Pontiac Grand Am

npaladin2000

I had an estimate done on my 96 Corsica, which uses the same engine and had the same problem, and apparently it would be a $500 job, because they had to take a whole ton of works apart to get to it. So instead I had them put some sealer compound into the coolant to plug it up.

Might be a decent engine, but the car is only worth $1500, so I'm not gonna spend $500 on a coolant leak. My mechanic says that with proper care, though, those 3.1 liters will last to 200k easy. I think he wants my car when I sell it.

buggywhip

Heck, the GrandAm's 3.1L is a superb engine. I get great mileage and it's smooth too. I think i'll try that sealant trick. I don't think my gasket prob is that serious--the car is not using oil, nor do I see white smoke or a drop in power. My coolant recovery tank is new, as are my hoses.

sparkylawgrrl

About 2 months ago I had the same problem with coolant slowly leaking but no knowledge of where it was coming from. I took it into the local dealer who said it was leaking from a gasket. Although I did not get it fixed there, I did get the coolant system leak taken care of to the tune of $900. I replaces my gaskets, flushed the thing out, fixed the leaks in the hoses (I think, honestly I don't remember everything they did), etc. Although it was spendy, my car performs much better.

A quick fix for the temperature problem is replacing the radiator cap. I replaced mine when the temperature gauge started inching up and it worked well. Well, until the whole coolant system went awry.

I love my grand am V6 3.1. I have a 1997, can easily get 350 miles per tank in the city and have filled the tank up to 14.5 gallons. Who knew it would be such a great car?

uktrucker

I've just bought a 99 Grand Am GT as a runabout for the wife. It runs good but has the following issues and I'd appreciate any comments from anyone who's come across them before:
1. There is an annoying squeek from the steering column when the steering is turned. It sounds like rubber or plastic rubbing. I can't hear it in the engine compartment and the steering pump sounds OK, so I think it's from under the dashboard.
2. The plastic trim on the interior passenger door panel looks like it's shrinking and has pulled away from the top of the panel. If I could take off the panel I could probably stretch it back and staple it back. Is this easy to do?
3. When braking lightly at slow speed I can hear a bump with each wheel rotation coming from the rear.

burdawg

Can't comment on the steering column noise but it doesn't sound serious.
I had the same problems with the door panels. Took them off and applied hot melt glue to the 1/4" or so overlap that rolls around the back of the panel and used some spring clamps to hold it while cooling. Seems to be OK so far. I suppose you could use staples for extra hold, but the injection molded plastic panels are tough, you will probably need an air driven staple gun to penetrate. I would clinch the staples over after driving them.
I would check the rear brakes (should be discs on a GT) for wear - the rear brakes are very often neglected.

jmcknight2

- Wondering if anyone has had A/C problems with their GA. Mine is a '99 V-6 with 45,000 miles. The car has had a lot of problems since new, and now this A/C problem. The indicator light comes on, but the compressor doesn't kick in. The blower works fine, but it's only hot air. Temp knob is turned as low as it goes, and no fuses appear to be blown. Auto teacher at the school where I teach says that R-134a vehicles are only getting 2-3 years before recharge. Any thoughts?

aloha1969

HI - I AM SELLING MY 1995 GRAND AM PRIVATELY. I HAVE FOUND THE BLUEBOOK AND EDMUNDS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRICING BUT AM CONFUSED AS TO WHAT TO DEDUCT FROM THE PRICE BECAUSE OF THE ONE AND ONLY (ALBEIT POSSIBLY MAJOR) PROBLEM WITH THE VEHICLE: THE POWER WINDOWS/LOCKS DON'T WORK. ONE MECHANIC TOLD ME IT WOULD COST ME UP TO $500 PER WINDOW; AN AUTOMOTIVE ELECTRICIAN TOLD ME IT COULD COST $50 TO HUNDREDS. THE CAR HAS 95000 MILES AND IS IN GREAT CONDITION OTHER THAN THE ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. HOW MUCH SHOULD I DEDUCT? THANKS FOR YOUR INPUT.

pat

Check with the folks hanging out in Real-World Trade-In Values over on our Smart Shopper board. Just click on that link to get there.

P.S. Please turn off your caps lock. All caps looks like you are shouting and makes your message very difficult to read.

buggywhip

I dunno, I'm better off just adding coolant every few days. I'd rather not spend 900 bucks. What's the point.?? The temp always stabilizes and power is still good.

aloha1969

Thanks Pat for the redirection. Sorry about the caps lock

the_art_guy

Just an FYI...

A few weeks ago I replaced the hazard light flasher relay with a new one. So far, I haven't had any of the problems of spontaneous "clicking" and having the signal randomly stop working while they were on. I'm hoping that this fixed the problem.

