Owners' Reviews

I have a 2003 Pontiac Grand AM and it always kills when i`m backing out, go to slow down, or make a complete stop. What can be causing my car to do this ? I`ve taking it to numerous mechanics and no one can seem to find the problem with it.

Had overheating problem that brought me cross country, but it's under control and only replaced a few usual items once since I bought it in 1999. It's been great for years and up to 220,000 miles. Best car I've ever driven and have been happy driving it. Only a few little glitches, but overall a great car to drive. I've driven across the US 6 times, 4 Canadian provinces and will soon drive through the last 3 of the lower 48 states I haven't yet driven through. Great car.

I bought my 1998 Pontiac Grand Am Gt for $1,800. I bought it with 175,xxx miles on it. When looking at the car for the first time, I loved it. It had a really nice body, although the front bumper was an off-white to the car's pearl white. The interior was nice; no tears, no nothing. However, the dash board around the steering wheel and the CD player was coming apart. I did not mind the little cosmetic issues. I bought the car. On the way home, it was fine. I noticed it would need new shocks and tires. The air worked, it all worked. Except the seat belt sensor would NOT go off. I was not worried about that. I was about 15 miles from my house (getting it home), the AC went out and it overheated!! I had not had the car a day and it broke down on me. I had it towed the rest of the way home thanks to my preacher. My step dad, who is a mechanic, worked about $1,000 of labor into the car for free. I had to purchase an all new head gasket kit (the heads did not crack--thank God). He got it running. I was so excited. I had had it for about five months and I finally got to drive it again. First thing: went and got new tires for it. I drove it only once or twice a week. It was fine, except when I would come to a stop (either at a stop light or a stop sign) the car would start to jump and act like it wanted to die. A couple of times it did die on me. I was guessing the fuel gauge was wrong. I guessed this because when it would be at a half tank, it would start doing that. When I would fill it up until it could not hold any more, it would be perfectly fine. We had it hooked up to a computer to see if anything was making it do that and the computer said everything was fine. Well, I just kept gas in it. It was fine. Then I made a two hour trip, there an back. It did wonderfully. I was proud. I then drove it the next day and found out that the radiator had cracks in it. Fluid was gushing everywhere, and the car overheated, yet again. I purchased a new radiator for it. My step dad got it in for me, but the car still would not run. So, he tore it all down again and found out that I would need a new head gasket kit. The heads were not cracked. And that is where I am with it right now. The tires have 95% tread left, and I cannot drive it. As soon as it gets running again, I am selling it. I need something that I know will be reliable. I would NOT recommend the '98 Grand Am Gt to anyone. A Grand Am can be a good car. CAN be, if it is bought new. They are just known for overheating. And that is exactly what mine did to me, twice. I love it, but I just cannot keep affording it to overheat.

me and my g/f just bought a 95 grand am se sedan for $600. it needed a serpintine belt which i replace on 10/22/11 even though it was a lil bit of a pain. it has 101,589mi on it and it's due for plugs and oil change. but for only $600 and only needing a few very minor things i think it was a good buy, if u have advice for me e-mail me @ timesten2003@yahoo.com that way i'll have a heads up for whats to come

I have had nothing but problems with this car ever since it was purchased. I had to replace the heads. Put on a new starter. Unhook the tork converter and now the gear shifter button fell out and the gear shifter is broken. The car leaks on the passenger side. I cannot believe so many things could happen to one car. It is a 1992 grand am. Now I'am stuck with this car and can not afford to get another car because I'am on disability and a fixed income.

bought this car new now has 92000 miles. just blew head gasket ,check engine lights on for 2 years. sun roof will open then wont close till it wants to replaced all 4 window parts to open and close windows dealer charged 597.00 can buy at auto parts store for 189.00 only 4 bolts. dashboard curling up . my wife loves this car. but it time to go still looks showroom new

My 2003 Pontiac Grand am has 115,000 miles on it and it started going dead. When someone at Oreillys put it on there machine the throttle positioning sensor code was in the computer. I carried it to the dealer and it turned out to be the starter going out

I have a Pontiac Grand Am its a 97' and I'm having problems with it. When the car is coming to a stop the engine will bogg out and then when its at a total stop like at a stop light and I accelerate it dies on me. I will start back up and go but everytime it stops it dies when I accelerate. We already changed the fuel filter and the coils so im not too sure whats wrong.

