1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE from North America - Comments

I bought this car from a Carmax. It was under $7K and seemed like a good car to get me through my next few years of college. Wrong.

In the first month I had it, the check engine light came on 3 times. Twice it was a generic misfire, so I was told. The third time, my ignition wires got fried and apparently there were other problems because they also cleaned my fuel injection and throttle body, replaced the fuel pump and replaced some spark plugs. I think the first month, the service people had it more than I did.

Ever since I bought this car, it squeaks badly underneath. Everytime I go over even a slight bump or incline, it squeaks and groans like mad. The dealer told me it was just the age of the car, and wouldn't do anything about it except add some lubrication. That helped for only a day or two.

The PCV Valve was replaced at about 80K

along with the air filter.

I had to replace the waterpump at around 85K ($100)

Needed new brake pads at 87K. ($100)

Replaced radiator at 88K ($250)

I'm told (by Jiffy Lube) I have a minor transmission leak.

The speedometer is psychotic. It'll work fine one day, and the next it goes crazy skipping around and finally dies for the remainder of the trip.

Fuel gauge does something similar, but on a lesser scale. If I allow the gas tank to be 1/4 or less full, the gauge will go up and down, and sometimes it will rest on "full" when its in fact, near empty.

The trunk light has never worked. I tried putting a new lightbulb in it, but that didn't help. The wires look shot.

It squeaks inside as well as out.

It's a very bumpy ride unless I'm driving on a smooth freeway. Even then, wind can knock it around easily.

Drivers side seat is really worn down. It feels like I'm sitting in a sinkhole.

Getting parts for the car is cheap and easy, which is a plus. But it's still not worth it.

I will NEVER buy another Grand Am or GM of any kind.

I had the same problem occur with my dashboard this weekend. I started it up and all the controls started flickering. Then all of a sudden it went out. I checked the fuses and none of them were blown. Not sure where else to look on that. Any suggestions?

To the original post it sounds like a lot of basic maintenance problems I also have a 96' Grand-Am, and I thought when I bought it with only 69 miles it would be a great little car. The first month new alt. new brakes new stereo (everybody complains about the factory one), also a lot of little things, also helps that I'm mechanically inclined, the dash problem sounds like a ground strap problem or short in the computer. As for preformance it's definitely peppy. I've got the Quad 4, and it's a lot better then the older Quads...

Stick with it and drive it right, it'll get ya through..

where is the PCV valve on the Quad 4?

I'm a mechanic of 25 years. I have owned my 96 pontiac grand am se since it had 6000 miles I have had to do some repairs such as water pump, head gaskets, brakes,rotors heater core, speedometer, control arm bushings (squeak causers) 4 alternators, ect and would rank it as an excellant car.. it now has 90,000 miles looks and runs like new. but as all road cars driven in all kinds of weather and road conditions. I expect things to break!! the average car owner needs to stop whining sit back and take a good look at how they abuse their car.. and grow up and realize all cars break boo hoo.

I have a 96 Grand Am with 100,000 miles that I'm just sick of. Although it has been fairly reliable transportation, the engine had to be rebuilt at 85,000 miles and the trans bit the dust about a month later. Both had regular service according to manufacturer's instructions.

The really annoying things are the things that break that shouldn't. The fuel gauge shows a 1/4 tank when the tank is dry. The cruise control is intermittent and the dealer couldn't fix it in numerous attempts. All the power window motors overheat and quit after driving the window for about 2 inches (I paid a fortune and had the front two motors replaced). The driver's side door panel won't stay put and the padding keeps slipping out from under the PDL/PW control panel. The plastic remote mirror adjuster retainer has broken several times. The radiator required rodding at about 80,000 miles. The carpet in the trunk is all falling down. And too much more to keep writing about.

I understand that things will break with use, but this car is ridiculous. I have had 8 Dodge passenger vehicles over the past 12 years. Besides being more comfortable to drive, without exception they were each driven well over 100,000 miles and I did nothing more than change oil, filters and consumables. (One had a fuel pump go bad at over 100,000 miles.) These days a car should be capable of 100,000 miles with very little breakage, especially drive train.

