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Pontiac Grand Am

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Comments

  • guylguyl Member Posts: 10
    I just bought a 99 grand am, with a V6, something between an SE1 and SE2, some options of one and some of other. Anyways. I have the same problem with the brake noise as you. But its not like a skweeking noise, more like a rubbing noise. But for me the car brakes fine, even on hard brakes I had to do a few times. Get them to check out the brakes, for me they told me they were fine. Sound like normal rubbing. But I'm not sure. I'm very pleased with the car, actualy, I love it to put it mildly.

    Good luck with your purchace.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    Hello, I had my '99 GrandAm since August of '98 and after reading the many reports in this forum, would like to contribute a few. Mine is a V-6, SE-2. No leather stuff or sun roof. It has those WONDERFUL fold-down back seats where you can lay a six foot fold-up table.

    I have 30,000 miles on this excellent car and honestly don't know why we don't see the aftermarket folks going crazy with products for it. It is a GREAT automobile. With that said, here are some long-term observations and experiences I have had:

    1) Horrible road noise and twitchy front-end. This car was so loud that on our local Texas farm-market asphalt roads, that one almost had to shout to talk to others inside when going at highway speeds. Indeed, even General Motors own ratings of this car against competitors had it nearly last in the road-quietness test. Smooth interstates were another story.

    The front end would dance on these roads. I never could keep it straight and Heaven-forbid if one were to look briefly away from the road. It was risky.

    Ok, the solution: I got fed up with these problems and the dealer honestly tried to rectify these two issues. I drove another SE and it also had the same set of problems on driveablility. However, driving a GT (How I wish I had waited until these wunderboxes came out!) revealed no twitch and no booming ear road surface noise. The GTs I compared with used Goodyear RSA tires.

    I went to a tire dealer, got a pretty good deal for these sorry BF Goodrich tires that came on my SE, and replaced them with Goodyear RSAs. And, WOW!!!! The car is quiet on these terrible roads, and there is no front-end twitch when going down them. Indeed, this car feels almost as good on cornering as the GT, and it rides a bit softer to boot. In other words, it corners wonderfully as compared to how it behaved with the GoodRich things.

    2) Water under the seats. Yep, I have experienced it when the car was new. I finally isolated it to the fact that I am just not bringing the BACK glass totally snug on either door when closing it (I like riding with all four windows down when the weather is nice). If it is not snug, then there will be water collection. I'm not talking about loose, I'm talking about totally tight/pinching/snug/OUCH. If there is a least amount of not-totally-upness on the glass being closed, then I was able to collect water. I have yet to have water under the seats since making sure of this.

    3) Shuddering brake pedal when exiting interstate. IT was terrible. I was very disappointed and the dealer worked and worked on the pads, rotor, other stuff. He never could work it out. Due to some intense road travel, I never took the car back after the last disappointing repair, whatever. However, I noticed the more miles I put on the car while on the various trips, the smoother the brakes became. Now, at 30k, I have absolutely no shudder. I can't explain it, because the dealer replaced stuff, resurfaced, in short, did a major brake job. I was there to see it and yet the problem was not solved. I dunno.... However, he did not do the back DRUM brakes. Makes me wonder if we are looking at the wrong thing. Honestly, this car stops marvelously, even in wet weather now.

    4) Gas mileage and engine performance. No problem here.... I get about 21 to 22 in town, 30 - 32 on the freeway. I get about 430 miles per tank on the freeway, about 310 miles in town.

    Can this motor perform or WHAT???!!! To be a push-rod, this is a real sweet-heart of an engine. GOSH! Transmission is a smoothie, and there are some marvelous "sweet spots" that'll make the heart jump a bit when you punch it. You guys with the GTs must really love those sweet spots.

    5) Interior trip: UGH, I had the infamous bubble-up by the glass, on all doors. Must have been a batch of door trim problems, because the dealer knew exactly what the issue was and the replacement pieces were in within a few days.

    Other parts of the trim have been perfect. I have NO rattles, squeaks, or groans. This car is TIGHT, and this is on very terrible East Texas mud-trail roads (I'm not kidding), farm market roads, and the infamous I-45 Houston to Dallas bumper-way.

    6) Seats: I'm not happy with the cloth seats. 'nuff said. I just can't get comfortable.

    7) Sound system. I *love* it! No, it doesn't have the optional booster, but it does have the tweeters. I'm not an audio-phile, either. But, this is a very pleasing sound system, as compared to the previous vehicles I have had. The knobs are large for the head unit, and easy to work without one having to study them while driving. The CD has yet to skip on me while even on the most indian-trail of a road that I'm on. Even the casette unit is solid, easily integrated with the radio buttons.

    This is a good head unit. Obviously, if I wanted RTS and that kind of stuff (this just isn't common in our area, yet), I would probably want a more advanced radio, but this system is wonderful.

    8) Air-conditioning: Love/hate relationship. Very cold even in the hottest summer, even for the TWO backseat passengers. I love the vents. Simple, plain, and they WORK!

