Comments: 1-15, 16-24
Braking system on this automobile is horrible. Has been to the dealer 3 times for braking problems (vibration/scraping/grinding). Combination of resurfacing/replacing is a temporary fix only, problems come back within a few thousand miles. Last trip to the dealer, was told not to bring the car back for brake problems again??!!
Poor quality/construction of the braking system combined with even poorer dealer support make this a car to avoid.
I have had the same problem. Intend to pursue the lemon law.
I also agree that the braking systems are horrible. I have a 2000 GA and have had to replace the front routers and brake pads already at 35,000 miles. My front-left strut bearing also just blew out for no reason.
I too have had the same problems with my brakes. I am tired of taking my car by to the dealership. I am @ 22kmiles @ this is my 3rd time getting front brakes. I have had to replace a spark plug in the 4th cylinder. I have had to replace 2 of the Goodrich tires. I got the car in April of 2001, got new brakes in November still under warranty (no charge), In April/2002, I purchased the 2nd set of front shoes& pads @ 15kmiles & now the dealership is telling me that they did not want to honor my warranty on my pads, but that because I made such a fuss they gave them to me, but I believe that I probably needed shoes & they just put the pads on without checking this out. I just called Pontiac customer service to make another complaint because this is crazy! Eunice Kelly ekelly@csc.cps.k12.il.us.
I also have the same problem with my 2002 Grand AM SE. The car has been in the shop 3 times, in 2 months with gringing/scraping problems. The repairs last 2-3 weeks and the problems start all over.
I have found that the only way to correct the problem with braking system is to replace the rotors with aftermarket slotted rotors. This is fairly expensive, but does correct the problem. It will save money in the long run after the warranty is up.
Our 2000 Pontiac Grand Am (26 thousand miles) went into the dealer today because there was a crunching noise up front. My wife heard the brake sensor noise before this crunching, but it is a frequency I do not hear. They said that we would have been able to get away with just pads if we had brought it in sooner. It cost a little over $300 with the new rotors, etc. I never have had a car which went thru brakes this quickly, which is why I did not take it in sooner - I thought something more benign was making the first noise my wife heard. We usually get 40,000 or more on a set of brakes. Not very happy, hope not more trouble ahead.
I have a 2000 Grand Am and the brakes have been a problem from day 1. They grind, pulsate, squeal, and takes a lot of force to come to a complete stop. I am now past my warranty (37,000) and the dealership has told me there is nothing more they can do and to take it to another dealership. How do I pursue the Lemon Law? Are my miles too high to do that, any suggestions please.
I own a 2000 GT and it's been nothing but problems since I bought it. I've owned it for nine months and so far I've replaced both window motors, the blower motor regulator, the rack, steering shaft, grease box in the steering column, the thermostat, shocks, struts, wheel bearings, rotors, brakes, drive belt, new plugs, wires and coil packs and it ate six power steering pumps. I have to keep the car for now, but when I'm done paying for it I will never buy another GM vehicle whatsoever. As far as the lemon law goes, it depends on what state you live in (believe me, I've researched) but in IL and MO you have to buy a BRAND NEW car and it has to have the EXACT same problem three times in order to pursue the lemon law. If it's a used car, like in my case, you're just out of luck.
I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand AM SE and the water pump went out at 30,000 miles. The rotors warped at 35,000 miles. I had the brakes done at Midas and they started squeaking, but the my new mechanic said all Midas brakes do that and they'd watch the rotors for me. Now at 61,000 miles I asked to change to new brake pads because of the sound. The new brakes made less sound, but still squealed at a two different pitches so I took it back and they put ceramic brakes in. Now when I put the brakes down firmly at a speed of around 25 - 15 mph there's a thumping sound that you can almost feel in the brake pedal. The mechanic just today told me that it's probably the rotors, even though they can't find anything wrong and went through the brake system for the 3rd time in as many weeks. They told me that after 200 miles if it still thumps they'll swap out the rotors with Ray Bestows (?) rotors and see if that solves the problem. The assistant is quite upset with me, but I don't even know if it's safe to drive, even though the pressure feels fine.
I like the power and feel of the car, but brakes are a pretty big deal, you'd think that's the LAST place any manufacturer would slack off. Can anyone tell me about those slotted rotors? I'm curious about those as I'm certain I'll have to have them done. Thanks!!
Shelley
e-mail shellbgood@hotmail.com.
