2004 Pontiac Grand Am

SECURITY SYSTEM FAILURE...NO WARNING. SECURITY LIGHT ON AS I WENT TO WORK. THE CAR SAT ALL DAY...THEN IT WOULDN'T START. THE CAR DOES NOT RECOGNIZE MY KEYS. IN DOING SOME RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR ALL GRAND AMS, NOT JUST FOR 2004 MODELS. WHY DOES PONTIAC CONTINUE TO USE DEFECTIVE PASSLOCK SYSTEMS IN THEIR CARS. COST TO REPAIR RUNS APPROXIMATELY 450.00. IN MY RESEARCH I HAVE FOUND THAT EVEN AFTER IT IS "FIXED" IT CAN AND DOES HAPPEN AGAIN. I WOULD THINK THAT PONTIAC SHOULD QUIT USING THEM AND PUTTING THEM ON THEIR CARS, OR PAY FOR THE REPAIRS SINCE THEY KNOW IT IS BAD AND GOING TO GO BAD OVER AND OVER AGAIN. IT ISN'T LIKE THE CAR IS A BMW OR ROLLS OR SOMETHING. I FOR ONE COULD LIVE WITHOUT THE PASSLOCK SECURITY SYSTEM. *TR

AFTER TURNING THE SIGNAL LIGHT CONTINUES TO TICK NON STOP. WE CONTACTED THE DEALER AFTER LEARNING THIS PROBLEM IS VERY COMMON. THEY STATED THERE IS NO RECALL ON THE SWITCH PROBLEM LOCATED IN THE STEERING COLUMN BUT IT IS ON THE BULLETIN...NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS...THEN WE WERE TOLD IT WOULD BE $350 OUT OF OUR POCKET TO FIX THIS VERY COMMON PROBLEM. *TR

THE PASSLOCK ANTI-THEFT DEVICE INSTALLED IN THE IGNITION SWITCH OF MY '04 PONTIAC GRAND AM SE WILL ENGAGE AND MAKE MY CAR IMPOSSIBLE TO START. IT HAPPENS SEVERAL TIME PER WEEK SINCE I PASSED 36,000 MILES, NOW AT 36,868. I THOUGHT MINE WAS AN ISOLATED CASE, BUT AFTER READING COMPLAINT AFTER COMPLAINT FROM CUSTOMERS WHO HAVE THIS DEVICE INSTALLED IN THEIR VEHICLES IT'S OBVIOUS THAT THIS DEVICE HAS A DESIGN FLAW SINCE MANY HAVE HAD THEIR IGNITION SWITCHES REPLACED ONLY TO HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM HAPPEN AGAIN AND AGAIN. GM EVEN LISTS A PROCEDURE TO "RESET" THE ANTI-THEFT SENSOR IN MY OWNERS MANUAL. I HAVE A PREGNANT WIFE AND TWO OTHER SMALL CHILDREN. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN AN EMERGENCY WHEN I GET INTO MY CAR AND CAN'T GET IT STARTED BECAUSE OF THIS FAULTY DEVICE? WAIT 10 MINUTES FOR THIS CONTRAPTION TO "RESET" ITSELF WHILE PRECIOUS TIME IS TICKING AWAY? WHEN THIS ANTI-THEFT SENSOR ISN'T KEEPING ME FROM STARTING THE ENGINE THE IGNITION SWITCH AND EVERYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH IT WORKS BEAUTIFULLY. I WOULD LIKE FOR GM TO COME WITH A SOLUTION TO THIS ANNOYING AND POSSIBLY LIFE THREATENING FAULTY SENSOR AND REPLACE THE THE IGNITION SWITCH WITH A MORE RELIABLE SWITCH OR PAY TO HAVE THE DEALERSHIP DISABLE THIS USELESS HEADACHE ALTOGETHER. *TR

ON MY 2004 GRAND AM NOTICED AFTER USING TURN SIGNAL... CLICKING NOISE COMING FROM DASH BEHIND HAZARD SIGNAL STARTED AND NOW SMOKE HAS STARTED COMING FROM THE STEERING COLUMN WITH ONLY 43K MILES ON CAR... NOTICED SEVERAL OTHER COMPLAINTS OF THE SAME PROBLEM AND THAT THIS WAS RECALLED ON EARLIER MODELS... SHOULDN'T THIS RECALL BE EXTENDED?? *TR

SECOND COMPLAINT REGARDING THE TURN SIGNAL ELECTRICAL PROBLEM. THIS PROBLEM IS A RESULT OF A DEFECTIVE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH AND IS PRESENT IN OTHER YEARS OF THE GRAND AM AS WELL AS OTHER GM VEHICLES. IN RESEARCHING THIS PROBLEM I HAVE LEARNED THAT IT IS NOT A MATTER OF "IF" IT WILL HAPPEN TO YOUR PONTIAC BUT RATHER "WHEN" IT WILL HAPPEN. MY PONTIAC WAS REPAIRED JANURARY 18, 2008. THE FOLLOWING IS THE DESCRIPTION OF THE REPAIR FROM THE MECHANIC: DIAGNOSE CLICKING NOISE IN DASH, DISMANTLE DASH FACE AND CHECK WIRING AND SWITCHES, CHECK TBS'S AND RECALLS. PROBLEM CAUSED BY SHORT IN MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH THAT DAMAGED FLASHER UNIT. R&R STEERING COLUMN COVERS AND AIR BAG TO GAIN ACCESS TO REPLACE MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH, REPLACE HAZARD LAMP SWITCH/FLASHER UNIT. PART DESCRIPTION: MULTI FUNCTION SWITCH ASSEMBLY (HEADLAMPS, WIPERS, TURN SIGNALS, DIMMER ALL IN ONE UNIT.) HAZARD LAMP/FLASHER UNIT ASSEMBLY. TOTAL COST $474.31. MY COST TO RENT A CAR $59.85. IF YOU WILL REFER BACK TO 2000, GM RECALL NO03043 AND 2001 GM RECALL NO03043 YOU WILL SEE THESE VEHICLES WERE RECALLED FOR EXACTLY THE SAME THING! IN ADDITION TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF A POSSIBLE CRASH AS A RESULT OF THE DEFECTIVE SWITCH THAT YOU NOTED, YOU MIGHT WANT TO ADD THAT 1) IT IS VERY DISTRACTING 2) IF THE VEHICLE IS NOT REPAIRED, THE BRAKE LITES START FAILING, THE STEERING ASSEMBLY STARTS SMOKING....AND BEST OF ALL, IF YOU TAKE IT TO CERTIAN PONTIAC DEALERS THEY HAVE ACTUALLY STATED THAT THE SMOKING WAS NORMAL DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS!!! I SINCERELY HOPE THAT SOMETHING IS DONE ABOUT THIS BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED. THINK OF YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS AND GIVE THIS SOME ATTENTION. THIS IS NOT ABOUT MONEY ANYMORE. *CN