    The hate part is this, and I haven't taken it into the dealer for a check. When the temperature is in the 30s outside, and the Texas Coastal humidity is doing its horrific thing, then the interior fogs up rather bad. So, you turn on the defroster, and everything clears up, right? WRONG.

    Now, if the temperature is in the 40s, and you turn on the defrosters, everything clears up as it should.

    Well, during our last 'norther, when the conditions were such that the interior glass fog up rivaled what I have seen in London, I pulled over and looked at the compressor. It was not engaged. Later on, when the temperature warmed up a bit, and the glass cleared up nearly instantly, I pulled over, and the compressor clutch had the unit spinning merrily.

    I hope this isn't a design flaw because if it is, I'm about ready to run my own hot lead to the compressor clutch and bypass the design.

    Anyway, if I were to rate this car, for what I expected, and for the price I paid, from a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, I would easily give it a 8. The seats are the major offender for me, and the tires being a poor choice on this fine automobile. The weirdness with brakes, and that dumb airconditioner in cold weather are the other areas.

    It is tight. It is solid. It feels SAFE. I love this car. Sorry about the epistle, but hey....
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    Thanks for the comments on your GrandAm. All good reading. I have noticed a few of the things that you have written and a few not. Maybe this will help in getting yours just right.

    The sames:
    -I know those sweet spots you describe. It really pulls away powerfully when you might being doing 30 and then want to move. Enough to push you into the seat. Mmmm Power!

    -Seats, I agree, they are not the best. Mine have felt OK but no better.

    -Gass Mileage. I have had about the same. Seems good keeping in mind power and size of car.

    -The Tires. Mine feel really good cornering. I love to corver hard on purpose in this car. I do hear the noise on corse pavement like you describe. That is good to hear that a good portion of that is because of the tires. My car does not feel real twitchy to me.

    Some Differences:

    -Brakes have been fine. I have had no problems with mine they are still young. I hope that I do not have to go through what you have.

    -No leaking but I guess I am pretty anal about the windows being closed.

    -Defrost works great no matter the temperature of conditions, and up North here I have seen anywhere from 10 to 50 that I have had to use defrost. Hopefully they can set yours right.

    -One thing I do not like that my engine does is that if the engine itself is warm when I go to start it, it hesitent. It is kind of anoying. If the engine is col or nearly at its normal operating temperature it starts instantly, like in a touch. It is just if it somewhere in between that it hesitate. I do not know if it is a design flaw or mine. I have been waiting to see if other with the 6 post on this issue.

    Thanks for all your thoughts on your car. I enjoyed reading them.
  • dianalyndianalyn Member Posts: 2
    If anyone is looking for a new Pontiac or Toyota and is not too far from the Manchester, Connecticut area, the Lynch Toyota/Pontiac Dealership is the best around! SPECIFICALLY the salesman TRACY GWYN. He was the most curtious, helpful and knowledgable salesman that I have dealt with. If you want a new car, go see TRACY!
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    I own a 1999 GT, not an SE-2, and I have not experienced some of the problems as lrymal did. I have seen many complaints about the seats and I am quite fickle about comfort. I love my GT seats! They took a few days to get used to, but now they fit like a glove! I haven't taken it on any trips over 2 hours, but I noticed no fatigue on the shorter trips. I have not experienced any water leak problems, even with the sun roof. Gas mileage is about 24 mpg with mixed highway/city driving. I hasn't really changed since day 1. I have 8000 miles on my car and haven't experienced any brake problems, although I wouldn't say the brakes are the best part of the car. As far as the acceleration is concerned - when isn't this car quick? It seems that you can speed up quickly from any starting speed. Passing cars on the highway is a piece of cake. I have had very little, if any, squeaks or rattles. Road noise from the tires is average. Wind noise is very noticeable, especially at high speed from the right rear door and trunk area. I haven't had any severe defogging problems, although the defogger doesn't work that great overall.

    On a scale from 1 to 10, I have to give this car a 9! I love it now as much as the day I bought it, which I can't say for many cars I've owned over the years. Just washed my bright red GT over the weekend and it looks stupendous.

    The car is functional, practical, loaded with options, sleek and muscular looking, it turns heads, and is full of safety features - all wrapped into one package. Try getting all that out of a Honda or Toyota for the price I paid!
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    szerfas wrote:

    > -The Tires. ....That is good to hear that a good
    > portion of that is because of the tires. My car
    > does not feel real twitchy to me.

    Recall that your Grand Am is a GT and you have the
    wonderful RS-A Goodyears. My SE had those awful
    BF Goodriches. As soon as I purchased
    replacement Goodyear RS-A tires, the twitchy
    problem disappeared, along with the really
    objectionable roaring road noise.

    > -One thing I do not like that my engine does is
    > that if the engine itself is warm when I go to
    > start it, it hesitent.

