2000 Pontiac Grand Am from North America - Comments

I guess it's because I'm a mechanic that I cringe when I read reviews and comments such as these.

First of all OF COURSE your head gasket blew if you drove the car until it QUIT due to over heating. That totally DESTROYS all modern engines.

Secondly, you need to find a friend who knows something about cars. $750 to replace a $50 (or less) water pump and $650 to replace a $100 (or less) fuel pump is ridiculous. Alternators run about $45 to $75, and I took all of 20 minutes to replace the front brakes on a Grand Am last week at a whopping cost of $22. Make friends with the folks at Auto Zone or NAPA and stop wasting your money.

Also, don't blame your car for blowing up if you run it with it over heating. My best friend some years ago ran his expensive Japanese sports car until it got so hot it stopped. The cost? $7000+. The problem? A little piece of hose that ran to the overflow tank. It cost about 50 cents. If he had stopped and fixed the leak he could have saved 7 grand. In your case I'd junk the car. If you ran it that hot the entire head and block are probably ruined.

What is wrong with my 2000 grand am-fuel-?

The first of the winter my car would not start. Changing the fuel filter and it started right up. Couple weeks later the same problem after a trip out of town the next day it would not start.

I took the filter off and noticed the fuel not coming out when I tried turning the car on or starting it. I got online and read about the passlock system. Although my security light was not coming on I still tried resetting it. Some how it worked. (probably a stroke of luck)

The car done this several time and after screwing around with it I would get it to start. It would run 20 miles shut it off for the night and then not start up. It has never died and left me stranded it just won't start up. I took it in and the mechanic could not find anything wrong due to it starting everytime for him.

So here we are it ran 120 miles and it will not start up. There is no fuel pressure.

Do pumps slowly go bad? When it runs it runs fine, but when it dies its dead. Where should I start?

I have a 1997 GT with 250,000 km's. Right and left window regulators, moon roof motor replaced, new motor gone again roof now permanantly closed. Intake manifold gasket repair, blown camshaft (installed used engine) another intake manifold repair on second engine, blown water pump, whirring air conditioner pump, many brake repairs, the cheapest carpet I have ever seen, vinyl delemination of door panels, left window regulator now sticking again.

Is there not something we can do? Class action suit? dump the vehicles at a local dealership, roll them off a high cliff, let's get some publicity!!

I have a 2000 Grand Am SE V6 and love it, and really no problems except minor things. Probably because I work in the auto part business, I have learned a few things about these cars, so I thought I would give you guys some tips.

On these, the intakes are notorious for leaking. The most common reason is the coolant you use. I have had a lot of mechanics tell me not to use dex cool, which is what is recommended, because it eats the gasket. Instead try like Prestones all makes, all models suitable to mix with any coolant.

Never call a dealer to fix the car or tell you what is wrong; they charge way too much. I would recommend finding an honest mechanic, and possibly one that lets you bring your own parts, and go to a part store and price it out on your own; it's way cheaper and you know what is being put in your car that way. I saw someone saying $1000 for brakes; I have priced them out at my work, and for top quality front and rear it was around $300. Also a lot of parts stores can do diagnostics on your car, like if your check engine light comes on.

Trust me, it is worse to own a VW. My husband has one and I have spent more money keeping it on the road than a Pontiac owner could ever imagine (more in 3 months on his than I have spent in a year, including oil changes and all on mine)

OK Here goes. I have a 2000 Grand Am SE. Last Year I replaced:

1. Fuel Pressure Regulator

2. Drivers Side Window and Motor (because they won't sell one without the other/rather can't)

3. Timing Belt

4. Water Pump

5. Some dang sensor.

Oh and I did not notice anyone saying they burn oil! Between my last oil change and this one, I had to add 5 quarts of oil!! The Trac Off light comes on and then the car jerks like a bumper car. NOW every so often my low coolant light will come on AND if I sit at a light the car starts to over heat and I can smell oil burning.

And I loved this car when I bought it 7 years ago!!!

I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am SE, and have the same problems as many of you..

In the last 2 months the blower switch 2 times and it still only works on number 4.

The rotors and brakes, some little plastic piece that was leaking anti freeze... and now the car won't start.. I can hear the pump turn on and it's getting gas and the spark plugs are getting spark... can anyone help???

I am so sick of sticking hundreds of dollars every month... should I just cut my loss and sell it as is???

