1999 Chevrolet Venture problems & reliability
349 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1999 Chevrolet Venture, alongside 3 safety recall campaigns. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
27 complaints report injuries (34 injured, 1 deaths reported).
Federal crash records (FARS 2020–2023): 1999 Chevrolet Venture vehicles were involved in 3 fatal crashes with 2 occupant deaths. Involvement counts are not adjusted for how many are on the road and do not imply fault or a vehicle defect.
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 114 | 33% |
| Air Bags | 40 | 11% |
| Structure | 36 | 10% |
| Visibility | 32 | 9% |
| Power Train | 30 | 9% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 27 | 8% |
| Electrical System | 21 | 6% |
| Exterior Lighting | 15 | 4% |
| Suspension | 15 | 4% |
| Latches/locks/linkages | 13 | 4% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 65,000 miles (middle 50% between 48,898 and 84,000 miles), based on 141 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“I need to know were I can find out who I tex to recall this van there are to many things thats going wrong with it I fix one thing and something else go wrong with it look I have cancer and need a good car to go to stanford cancer please can u help me.”
Unknown OR Other · filed May 24, 2018
“Tl* the contact owns a 1999 chevrolet venture. The contact stated that when starting the vehicle, the air bag warning light would flash 7 times then remained illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and a diagnostic was performed, which located a failure code for the air bags. The vehicle was not…”
Air Bags · filed Jul 24, 2017
“In september of 2013 I noticed oil in coolant reservoir. Took to the mechanic. Closer inspection showed head gaskets were destroyed. Had the head gasket replaced and the coolant flushed out as well as changed all coolant hoses, water pump, and thermostat to the tune of $900.00 dollars. Vehicle only has 84000 miles on…”
Engine · filed Jan 28, 2014
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- POWER-SLIDING DOOR
Preliminary Evaluation PE04064 · opened Sep 17, 2004 · closed Dec 22, 2004 · led to recall 04V597000
- REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE
Engineering Analysis EA03005 · opened Apr 23, 2003 · closed Jan 12, 2004
- REAR AXLE TRAILING ARM FAILURE
Preliminary Evaluation PE02086 · opened Nov 18, 2002 · closed Apr 9, 2003
- SHOULDER HARNESS CLIP
Preliminary Evaluation PE02017 · opened Feb 11, 2002 · closed Aug 2, 2002
- AIR BAG TEAR DURING DEPLOYMENT
Preliminary Evaluation PE00045 · opened Nov 3, 2000 · closed Jan 11, 2001
- UNEXPECTED OPENING OF SLIDING DOOR
Investigation SQ00014 · opened Jul 25, 2000 · closed Oct 22, 2001 · led to recall 01V067000
Technical service bulletins
89 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1999 Chevrolet Venture. The 10 most recent:
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 21, 2023
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 15, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1999 Chevrolet Venture has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1999 Chevrolet Venture?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 65,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.