I have a '99 Grand Am SE. I LOVE IT!!! There is 197,000 miles and going string. Ive owned it for 2 years now and have had no major problems. I replaced the thermostat, brake caliper and thats about it. I do have a problem with my trunk getting water in it and also the rear fascia lights have standing water! My transmission slips sometimes. I find it very weird that there is no place to check your fluid unless you take it to a dealer/mechanic. My son will soon be 15 so I am giving him "Cherry Bomb". He doesnt like it because its a 2-door. The only reason for that is because he has gotten his foot caught in the seatbelt trying to get out of the back seat and fallen flat on his face. Anyways......Love my car!! Would get another in the blink of an eye!!!! PONTIAC BABY!!

170,000 miles and counting. Other than normal wear and tear, it's been a reliable vehicle. Never gave me any problems.

No maintenance has been required in 7 years except for normal wear and tear. Tires, wiper blades etc. Replaced front disk brake pads at 60,000 miles but they could have easily lasted another 20,000. The only major complaint about the car is rear view visibility. It sucks and there are more than one blind spot. Really have to check the rear view and side mirrors before passing etc. All in all this has been a great car.

car has been pretty reliable so far

owned this car for seven years.bought it with 28,000 miles .now has 115,000 miles roughly. one fuel pump and a new battery replaced is all ive done to it other then routine maitenance.best car i've ever had.

I have had my car for 110,000 so far and there have been no major issues beyond normal wear and tear.

The only other car that had every problem imaginable occur was my 1984 Chevy Camaro. I only wish I had stopped throwing money after bad. The best thing to do is to drive this car off a short pier(if you have one near you, as I don't). -Ugh!!!!

I own a 99' Grand AM GT, and I love it, it has 160K on it and I have been maintaining this vehilce since it had 20K on it. Runs strong every day for me

Good driving and riding car. I have had a 96' grand am se and currently a 98' grand am gt both have had coolant leaks and overheating problems. If you have to replace anything it's extremely difficult. If you can fix the coolant leak problems it would be a good car.

I have had this car since 03' It had around 25K when i bought it & its now at 70k. I didn't put many miles on it but since i had it, it had/has many electrical problems. I think my problem was that i put in an amp/sub (sound system) in it with the stock battery & it litterly died in 06' where i had to use my portable battery jumper anytime the car needed a start. My suggestion if you have this car & want to hook up a sound system up to it, replace the battery with an OPTIMA or another high end battery & replace it if it ever stops working for you. You might avoid electrical problems this way. If you do repairs on your own, i highly suggest you have the A/C system done professionally. You can install a new compressor (only after a pro ejects all the AC Coolant). Never, add coolant yourself. I made the mistake by overcharging the system when my BCM (Body Control Module) was going out on me. (yet another electrical problem). Overall the car works great for me, i only use Shell premium with mine (V6-3.4 Litre Engine) & the engine performance is great, works like new (yea just wait til i hit 130-160K). If you take care of this car & not treat it like your rustbucket, meaning do all oil changes (every 3,000-6,000 miles) or since the 2000 grand ams have a change oil light indicator change it during that time. Do what the manual says for preventive maintenence & you should be fine. And, if your check engine light comes on & flashes get it to a repair facility immediately. (you might be able to stop by a auto part store that checks the codes for you). If its not flashing its minor but should be checked out right away to avoid a more serious problem. It could be bad spark plugs, or you didn't put your gas cap on correctly. Get regular check ups even though it seems to run good, when i need my oil changed i get a free inspection to see what needs replacing. Since this is car is 10 years old (like any other car) you definatly want a professional (trusted) mechanic looking at the car to see what needs fixing/replacing & also i look at it this way, no car is junk, the only problems i see with the cars are how the previous owner(s) cared for their car (or didn't). Of course grand ams are not flawless, they do have their own share of problems or defects.

stay away from 2000 pontiac. it's a piece of junk

This car has been nothing but problems since the day I bought it. I'm constantly repairing and replacing suspension components, struts, bushings, you name it. The electrical harness is a joke. One day the car won't start, two days later none of the lights work, and by the weekend everything works again. I've spent hours trying to seal this car but it still floods everytime it rains. The engine and drivetrain have worked well but space is cramped so be ready for some miserable repairs. Just to swap the serpentine you have to remove the entire passenger side engine mount assembly and put the motor on a jack. Replacing the radiator requires you bleed and disconnect the AC lines. When the factory alternator was installed they put the main bolt in the wrong way requiring the whole thing be cut apart because there wasn't enough clearance to the suspension tower (this was down in the dead of winter in a supermarket parking lot). If you value your time, money, and don't want your kids learning a barrage of nasty words please just avoid this car at all costs.