Oh yea, I found a great place to buy new Pontiac parts, and they're prices can't be beat! It's called Bob Bridge Pontiac, they're out in Washington state and they do internet orders, the URL is www.1stpontiacparts.com

the_art_guy

FYI...

My "Service Vehicle Soon" light came on over the weekend and I began to worry. Upon looking in the owners manual I discovered that the warning light only means there is something wrong with the automatic light sensor or daytime running lights (DRL) and nothing more.

After I ended up wasting a lot of time checking fuses, etc., I discovered that one of my high beam lights was out. I decided to replace the light and see what happened...once I replaced the light with a new one, the warning light disappeared and my DRL worked!

So, if you ever get the same problem, see if your high beams work, and if one/both are out, all you have to do is replace the offending light. Somehow the DRL circuit runs through both the low and high beams of both lights...go figure.

lash92ssei

Has anyone had their head lights replaced because of condensation inside the cover?

vocus

I had a rental 03 Grand Am with the V6 for a day. The car had 19,800 miles on it, and it rattled like crazy. The front end also clanked when turning, and the brake rotors were warped (abuse probably). I liked the car except for the noises, but it felt like I was sitting in a cave or something when driving. The windows are pretty small, and it feels closed in.

jc1973

has anyone had any problems with there front seats i have a 97 grand am and the drivers seat sags to the left every time u sit in it does anyone know if this is a common problem i really hate this car has been nothing but trouble in the 8 months iowned it

montanafan

I have seen many 7 year old cars with the seats worn out. My 1996 Voyager the seat is worn out in a couple different directions. The outer edge (left) of the driver's seat always takes the most abuse becasue of the getting in and out of the car. Buy some new cushions and have them installed and you should be all set.

aurora5000

My nephew had his 95 Grand Am towed to the shop yesterday and I went up and looked at it. The Camshaft is broken into 2 pieces. What a shock... One of the therories is that the oil pump got a good size piece of metal into it, locked up and that being the oil pump directly connected to the cam broke the camshaft. About six months ago, he had new heads put on car due to bad head gaskets and heads that were unrepairable. If the heads are OK, would I be able to put a rebuilt short block/ bottom end in it and feel reasonably sure this will get him down the road in a reliable fashion ? I figure this tab will be in the $3K range.
Thanks

lash92ssei

I have a friend that lives overseas. Does anyone know of a parts store that ships overseas?

mec336

Bought daughter 2002 Grand Am. Engine has stopped (not electrical) twice while traveling 65 mph or less with cruise control engaged one time and set but not engaged second time. Dealer could not find anything wrong first time. Worked OK for two months then stalled today. We are taking it in again tomorrow. Any info on this would be appreciated.

delgado3

Im seeing this light appear saying Low trac on my right corner and also asb light on the left corner. Also everytime i stop, and let the gas go this light Low trac appears and then jerks and hesitates. Then it will proceed with no problem. The miliege on my car is about 98,000 miles. Please help. Take away this lights? Debbie.

joe3891

like you have a wheel sensor problem,get that fixed and your lights will go out and it will stop jerking.
abs and lo trac use the same sensors.

tm01

Purchased a GA 2001 se1 coupe and I just realized that there is no transmission dipstck or anywhere to add fluid? Can someone tell me what's up with that? Other than that I enjoy the car so far.

montanafan

There is a plug on the transmission to add fluid. There is no dip stick because the transmissions are "sealed for life". GM dosen't want easy access for things to get into the transmission through a dirty rag cleaning the dip stick. Would only need to add fluid if there is a leak. And then who ever fixes the leak can check/add fluid through the plug.

tm01

I was thinking it might be easy to drain the fluid in a tub measure it and add fluid based on your measurement. Any thoughts?

burdawg

That doesn't sound like a bad idea, but if the fluid was low to start with it will be low after the change. Why not just use the sight hole on the transmission case like the shop manual says?

dannyboy11

To mec336 and anyone else who has or is experiencing this problem. Please Post anything you find out concerning the stalling problem listed. I own a 99 Grand Am GT and have been dealing with the same problem off and on for quite some time now. The Pontiac Dealers/Mechanics around here haven't been able to figure it out. They tell me the same thing "can't find anything wrong."

bh1124

I have a 1999 Grand AM SE and have had nothing but problems. I brought the car new and have had to have the rotors turned at 17,000 miles; the rotors now need replaced at 34,000; the #6 fuel injector had to be replaced; the flasher unit had to be replaced because of problems with the binklers; the plug wires 1,2 & 5 and coil towers 2-5 had to be replaced; the blower fan motor had to be replaced; at 30,000 the upper and lower intake gaskets and water pump had to be replaced because of coolant leakage..... I've had nothing but problems. Anyone else experiencing the same problems. I'll NEVER but another GM product. You shouldn't have to have these sort of problems on a new car at such low mileage. My mileage is currently at 34,000 and I'm considering trading it in on a Honda. Oh I didn't mention the moulding on the rear glass was coming apart and rain leaking into the car.

oskwi

I feel your pain! I had a Chevy Corsica that cost me $10,000 in repairs over the course of four years. All this while I was in college...it took me years to pay off that credit card. My family has dealt with mostly GM vehicles...Buick LeSabres, Cadillac DeVille, 2 Chevy Corsicas, etc. When my Corsica was in the shop for major repair work back in 1999, I rented a new Grand Am and I loved it compared to the Corsica. However, I made a vow to buy foreign the next time and to avoid redesign years (like the 1999 Grand Am). I went to Mitsubishi and have 180,000 miles on my Galant and can't complain...I only had to replace the radiator cap, a faulty tranny gasket and some interior switches that burned out, but were still functional. It's been a great car with ZERO money spent on repairs. The Corsica has since left us and has been replaced by a Mazda Protege...I feel that this car is even more solid than the Mitsu but time will tell.

Some suggestions...check out CR for reliability ratings...Honda has had a few problems with trannies over the years...nothing universal; Toyotas (some) have had some engine sludging issues; Mitsu has surprisingly dropped in reliability (one of the reasons I didn't pursue another one); etc. However, I would consider any of the previous mentioned along with Nissans and Mazdas. A lot of us were in your shoes but I "switched over" and I seriuosly doubt I will switch back unless GREAT strides are made!!

gmalltheway

Everyone knows the Corsica was nothing but crap and even GM will admit that! As for one bad car, yes it seems that you have had a ridiculous amount of problems with your Grand Am bh1124 however you cannot rate a whole large company like GM because your Grand Am is a lemon. Maybe saying you'll never own a first year body style, or a Grand Am ever again would seem more logical, i think if you shopped around you would find GM really has the best deals and that Honda isn't all its cracked up to be.

burdawg

My 99 SE has 84,000 miles with the only unusual repair being the blower fan resistor board (about $24, easy self repair). Of course I have had to do brakes and replace brake parts (rotors) from time to time, but this isn't any different than anything else I have had, including my foreign built cars.

tm01

I have a 01 Grand Am and the center piece in the wheel(lug nut cover) is cracked on 3 of the wheels
obviously because its made of plastic. Does anyone know where I can purchase replacements? I am trying to avoid the dealer.

ray80

IF you can find a part number , you should be able to order them from someplace like www.gmpartsdirect.com

the_art_guy

My 2000 Grand Am SE has almost 80k miles on it now and I haven't had too many problems with it, no major repairs...yet. I just had to get a new battery and new brake pads. I also had a turn signal problem, but I replaced the hazard flasher module ($20) myself and haven't had any problems since.
Are there any things I should be worried about as I approach the 100k mark?

cage47

I had bought my '93 in 1998. Sure it was older and had 60K on it. But it was spotless and ran perfect. Well until the alt died (twice) and the belt tensioner pully broke. Then the right side engine mount wore out. I hear this is a common problem. Seemed it because the wrecks at the local pic-a-part lots all had that mount taken already. But what really was a bugger was after 2 years the transmission had a hard time down-shifting. getting going was fine but when you stopped at a light it wouldn't get out of gear. Put it in park, fine, put it in drive and it was still in second. Got to the point where I had to sit at a stop sign for 5 minutes with the car off one day to get it to get out of gear.

But the title of this post isn't a joke. i do miss that car and would buy another in a heartbeat. Mostly because in Oct. of 2000 a girl driving daddy's nissan altima rear ended me at 65mph without hitting the breaks. Pushed me into the lincoln in front of me. Now I was basically sandwiched. And the end result gave my Grand Am an upturned look from the front and back. With it bent down in the middle. Where the front and back doors met would stick up 1 inch from the door channels. But I was still able to drive away. Now the altima, the entire front end was mashed down, a total loss. And aside from my palms being sore from where I was holding the wheel I came away without a problem. Course the wheel had a wierd bow to it where I was holding it. I ended trading it for scrap on a van. And now driving a 98 blazer. But still miss that car.

dick59

My 1999 red GT1 4-Dr has just turned 40,000 miles. It is still defect free and I was told when I rotated the tires that the front brakes are only 50% worn. Everything is original and the car continues to be a joy to drive.

The only annoyance is that from time to time the ABS warning light comes on. The dealer told me that my battery is getting old and this causes the warning light to go on. But, the battery feels strong so I will delay replacing it for a while.

For a lark I test drive the 2003 Lincoln LS V6 and was stunned at how poor that car performed in comparison to the Grand Am and this is a car with a list price of $38,000. Anyhow, I am one happy camper with my GT1.

becandpw

I have a 2001 GA w/ 67k and after replacing a bad wheel hub assembly my car started freaking out. I was driving to work one morning last week and all my dash warning lights cut on, my security light stays on almost constantly, my speedometer and tack went all the back to zero and the radio wouldn't work. I just kept driving and after a few minutes everything started working again. On my way home, the door locks unlocked themselves, and now they won't work at all unless you hold it down for several seconds until the doors lock. I've heard it could be my switch or my computer. Can anyone help me with this?

97grandamse

I have a 97 SE and there is a knocking sound coming from the right side suspension when driven on uneven road surfaces. Had it looked at by 2 dealer techs and both misdiagnosed it. Had both lower control arms replaced, rack and pinion unit replaced, and struts and shocks replaced. Bushings look fine. Any one with a similiar problem or venture to guess?

cornellpinoy

becandpw: Have a dealer or a really competent mechanic check the body control module to see if its going bad.

97grandamse: You may have a bad strut mount. I'm surprised it wasn't replaced when the struts were replaced. Unfortunately, it does cost more to replace the mount than the strut.

jodar96

As some of you mentioned there is none. When I bought my son's 99 GA with 2.4L engine and 93K miles, After changing the oil/filter/plugs/antifreeze myself, I took the car to a local garage, and had them change the transmission fluid, while I watched. It took 7 quarts of fluid and the filter was one of the more expensive ones the mechanic had ever seen; $45 for the filter alone.

By the way, my son totalled the car last Friday!! A totalled car with an excellent engine and transmisson. there was no fluid leak anywhere. the car had 101K miles on it.

montanafan

Hope your son and any passengers are ok.

jodar96

Montanafan: Thanks for your concern. My son 16, with four kids in the car ( that he was not supposed to have) are all OK, so are the two people in the other car. He missed the red light and a Nissan Altima ran into both right doors. I was impressed the way GA held up. Both air bags went off, and they had their seatbelts on. If it was slightly smaller car, the outcome could have been very different. His next car will be a 95-97 Ford Taurus or Chevy Lumina.

tm01

I have a 01 se and when it rains I have awater leak around the rear passenger window. This is a 2 door model. Upon inspection I noticed the weatherstrip that is attached to the body has a
opening in the top left corner. It looks like a bad design flaw by Pontiac. It is hard to describe in detail but maybe someone here has had the same problem. I am going to seal this area with silicone but thoght I would post here first.

imidazol97

How do I change the door unlocking on a 97 Grand Am to unlock when the car is put into park instead of unlocking when the key is turned off?

vocus

I think the dealer has to reprogram the car to unlock differently.

allchecks

On speeds one and two on the fan switch the fan doesn't run very fast. On 3 and 4 it is fine for those speeds.

I read post 1669 about a resistor board. Burdawg, did you have the same symptoms? If yes, where is this board and how do you get at it? Could it simply be a resistor for this circuit? Again, where is it and how do you get at it?

Any chance this is the motor itself? This doesn't seem likely to me, but I was listening to a car show recently and they said it was the motor in a similar case.

Thanks.

allchecks

The sending unit seems to have gone bad. If I start with a full tank and run to empty without turning off the motor everything is fine.

But, any time the motor is turned off there is the potential for the fuel gauge to go back to a full reading. Never noticed this until I ran out of gas. Very annoying.

Is this common for a 2000 Grand Am? Any possibility that there is a technical bulletin?

burdawg

No, when the resistor board failed speeds 1 & 2 didn't work at all. You may have a faulty motor that is starting to go bad.

hawks87

I was having major tire noise and wind noise problems with my 2000 Grand AM GT. My GM dealer had trouble finding a solution to either of the problems. Fortunately, I found a solution that cured both problems at once. I took my Grand Am to a Toyota Dealer and traded it for a 2000 Camry V6 with 25,000 miles. I have not had either of the problems since and I couldn't be happier.

joe3891

the v6 you have in your Toyota is the model that seizes do to oil sludge,but i wouldn't worry after 2 yrs of stonewalling and telling the owners its there fault they now agree to pay when it seizes.Happy motoring.

lash92ssei

Show up and have some fun

Sixteenth All Pontiac, Oakland & GMC Truck Show
Event Type: car show
Start Date: 08/24/2003
End Date: 08/24/2003
City: Richmond
State: VA
Description: Sponsored by Old Dominion Chapter POCI at Capital Pontiac GMC, 5500 S Laburnum Ave, 10 am-4 pm, $10 pre-registration by August 18, $12 after, open to all Pontiacs, Oaklands and GMC trucks, trophies, food, door prizes, free admission.
Contact Name: Michael Abernathy
Contact Address: 1400 Fortingale Circle
Contact City: Sandston
Contact State: VA
Contact Zip: 23150
Contact Phone: 804-737-3139
Contact Email: mla1998@mindspring.com
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