Pontiac GTO

hammen2 · October 2005

I wonder if Holden is strapped with the same sort of labor union and related expenses the American builders have. My guess is if it was built domestically to the same standard the GTO would be a $45,000 car.

Well, I do know that Holden has to deal with the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union. I do not know if Australia has nationalized healthcare or retirement benefits, though. I do know that Holden is pretty progressive about their flexible assembly processes and procedures - they deal with a lot of Japanese companies for their assembly automation - they DON'T use GMNA assembly methods, which is one reason why the Aussie Zeta platform died (couldn't be built here). They are also starting to use non-Australian suppliers (the Zeta-based next-gen Commodore will supposedly be 50-55% non-Aussie content - things like glass from Thailand, for example). Holden did just announce that they're letting go 1400 employees next August when the GTO ceases production, mainly because they're killing the third shift they added when they started to build the GTO back in fall of 2003.

My guess is if it was built domestically to the same standard the GTO would be a $45,000 car.

You know what's funny, if you were to buy a Monaro, and convert the sale price to $USD, you'd be around $45k. We get a bargain as far as the Aussies are concerned. The business case for the Monaro was for 4k-5k cars per year for 3 years. Figure 40k GTO's, plus a few thousand Lumina SS's (Middle East) and Vauxhall Monaros (UK), not to mention the HSV cars, and I think Holden (and GM) did make some money on the GTO... but, like so many folks here, I am beginning to question whether GM will build a next-gen, given their financial problems. There are rumors of a GTO show car at NAIAS in January... if you don't see one there, that may speak volumes about the GTO's future...

--Robert

hammen2 · October 2005

American stuff starts falling apart at 50k, maybe 75k if properly nursed. By 100k it's a crap shoot

I kinda dispute that... got my winter car out of storage ('98 Aurora) a month ago, but it's been sitting in the driveway. Finally got home today to wash it and take it for a spin. It's amazingly solid and whisper-quiet on the highway, with 95k on the odo. No rattles, and it's black, with a black interior, no tint, and it's been pretty much stored since late April... needs struts and rear shocks badly, though (OEMs still on the car). That's my next project, 'cause the GTO goes away to storage in two weeks, not to emerge until April 1 at the earliest :-(

--Robert

hammen2 · October 2005

can anyone tell me what kind of power the drive train can safely handle

BMR fabrication used to have a website where they went through all the steps they did to get a 9-second GTO. I believe that when they exceeded 450 rwhp the driveshaft went, so they designed a replacement, which they sell along with other parts, here:

http://www.bmrfabrication.com/GTO

BTW, BMR was auctioning their project GTO on eBay (auction over, I'm not spamming on their behalf, don't know them and never bought anything from them):

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BMR-2004-PONTIAC-GTO-PROJECT-CAR-LS1_W0QQitemZ4580829425QQc- ategoryZ7244QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

--Robert

hammen2 · October 2005

Robert if you are reading this I was wondering if you have had any problems with the trunk release buttons. Sometimes mine works but most of the time I have to get out and hold the lid up and press the remote button at the same time. Fricken annoying cos I dont want to have to turn the car off every time I want to open the boot. I know the Aussie Monaro's dont have this problem I think this is just my car. The dealership does not have a clue how to fix it.!!

My keyfob doesn't work so great (I've learned to keep it above the spoiler, key pointed towards the dash of the car, and it tends to work better but still not great). I've had no problems using the trunk release glovebox button - does that still cause a problem? You may need to adjust the rubber "stoppers" on the trunk - I think they just screw in and out. I seem to remember that my trunk on car #2 did not pop up either, until I did so...

--Robert

hammen2 · October 2005

on the aussie rear lower bumper/cover. the part i got is unfinished black. in photos of the aussie version they seem to be similar/dark grey to what it has on the GM USA part. i'm not sure i'm going to like the black lower bumper. i think i want it painted body color. maybe i'll try it in the flat black for a while and get it painted later. dunno. what are your thoughts on the whole thang ya bottler !