I have a 2001 Grand Am GT with 37,000 miles the brakes are horrendous and GM should obviously know about this. At 21,500 we took the car to the dealer for brake service it was determined that the front rotors were warped, instead of replacing them like the should have they merely turned them (resurfaced). Any decent mechanic knows you can't fix a warped rotor by resurfacing it, your just band-aiding it. We were under the assumption the rotors and pads had been replaced, well it started doing it again, so back to the dealer it went that is when we found out that they had not replaced the rotors and now they need replacing along with the pads. I was furious!! I asked to talk to the manager and got the lame excuse from him that GM tells them they need to fix a part before they can replace it. He must be an idiot, I told him they fixed nothing! They merely put a band aid on a problem by not replacing the rotors in the first place when the car was in its original warranty period. I called GM Customer Service and filed a complaint, a lot of good that is going to do. Now I have to replace the front rotors and pads at my expense since the under-handed dealer (Shearer Pontiac, Burlington, VT) did not do the right thing. I took it elsewhere and they said the rear rotors are pitted and corroded as well and the pads in the back need replacing to. So now I need all 4 rotors and pads all around. I will go with the ceramic pads and that is going to run $750 installed. The fit and finish on this car is terrible! I will never ever purchase another GM vehicle, I knew we should have gotten the Honda Accord or Nissan Altima. The car does run decent when it's not in the shop for some minor thing. Other things that have gone wrong, both front wheel bearings, internal trim pieces, couple of relays, resistors in the fan control, outer trim peeling off, the thing is only two years old and we take real good care of it. I can't wait to dump it! The resale value is so poor that I have to wait at least another year and a half to break even on this piece of junk. These cars aren't cheap it was around $21K - $22K new. I have had it with cheaply built American made garbage. Charles Borchers (frzninvt@yahoo.com)
I own a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am, my car has 54,000 miles, I am the only driver and passenger. So far, I have had to replace both back rear power window motors. The dealership claims that it is natural wear and tear on the car. I never even use the back windows, one day they just fell down and would no longer go back up. I have also replaced the cruise control, CD player and water pump, to name just a few things! I will never buy another Pontiac as long as I live...
Donadescamps@aol.com.
I purchased my 2001 Grand AM at 28,000 miles. After about a month I notice steering problems, and my car was tracking on the cemented freeway only. I previously read in another article the way to fix that is to check and tighten a bolt on the steering column. Tomorrow morning that will be first on the list. I took my car in for an alignment, I had the brake pads replace, at that time I had started getting a grind sound as I came to a stop. I will get after market slotted disks and hope that works. It makes sense, I think it will work. Otherwise, I love my car... it is definitely a mans car. I like the way it handles on the turns, and it should be even better after I trick it out some. I plan on thicker stabilizer bars, computer chips for the trans and the motor, and upgrade the intake flow...and...who knows what else. After I pay it off, by then, Pontiac may have a fine tuned vehicle for me to purchase. I go American.
Hi!!!
Can any one tell me if there having problems with your fuel system.mine doesn"t start at quarter tank. whatwas pontiac thinking of.get back to me.
I have a 2000 Grand Am SE and it is an absolute piece of junk. My advice to anyone who has the mis-fortune to own one of these is to get rid of it while you can. The value of car goes down monthly.
The car has been into the Dealer over and over for the same problem. The low trac light comes on while leaving a stop sign and the car slips or doesn't connect to the wheels for a moment. It is very un-nerving. They fix it and the problem comes back about every 10k miles.
In addition.
-the drivers side window control went out. It was $265
dollars for the kit, for me to fix it myself.
-the rubber seals on the front window peeled off.
-one of the plastic shields under the car came off on the
freeway, that was exciting. It made a heck of a noise.
-the car was out of alignment the day I drove it off the lot
-New brakes were put on at about 30k miles.
Now there is a strange sound coming out of the front wheels and I am replacing the drive shafts at $79 each and possibly the the wheel bearings at $371 dollars per wheel.
I will never, ever, buy a Pontiac again. It is by far the worst car I have ever owned.
By the way, the list price of the car was 23k and now the Blue Book value is 6k.
A 68 Mustang would have been a much better choice and more reliable too.
I'm adding myself to this list as I have the same brake problems. I own a 2000 model grand am and we have had nothing, but problems with the brakes. At speeds below 45 mph you can barely tell there is a problem, but go above that and the heavy pulsations start shaking the whole car!
My first car was a 68 GTO. My 2nd was a 69 GTO, My 3rd back to a 68 GTO. I never had any problems with these cars other than what as considered normal wear and tear. I'm on my 2nd Grand Am. My 1st was a 99 the 2nd a 2000 and both had problems with the brakes and multiple trips to the dealers and still no success in figuring out why the brakes pulsate so bad.
My next step is to replace the rotors although I suspect it also has something to do with the ABS system, but I'm not a mechanic that's why I take it to the so called pros and I'm not getting any answers that will solve the problem either. I never had a car before where when I went to the dealer mechanic and when there was a problem it got fixed, but now you wonder if they can diagnose it right. I'm getting to the point where I'm believing that they do know, but are keeping it under grips and hope so many customers will get so frustrated they'll just go away. I mean they suckered me out of 70,000 dollars of my hard earned money time for them to find fresh meat right?
Well enough said. I think I made my point. I only hope the right people in the industry reads this and can feel what I feel when things like this happens.