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Campo57
read ABS for AS
When the car is first started and the A/C is switched on, the temperature set point flashes several times. Compressor seems to be running fine (return line is nice and cold) however extremely hot air comes from the vents. Most of the time the air only comes out from the bottom. Regardless if in Auto mode or not. Believe the unit is stuck in the heat mode regardless of the temperature set point. Is there a sensor bad?
Off the top of my head it might be low freon or the relay that controls it might have gone south. I had a similar problem in my '92 and it was the relay (about a $390 part).
If you have the Helm manuals, there is a troubleshooting section that will list what to look for.
Campo57
ghchf, if you get antifreeze in your oil and it runs for any length of time it will damage the main bearings.
I've had this vehicle since brand new - just 1 year at 17,600 miles now - no accidents, curb hits, etc. The thing has just been balanced re-aligned; I had to put new tires on at 16,800 miles at the same time because the alignment was so bad (this is a dealership goof that I am trying to get Pontiac to fix! - but they now refuse. The vehicle vibrates rapidly (shimmys) at speeds over 50mph - gets way worse over 60. I can feel it in the steering wheel, accelrator pedal, seat, even.
Pontiac refuses to look further into the problem - it's been in like 5 times - I've been to two different dealerships now. One stated "the car is normal" - the other says "we won't find anything."
Anyone know of this type of problem on the 2000/2001 Bonneville?? Anyone have any ideas?? (I am now thinking: shocks, suspension, transmission, other...???)
Thanks
a common cause of "we cant find the problem" shimmy is bad rubber. either poor balancing or seperating belts inside, something along those lines.
Getting down of my soap box, while I was getting the brakes done on my wife's 92 Bonneville , I did some research on some recent topics. I hope the infomation helps.
Michael, #465, you do not mention how many tires you had replaced, or if the condition was there before the tires were replaced. But here is my recomendation. Find out if your selling dealer has one of these machines. If not use the locator to find one at another Pontiac dealer. Make an appointment with them for the procedure and express your belief that it should be covered under warranty. Give them plenty of time to perform the procedure properly. The bulletin does imply that this procedure would be covered. (Keep in mind that aligments are only covered between 500 and 7,500 miles, and wheel balancing is only covered to 7,500) If there is not a Pontiac dealer close by, find another GM line and have your Pontiac dealer sublet the work to them. Good luck and please post back with results.
Thanks for allowing me these long posts, I hope they are helpful. With the way my wife goes through brakes, I post soon again.
Still love the car though, and the A/C issue is resolved by using it "manually" when outside temps are high.
Hey I remember another one. My cousin had a 1986 Grand Am and one of my college roommates had a 19?? (early 90's) Grand Prix Coupe with the aero package, both of which developed simular paint issues in front of the rear wheels. I think the fix for the GA was a repaint, and the GP was the addition of clear protective tape. I think the tape is fairly common on cars today. I will check the cars in the parking lot during shopping tonight. Perhaps while your cars are still under warranty, your dealers body shops could add some tape?
Many thanks for contributing.
All I did was ask a few questions when I had my wife's 92 Bonneville in for service. Also have a big family with serveral Pontiacs (leased/balloon/finance), so have good access to info.
Good Luck
But here is the question. I only get about 15-17 mpg City from my car. I notice on a lot of previous posts that 23+ seems to be the norm, with some much higher. I don't pretty well on the highway, although I use the Yukon for most highway trips. I live in a mountainous area and am up and down at least three major hills every day. The hills also cause a lot of lurching by the way. Does anyone have an idea of how to improve my MPG short of moving to Iowa (it's flat you know).
Thanks
Also, do you leave the transmission in Overdrive during you trips threw the hills or do you crank down one to regular drive? I've think it's better to shift out of overdrive in hilly terrain.
Perhaps your dealer used an ArmorAll (or substitute) on your dash pre-delivery and it is this which has evaporated and settled unto your windshield.
Otherwise , id hop into the "something put on the dash camp.
I had a CD changer put into my '95 Bonni. When I picked it up from the installer, I found on the drive home that AM didn't work, FM was fine. Took it back the next day and they fixed it, said the problem was a faulty ground to the radio. They had messed around with the power cord to patch in the CD changer. Might be a similar problem.
"Mr. Giamo, thanks for your email and utilizing the Hunter GSP9700 web site. My best suggestion is to have the dealership involved go to the GSP9700.com website and locate users of the roadforce balancer in their area. I suggest several be interviewed to determine if they have 'in-between' cone sets (may or may not be needed for the wheels on your Bonneville) and also try to ascertain if the users have technicians competent in proper GSP operation for roadforce diagnosis and matching to include the procedure of rim runout measurement at the bead seat areas of the wheels. While there are a number of nuisance vibration problems that are caused by excessive RFV, vibration diagnostics of today's vehicles can be complex. If your vehicle has vibrations induced by balance or excessive RFV of the wheels & tires, the GSP9700 can identify and quantify the source(s) very quickly. If the wheels & tires are capable of being OEM matched, the whole process is extremely short in the hands of a qualified GSP technician."
Anyway - I'd like to print the bulletins out and read them. To follow up on a couple of questions you had on this issue: I DID indeed put 4 brand new tires on the vehicle a month ago - at 16,800 miles (and at my cost; GM is dodging the issue of paying for them now; we'll see...) I just recently the NJ Lemon law against Pontiac-GMAC(including hiring a Lemon-Law-expert law firm.) I currently have someone from Pontiac-GMAC in Detroit trying to find out where a Hunter GPS9700 is located so that Pontiac's final attept to get the car fixed (via their Legal Defense Team efforts) is worth my time. If the vehicle still vibrates after the final attempt at repair, I will go into official litigation with Pontiac-GMAC via my attorney. I understand from the law firm that I have a *very good* case as it's been so well documented. This problem began at just past 9000 miles.....right now I have 18,450 miles on the car. Still shimmys, new tires, alignment and all. So depressing - as I have paid for the car in cash in full! I own it outright. So here is more on my problem; thanks again - and any more info you might have on the bulletins will help!!