I Got this car last year from a friend for 500 guess what same engine as my old firebird, that said... I love it but at 17 years old the interior is still pretty sweet. The worst repair I have done is replacing the Heater core.$30 Cheap enough (but not a fun Job) other than that minor maintnence, most expensive part i've replaced is the top motor mount $ 50. This car is Sweet!!!!

I have owned a Grand am for about a week and it is now in the shop. Enough said. loved the tight ride and driver controls for the week it was running. Pontiac could be on to something if they put in the time and worksmanship to make it right so it would last. To damn much like BP. And our government. To anyone who took the time to read this, thx for listening to me vent.

So far I've had a good run with my 03, 2.2L ecotec engine. It hasn't lived an easy life, spent multiple winters in Michigan without the comfort of a garage (never had to replace the original ACDelco battery). Just replaced the brakes, but they were due. Bought it with 30,000 miles, now nearing 70,000. Its getting up in mileage to where I'm trying to do the little things right (keeping it fairly clean and lubed up) so that I don't have a big expense down the road. Also helps to have an upfront mechanic who'll tell you what repairs can wait. My wife has the 6 cylinder model with over 100,000 (also an 03). Her starter is going, but in general has had few problems.

Love my Grand Am GT, no problems with this car!!

One of the best cars I have ever owned. it has 230,000 miles on it and I have never had a problem with the engine. A few problems with the brakes and air cond. but that is all. An excellent car!

I got mine at 83,000 miles, currently I'm at 202,000 (over 5 years). I've replaced the rack and pinion twice and still have a problems with it. Other than that I've just replaced common items like the water pump, vacuum hoses, tires, and brakes. The problem with my rack and pinion is that it leaks power steering fluid. Both times I got it replaced by a 3rd party repair shop and both times it worked for a year and then started leaking and popping again. Since my water pump replacement I've been taking it to the Pontiac dealership and I haven't had the same issue twice. For the rack and pinion I just fill up the power steering fluid every 3 months, because it's 1200 to fix it by the dealership.

So I have a 2000 grand am and its junk. The brake lights are shorted out, the front pass. window worked when it wanted to and both pass. side windows are now off track. The braking system sucks! My engine light wont shut off and noone knows why. The water pump has went out. I've had numerous ignition problems...2 of them involving Security light crap and a non-start of my p.o.s. The intake manifold has had leaking gaskets. The power steering has failed. The engine revs uncontrolled and by itself occasionally. My side mirror fell off by itself! The heat/ac resistor has stopped working 4 times. The fan motor has also failed. The battery shorts out occasionally. My warning lights illuminate telling me there's a problem, but really there's nothing wrong at all, they will flash or go out w/in a day. The radio/cd/clock display no longer functions. The tachometer shoots up somtime when the car is turned off. My turn signals click long after the switch has been tured off. And currently the car stalled out on me while driving down the interstate at 70mph and left me w/ no steering or brakes, it will not restart. I've had problems w/ the way it starts since I bought the thing in 2001...slow and hesitant, sometimes hard starts. GM dealers say they don't know what the problem is. I've had problems w/ this car since purchased in 2001 and really went down hill a couple of months after the warranty expired, the car had less than 36,000 mi...don't ever buy one of these cars, stay away from pontiac!!! I take care of my car and it still fell apart! Buy a honda, I wish I had! I've seriously put $5000 into this car and bought it for about $13000 in '01...it's not worth the trouble...stay away! Everyone I know that has owned a grand am has had similar problems!

Barakes have always been a problem with all GM cars owned in the past. Pads and rotors NEVER last more than half of short term estimate. Currently having probs with cooling system and no warning lights came on and was given a vague description of what the problem might be by dealer. Otherwise.. only expensive repair has been $600 to replace pwr window switches and inside parts for driver side window. All others have been very minor.

Had this car three years this month and the only things we've had to do to it are the strut mounts (under warranty), the battery, tires, spark plugs, brakes (pads and rotors), a washer pump as well as a floor mat. The right rear window has seized up on us a couple of times, but this is very minor. Total cost of these repairs was less than $600 and most is considered normal wear and tear. Not much to look at, after all, it's a Grand Am. The interior is cheap-looking, quirky and for a six footer such as myself, this car is a challenge to get in and out of. It’s as if General Motors deliberately made a car that only people of short stature could fit in. My wife loves this car and drives it 90% of the time and it’s been very reliable. It had 17000 miles on it when we bought it, it has 46000 at present. It has the 2.2 liter Ecotech 4 engine.