I have a 2000 Grand Am and I was on a trip in town and my car just stopped. I let it sit over night and went and put more gas in it, and it started and ran for about a mile then it did the same thing again, and again and again for about 15 times till I made it home.

We replaced the ignition coil pack; it went about 2 miles then stopped after it cool for about a hour it will start. It appears to stop when it get about a little past the normal heat range.

No windows work except the rt. rear.

Flasher makes crazy noises, same old things brakes, etc.

Anyway, I'm only concerned about running the car to the dealership, which is more than a mile away LOL. Fuel Pump?

Please help HJacks9190@aol.com

I have a 2000 pontiac grand am g6 that now has 122,000 miles on it. I do not have all these problems, I would say you are overpaying to have them fixed. It does not cost that much to fix. I have only paid for normal maintance on my car, oil changes every 3,000 miles, new tires when needed, brake rotors when needed, wiper blades when needed.. fluids, you get the point. I have taken care of my car, and have never had any of the major problems you people seem to have. Take care of the car...

Well you are obviously one in a million. If you have had to make the repairs on this vehicle as the rest of us you wouldn't be criticizing how much we are paying for repairs. Another common problem with the 2.4 engine is the leaky valve cover gaskets. And believe it or not it runs about 600 to 800 dollars to repair due to the overhead cam. I have know mechanics and dealers at the Pontiac dealerships and they all warned me about buying this car because of all the problems.

I'm a mechanic and the 2.4 Grand Am is one of the best, most reliable and most powerful-for-a-4 vehicles I've ever owned.

Total repair expense in 8 years has been: Front brake pads $17, one headlight bulb $10. It's been much better than any of the imports we've owned.

I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am. I bought it with 23,000 miles on it and have had it for almost eight years. I haven't had all the problems that previous people have listed. Actually the car has been really good to me, until now. It has stalled on me three times and wouldn't start back up. The mechanic says it is either a gas gauge or the fuel pump. After reading all the other posts, I feel fortunate that I haven't had all these problems. I had normal maintainence on the brakes and rotors. I followed the books recommendations for changing the transmission fluid and the general up keep of the car. However, when I first bought the car there was a horrible squeking noise when I braked and the dealer tried to tell me that it was brake dust causing the noise. Thankfully, I have a friend who is a mechanic (and most recently, drives a tow truck) and he fixed the problem.

I have a 1999 Grand Am, and have had all the same problems everyone else is having.

The security light problem, and having to wait 10 minutes to start it; the map sensor cost about 20 bucks at auto zone or wherever you choose, not too hard to do yourself. But I think the problem is originally caused by the engine over heating and the oil getting fried, it gets gooped and gets in the sensor, which was caused by the leak of the intake gasket. It started leaking about a year after I bought it and I never had fixed, because I could'nt find where it was coming from, but eventually I fixed myself by changing the intake gasket and cleaning out all the fried oil. Do yourself a favor and get this fixed right away if possible.

So far two alternators, three map sensors, water pump, four set of rotors and pads, blower motor, and it only has a three way blower switch, so the 1&2 on the dial are only for looks.

Oh yeah, the gas gauge goes all over, so I use the trip mileage to know when to put gas in.

Wheel bearings went out, probably caused by the rotors warping and shaking like crazy all the time. Well time for a new brake job; guess I'll look in to those shims I just read about on here, hopefully that will finally fix the problem. Wonder how much they charge for the shims that I have to get because GM screwed up. Really I think they owe me and a lot of other people a lot of money for all these fixes.

wjei2008@yahoo.com

RE// car not starting if it is the fuel pump, get someone to turn the key on while you take the gas cap off and listen in the gas tank. If you hear a whirring noise when you turn the key, then the fuel pump is OK. If the security light comes on and flashes, change the M.A.P. sensor. About $20 bucks.

You can also wait 10 minutes till it stops flashing and it will start, but you better get that map sensor soon. Unless you've got 10 minutes to wait all the time.

Good luck... wjei2008@yahoo.com

The god forsaken security problem is the most inconvenient problem I have ever had with a car. I do take very good care of my cars. I am going to try buying an after market alarm so they will disable the factory one. I will update after a while.

Try the map sensor. It will fix the security light problem. Get it at auto zone for about 20-25 bucks. It's in tight space. It has about two small screws and a vacuum hose on it, but I replaced mine and haven't had the problem in 2 years.