The car has run general well from the time I bought it new. Then at about 16,000 miles it seemed to start a little hard. This worsened progressively and the car died twice, leaving me stranded. It turned out that not only was the starter ruined, but the fly wheel was cracked. The folks in the service department said they had (3) Grand AM GTs in for service in (1.5) weeks where all (3) had a cracked fly wheel. They said that Pontiac must have/had a bad mold. Although they replaced everything for free and only had it 5 days, my concerns are that (1) it required dropping the entire transmission to replace the fly wheel and this could lead to other problems arising inadvertently (2) if it is a mold problem that was not fixed, the flywheel might go out again after it is off warranty and then they would try to make me pay for it (very expensive repair).
The seats are not very comfortable compared to most other cars I've been in, and it is noticeable after only 40 minutes to an hour.
The V6 engine does not have much power and has a sluggish response.
The turning radius on this car is huge (and this is a small car). Almost every time I try to turn into a parking space I have to back up again and complete the turn - even with large parking spaces. The Cougar I had prior to this (the older, bigger model) never had a problem like this, nor any other cars I've driven of a similar size.
The car requires a very long distance to brake compared to other cars I've driven, much longer than the bigger sized cougar I was driving prior to this (old, larger Cougar model).
Has a lot of trunk room.
The passenger seat often does not lock into place and when I take off the person goes forward and backward on the track. I have to stop and get out, go around to the passenger side to help get it locked. This isn't a big problem for me as I rarely have front seat passengers, but it would be a big problem for people who do.
I really hated the car during the first year. In part this was due to my being used to driving a car that was a bit larger and more luxurious. Now I like it OK...I'm used to its quirks. I would say the main downfall is the flywheel problem, which apparently involves many of the Grand AM GTs and could be an ongoing problem for me down the line.
Sluggish response? What??!? 0-60 in under 8 seconds is not too sluggish for a sub-$23000 car! Mine hits 100mph in no time and keeps going. At 60 I can slam the gas and take off very quickly. You must either have a bad engine or have something blocking your gas pedal.
I am going to have to agree with the other comment My v6 grand am is rather quick. Also as far as yours not turning sharp well I will just say this I never back up to turn into a parking spot, in fact it will turn almost as sharp as my Geo Metro. I do understand there are a few lemon Grand ams out there, but mine has treated me well. It currently has 40,000 miles and no problems yet.
Two words: Premium Gasoline.
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