Gee, I thought it was dark grey like the '05 "GTO" one. I'll email Geoff at JHP and see what he has to say. I would consider getting it painted body color. I saw a Cosmos car with the SAP rear end and liked it alot - thinking about buying the SAP front and rear, for when I get my '05 hood painted and installed next spring (it's been sitting in an unused office at work since March :-(

--Robert

tolenash · October 2005

Thanks "Guru" - I'll head to dealer next week to take care of this.

kbobe67 · October 2005

There are certainly exceptions. I'm not a GM expert but if I recall the Aurora was a shot by GM at competing with Lexus and Infiniti in the near-luxury sedan segment, and quite a bit of additional attention was focused on the build quality. Sounds like you probably take above average care of your vehicles, and the Aurora was a pretty decent car to start out with, but pound for pound American cars have a much shorter half-life than their foreign counterparts. An Accord with 75k miles is only halfway home. A Lumina with the same mileage has one tire in the grave.

Sorry to hear about the GTO's pending hibernation. I live in Florida, so we GTO all year long. Actually the weather finally cooled off enough for some windows-down motoring.

hammen2 · October 2005

Mechanically my Aurora's had some issues (A/C compressor, engine oil leak) but I bought an extended warranty which paid for itself, and the car's never stranded me. IIRC the interior on the Aurora used some pretty solid fasteners which have helped against rattling.

Funny you should mention Lumina... had a '96 LS before my Aurora - drove it for 5 years, put 70k miles on it and put tires, brakes, gas, oil changes, and a water pump on it. My wife's aunt's had it since the end of 2001 and she's put another 40-50k on it and done tires again, an alternator, and a battery. The Oshawa plant that built the Luminas/Monte Carlos (and now the Impala, Grand Prix, and LaCrosse) is one of GM's best, and the vehicles they produce have some of the highest JD Power IQS scores in the industry.

How does this have anything to do with the GTO? Oshawa #2 is where the Zeta-based GTO and G8 was to be built... expect RWD vehicles from this plant at some point in the future (2009-2010?).

--Robert

cccompson · October 2005

Robert, are you talking about the $2000 rebate or an additional $2000 cash (dealer) or otherwise on top of the $2000 rebate? The best price I've seen of late is about $29,350 for a manual ($2000 under invoice).

kbobe67 · October 2005

JD Power is a marketing firm. I'll leave to your imagination who it is they do marketing for. Just for fun, run a comparison on a 2002 C Class Mercedes Benz and a 2002 Chevy Monte Carlo. Whadda ya know, the Monte Carlo bests Benz in initial quality! The marketplace settles the issue of reliability by virtue of depreciation and resale value, and the GM products take a huge hit relative to Japanese and European brands. Try trading in a used Monte Carlo and see how much the dealer is willing to add for the "JD Power Factor".

My best friend is a lemon lawyer in Michigan. I'm not sure what happens to those GM owners that has them so giddy in the first 90 days, but I can tell you he built a $1,000,000 a year business helping those same folks out of those cars (as well as Chryslers and Fords) a few short months later. The number of Nissan, Honda and Toyota cases since 1996: a handfull. The reason is two-fold. First, they build better cars. Second, when they screw up, they fix it before he has a chance to get involved.

I'm certain history is peppered with folks who got great reliable use out of their GM vehicles. My brother is a GM mechanic and gets incredible results from his two Chevy Cavaliers. Both have gone over 200,000 miles, and all he's had to do is simply fix everything that ever breaks on them. I suspect he'll eventually have a million miles on them, after replacing the bodies and drivetrains a couple more times.

Agree none of this has to do with the GTO, however I believe you posted in response to my post to the Aussie guy asking about the long term reliability of the Holden vehicles, in which I remarked that most American cars have a shorter useful life than their foreign counterparts.

kbobe67 · October 2005

Just realized your question re: what the topic had to do with the GTO was rhetorical...

elias · October 2005

thanks Robert. i emailed with jhp about it - apparently the aussie car does have flat black lower bumper cover. he had emailed me a photo of it on the cyclone grey monaro but it is tough to tell the difference between dark gray and black in a digital photo.
anyway it looks fine with the flat black, nice and mean and generic.
speaking of piston slap, my 2000 LS1 Z28 didn't have it nearly as bad as did my 96 LT1. had to take it real easy on the gas after startup on those -10F new england mornings.