    You know, you are right. I think I have noticed
    this, but on the other hand, so many of my
    previous cars in decades past had the same
    problem, but much worse. When my car is cold,
    just a touch of the key will cause it to run.
    When it is warm, it takes just a bit under a
    second's worth of winding on the starter motor. I
    honestly don't think this is a problem.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    midlifecrisis wrote:

    > I have seen many complaints about the seats and I
    > am quite fickle about comfort. I love my GT
    > seats! They took a few days to get used to, but
    > now they fit like a glove! I haven't taken it on
    > any trips over 2 hours, but I noticed no fatigue
    > on the shorter trips.

    My seats are the cloth, the very bottom line standard cloth. I sat in a GT which had the leather seats and although I am not a fan of leather coverings, these GT seats were MUCH better. It wasn't the leather, but the frame and padding. The leather seats of that GT was just better than my seats, leather or not.

    > I love it now as much as the day I bought it,
    > which I can't say for many cars I've owned over
    > the years. Just washed my bright red GT over the
    > weekend and it looks stupendous.

    HEE HEE. My SE is also red. Very BRIGHT red. I
    am thinking about getting pin-striping to come
    close to the factory black stripe that I see on
    the new GTs. I think it would help its
    appearance a bit.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    Well, this isn't a commercial, so I hope y'all don't take it this way. I have to tell you that I am a freak for gadgets and as far as my Grand Am goes, I always wanted one of the compass-in-a-mirrors that I have seen on the other cars. I have also liked the auto-dimming feature of these. They dim when someone comes upon you with their brights.

    Well, GM's Electro ChroMatic mirror (I think that is its name) costs over $300.00 for a mirror with the built-in compass and autodimming.

    So, a few months back CNET reviewed some automobile gadgets and there it was, the mirror that I want. Plus, this one has map lights built in! And, if I wanted to do away with the map lights, I could have a temperature display.

    Well, I didn't need the temperature. But, I really wanted the mirror with auto-dimming, compass, and map lights. The price was right and much cheaper than GM's, plus it has the map lights and GM's does not.

    Donnelly Electronics is the company that sells this mirror. The URL is:

    http://www.donnellye.com

    I don't mean to be so wordy in a forum such as this, but it is a lot of fun being able to converse with other enthusiasts about this fine automobile.
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    My GT has the up-level cloth seats. I could have got leather seats for an extra $450 or so. The leather seats look very impressive. But my last car had leather seats and I did not like them. No matter how good the air conditioner worked, it could not cool the seats in the hot summer. I'd drive the car to see a client and by the time I got there my back was all soaked with sweat. That's not good for business. And the leather was a light tan color. I can't imagine black leather! Also in the winter the seats are so COLD. Ouch. Leather does have its good points. It was nice sliding in and out of the car and they hold up well if you treat them correctly. My brother won't buy a vehicle without leather seats. As for me, I'll stick with the cloth for now.

    The only complaint I have about my GT seats is that they make a creaking noise when you dial up lots of lumbar support. I think the springs in the backrest portion of the seat are too stretched when using the lumbar. As soon as I relax the lumbar dial, the noise goes away. Very strange. It thought about taking the car in to have this checked out, but haven't yet. Anybody else have this problem?
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    Hey lrymal,

    Mine is an SE1 also. It has the BFGoodrich's on it also. I do notice the noise but do not notice any twitchyness. I really wish that I had the extra money to have gotten the GT, I probably would have looked into a Grand Prix at that point.

    Interesting to hear that you Grand Am is similar with the starts. My Buick use to start pretty consitently reguardless of the temperature. The Pontiac does start really well in the cold. It was -2 this morning and started with just a touch of the key.

    Another thing that lead me to believe that the slightly hesitent start when the engine is just warm is something I had read in a review on the Pontiac Montana. It had said something about improvements to fuel flow for starting when the engine is warm, but it did not elaborate any more then that. The Montana uses the same 3400 engine tuned for a little more power.

    Happy Motoring All,
    Stephen
  • obiwanobiwan Member Posts: 57
    For everyone who is excited about the Grand Am coming into it's own as a performance car, check out this link:

    http://www.grandam2000.com/

    Pontiac is playing around with a concept Grand Am that has the same Eaton model 62 supercharger that they use on the 3800 V6 (ala Grand Prix, Bonneville, etc.) It also boasts an upgraded transmission to handle the copious 262 horsepower and 289 lb/ft of torque. Not to mention, they are finally giving the V6 a manual.

    Preliminary tests put the 0-60 time in 5.9 seconds and a 14.9 second quarter mile. With the upgraded brakes, their 60-0 stopping distance was 116 feet. All I can say is wow.

    One last thing. According to rumors, they are considering giving this trim level a name: GTO That's right. The Goat may be back. Whether people like the usurping of the classic muscle car name is yet to be seen. At least they are doing it with a car that has an off hand chance of living up to the image.

    Whatever they call it, I'd certainly sell my '99 GT to get my hands on this new Grand Am.
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    That GrandAm is incredible! Sign me up! I love the way it looks. If those performance numbers are anywhere close to where production is I would be in heaven. Manual transmission, YES! I would not sell my SE1 but it would become my rainy day car.

