2001 Pontiac Grand Am

I OWN A 2001 PONTAIC GRAND AM THAT I BOUGHT IN APRIL 05 HAVING BOUGHT IT USED I HAD IT ABOUT 20 DAYS WHEN MY SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT CAME ON TOOK IT TO THE DEALER THAT I BOUGHT IF FROM HE SENT IT TO HIS MECHANICS AND THE REPLACED THE COIL PACK BECAUSE IT WAS READING A MISFIRE ON CYLINDER 4. DIDN'T HAVE PROBLEM FOR ABOUT 8 MONTH SO I THOUGHT. ON DEC.20,2006 STARTED RUNNING REAL BAD HAD COIL PACK CHANGED, BOOTS, HOUSING, AND SPARK PLUGS AT THE NICE PRICE OF $200.00. IN 1 DAY TO FIND OUT STLL NOT WORKING RIGHT MECHANIC SAID PROBLEM IS INTERNAL AND THE ONLY WAY TO FIX THIS IS REPLACE MOTOR WHICH FOR A USED ONE ONLY $3300.00 UNLESS I WOULD LIKE A NEW ONE FOR $6000.00. I FEEL THAT THEY HAVE LOST THERE MINDS EXPECTING PEOPLE TO PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR ANOTHER JUNKY MOTOR WHEN THE ONE I HAVE NOW ONLY HAS 77000 MILES ON IT IT SHOULD BE LIKE THE ENERGIZER BUNNY STILL GOING I HAVE TAKEN EXCELLENT CARE OF MY CAR I DID TALK TO PONTAIC COMPLAINT LINE TO HAVE SMOKE BLOWN UP MY YOU KNOW WHAT THEY DONT CARE ABOUT THERE CUSTOMERS I OWE TO MUCH TO TRADE IT IN AND CAN'T AFFORD TO FIX IT SO NOW I HAVE A CAR PAYMENT AND CAN'T EVEN DRIVE IT PONTAIC NEED TO FIX THERE JUNK THEY HAVE ON THE ROAD BEFORE SOMEBODY GETS HURT OR KILLED DRIVING THIS STUFF I KNOW I WILL NEVER OWN ANOTHER IF I CAN GET RID OF THIS. *NM

GRINDING SOUND IN FRONT BRAKES. DEALER REPLACED ROTORS AT MY EXPENSE. STILL MAKING GRINDING NOICE. BREAKS SEEM TO HAVE BEEN A PROBLEM SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW IN 2001. RECALL OF BLINKER SWITCH. BLINKING (INSIDE ABOVE RADIO) NOISE CAME BACK AFTER 1 YEAR. DEALER SAYS THAT RECALL WAS FOR THE HAZARD LIGHTS NOT THE TURN SIGNALS? CAR WON'T START AND SECURITY LIGHT ON. HAVE TO WAIT 10 MINUTES WITH CAR IN (ON) POSITION AND THEN CAR WILL START..THIS INFORMATION IS LOCATED IN THE OWNERS MANUAL (ARE THEY EXPECTING THIS PROBLEM?) DEALER SAID AT FIRST THAT MY KEY WAS WORN OUT THAT'S WHY IT'S NOT READING IT CORRECTLY AND THEN LATER STATED THAT THE SENSOR WAS BAD IN THE IGNITION SWITCH. HAD TO REPLACE IGNITION SENSOR SWITCH AT MY EXPENSE. REAR FLOOR BOARD BEHIND DRIVERS SIDE GETS WET. NO KNOWN CAUSE. RECENTLY THE SERVICE VEHICLE SOON LITE CAME ON. DEALER REPAIRED AT MY EXPENSE. DEALER SAID THAT THE HEADLIGHTS WERE OUT AND A PART WAS CRACKED. HEATER/AC BUTTONS 1 AND 2 DO NOT WORK. RECENTLY NOTICED THAT WHEN I DRIVE I HEAR GRINDING SOUNDS SEEMS TO BE COMING FROM THE BODY OF THE CAR, LIKE IT'S COMING UNSCREWED. JUST TOOK MY CAR IN FOR REPAIRS OF IGNITION SWITCH, 4 NEW TIRES, A BACK SEAT SEATBELT REPLACEMENT AND MY DRIVERS SIDE AUTOMATE SEAT ADJUSTER WAS WORKING THE MORNING I TOOK IT IN. WHEN I PICKED UP MY CAR IT WAS MAKING A GRINDING SOUND AND THE SEAT CUSHION WAS TORN. SERVICE MANAGER SAYS THEY WILL REPLACE THE SEAT CUSHION BUT THEY DON'T THINK THEY BROKE THE SEAT ADJUSTER AND THE SERVICE MANAGER SAYS THAT MAYBE THE SEAT ADJUSTER JUST DECIDED TO GO ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY. I'M NOW FIGHTING TO HAVE THEM REPAIR WHAT THEY BROKE. I WILL NEVER GO TO NUCAR PONTIAC IN DELAWARE FOR REPAIRS AGAIN. THIS IS THE WORST CAR I'VE EVER OWNED. I THINK MOST OF THESE PROBLEMS SHOULD BE RECALLS SINCE MANY PEOPLE HAVE THEM. I WILL NEVER BUY A GM CAR AGAIN. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP TO MAKE THE CAR MAKERS RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR POOR WORKMANSHIP. *NM