preformancenut · October 2005

My GTO will never see rain,I will average about 500 miles a year and only in nice weather, plus I live in OHIO and the car is stored 5 months out of the year.

pod · October 2005

I test drove a GTO (2004 and 2005) a few weeks ago during a rain storm and found that the windshield and particularly the side windows would not clear the condensation on the inside of the vehicle (which moisture was apparently evaporating from my cloths and those of the car salesman). I had to wipe the surfaces with a cloth to clear them for visibility. I have since read that this is an issue with the climate control system in these cars. The AC was working and I directed the vents as much as possible but the side windows required manual clearing. Is this a problem with 2004 and 2005 GTOPs and, if so, how do you solve it?

midwesttrader · October 2005

It's a design problem. The vent is split into two different air holes and the one that directs air at the side windows is way too small for this country. Maybe it works down under. The only solution is to use the a/c and blast it to dehumidify the air.

There is also a window/door seal design problem on the car that allows water to enter the interior. Quite a few owners are reporting wet carpet and seats. That can't help the fogging situation either.

ausstar · October 2005

For Robert or anyone who may know, I notice that on the dash next to and below the computer adjust buttons, is what looks like a mic... its about 6- 8 holes lined up in a square on the silver plastic trim. The reason why I wonder is because I am trying to find out if the car is bluetooth compatible. Seeing as its hard to have fun driving a 6 speed when your on the bloody phone.
On another note, I have had my B&M ripper shifter in for about 3 weeks now and have not had any problems. It was not easy to get in because the 2 screws holding the base in strip almost the second they start to tighten, so I had to rplace the screws with slightly longer ones. The shifting into reverse is harder and in whole it feels heavier but when gliding down the road each gear feels like they're right next to each other , its made a huge difference. Im glad I got it in the end, as much of a pain in the [non-permissible content removed] it was to install.

kbobe67 · October 2005

Watershed event today. I've leased every car I've had for the last twelve years. I figure it keeps the payment low, and invariably after four years I'm bored and ready to dump the thing. Plus, the car is typically in warranty for most if not all of those four years.

In September I leased a 2005 GTO. Then the weirdest thing happened to me. The thought of eventually turning it in bummed me out. Plus the idea of sending GMAC all that money for 48 months to walk away at the end with nothing bugged me. So before the first payment was due I stroked a huge-[non-permissible content removed] check and paid the thing off.

I'd like to end the post there, with everyone thinking I'm rich, but it was actually a check on my home equity line of credit. Still it was a huge-[non-permissible content removed] check, but at least now it won't feel like I'm Zainoing someone else's car every three days.

tolenash · October 2005

I thought those holes were for the speaker for the "beeps" that the computer makes when you press the buttons... correct me if i am wrong, i have no supporting docs, just my hunch....

hammen2 · October 2005

You need to turn on the AC, and set the temperature cold-ish, to defog the windows. Pontiac got so many complaints about this that they actually changed the AC button to say AC/DEFOG on later cars (not sure if mid-'05 or '06).

Yes, there are some cars with leaks, though I'm not as cynical about it as midwesttrader. As much as I've washed and Zaino'd my car, if it leaked, I'd know it. Principle areas to check would be around where the defrost vent is (in the front window corners), and the bottom door seal.

--Robert

blackflag3 · October 2005

I've had my 05 GTO since July. The only problem I have encountered so far is I had to have the battery replaced a week ago. Funny thing, I had no indication the battery was bad as the car started ok, lights etc.seemed up to par. I was checking the oil and glanced at the battery and noticed the "eye" on the battery showed dark instead of green. Took the car to the dealer where they checked the battery and it showed only 50% of charge. The alternator checked out ok so they replaced the battery with another new one. Keep on eye on that "eye" It works!
Thing is the replacement battery, an AC Delco "professional series", does not have the "eye"....and has more cranking amps. Wonder if the OE battery has been a problem??

hammen2 · October 2005

Is the car Bluetooth compatible? Yes... you need the Holden Bluetooth kit (assuming you want full functionality through the steering wheel controls). Brace yourself, it's about $400 for the kit, shipped from JHP or a Holden dealer down under (Sean Beatty, Hunter Holden). You also need an extra blank bezel button or two. The Bluetooth kit does integrate with the Blaupunkt deck, and there's a microphone you hang from the A-pillar. I believe that the "answer" and "hang up" buttons go in the blank button panel behind the window switches. Supposedly works very nice... on my list of "someday" mods (have a Nokia 6230 with Bluetooth already, plus BT in my 17" PowerBook)...