    Thanks for the link,
    Stephen
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    I sincerly hope that GM is also going to include suspension/braking improvements to the basic GA design if they produce this model with these performance results.
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    szerfas wrote:

    > ....I really wish that I had
    > the extra money to have gotten the GT, I
    > probably would have looked into a Grand
    > Prix at that point.

    You are probably right. It is interesting how the prices begin to blur into the next model by the time you outfit the car with all the specs that you want.

    > ....It was
    > -2 this morning and started with just a
    > touch of the key.

    I just don't think the car's slightly extra effort to fire off when the temperature is warmer is a problem. Yes, the instant start-off when the temperature is cold is amazing. Heck, you could have a bad starter and not know it! But, I remember "back in the old days" of auto-chokes, how the manual would instruct you to press the accelerator 1/3rd of the way down at a certain temperature, 1/2 the way down for another certain temperature range, etc. I mean, we have come a LONG way.
  • obiwanobiwan Member Posts: 57
    Check out the February issue of Motortrend. They have an article on the new Grand am as well.

    szerfas: I would almost agree with you about keeping the SE for a rainy day car. But, since I live in southern California, we don't have enough rainy days to justify it.

    burdawg: Considering their track record, I don't think GM would upgrade the entire line with the brake parts, etc. Many a time, they put in less expensive systems to keep the base model cost down. If you have a mind to upgrade, at least you'll be able to look up the factory specs.
  • dragonclawdragonclaw Member Posts: 6
    I got my GT in May of 99. It is now at 9400 kms (5640 miles). I was very interested in seeing how this little beauty handled the white stuff. After a very mild fall winter has blasted in.

    A couple of points.

    1) The car I had before was a 72 plymouth. It was a beast but you felt safe in it. I get the same feeling with the GT. The traction control works wonders and only 4X4's pull away from the slick stop lights better than I.

    2) The car seems to take forever to warm up at idle when the temp drops below -20C.

    3) Brakes. I hate to say this but the car seems to need a better braking system. I think it takes to long to stop it(or I'm going to fast). I haven't had to panic stop it yet but I just don't like the "feel" of the brake pedal. No vibes or anything just "feels" strange. I must used to the air brakes on my Kenworth

    4) Only one slight problem under the hood. The thermostat stuck on me once. The dealership changed it quickly and have had no further troubles.

    Like most people who have posted here I just love this car
  • kkt101kkt101 Member Posts: 1
    Have had my SE2 for 6 months now with no problems, just a few inconveniences. The headlights poorly lit the road even after two adjustments. Seemed to need highbeams to drive at speed limit safely. Must be a human error thing. will try to have them aligned a third time. One word of advice. The spark plugs are mad of such material that they don't need changing for 100 thousand miles. But at some point during regular maintainence before then, have your mechanic or dealer at least remove them, then put them back in place just so that they'll be easier to remove when replacement is needed. Otherwise, I've been told, they are almost impossible to take off.
  • mjr1477mjr1477 Member Posts: 6
    Just wanted to mention that the excessive power steering noise that many people have talked about is not caused by a bad power steering pump. I had a similar noise and because I had someone drop off my car, the dealer simply told that person that they just had to replace the pump because of bad bearing. But the sound didn't disappear. So, I was persistant and what it is, is a design flaw. There is a restrictor piece in the system that makes the noise when the hydraulic fluid moves through the system (when you turn the wheel). Removing the restrictor gets rid of the sound and makes the steering response smoother.

    One more thing, how many of you have scratched glass on your power windows. I wonder if that is something the dealer will replace.
  • mjr1477mjr1477 Member Posts: 6
    I have noticed too, how long my Grand Am takes to warm up. In my parents 91 Cutlass Ciera you could feel heat after about half a mile. With the Grand Am, it is about 5 or 6 miles. And when they say you should always drive your car enough so that it warms up to the desired temperature, when my job is only a couple miles from my house, what damage does that do to the car? On a average 15 degree (F) winter morning, it takes a good ten miles of highway driving to warm the Grand Am up completely. One thing I am trying is keeping the car in 3rd gear which keeps the RPM's up, so that it warms quicker, but it doesn't seem to make that much of a difference.

    Also when I first got it, I noticed the constant knocking when I started it up. The dealer claims it is something called a skirt flap on the piston, that until the pistons warms up and expands inside the cylinder, it hits the flap or something like that. I've never been able to understand it. And recently since the temps have been below zero at night, the car starts up with all these strange noises. Right before it turns over, you hear a knock. Putting it into reverse, there is a 5 second delay before it actually happens. When I try to accelerate, there is a similar delay, and man does this car wine in the cold. And I must tell you that I let it run for a good minute or two before driving. Even the radio/CD player runs in slo-mo.

    I must agree that winter driving is a snap. I had snow tires put on and traction is phenomenal, even though the cars lack of weight scares me a little.

