IllustrationDURING STARTING OR REGULAR DRIVING, THE SECURITY LIGHT WILL COME ON. SOON AFTER, THE CAR MAY SHUT DOWN OR WILL NOT START AT THE NEXT IGNITION CYCLE. THIS IS DUE TO A WIDELY-KNOWN FAILED PASSLOCK OR VATS SYSTEM. IT IS NOT DUE TO USER ERROR, AND IS POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS IF NOT FATAL AT THE WRONG TIME.
2005 Pontiac Grand Am
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Similar to other model years
Owner complaints for the 2005 Pontiac Grand Am do not stand out strongly from the model-year median of 82.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all Grand Am years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
50–25K
1525–50K
1650–75K
1175–100K
25100–150K
7150K+
79 reports with mileage · 23 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Electrical System. Review the 40 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Exterior Lighting. Review the 12 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Fuel System, Gasoline. Review the 11 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
15 crash reports1 fire reports6 injury reports
Engine complaints
10 reportsTL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED AN ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE IDLING ROUGHLY AND DECELERATING. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE MISFIRED; HOWEVER, THE DIAGNOSIS WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFCATURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE FAILURE MIL…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT EXPERIENCED AN ISSUE WITH THE VEHICLE IDLING ROUGHLY AND DECELERATING. THE DEALER DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE MISFIRED; HOWEVER, THE DIAGNOSIS WAS NOT PROVIDED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFCATURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VIN WAS INVALID. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS NOT PROVIDED.
WILL NOT TURN OVER UNLESS YOU LEAVE THE KEY ON FOR 8 MINUTES-PASS LOCK ISSUE I AM TOLD AND IS QUITE PREVALENT.....WHY IS THERE NOT A RECALL????
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START AND THE INSTRUMENT PANEL FAILED TO FUNCTION. THE CONTACT MENTIONED THAT THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 110,000.
I'M NOT SURE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS, MEDIA COVERAGE MADE THE LOCAL ISSUES IN COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO.
WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE PEDAL STUCK AND DID NOT RETURN BACK UP. INSTEAD IT STAYED DOWN AS THOUGH IT WAS STILL BEING DEPRESSED CAUSING THE ENGINE TO REV. I HAD TO PHYSICALLY GRAB THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND PULL IT TOWARDS ME TO TRY AND RETURN IT BACK TO ITS NORMAL POSITION. THIS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCAS…
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WHEN I TOOK MY FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE PEDAL STUCK AND DID NOT RETURN BACK UP. INSTEAD IT STAYED DOWN AS THOUGH IT WAS STILL BEING DEPRESSED CAUSING THE ENGINE TO REV. I HAD TO PHYSICALLY GRAB THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL AND PULL IT TOWARDS ME TO TRY AND RETURN IT BACK TO ITS NORMAL POSITION. THIS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS AND I HAD TO HAVE THE ENTIRE ACCELERATOR ASSEMBLY REPLACED, I CALLED GM ONLY TO BE TOLD THAT THE RECALL ON THIS KNOWN PROBLEM WAS FOR THE 03 GRAND AM MODELS, NOT THE 05 MODELS. I WONDER HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO DIE BEFORE GM DECIDES THEY ARE BETTER OFF FINANCIALLY TO RECALL THE 05 MODELS? *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AFTER CRASHING INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AS THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON WARNING LIGHT I…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAGS FAILED TO DEPLOY AFTER CRASHING INTO ANOTHER VEHICLE. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED AND A POLICE REPORT WAS FILED. IN ADDITION, THE CONTACT STATED ON ANOTHER OCCASION WHILE DRIVING 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AS THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 111,000.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE BEGAN SHAKING AND SMOKE WAS EMITTED FROM THE EXHAUST PIPE. A PRIVATE MECHANIC DIAGNOSED THAT THE VEHICLE HAD A BLOWN HEAD GASKET. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 113,000.
I HAD SEVERAL TIMES I WOULD BE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND EVEN THE HIGHWAY IT HAS DIED ON ME. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET THE DOOR LOCKS COME UNLOCK THAT I KNEW THE CAR DIED. WHEN I AM DRIVING MY FLASHERS ON MY CAR CONTINUE TO MAKE A TICKING NOISE. WHEN I TRY TO START THE CAR SOMETIMES I HAVE TO PUMP THE GAS AND I HAD ALREADY HAD F…
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I HAD SEVERAL TIMES I WOULD BE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND EVEN THE HIGHWAY IT HAS DIED ON ME. LUCKILY I WAS ABLE TO GET THE DOOR LOCKS COME UNLOCK THAT I KNEW THE CAR DIED. WHEN I AM DRIVING MY FLASHERS ON MY CAR CONTINUE TO MAKE A TICKING NOISE. WHEN I TRY TO START THE CAR SOMETIMES I HAVE TO PUMP THE GAS AND I HAD ALREADY HAD FUEL PUMP REPLACED. WHEN I START IT I HAVE TO WAIT FOR A SERVICE ENGINE SOON BEFORE I CAN START IT. SOMETIMES I BE DRIVING AND MY HEADLIGHTS WILL GO DIM AND I TURN IT UP AS FAR AND BRIGHT . IT STILL DON'T WORK. *JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE MAKING A TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND…
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TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC GRAND AM. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE MAKING A TURN AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO A DEALER FOR A DIAGNOSTIC. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 63,000.
Official recalls
214V400000 · Electrical System:ignition
Jul 3, 2014
This defect can affect the safe operation of the airbag system. Until this recall is performed, customers should remove all items from their key rings, leaving only the ignition key. The key fob (if applicable), should also be removed from the key ring. General Motors LLC (GM) notified the agency on July 3, 2014, that they are recalling 5,877,718 model year 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala and Monte Carlo, 1997-2003 Chevrolet Malibu, 2004-2005 Malibu Classic, 1999-2004 Oldsmobile Alero, 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1999-2005 Pontiac Grand Am and 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix vehicles. In these models, the weight on the key ring and/or road conditions or some other jarring event may cause the ignition switch to move out of the run position, turning off the engine.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury.
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will install two key rings and an insert in the key slot or a cover over the key head on all ignition keys, free of charge. The recall began on September 9, 2014. GM's number for this recall is 14350.
05V054000 · Suspension:rear
Feb 14, 2005
CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH REAR SUSPENSION KNUCKLE BOLTS THAT ARE NOT TO SPECIFICATION AND COULD FRACTURE UNDER HIGH LOADS THAT CAN OCCUR IN SOME DRIVING CONDITIONS.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IF THE BOLT FRACTURE, THE REAR SUSPENSION LINKAGE COULD DETACH FROM THE KNUCKLE AND THE REAR WHEEL WOULD BE ABLE TO TURN INBOARD OR OUTBOARD. SUDDEN CHANGES IN VEHICLE HANDLING COULD OCCUR, PARTICULARLY AT HIGHER SPEEDS, AND THE DRIVER MAY NOT BE ABLE TO CONTROL THE VEHICLE AND A CRASH COULD OCCUR WITHOUT WARNING.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPLACE BOTH REAR SUSPENSION KNUCKLE BOLTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 9, 2005. OWNERS MAY CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.