2003 Pontiac Grand Am GT from North America - Comments

LOL! Is that a joke question? OK the car was 3 years old, with 54k miles on it, when I watched it burn to the ground.

On the day of purchase of the vehicle, there was no right headlight, and power door locks and windows didn't work!

The motor was replaced at 12k miles.

The first transmission was replaced at 16k.

The 2nd transmission was at 36.5k.

As well as the 2nd motor!

The 3rd motor was put in at 53k.

Fuel pump once at 35k and again at 49k.

Brakes; I swear they were serviced once a month.

The front end alignment was horrible on numerous accounts.

The car started by itself, which scared me!

The car finally overheated and caught fire, and was a total loss.

Pontiac didn't want to approve my repairs since I was 16-17 at the time, and "it was my driving habits".

OK lets face it GM sucks; there is no other way to put it!

This Grand Am was purchased by my grandparents for my first car. I was 16 when I received this vehicle. I was excited! My first car, and it was brand new with 9 miles on it, and was a cute car. Well, was I wrong about the whole situation. The day I got the car, I didn't test drive it, because in the state of Georgia we are not allowed to test drive a vehicle before we are 18, for insurance reasons. And my grandparents didn't feel like test driving it.

Well we took the car home, and I noticed some things, such as the power door locks and windows didn't seem to work! And the right headlight was blown.

It went to the shop; it took them 3 weeks to fix the first problem. OK the car drove fine and was great. I loved the features in it, such as the sunroof and the monsoon sound system.

Well now the brakes; they were changed every month, just about. I know that every time I went for an oil change, they told me "have you checked your brakes yet?" and I said "I did them the last time you changed my oil". they was like it is the Pontiacs these days.

I was in high school, and already on a budget. Yes, the car was new mind you, but my grandparents had already put enough into this car. The Grand Am wasn't cheap back in the day, but let it roll off the lot, and you lose half of the value already.

OK, now here we were around 12k miles, and I was merging onto I75 from I285 (for everyone, this is like the worst place in Atlanta, GA for merging) and I all of the sudden went from 80mph to around 55mph. My car lost power and the accelerator was not responding. I basically had to sling over 6 lanes of traffic, almost causing many wrecks, but I had no choice. They said the head gasket blew, causing my motor to be junked. GM didn't want to cover the issue, since I was a 16 year old at the time, and I was racing the motor. They said the car was overheated. Well, isn't that what causes a head gasket to burst? They said this once; my other issues as well (that dealt with the drivetrain).

At 35k my fuel pump just died on me on a trip to Toronto, Canada. The Pontiac place told me that it would be 2 nights for the part and installation. OK, well it turned into a week and a half. After I got in, I noticed the gas hand didn't work, so I called the Pontiac place and informed them that I would just swing back by on the way home. They said, "No, you bring the car back today before we close or we will not fix it". I was in Ky, and I didn't feel like turning around so I just forget about it. It would be like a $25 repair.

Boy, was I wrong! It was quoted at $235 (since they have to remove the fuel pump just to get to the reader).

At 49k miles, I ran out of gas and it caused the fuel pump to go bad again!

Now at 53k miles, I have replaced my 3rd motor, and I was already on my 2nd transmission. The car would like to start itself.

And the night that ended it all, was October 13th, 2006. Yes, Friday the 13th. I was at a party which was being held at my house. We all noticed my car's engine was on, but I had the keys in my hand. Everyone thought I was playing a joke, but my car caught fire and it burned to the ground before the fire department arrived at my house.

I have talked many people out of buying this car. They said, "I don't believe you". I carried around my booklet of receipts, and if they still didn't believe me, I even let some drive my car and they changed their mind really quick.

The car was great when it would work properly. I kept it clean, didn't drive down dirt roads, and I didn't even hotrod it (because I was scared to get it over 4000 rpm, as it felt like the motor were about to pop out of the hood and the wheels were about to roll off).

But now I have a 2005 Ford Focus ST; I even hotrod it and I am still getting better mpg, and better performance, as well as lower initial cost than the Grand Am. Heck, even the insurance is cheaper!