    And finally, does anybody notice how much snow and slush accumulates underneath the back end. It adds a good 60-70 pounds to the back of the car and makes the back end fish tail more easily.

    Though the Grand Am is not the best overall winter car, since winter is realistically only about four months long, I have 8 months with no troubles what so ever, so it is not a bad trade off.
  • karnkarn Member Posts: 8
    Uuugghhh! Just on the way to work this morning, I was stopped at a red light. I tried to accelerate when the light turned to green, but my car just kept hesitating--it wasn't going anywhere! Then, the speedometer caught my eye. It was at **50** then **150** the thing just kept going back & forth. Right about the time a pick-up was nearing the back end of my car...the car finally kicked in and took off. (thank goodness!) Any ideas on what could have been wrong? I seem to remember reading about a similar post, but I couldn't find anything. I won't be able to drive my car again til my lunch break. Hopefully, it doesn't do it again. Either way, my dealership will sure be getting a call.
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    That's really scary, I have never heard of that one. I am going to be curious what your dealer comes up with. Knowing how helpful most dealership are if it does not reproduce the same problem right away they will probably just say that they cannot do anything for you. Good luck.
  • karnkarn Member Posts: 8
    szerfas,

    Found the "post" I was thinking of...it was from Edmund's "Recalls, Technical Service..." link to the Nat'l Highway & Traffic Safety's nhtsa.gov site. I think it was in a customer complaint letter. There were actually 2 posts & one was for loss of acceleration where the gauges all went haywire. I've already e-mailed them to send me a complaint form to fill out. I'll also be curious as to what my dealership will say...I've had the car in twice and was less than happy with my service. This time I think I'll give them a laundry list of problems to fix. I've already had my front rotors replaced. Plus I'm having other minor problems. But today's episode will have to be fixed somehow.
  • melandrichmelandrich Member Posts: 3
    Hi, I'm new here. I'm Melissa. I just bought a 99 Grand am Program car about 3 weeks ago. I love it. But I did notice the scratches on the windows after I bought it. It looked like where there were stickers on the windows and it didn't get cleaned off good but when I went to clean it I noticed it was scratches. You can feel it with your fingernail. They are on both my front windows and starting to appear on the back right window. I also noticed that the seals around the doors were coming off.
    I took it to my dealer and they found a work order on it. He said when Pontiac built this car, they made the windows too thick for the doors. So when you roll them up and down, the door scratches them. That would also explain why the seals were coming off because if the windows are too big and they hit those seals, it would pull them loose because of a bad fit. They are replacing all my windows with a thinner glass and my seals as well.
    I noticed someone else asked about the windows and also someone said he had trouble getting the windows rolled up real tight and it would leak in the windows. This could be his problem too.
    Since I just bought the car and it has 30,000 miles on it, if any one knows of anything I should have checked out I would really appreciate it. It is running great and It handles real good so far.
  • melandrichmelandrich Member Posts: 3
    I had a 94 Grand Am that the roters warped twice on me. If any of your cars that have this problem is out of warranty you can go to AutoZone or Advanced Auto Parts or some place like that and buy replacements and they have a lifetime guarantee on them so if they do warp, you won't have to pay for more. My local mechanic put mine on my old Grand Am for 30.00. If I have this problem with the 99 I just got, I'll do the same because once I did that, they never warped again.
  • suemariesuemarie Member Posts: 4
    My sister owns a 99 grand am. She told me just after starting that car, you know how the gages all go from bottom to top and then fall back to normal positions. Well when she backed up out of the drive way she told me as soon as she put it in drive and was ready to go forward, the car didn't move anywhere and she said that the meter read at 30 and then shot up to 50 or 60 and back down then she took off. She also gets a LOW TRACTION light that comes on and off alot which the dealer can not find a problem with. And to be honest with you, Pontiac has been in my family for years, my dad still owns his 1968 Pontiac LeMans, which I would love to steal from him. Runs great still. I also own a Pontiac, I have the 97 Grand Am. My car is now in litigation. My car accelerates on it's own. I dunno if it is me or what, but I'm disappointed in the line of cars Pontiac has brought out, from all the problems I have been hearing. I know there are people out there whose Pontiac is running beautiful. But maybe I was the lucky one. But my sister also?
  • dunn3dunn3 Member Posts: 29
    Anyone know what the little "battery" light coming on means. Should I replace my battery, is it my alternator. The car has ~70k miles and it has been pampered (I bought it used, but I could tell that it was well taken care of). Anyway, I've had it for ~ 15k miles, and it has been doing really well. Kind of worried about the light; any suggestions?
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    If the motor cranks (at least for now), then the battery is probably good. I doubt if the sensors in that car are intelligent enough to detect a dead or weak battery cell.

    So, I would have to guess the problem exists in the voltage regulator or alternator. I would take the vehicle in to a shop that will test for free. AutoZone is typical.
  • obiwanobiwan Member Posts: 57
    I had that happen with my 91 Chevy Beretta several years ago (somewhere between 75-100k miles). It turned out that the voltage regulator that is integrated in the alternator went out. I forget how much a new one cost (less than $200 I think) but it only took me about a half an hour to swap it out.