WHERE TO START...I HAVE A 2001 PONTIAC GRAND AM. WITHIN 2 MONTHS OF BUYING IT, MY FUEL PUMP & COMPUTER WENT OUT AT THE SAME TIME. NEXT WAS MY WATER PUMP & TIMING CHAIN. THEN WAS THE SECURITY SYSTEM, THEN THE TURN SIGNALS, THEN THE WINDOWS WOULDN'T ROLL DOWN. AND NOW MY BRAKES ARE HAVING TO BE REPLACED ON A CONSISTENT BASIS. THE ONLY THING COVERED BY GM WAS THE TURN SIGNAL SWITCH. ALL OTHER REPLACEMENTS WERE AT MY EXPENSE. AFTER RESEARCHING ON THIS SITE, I SEE NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME KIND. I NOTIFIED GM AND THEY REFUSED TO HELP AT ALL. I EXPLAINED THAT SINCE THERE ARE MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS FOR THE SAME THINGS, IT HAS TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT. THEY SHRUGGED THAT OFF. THEY FINALLY SENT ME A LETTER STATING THAT THEY WOULD NO LONGER "ENTERTAIN" ANY OF MY COMMENTS OR COMPLAINTS. DO NOT BUY A PONTIAC!!! JUNK CITY!!! *NM

SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT AND COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON AT THE SAME TIME, EVENTUALLY CAUSING THE HEAD GASKETS TO BLOW. BESIDES HAVING TO REPLACE THE GASKETS, THE OXYGEN SENSOR HAD TO BE REPLACED AS WELL. ALSO, WHILE THE CAR WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY, AT 32,567 MILES, THE DEALER FOUND A COOLANT LEAK AT THE UPPER INTAKE GASKETS AND LOWER INTAKE GASKETS, AND REPLACED BOTH GASKETS, AS WELL AS THE OIL PUMP DRIVE SEAL AND RELATED PARTS.

I JUST RECENTLY REPLACED THE COOLANT INTAKE IN MY 2001 PONTIAC GRAND AM SE 6 CYLINDER. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THAT HE HAS SEEN THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE AND THAT IT IS A COSTLY MANUFACTURING ERROR. I ALSO HAVE TO REPLACE MY MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH WHEN THE TURN SIGNAL RECALL CAME OUT. I HAVE DONE A LITTLE RESEARCH ON THE COOLANT INTAKE PROBLEM AND AS I HAVE STATED I HAVE FOUND THAT AS WELL AS MY GM DEALER HAVE ALL NOTED THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE GASKET IN IT'S RELATION TO THE DEX-COOL COOLANT (THE COOLANT IS ACIDIC AND EATS AWAY AT THE GASKET WHICH LEADS TO COOLANT GETTING INTO ENGINE OR OIL GETTING INTO COOLANT). I WOULD LIKE TO LOOKED AT FURTHER. *JB