--Robert

hammen2 · October 2005

Wonder if the OE battery has been a problem?

Yep, sure has, at least on the '04's - not as much on the '05s. The first boat of 2004 GTO's arrived with all dead batteries (supposedly because the keys were left in the ignition, which energizes many systems). My battery on my replacement car was weeping from the top/leaking... and I unfortunately dropped it when trying to carry it to my other car to head to the dealership. Got an Optima Red Top battery for $80 from a friend of a friend who drives a battery truck for a living... works great, no problems.

My first car (the problematic one) languished on the dealer lot from November until late April, at which point in time they went to move it (GM was coming to pick it back up and ship it to the Tech Center) and the original battery was deader than a doornail. I have heard of another problem where sometimes the BCM is defective and there's a constant draw from the battery - if this happens for an extended time, it will kill the battery...

--Robert

ausstar · October 2005

thanx Robert. the other thng I wanted to ask was and at this point I know you should be getting paid for all the advise you give but... is there a good radar detector that can apply to the 04s , I know the 05s have an extra 12v power connection closer to the stereo but if you have an 04 the cable will run the length of the whole bloody console just to reach the only other one in the armrest storage!! I dont know maybe ill just get a cordless one.
Also is there any huge benefit from getting the coil packs for the plug cables. I will be getting the K&N intake soon but I am looking for the best little things to do performance wise.
Thanks mate

hammen2 · October 2005

Actually, the '05's have the same plug/power config as the '04's - it's just the '06's which are different. Your dealer can order a "smoker's package" (about $20-$30 for the parts) to put a secondary outlet under the radio, in the little cubby. This package is included on the '06's.

Of course, there may be power somewhere up near the visor (don't know if the Monaros come with lighted vanity mirrors), so that may be an option - let me check.

Re: your second question, I assume you're talking about plug wires? I don't know that any of the third-parties really make that much of a difference. I have heard that NGK TR55 plugs are better than the stockers - got some ridiculously cheap, but haven't bothered to put them in - probably will next spring.

Something like a SuperChips or Predator tune might not be a bad idea to help increase performance somewhat (at least remove torque management)...

--Robert

P.S. Don't know if you were asking for radar detector advise. I live dangerously and don't drive with one, but, in a previous life, I used a Valentine One... worked great. Only problem now is that, if they use laser, all a detector will do is announce, before the friendly officer puts his lights on, that you're going to get a ticket :-(

white6 · October 2005

I have changed out to the TR55 plugs... didn't notice any obvious difference. I'm still trying to chase down a bad idle vibration and am trying everything I can think of. Something I have verified is a strange battery voltage variation. In the August heat (95 degrees) with the A/C on high and tranny in "D" the voltage at the battery drops to 11.5. In "P" it returns to 13.6. Yesterday it was in the high 50's here and so I repeated the test. Battery voltage never dropped below 13 and the idle vibration was almost non-existant. I'm going to get a set of MSD plug wires (my stockers measure 750-800 ohms) and see if they help any. I'm beginning to think that there is a connection between this massive voltage drop and my idle problem. Perhaps the voltage regulator is getting overheated(?). I know the alternator is buried at the bottom of the drivers' side front of the engine where I'm sure it gets very little air. Couple of people over on the GTO forum have had similar observations; one person even reported recently of a DIC warning about low battery voltage (lives in Las Vegas... hmmm, pretty warm there, no?). Any thoughts or comments?