    If you do it yourself, you will need to take the alternator in to the shop so they can take the pulley off the old one and put it on the new one. Many types of cars use the same basic alternator but with different pulleys. The stores don't stock them with the pulleys on them.

    If you have a shop do it, they will take care of all that for you and only charge you an hour or two for labor.
  • burdawgburdawg Member Posts: 1,524
    I really wasn't surprised at the cost of the AC repairs, I knew the compressor was at least $400 and that the labor would be high since it's difficult to work on a front wheel drive car. I was surprised that the high pressure hose needed to be replaced ($90), but the shop showed it to me and I agreed it made sense. A similiar job some years ago on our old Suburban was about $200 less, all in labor costs since it is much easier to work on a rear wheel drive engine.
    My 99 GA has close to the same mileage (57,000) as the 95 (65,500) and it's been almost trouble free, the only repair being a new resistor board for the fan speed control, which I repaired myself for about $25.
  • algoldanalgoldan Member Posts: 1
    Currently renting, this model.
    Main complaints: Road&tire noise transmitted to interior. Tire thump. Wind noise, by door seals.
    Handles well, visibilty, a 6 out of 10 rating.
    Requires a periscope, when reversing.
    Considering a buy, as previous vehicle totalled,
    by Martian driver.
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    algoldan:

    I have almost the same GrandAm except 99. I have heard that when you replace the tires with another kind you will have less of that tires noise. The person I had heard from, maybe it was in here, went with Goodyears. They said there handling was better to.

    Good luck,
    Stephen
  • pwilliamkpwilliamk Member Posts: 21
    I recently bought a 2000 SE2 with the 4 cyl. When I start it in the cold weather there seems to be some hesitation. It starts fine but as the car warms the rpm drop. When the rpms reach approx. 900 the engine runs erratically fluctuating about 1500rpm and if I decide to take of before this occurs the car won't accelerate at all. If I do it while this is occuring the whole car starts to shake? Any thoughts about what it might be? In my old car (dodge) I had similar porblems and it turned out to be a warped head but I only have 2200km on this car, I doubt it is the same problem.
    Also when I need to turn hard (ie. leaving a parking spot) the steering makes this really weird buzzing noise. Has anybody had this problem?
    I want to have a idea what is wrong before I take it in because I want them to take me seriously, I don't want to sound stupid
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    pwilliamk:

    My GrandAm is different since it has the V6. My engine starts easy too and revs a little and drops for like 10 seconds. This is a small fluctuation of make like 50 RPM. It only does this while in park as soon as I move it is fine and like I was saying after about 10 seconds it is fine.

    I have not heard any noice on mine from the power steering not even in tight turning. I have the variable effort power steering on mine. When my old car use to whine it was low on power steering fluid.

    Good luck with the repairs. I will be curious what was the cause of the reving problem. I would have to guess that it is a sensor that is bad or something not right with the computer but just a guess.

    Stephen
  • lrymallrymal Member Posts: 105
    "I have heard that when you replace the tires with another kind you will have less of that tires noise. The person I had heard from, maybe it was in here, went with Goodyears. They said there handling was better too."

    It was me. My main objection to my 1999 SE was the thumping, booming, road noise. Plus the car had a horrible tendancy to dart all over the road. I replaced those barbaric Goodrich tires with RS-A Goodyears (same size), and the noise all but disappeared and the car handled amazingly better. I actually tested it on rough asphalt and on a very curvy roads.

    I was told that there are even better tires that will further improve things although I don't see how. I chose the RS-A Goodyears after seeing them on a '96 GrandAm GT and on the current GT Pontiacs.
  • midlifecrisismidlifecrisis Member Posts: 391
    How about that 2000 Auto Issue? Can a magazine
    hate a car any more than the Grand Am? Someone
    please tell me how the Alero gets better than
    average reliability and the Grand Am gets worse
    than average reliability. The last I checked they
    were basically the same car.

    And they consistently base their opinions on the 4
    cylinder engine base car. Yet the Accord and
    Camry ratings are based on the 6 cylinder. What a
    joke! I don't think they could do any less to hide
    their agenda against most American car companies.
    Maybe I should just cancel my subscription that my
    mother gives me as a Christmas present every year.

    Also, the Ford Windstar is rated at -128% for
    reliability, yet my 1997 model gets a checkmark for average
    reliability in the yearly ratings. Go figure!

    I also love the ratings of the dealer experience.
    All the Japanese dealers are at the bottom of the
    list. But the magazine makes it clear that these
    ratings shouldn't influence your buying decision.
    I hate to tell them, but that is a major influence
    on what I buy.

    I don't need this magazine to tell me to buy
    Japanese and not American. Every year, it's the
    same broken record over and over again.

