owners of the 3.1l and 3.4l motors in GM's having the same problem. Why does this continue to be a problem? This has to be damaging the engine having coolant being able to leak into it. …
I had my radiator flushed and was told that there seemed to have oil in my coolant. I was told by our mechanic that the head gasket had started to disintegrate, which was causing the coolant to leak into the oil. He said this was a common problem with dexcool which is the recommended coolant to be used in our van. If GM recommends that this coolant be used, then they should have to pay for the repairs. Which is going to cost us about $800 or more if our engine blows. When we finally do get the problem fixed we will not be putting the red dexcool back in it, we are switching to the green, it was recommended by our mechanic. We can't afford to fix this problem right now we have to wait for tax refunds, because my husband is a disabled vet and we are on a limited income.. …
When I bought this 2000 Chevrolet Venture van I purchased the mfg.extended warranty up to 75,000 miles. Right after the extended warranty ran out, the van developed a serious head gasket leak and the transmission has been going crazy. I checked around and found out that both these problems are very common on the Venture van! I call the mfg. And was told they would not help! This is the reason buyers feel that they made a mistake buying American made vehicles. These are problems that have occurred in many instances and the mfg. Knows this and are not willing to do a recall. I should have bought a Toyota. General motors knows these problems exist and are due to poor workmanship and do not care about owner loyalty or retaining their customer base for future sales. Both of these problems are more widespread than what is documented due to lack of reporting.. Please help!!!
Material used for head gasket and exhaust manifold gasket were made from material which deteriorated when exposed to coolant. Manufacturer developed new gasket from aluminum to replace, but no recall was ever issued to acknowledge the problem. This has cost me approximately $2500 in repairs, and could have resulted in major engine damage. The dealer service center seemed to be well aware of the issue, as they acted like this wasn't the first one they had seen. The first repair I had was for the exhaust manifold gasket, and it came to $1300. Less than 4 months and 5000 miles later, it was back in the garage with a defective head gasket. Dealer was kind enough to discount the repair, but still came to another $1300. This was on a vehicle that only has 63000 miles on it.
I have had a 2000 Chevy Venture for 39 months and 45,000 miles. It has developed, as I have heard many others, a intake manifold gasket leak. While just out of warranty, and obviously a defect as it is affecting so many vehicles, the dealer will not cover any of the repairs because it has not been recalled by GM. With the vast number of failures of this part, this is obviously a design flaw that needs to be recalled. The worst part of this defect, is there is no warning that it will happen and once it has leaked coolant into the engine, there is no guarantee the future life of the engine has not been compromised. Please assist us in forcing GM to own up to their responsibility and take care of this problem.
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.
Engine complaints in other Venture years
Frequently asked questions
How common are engine problems on the 2000 Chevrolet Venture?
NHTSA has 84 complaints about the engine & cooling of the 2000 Chevrolet Venture, 24% of the model year's 350 complaints. The component named most often is engine (16 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2000 Chevrolet Venture engine problems?
No. NHTSA lists no engine & cooling recall for the 2000 Chevrolet Venture, though it has 5 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2000 Chevrolet Venture engine problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 59,000 miles, and 5% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 2 fires and 0 injuries to engine & cooling problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.