So I am sticking with Ford. Bye bye, GM.

Well, you will have the same problems with any car that you rag out! When I was your age, I'll have to admit that I ragged on my cars too but I didn't blame the car for falling apart.

Wow, what bad luck...I've had a 2003 GT (it got written off) and another 2003, only an SCT, and I've only had to replace 1 caliper and get the pulley replaced in the driver side window on the SCT out of the two!!

I don't carry around any of the receipts for repairs on my 2001 Grand Am, because there AREN'T ANY. In 8 years the car has been flawless. It has been the best car I've ever owned. I've talked several people INTO buying a used Grand Am after taking them for a ride in mine and showing them the awesome power and great handling (better than my 2007 Mustang). My only "repairs" (and I don't really count them as that) have been one battery and the front brake pads (a 20-minute job that cost me $18) at 70,000 miles. The rear brakes are still original.

Well, this is what happens when you give a kid a car that they didn't work for and don't appreciate. Blowing 3 engines and 2 transmissions in 53,000 miles adds up to only one thing --- utter, unrelenting abuse. "Thanks, Grandma, that sure was nice of you to give me a car!" I'm sure she's so proud. My guess is that they'll have the Ford trashed before much longer.

As a mechanic I can make a reasonable guess that comment 17:59 is pretty much right on. It is virtually impossible to drive a Grand Am in any way close to a normal fashion and have these kinds of issues.

The usual cause of engine problems in these cars (as well as MOST newer cars) is over heating them. The remedy for this is simple and free: DON'T over heat them.

As for transmissions, I can't fathom how ANYONE could tear one of the rock-solid 4-speed automatics up. I once saw a demonstration where an Olds Alero (same car as the Grand Am) had the accelerator held on the floor while the gear selector was moved back and forth from reverse to drive. This was done for FIFTEEN MINUTES, and the car was smoking the tires and slamming from forward motion to reverse motion HUNDREDS of times. NO DAMAGE.

In normal (or even abusive) driving these transmissions are normally indestructible unless you let some incompetent teenager at a quick-change oil place flush them.

I agree with the last 2 comments. Any car you own and drive normally without abusing the hell out of will last you forever as long as it is maintained properly, and the oil is changed as it should be every 3,000 miles.

My daughter has the same car, and it now has 55,000 miles on it and runs fine. The only issue it has had was it needed brakes recently, but that is normal wear and tear. So you are lucky you had a vehicle in the first place to drive at all, and now a second one too. I wish I was that lucky.

L have a 2003 Grand Am and it is junk, GM should go bankrupt for selling such garbage. I will only own Fords; at least they work.

Although nothing has happened to me that would compare with your story, my Grand Am was a piece of garbage. I took good care of this car and it just kept falling apart, eventually the starter died while I was looking at a new (my current) car. So I just walked in and said "I'm buying a new car" so I wouldn't have to have my Grand Am towed.

I have the same car and just went over 101k miles and other than brakes and tires have not had any problems. My only complaint is that GM is not producing the Grand Am anymore! This kid that went through 3 motors and 2 transmissions must be really hard on a car. I don't know about Georgia laws but if you can't test drive a car I'm willing to bet you can sit in it and check things out (like the windows).

NO problems with my 03, until 90,000KM. Brakes once since I've had it, needs new tires, usual wear for those. Needs struts and shocks now, CV joint, and fuel pump. Pump I kinda thought it was early to go, but the others are normal mileage to start going. I've had it 4 years and have spent NO money on it, except oil changes and windshield washer fluid.

My experience mirrors that of 11:13 and 21:20. My Grand Am is 9 years old and has had ZERO repairs other than front brake pads and 1 headlight bulb. This has been one of the most solid, reliable cars we've ever owned. My only regret is that Pontiac stopped making them. The G6 was not nearly as good a car and had nowhere NEAR the character and sportiness of the Grand Am. The older Grand Ams are the absolute best buys in the used car market today. They are priced dirt cheap but are worth way more.

I have on 03 Grand Am with 202,000 miles, and it still runs like new. I have never had any problems with it.