    My 1999 Grand Am GT has been the best overall
    automobile I've ever purchased. And I'm going to
    enjoy it despite the fact that Consumer Ripoff
    magazine tells me not to!
  • scrubbsscrubbs Member Posts: 2
    I've had my GA for about a week now. I bought it used with 28,000 miles on it and was a little weary of what the car has been thru during those miles but none the less got a pretty good deal for it. So far the only complaint I have is a bit of a rough idle during traffic stops or when I am idling in park. I'm not sure if this is due to a need of a tune up or what but everything else seems just fine. The acceleration is great, the brakes are fine. A friend of mine told me to look into an air filter called KNN or something. Does anyone know anything about this? Also, what type of tires are on the GT's? I do hear a little bit of road noise with the goodyear touring tires that are currently on the vehicle. Nothing to really complain about as I drove a pretty rough riding car prior. Thanks for any input.
  • szerfasszerfas Member Posts: 53
    midlifecrisis:

    I noticed the CR comments on the GrandAm too. I thought that the Alero/GrandAm reliability contrast was pretty funny too since they are made on the same drivetrain and platform. They must just put the defective parts in the GA and give the good ones to the Alero's. :^) I have given on Consumer Reports since most of their reviews did not seem to help me, most of the times I could not find the product they were testing with other stuff or they tried a really expensive version of what I wanted. I also think that they post a recommended on a Toyota before it even arrives there.

    scrubbs:
    The air filter that you probably heard recommended to you is a K&N air filter. They are a higher performance better flowing air filter. I am not sure how much they cost over an AC Delco but they are suppose to give you a little extra performance with less restriction. When I replace my factory air filter I might look into one. Is your GA the 4 cyl. Those tend to idle a little rougher then 6's. If it is more then normal it could be any a bunch of small things, congested air filter, dirt in the injectors, oil long over due for changing.

    Good Luck,
    Stephen
  • scrubbsscrubbs Member Posts: 2
    My 99 is a V6. Since it's almost at 30,000 I was thinking about the 30K service just a little early. I'm not sure how much those run in the Bay Area out here. I'm not too worried about the bit of rough idle but at the same time I don't want it to get any worse. Thanks for the info on the K & N filters Stephen. I'll look into it. Overall, the performance is very good on my GA. Hope I can get a few happy thousand miles on this.
  • pwilliamkpwilliamk Member Posts: 21
    I talked to the service department and with respect to the problem of rough starts. Since it has warmed up here the problem has disappeared. The gas mileage stills sucks pretty bad though. Sometimes I barely get 350 km or 220 miles on a tank of gas. This seems awfully low. I was told that it will improve drastically when I reach 7500 miles, is this true?

    As an aside does anybody know if they are going to come out with the 4cyl 5psd this year or are they going to wait till next year now. Driving an automatic just isn't as much fun as 5spd. Originally I ordered a 5spd but after waiting over six months I kind of got sick of waiting. The V6 in 5spd would be extremely nice but I don't for see that in the near future.

    Pete
  • jrdalejrdale Member Posts: 1
    I bought a 99 Grand Am SE1 in 98. Immediately had a bunch of problems which were eventually fixed, but if GM wants to improve anything about their cars it should be the level of service their dealers provide. It took me two and three trips to the dealership to get the same problem taken care of--and one time after they serviced my car they parked it in the front of their lot like it was for sale and left it unlocked with all my personal items it it--geniuses.
    Anyway, I've seen several problems mentioned which have been reoccurring on my car, and since its now out of warranty, I'd like any suggestions. I too experienced a whine in the steering under tight cornering, and I discovered that the power steering pump fluid was low, so I'd fill it up and it would end up low every couple of months or so. There was also a lot of fluid seeping out of the blowout cap on top. So I finally switched to putting DOT 3 fluid in there, and the leak seems have stopped, but now I'm experiencing another problem--after the fluid heats up there's almost no assist when you try to turn the wheel while stopped. Any suggestions? Someone in a post awhile back talked about a restrictor plate, but he didn't say where it was or how to remove it.

    Also, I've found a leak in my passenger door which dumps water onto my rear floorboard. Anyone know how to remove the door panel?

    As for the brake problem, I too warped my rotors after about 25,000 miles, and when I took it to the dealer, they told me that 25,000 is a lot of miles to get out of the rotors before turning them--that one had me laughing. I took the rotors off and had them turned and then had my mechanic adjust the brakes for more rear bias. I haven't had any problems with the brakes since. From what I hear, this sort of brake problem is common with GMs--a cousin who bought a Suburban had the same thing done and fixed his pulsing brakes.
  • crystal21crystal21 Member Posts: 2
    I have had continuous problems with my car from day one. I bought it with a dent in the trunk lid. It took me three trips to the dealer and body shop to correct the problem (at their expense). Within one week I had a blown fuse that took out my dome light. Fixed. Then I had the rotors replaces after 2,000 miles! Fixed at their expense. I talked to a man who works on cars that also owned a grand am. He had two sets of rotors put within 12,000 miles. All of this is covered under warranty which is great. However, if this these problems are reoccurring (rotors)then why is the problem not completely fixed.