elias · October 2005

hi. my 05 has developed an occasional "crunching" noise from the left front brake. i notice it in low-speed stops / stop & go. it doesn't happen very often. also once i got a "low trac" indication at the instant the noise/crunching-feeling happened - in very slow stop & go / city traffic. unfortunately i might not be able to have the dealer look at this until december, so i figured i'd let you folks ruminate and pass along any ideas! thanks!

ausstar · October 2005

I bought the Passport 8500 x50 ... supposed to be the best one out there, it was $300 though but it does it all and has varying modes that you can adjust as you become more aquainted with the device. and it also has lidar detector that will detect the laser, the only thing it wont do is wash the dishes...
Robert, did you have any problems with the brakes squeeking on your 04?? mine seems to be getting louder when I turn corners, mainly on the driver's side.
I took the wing off my silver 04 and im debating weather to fill the holes or get the sleaker smaller wing that sits flush with the boot. Is there anywhere in the States that I can find one... anyone??

gb7 · October 2005

Many, many thanks to those who replied. I fully appreciate your comments and feedback.

Your comments pushed me to go and have xrays taken (chest and neck area). They did not take xrays on lower back, even though I asked them to. While the family doctor has given the ok signal I intend to have an orthopedic surgeon take a look.

The autobody shop has estimated the repairs at $16k. The guy sounded optimistic, saying the car should be ready in a month or so. I hope he's right but judging from comments in this forum I shouldn't count on it. I'll see if I can post pics taken by the shop.

Thanks for the 'diminished value' comment, as that was weighing heavily on my mind. I am experiencing extreme car envy these days, especially on those rare GTO sightings. That's when I feel like screaming like a maniac. :mad:

hammen2 · October 2005

Hmm... wheel hub? Wheel speed sensor? I assume there's no visible scratch/mar lines on the rotor. No codes thrown? Just make sure that you don't have a bent rim, or a ton of rubber in the wheel wells, when you take it into the dealer.

Do you only hear the noise when you're on the brakes?

hammen2 · October 2005

BTW, a defog tip: make sure the car is set on recirculate. If you have the A/C on but are directing air in from the outside, you're just bringing more moisture in for the A/C to try to remove. As an aside, this also applies to when you're trying to cool the car on hot days - keep it set to recirculate (but do periodically run it in the vent/outside air mode, with the heat on, to kill any moisture/bacteria growth in the HVAC system).

I'm finding that I need to keep the A/C on more this fall (in cooler weather, i.e. 40-55 degrees, to keep the windows from steaming up) than I remember with my previous '04. Of course, that car was in the shop for most of last fall, so maybe that's why :P

Not sure if it's the A/C, or the great performance I'm getting (in this cooler weather) when putting my right foot down (and I've been doing that a lot of late), but I recorded my lowest average MPG for a tank: 15.1 mpg (mostly city driving, little to no freeway, 25 mph average speed). Next tank is averaging right around 20... got 23 mpg (backed up by manual calculation at my next fill-up) on an all highway trip awhile back... better than the EPA 21 mpg rating :-)

--Robert

P.S. An empty on-ramp is a terrible thing to waste...

hammen2 · October 2005

I have had no issues with brakes on either of my '04's (the lemon, or my current car). I'm at around 8600 miles but only have a week or so left before the Big Sleep for Winter. I have not heard of tons of brake problems, except for people who have toasted them at the track or autocrossing, or those who have had their rotors warp (usually from improperly-torqued lug nuts).

Many folks bought "CAPLUGS" from Home Depot to fill the spoiler holes. I have 'em, but didn't get around to painting them (along with my hood, and my mud flaps, and my FRC's, et. al.), so I haven't pulled the spoiler yet. Purchase one of the BPF-3/4 and four of the BPF-3/8-3:

http://www.caplugs.com/catalog/starpage.asp?seriesID=6&classid=222

I looked at JHP's lip spoiler and like it

JHP lip spoiler

but it doesn't use the factory holes. I know of a few GTO's (one in the Bay Area, one north of Detroit) who have the lip spoiler. I'm holding out for the HSV Coupe 4 spoiler (about $1k, unpainted, shipped from Oz)... someday, when I win the lottery...

