1995 Pontiac Grand Prix Special Edition 3.4 litre DOHC V6

Summary:

Great sports coupe for the money, power and performance is plentiful

Faults:

Fuel injectors.

Timing belt.

O-ring.

Struts.

Battery.

Sunroof.

Leather seat covers.

Power antenna

General Comments:

Overall, I love my Grand Prix. It has great handling and plenty of power. With almost 140000 miles on this car, I think the repairs that I've made over the years have been justified. To date it has new fuel injectors, struts, and new leather seat covers. I also had to make a repair to the sunroof, as it stopped working. The engine on this car has been well maintained all of its life, and runs strong, as well as the transmission. Do note, however, that the 3.4 DOHC engine is costly to work on, as you have to take it apart to do many things. For example, changing the o-ring around the oil pump required removing the heads, and timing belt, and ran very high in labor charges. If you take care of the engine, and know how the previous owners treated it, you shouldn't have too many problems. All parts wear out eventually though, even if it's a BMW or a Porsche.

The brakes on this car do need to be replaced more than the other cars at my house, of course, it's a lot of car to stop.

The key to this car is maintenance, rather than waiting for the car to tell you something is wrong by breaking down. It may cost money to maintain, but again, the labor on these cars is expensive at GM.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 18th January, 2005

1995 Pontiac Grand Prix SE 3.1 Liter SFI

Summary:

Great car, would buy another

Faults:

Tie-rods replaced at 165,000.

Spark plugs, and wires were original until I changed them at 171,000.

Transmission pump went resulting in a whine like a bad power steering pump and eventually the transmission quit. It was rebuilt at 172,000.

Water pump replaced at 175,000.

For all of those having trouble with brakes I found the solution: Ceramic brake pads, and machine or replace rotors. I did that at 177,000.

ABS Solenoid at 179,000.

Thermostat, and radiator cap at 179,000.

Cooling system back flush at 181,000.

Temp switch and temp sensor at 181,000.

Rear struts go bad and make really weird noises replaced at 183,000.

Alternator was original until replaced along with serpentine belt at 189,000.

Battery cables and new battery bolts at 189,000 (suspected cause of Alt failure)

General Comments:

My car is the 4-door model and I am very happy with it. My previous car did not need so much replaced, but this car has a lot more electronics. The car is very quick, but I made it faster by doing the following:

Removed Cat Converter, performance mufflers.

K & N Air filter.

Intake Air Temp sensor modification that makes computer think air is colder coming in than it is so it advances timing and increases fuel flow. They sell them on ebay, but if you or someone you know is familiar with electronics all you need is a 3.9K ohm resistor to plug into Intake air temp sensor plug this will make the car think the air coming in is about 30 degrees.

Another thing I did was install a transmission cooler which will make the transmission last longer.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th November, 2004

1995 Pontiac Grand Prix SE

Summary:

A nice car

Faults:

Car wouldn't start in hot days of summers initially, then if I wait for 10 - 15 minutes and try again sometimes it starts and sometimes it does. My believe is the chip in the the key stops communicating with the expansion due to heat.

General Comments:

Other than that the car is very good. I will buy the same car again only if I get satisfied the above problem is solved.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 4th July, 2004

1995 Pontiac Grand Prix Special Edition 3.1

Summary:

Sweet daily driver

Faults:

The brakes had to be serviced when I bought the car. I have had to replace the tensioner twice, the alternator twice, battery once, and put on new struts.

General Comments:

This is a great car.

I have no complaints about it.

The car is nine years old and people still turn their heads when I drive by.

The car is fairly quick.

It has been reliable.

My friends always want to take my car when we go out.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th April, 2004