FOR THE SECOND TIME I AM REPLACING THE INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET IN MY 2001 PONTIAC GRAND AM GT. MY MECHANIC, ALSO THE PLACE THAT CHANGES MY OIL, AS WELL AS MY GM DEALER HAVE ALL NOTED THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FLAW WITH THE GASKET IN IT'S RELATION TO THE DEX-COOL COOLANT (THE COOLANT IS ACIDIC AND EATS AWAY AT THE GASKET WHICH LEADS TO COOLANT GETTING INTO ENGINE OR OIL GETTING INTO COOLANT). MECHANIC SAYS HE SEES AT LEAST ONE OF THESE A WEEK (VERY SMALL TOWN, LOW POPULATION, HIGH INCIDENCE -- IS RELATED TO THE ENGINE THAT GM USED FOR THAT YEAR AND MODEL (AND OTHERS AS WELL).. MINE HAPPENS TO BE THE 3.4 LITRE. *JB

I PURCHASED MY 2001 GRAND AM GT SECOND HAND IN SEPTEMBER 04. THE 1 PREVIOUS OWNER WAS MY MECHANIC'S BROTHER IN-LAW AND HAS BEEN WELL MAINTAINED WHEN HE OWNED IT AS WELL AS SINCE I HAVE OWNED IT. MY PROBLEMS STARTED AS SOON AS I LEFT THE LOT. WITHIN A MONTH THE CAR HAD BEEN BACK INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE BREAK PADS REPLACED AND ROTORS RE-SURFACED. MY BREAKS HAVE MADE A CONSTANT RUBBING/GRINDING NOISE AND NO AMOUNT OF WORK HAS SOLVED THE PROBLEM. I ALSO HAVE THIS INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET ISSUE. IN DECEMBER OF 05 THE LOW COOLANT LIGHT BEGAN COMING ON AS WELL AS THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHT. I ATTEMPTED TO ADD COOLANT BUT THE CAP TO THE COOLANT TANK WAS BADLY BROKEN AND REQUIRED THE REPLACEMENT OF THE ENTIRE TANK - SINCE THE CAP WOULD NOT COME OFF EVEN WITH A MECHANICS HELP. THIS SOLVED THE PROBLEM FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS - BUT IN FEBRUARY 06 THE COOLANT ALARM STARTED AGAIN - I ADDED MORE COOLANT AND CONTINUED TO DRIVE IT FOR ANOTHER MONTH. WHEN THE COOLANT ALARM SOUNDED AGAIN IN MARCH I TOOK IT TO MY MECHANIC WHO FOUND THE COOLANT LEAK FROM THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. $800-$900 TO FIX THE PROBLEM. THIS WAS THE SECOND INTAKE MANIFOLD HE FOUND ON A GM CAR THE SAME DAY AND HE TOLD ME THERE IS A SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS. WHY IS GM NOT BEING FORCED TO RE-CALL THIS? COME ON - I HAVE BEEN RESEARCHING FOR 1 DAY AND FOUND HUNDREDS OF EXAMPLES OF THIS PROBLEM. I AM A SINGLE MOTHER ON A VERY TIGHT BUDGET - OWE MORE ON THIS PIECE OF $)%& THAN IT IS WORTH AS IT IS! MY CAR HAS BEEN PARKED FOR A MONTH AND I AM BUMMING RIDES WHILE I MAKE MONTHLY PAYMENTS ON A PRETTY CAR - NICE TO LOOK AT SITTING IN MY DRIVEWAY ! *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY STALLED, WITHOUT WARNING, WHILE DRIVING 70-75MPH. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED AFTER WAITING ABOUT FIVE MINUTES. ALSO, THE FUEL GAUGE SHOWED AN INACCURATE READING AND NO MORE THAN SEVEN DOLLARS OF GASOLINE CAN BE PUMPED INTO THE TANK BEFORE THE PUMP SHUTS OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS SEEN BY THE SERVICE DEALER WHO WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM.