Grand Am Problems
I own a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am. Currently it is in
litigation. Mediation has been set up for August
of 2000 and if nothing is solved there a trial date
has been set for September 20, 2000.
Many of you have written to my email address on a
previous post I have made. You name it, my car has
it. Brake problems, paint turning colors,
ignition problems, power steering noise, clicking
from tires that change with speed, clunking noise
from rear. I could go on! The one major problem I
have, which is why I am suing is, my car
accelerates on its own. I have been to 3
dealerships, all but 1 have told me I was making it
up. The other was more than willing to work with
me to find and fix my problem, however nothing was
acomplished. You might ask why I never went to GM
itself to remedy the problem. Well, I did, because
my problem was "not duplicated" it was not really
a problem. So they dismissed my claim. If any of
you would like to talk to me about my similar
problems or about the lemon law, I will be more
than happy to give you what information I know. My
new email adress is:
james_susanwilliams@hotmail.com
litigation. Mediation has been set up for August
of 2000 and if nothing is solved there a trial date
has been set for September 20, 2000.
Many of you have written to my email address on a
previous post I have made. You name it, my car has
it. Brake problems, paint turning colors,
ignition problems, power steering noise, clicking
from tires that change with speed, clunking noise
from rear. I could go on! The one major problem I
have, which is why I am suing is, my car
accelerates on its own. I have been to 3
dealerships, all but 1 have told me I was making it
up. The other was more than willing to work with
me to find and fix my problem, however nothing was
acomplished. You might ask why I never went to GM
itself to remedy the problem. Well, I did, because
my problem was "not duplicated" it was not really
a problem. So they dismissed my claim. If any of
you would like to talk to me about my similar
problems or about the lemon law, I will be more
than happy to give you what information I know. My
new email adress is:
james_susanwilliams@hotmail.com
0
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
have them to fix it this week. i think that this is a big problem, how come the car need the break
service every 3000 miles? what about my warranty
is over? should i have to spend a couple of hundred every 3 month!
Pontiac Grand Am (Topic #2036)
You will probably find other owners of this vehicle hanging out there.
Good luck.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
The car also has a downshift point when turning into a slightly uphill driveway that causes a dangerous speed surge. Anyone else noted that? (The dealer of course has not!)
Otherwise the car is fine.
don
Thanks for any information.
Have you had a chance to check out our Smart Shopper conference yet? Here is a link to a topic there that may be of some help to you:
Tips on selling my car (Topic #410)
Good luck and again, welcome.
Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference
The way the automatic trans is set up it's difficult to keep this motor in the right range, it seems to shift to soon, consequently there's a tendency to downshift hard and rev real high, without any real increase in performance. The manual trans is much better. If you've ever driven an older GA GT with HO quad 4 and manual you know what I mean.
In addition, there's so many of these cars available on the used market the resale is low, and most people will opt for the V6 since it's a smoother, quieter performer. I have a 95 with the 4cyl that my daughter has at college. With 60,000 miles, if we went to sell it today, I feel that if I got $4,000 to $4,500 I'd be doing OK.
The check engine light stays on. After being checked by the dealership, it was determined that the problem is the catalyic converter. To our dismay, after taking it to a muffler shop, it was determined that it was an OBD2. (Whatever that means) However, the only place it is available is through the dealership. Are there any other options besides factory original such as an after market part? DESPERATE
Little problems that I have had since day one:
-Air control/AC dials falling off
-Tire pressure/change oil light needs to be reset everytime car is turned on
Larger problems:
-Timing off, twice, car wouldn't start or even turn over
-My car also leaks I get fairly large amounts o water on the back seat floor. I have taken to be fixed at least 5 times. They say they can't find the problem and that I must have left my window open.
-I was also in a colision, I was traveling approx. 40 mph when I hit a car and my air bag never deployed. My car had serious damage...the other car (97 Dodge Neon) had only a scuff on the bumper.
Needless to say, after 4 months of owning this car I had placed at least 3 calls to the pontiac cares customer service and received no action, the only thing that they have done is schedule another appointment for me at the dealership.
I will never buy another Pontiac car/truck or SUV. I have had so many problems with no one willing to help me.
NOTICED THERE WAS A LEAK AND AT THE SAME TIME MY TEMP GAUGE WAS RUNNING A LITTLE HOTTER THAN USUAL
BUT HAS NOT OVERHEATED, YET, I TOOK IT TO A PEP
BOYS AND HAD THEM RUN A CHECK. THE GUY SAYS MY
WATER PUMP NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I SAID FINE , WHAT DOES IT COST, HE LAUGHED AND SAID ABOUT $500.
I CALLED SEVERAL GARAGES AND THEY SAID THAT WITH THE 2.4L ENGINE IT WOULD TAKE 5-6 HRS OF LABOR.
I HAVE NEVER HEARD SOMETHING THAT ABSURD. HAS ANYONE REPLACED A WATERPUMP BY THEMSELF, AND IF SO
HOW DIFFICULT WAS IT. I AM READY TO TRADE IT IN
BEFORE I DISH OUT $500. THANKS
The car has not had a single mechanical problem since. We love how it drives and handles. The humming noise at really low speeds is the power steering pump working hard to make the tight turns. We plan on buying another when we get more money, or buying a brand new one when the model changes in 2002. We are thinking of a GT with all the options.
Anyone else out there had this problem? Thanks- paulgrandam.
I've read earlier postings about "white gunk" on the dip stick. I've seen this, before and after the head gasket repair. I'm told it is due to the size of the filler tube - causes condensation. I only see it during cold weather.
Thanks
Terry
I notice that GM has fixed the problem with the 99 Grand Am's. Does anyone know of a way to keep the seats in earlier Grand Am's from "wobbling"? I know that the Cavalier and Sunfire still have the older style seats in them, similar to what is in my Grand Am. I was told they were redesigned for the 98 model year, and these modified seats also made their way into the last model year of the previous Grand Am as well.
Oh, one thing I noticed... if you apply some pressure to the fore-aft seat adjuster, the seat won't wobble so much if you shake your body back and forth a little. I noticed on a few 92-95 Grand Am's that this adjuster seems to stay in place better (it's not the "hook" shape like it is with the 96). Ugh, how typical of GM to make things worse in their cars when they knew perfectly well that what they were just using worked just fine. (Here's a good example with the newer Grand Am and Alero... the black rubber molding on the windows is loose in just about every Grand Am or Alero out there, yet in my car and others from my car's era, the black molding is solid and stays in place)
Sorry about the long post, but hey, I bet all of you are now saying "gee, I guess I'm not the only one with that problem" right now! I think it's time for a new car... and other than the good engines and transmissions, I really have no reason to ever buy a GM product again.
Let's get working on fixing up those interiors, my lazy GM friends :P
1.Leaking Air Conditioned Compressor at seams 4 yr old 20,000 miles
2.Now 5yrs old 30,000 miles transmission chewed itself up.
3. After having transmission replaced, car now wobbles at low speed.
4. Car appears new, but what a piece of junk. I will avoid Pontiac from now on.
I am getting rid of the Grand Am soon and can't decide between a Honda Accord V6, VW Jetta GLS V6, or Chrysler Sebring Sedan. Does anyone have any advice on these cars?
Thanks,
Lisa
Floridian
Could someone please verify/deny this? I'm tired of getting the run around from my dealer and would love to feel safe with my family in this car. A text of the TSB would be very helpful.
Your help appreciated,
TC
Thanks.
25,000 miles on front brakes is okay...a lot depends on how you drive and the weight of your car, but for your make and model this doesn't sound too out of line....probably 20K-40K is the life span of most front brakes on cars such as yours.