HSV Coupe 4

Also look at the RKSport spoiler - it's a bit of a knockoff of the HSV one... RKSport.com seems to be down at the moment, so here's someone selling them (found from a Google search)

RKSport spoiler

--Robert

elias · October 2005

yeah, i'm thinking wheel speed sensor maybe. or maybe a wheel bearing (hub). i do see some staining on the wheel that reminds me of leaking wheel-bearing-grease. but the wheel-staining doesn't smell, and it isn't any worse on the "crunchy" left-front wheel than on the right front. i didn't see any marks/scratches on the rotor but will look again. the crunching only happens when i'm on the brakes, at very low speed. but i think i've heard/felt a clicking from the same area of the car, sometimes when i get on & off the clutch.
heh heh - no there's no rubber in the wheel wells. were you thinking it was a rear wheel, and that they'd see that i'd been burning the tires ? heh! thanks man!

monarofan · October 2005

This is my first post to this site but I have been a fan for a while. I purchase aan 05 GTO M6 in May and love it. I come from a long line of Holden Monaro lovers in Australia so it is a dream to have the GTO here in the US. I have appreciated the tips - I had the throttle sensor problem, but that is all fixed, and the discussion forum was a big help.

A question: In the morning after I drive the car about a mile and stop at the traffic light I hear this tapping sound (tap, tap, tap) like someone is knocking on the metal of the rear of the car. It only happens then, only once, and doesn't seem to present any problems. Does anyone know what this is or have this happen to them also?

tolenash · October 2005

Perhaps your license plate is rattling?

tolenash · October 2005

I took the car to Pontiac, they checked it out on Tuesday and could actually get the new lock/solenoid assembly in 1 day, however I wait till yesterday for the actual fix. All is well and now when I click the remote, it locks and stays that way. Thanks Hammen2 for the TSB info.

hammen2 · October 2005

Tapping when you are not moving? I'd have your dealership put the car up on a lift and check the exhaust to make sure it wasn't hitting/rubbing something when sitting at idle.

Also, it may be the fuel pump (since the tank is right behind the rear seat).

I think I've seen reports of this elsewhere - I'll check and see what I can find.

--Robert

littlelangus · October 2005

I have the same issue with my 04 GTO and I was wondering where I can get my GTO replaced because its a piece of crap...I think I recieved a lemon....My car is a Impulse Blue with black leather, I mean its a beautiful car but its a piece crap. Anyways I was just wondering if you know how to get my situation taken care of before it gets really bad.

monarofan · October 2005

Thanks Robert. Yes it is a tapping sound (3 loud taps) when stopped about 2-3 minutes after I first drive away. It only happens that one time. It is not a rattle (or the licence plate). It sounds like it comes from the right hand rear side. Maybe it is something from the fuel pump like you sugget. I will get i looked at just in case and if yu discover anything please let me know.

Chris

petegm · October 2005

A better defog tip - never run in recirc when you're trying to defog. If it's cool enough outside to prevent the a/c compressor from running (approaching freezing, usually a couple of degrees above), you'll make the fogging worse because you'll be keeping all that humid air inside your car and without the evaporator being able to remove it. When it's warm enough for the compressor to run, your evaporator has plenty of capacity to pull out the humidity of the outside air before it gets inside. I've worked on auto hvac systems and this has been a source of warranty complaints to the point that many hvac controls lock out recirc in defog and defrost specifically for this reason - even if the compressor light stays lit on the control.

silvergoat · October 2005

I have run into something acouple of times recently on my '05 Goat. Twice the remote unlock failed to do anything (wouldn't lock, unlock or open the truck). This happened with me standing less than 2 feet way from the car.
My only solution has been to unlock the car (which resulted in the alarm going off (i shut that off by starting the car). I than repeated the unlock prcedure and it worked fine.
Has anyone else experienced this problem, and if so how did you resolve it?

