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Pontiac Grand Am Hesitation

mekie1mekie1 Member Posts: 1
edited June 2014 in Pontiac
My 2000 Pontiac Grand Am hestitates and bucks when I am driving. What could be the problem?
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Comments

  • gtxgtx Member Posts: 16
    It could just be you need a tune up, but it could also be more serious. The more details about symptoms, the better.

    When was the last tune up and what was done? Are you using good gas? How long has it been going on and how did it start?
  • cardancercardancer Member Posts: 2
    get your thinking caps ready. '99 grand am 2.4 quad four. miss fire on 1 and 3. replaced both coils, module, and plugs. have fire on all plugs, have power to all injectors. still missfiring. possible slight timing jump??? 2 injectors clog at the same time??? I'e got 2 GM master techs stumpped with this one. HELP!!! :cry:
  • cardancercardancer Member Posts: 2
    replaced the coil tower, housing, whatever you want to call it. bingo. internal failure somewhere without any external signs at all. it actually looked pretty new. :P
  • dave4825dave4825 Member Posts: 2
    Similar to another message...2004 Grand Am 3.1 6 cy Auto, 36000 miles; tends to hesitate as in misfire (or so it seems) when the engine is cold. It goes away quickly but is irritating. Hasn't stalled when this happens yet. Gets about 25-30mpg in town. No check engine lights coming on or anything. Any advice for a novice? Filters to look for and change, etc., before taking it in? Thanks for any advice.
  • pbowerspbowers Member Posts: 1
    Have you found out if is an lockout swtich by the torque converter but in the value body? Transmission people called it an torque conventer lockout swtich but some my say it's and torque conventer neutral lockout switch. Please let me know. Parts places don't have any parts but maybe a dealer I will check tomorrow and let you know.
    Thanks
  • motorpig4motorpig4 Member Posts: 2
    :mad: My 2002 Grand Am GT is fine around town but when I try to roll up to highway speed, it takes forever. Stomping the accelerator does no good, it just revs like the tranny is slipping, then finally shifts, etc...

    My mechanic ran a diagnostic test and everything comes back normal. Tranny fluid is fine.

    He mentioned that the catalytic converter might be going (or gone) bad. Does this sound odd to anyone and is there anybody else who's had this problem?

    thanks,
    Reed
  • momof3divazmomof3divaz Member Posts: 4
    I've had the same problem for a few months now. At first it wasn't that noticeable, but now it's gotten to where I'm terrified of driving on the highway for fear of being run over! :sick: I had a diagnostic test run and I was told that my catalytic converter is clogged. The dealership quoted me a price of $800 or higher. Ridiculous right?!? I called a second dealership and the guy didn't even give me a price... he just told me it'd be a lot cheaper to get it done at a muffler shop. So I called a muffler shop and got a price of less than $200. Needless to say...... that's where I'm headed. ;)
  • dave4825dave4825 Member Posts: 2
    Thought I'd do an update on this...had the oil changed at wal mart and noticed they now do fuel injector cleaning for $20 - I asked - this is more than putting a bottle of stuff in the gas tank right???, and they said yes, it's primarily cleaning under the hood...car has run fine ever since I had this done! Clean injectors (supposedly) without the $90 hard sell the scam shops try to pull on you.
  • tomnguyentomnguyen Member Posts: 2
    My car is Pontiac Grand-am 96, v6. Maybe I have a problem with the EGR valve. Where is the EGR valve in my car ? How can I clean it?

    Thanks
  • rich99rich99 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2002 Grand Am GT with 58000 miles on it. i also just started having that same problem, the dealer told me it was the transmission and i had to get it flushed, so i took it to a transmission shop. They told me that the transmission is fine and its in the motor. There is no lights and the computer has no codes. So i am lost, i dont even bother to drive it becouse when you get on the freeway it wont go, it takes a while to get up to speed. If anyone has an answer to whats causing this please let me know please. rich :sick:
  • momof3divazmomof3divaz Member Posts: 4
    I went ahead and had the catalytic converter replaced and my car has been fine every since. I could tell the difference immediately. It accelerates with no hesitation... no more jerking and bucking... no more engine revving. Replacing the cat conv was a great choice for me and was well worth the $200 it cost. :shades:
  • rich99rich99 Member Posts: 2
    My exhaust shop told me that if the cat goes out like he thinks it has in my car that the only way it goes out is becouse of a bad sensor in the motor, and changing it will work, for a while till it clogs it again. I want to put a high flow cat and take off the resanator, and maybe a aftermarket muffler like a flowmaster or something. He did tell me that taking off the cat is a bad idea and does nothing good for the car. just want to avoid paying the $245 again in another 58000 miles. :sick:
  • egryeyesegryeyes Member Posts: 6
    Cylinders.
  • kimp123kimp123 Member Posts: 1
    i have a 1997 grand am and it will hesitate at times also, sometimes for a short time and other times it is sluggish for about 10 minutes kim dollyact@yahoo.com
  • duhozarksduhozarks Member Posts: 1
    My daughter has a 94 Pontiac Grand Am with a slight hesitation problem. I've driven the car and it does it to me also. It hesitates when you are pulling out of a parking lot onto a highway or accelerating after being stopped at a stoplight. Two mechanics can't find a problem. I'm afraid she's going to pull out and get T-boned or rear ended. If you stomp on the gas real hard when it hesitates, it will go (Or at least it did for my husband) So far the mechanics have put on a new fuel pump, fuel filter, and some kind of sensor.
    We've had the tranmission fluid flushed as recommeded by jiffy lube. We bought this car exactly one year ago and hardly drove it. I'm getting tired of no one being able to tell us what the problem is. It's a car for a student so it was cheap and has 180,000 miles. But because it's for a student - I want it to be safe. All I asked the dealer when we bought the car was if was dependable and safe - that's all we wanted.
  • hankster5hankster5 Member Posts: 2
  • hankster5hankster5 Member Posts: 2
    I have a 2004 GT 3.4L tune up done and still feels like it misfires when it's cold off a start or light acceleration. The following have been changed: plugs, wires, fuel filter, throttle position sensor. Cleaned Mass Air Flow. There is no check engine light on or has never come on since this started happening a few weeks ago. Any comments?
  • kylehunter44kylehunter44 Member Posts: 6
    Check the idle air control valve.
  • robertzrtrobertzrt Member Posts: 2
    i have a 02 grand am and one of the head lights is real dim and the other lights up normally what could it be??? i was thinking it could be a ground wire also the signal light dont work either, i checked the fuse and relays
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