    I fear that my rotors are starting to pulsate once again at 3,700 miles! This is ridiculous. Now I have discovered that the paint is chipping and peeling off my hood. It looks like I have white polka dots every where.

    Am I going to be able to enjoy this new car at some point?
  • pwilliamkpwilliamk Member Posts: 21
    I haven't had any major problems with my car yet but all kinds of little things. When I picked it up there were two large scratches on the hood they said it would be taken car of I have only had it two months and the scratches are present as ever. I think that they will take care of it. I find that the brakes are weak, I have a hesitancy in the engine when I start it, gas mileage is pretty poor especially since I have the 4 cyl. The thing that really gets me is the 5spd part. I had one ordered for 6 months and finally gave in and got the automatic. 6 weeks after I get my automatic I find that they are now making the five speeds now that really burns me. I love how the car looks, feels, and handles with exception of the braking power. If every one has the same problems why are they not doing something about it.

    Pete
  • pdxmanpdxman Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2000 Grand Am SE2 with sunroof/moonroof. Now I know the difference between a $600 roof and a $1200 roof. I didn't realize when I got the car that most roofs slide INTO the roof, not raise UP from the roof when fully opened. Besides causing some wind drag, it just out and out feels cheap compared the better roofs. I'll be in an accident one day, for sure. I keep looking for open sunroofs on the road and seeing what other cars are built like this. So far, it's only been cheaper GM (Sunfire, Cavalier, etc). Does anybody know how prevalent this type of sunroof is? Does anybody know if Alero, Grand Am's twin, has the same type of roof?
  • jojo29jojo29 Member Posts: 1
    I bought my car used, 21,000miles. A friend bought hers new, and had water trouble almost immediately (3,000) miles. There is a service bulletin out for this dumping water onto the floor boards. I had to wait 7 months for the dealer to get me a new radio...the cd player didn't work from day one. Finally had to call the gm 800 number for resolution.
  • pwilliamkpwilliamk Member Posts: 21
    I briefly considered an Alero. I am almost positive that the Alero comes with the same type of sunroof. The cars are exactly the same except for the body. As far as I know the the Civic Si and Si-R dip into the roof.

    Pete
  • dreric1dreric1 Member Posts: 1
    I bought my son a new 1999 Grand Am GT about one year ago. He really takes good care of the car considering that he is a 17 year old kid, but one day last week he thought that it would be cool to get into his practically new car with a large screwdriver in his pocket (he is a very "smart" kid), and apparently from what he has told me ripped a 4 inch gash in the leather on the front and a 3 inch gash in the leather with a hole on the bottom seat part all on accident. I don't know what to do about a situation like this, never had to deal with it, but should I take it to a dealer or try some "Leather Fixer." I don't think the creames will fill in a big tear and hole, but what do ya all think??
    Thanks Much!
    Eric M.D.
  • delgado3delgado3 Member Posts: 4
    I JUST BOUGHT A PONTIAC GRAND AM SE 4D. IT HAS 40,000 MILES ON IT. PONTIAC 98. I WOULD LIKE TO FIND OUT IF ANYBODY HAS HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH THIS VEHICLE. DEB.
  • nickpernickper Member Posts: 28
    What problems are you having? Do you have the 2.4 4-cyl or the 3.1 V-6 engine?
  • delgado3delgado3 Member Posts: 4
    I HAVE THE 3.1 V-6 ENGINE. PONTIAC GRANDAM 4DR SEDAN. IM HEARING SOME KIND OF CRACKLING NOISE WHEN I TURN TO MY RIGHT OR LEFT TURNS.I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP, THEY TOLD ME IT COULD BE THE RACK-PINON,IM WONDERING THIS CAR ONLY HAS 40,000M ON IT,COULD THIS BE THE PROBLEM,ALSO THE BRAKES,WHEN IM PRESSSING THE BRAKES TO A FAST STOP,THE BRAKES JERK, IS THIS NORMAL,OTHERWISE THE CAR IS A GOOD PRIVDER. DEB
  • delgado3delgado3 Member Posts: 4
    I HAVE THE 3.1 V-6 ENGINE. PONTIAC GRANDAM 4DR SEDAN. IM HEARING SOME KIND OF CRACKLING NOISE WHEN I TURN TO MY RIGHT OR LEFT TURNS.I TOOK IT TO A REPAIR SHOP, THEY TOLD ME IT COULD BE THE RACK-PINON,IM WONDERING THIS CAR ONLY HAS 40,000M ON IT,COULD THIS BE THE PROBLEM,ALSO THE BRAKES,WHEN IM PRESSSING THE BRAKES TO A FAST STOP,THE BRAKES JERK, IS THIS NORMAL,OTHERWISE THE CAR IS A GOOD PRIVIDER. 1998 PONTIAC GRANDAM 4DR SEDAN. DEB.
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