dburger66 · October 2005

Yes, I have experienced it. Not to the point where I set the alarm off, but close. Mine does it quite often where I'll have to push the remote 5 to 6 times while within a few feet of the car. Hopefully Robert, our GTO guru, will have some insight since I know that the dealer will be "unable to duplicate the problem" as they have with so many other things... :confuse:

mitsurob · November 2005

I have heard that a couple of times too.
My 05 Auto (1,500 miles) has had that tapping sound too. Really sounded more like someone knocking on the side of the car. I pulled out of the parking garage at work, turned right and at the next stop light heard (what sounded to be someone "knocking" on my rear fender). I work at a university and usually there are students walking around everywhere, so my first thought was some student is "knocking" on my car. But when I looked around, there was no body around the car. That was about a month ago. Then just last week, while driving through my subdivision, I thought I heard that knocking or tapping again. I was thinking it was my imagination...but now wonder if others have this too. Has only happened twice that I recall.

On another matter, I'm still having a concern with my ignition key being hard to pull out of the ignition after turning it off. I have to pull really fast or otherwise it seems to "grab" the key. Once out, if you put the key back in, it inserts and removes very freely with no resistence. Any one else heard of this.?
Otherwise, really like the car.

ausstar · November 2005

Might be silly point but the batteries in those remotes sometimes dont last long, and the sensor needs to be completey clear.

ausstar · November 2005

have you checked the spare tyre compartment ??? sometimes the components in there rattle around a bit. Im sure thats not what it is but might be worth a check

monarofan · November 2005

Thanks exactly the sound! Like someone knocking on the side of the car. I had the car in for service (6000 mile) this week and ask the dealer to check but they found nothing from GM and couldn't reproduce the sound. I'll look around for something loose but it seems to ad hoc for that. It doesn't seem to present any problems but I just don't know what it is. I sometimes have a hard time getting the key out too. But with a gentle pull it always comes out fine. I love the car.

midwesttrader · November 2005

From another forum:

"GTO sold 605 units for October, slightly below our expectations (GTO should be around 1,000 per month on average, slightly more during the spring and summer months and less during the winter months). GM car and truck sales were down overall versus last year. The overall industry was also down for the month.

We have about 2,600 2005 models in stock and about 300 2006 models that have been released from port (California) and are on their way to dealers.

Once again California was the top sales state followed by Florida, Texas, Michigan and NY. GTO is now conquesting at a rate of about 45%, mostly from Ford, Chrysler and Nissan."

There have been a total of 10,018 '04s & '05s sold so far this year.

Incentives as high as $3K currently available on the '05. Looks like the '06 is ahead of schedule.

sportgto · November 2005

I have heard that tapping also in my 05 6-speed, 3 taps after stopping at a red light about 1 mile from the house. It only seems to happen on cool mornings, and only happens once per morning. It was a little spooky the first couple times I heard it. It doesn't happen when leaving work in the afternoon. I doubt anything is wrong, but would like to know what causes it. I think it has something to do with the gas tank, maybe the air inside the tank expanding, I don't know.

jeffhall76 · November 2005

There are widely reported problems with the cylinder locks on the Caddy Catera which may use the exact same setup as the GTO. The report is that the key is hard to remove and sometimes get stuck. You may want to get this checked out and your cylinder replaced under warranty.

Jeff

hammen2 · November 2005

Despite many claims to the contrary, the Catera and the GTO are only distantly related (in suspension setup more than chassis). I don't believe the Catera, built in Europe, uses the same immobilizer/ignition key system as the GTO, built in Australia. I don't see this problem as rampant on the Commodores/Monaros/Utes down in Oz, which are the GTO's true sister vehicles... for those having this problem, is it the same with both keys? Both orientations of each key? If so, I'd push the dealership to look into this further...

--Robert

blackflag3 · November 2005

In regard to GTO key removal.
I have found two factors. 1-if you have the auto trans, the shift lever must be all the
way in park before the key can be removed. If the shift lever is not 100% fully forward in park it prevents the key from being be removed. I found this out when I placed a cd container in the bin in front of the shifter. When I put it in park the lever just barely hit against the cd container but enough to prevent full travel forward and the key could not be removed.
2-When turning the key to off for removal make sure it's turned all the way.
A minute' fraction of not enough turn off travel can prevent removal.

Pontiac GTO

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