I travel a lot and get a chance to rent many American-made cars. I'm least impressed by standard GM passenger cars. Whether reliable or not, in my opinion they look, feel and drive like the bottom of the barrel.

On the other hand, I have a Chevy K1500 Silverado 4X4 Pickup that has over 200,000 miles on it and it has been absolutely superb. (I only wish it had a few more horsies!)

I am not a glass-half-full type of girl. However, I do think these comments aren't reasoned because the perspective is somehow skewed. I have similar problems, but see them differently. I have a 96 Grand Am, a good car to get me through school, I thought. My fuel gauge is also super weird - I drive away 3/4 of the tank before the needle goes below half. And by the time you are at the 1/4 mark, you are close to running empty. My driver's seat is a sinkhole, even my 6'2" brother thinks so, and my trunk light has also never worked.

As for the first experience, I don't find it logical. You don't just let the garage do whatever they see fit as per "apparently there were other problems because they..." There was, of course a recall on the fuel system, and spark plugs get fouled and have to be replaced, but I'd have to hear a lot more about the situation to believe this scenario. We never even get to hear what was wrong. A starter wire and we get a new fuel system? Hmmm...

One of the biggest reasons I think this is misguided is because the owner is angry that he or she replaced the PCV valve, air filter, and BRAKE PADS. Wow. Um, those things have to be replaced, particularly the brake pads. I mean, the others are just for gas mileage, really, and pay for themselves, but when you drive you take your life and the life of others in your hands. And, as a law student, I think one should feel glad that his or her mechanic is making one do the basic things, like replacing brake pads, because not to do so is NEGLIGENCE, and it makes me want to be a personal injury attorney instead of the tax attorney I plan to be.

I agree that the suspension is squeaky and imperfect, but I wonder what is surprising about the wind pushing a lighter vehicle. Of course that is also related to the suspension, but, really.

And I feel for the writer if they really mean they'll never buy another GM. I think, with time, they'll find they can find a vehicle much closer to perfect - for much more money. But these little cars are a fantastic fiscal deal, and even luxury cars need brake pads replaced!

Well I too, have a 1996 Grand Am, but my car has 288,000 miles on it. I have gone through one (1) starter, and a lot of spark plugs, but I also change mine 20,000 miles whether or not they need it. (1) one entire ignition, from the coils to the boots and all in between. I put a new stereo in, but also I'm 22 I like my bass. Never had an alternator go bad, and the oil changes every 5,000 (almost all miles are highway miles), the only thing I ever had a problem with was the driver's side rear spring under the body go bad, the strut was fine, but the spring compressed too much. But that's all, bought the car in 2002 with 80,000 miles on her, 208,000 later, still the original trans. Everyone can say what they want, but my 2.4L DOHC Pontiac Grand Am has been well worth the $5k I paid for her and the $600 for major repairs I have done. I also have a 1994 Pontiac Grand Am with the 2.3L Quad 4, both great cars.

My 2001 Quad 4 Grand Am continues to be the best car I've ever owned. After 8 years I have had only 1 repair. It was a headlight bulb and cost me a whopping $10 at AutoZone.

I just got the 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2 door. I got it used from a friend and it's got 130,000 miles on it. They took good care of it. I've had it for about 4 months now, and it runs great and nothing wrong with it, and it's a great car. Learn how to drive it and deal with the problems and respect the car, it's a great car.

I have a 1996 Grand Am and it's a peppy car with 130000 on it. Just a few problems like the motor mounts and had the heater core replaced. Also needed a new battery.

The problems I'm having or my daughter's having is, the speedometer is wacky sometimes. It goes to zero then just goes nuts, then it will straighten itself out.

Check engine light is off and on, Autozone says it's an emission problem but don't have a code to check that's in their book. Any suggestions on the speedometer?

To 20:53: If you can access the speedometer cable, remove it from the back of the speedometer and squirt some WD-40 down into the cable housing. Use a liberal amount so that it can flow all the way down into the cable housing. Sometimes the cables will dry out and hang up, which causes the speedometer to act up as yours is. If this doesn't work, you can simply note the RPM at various speeds and use the tachometer as a substitute for the speedometer.

The "Check engine" lights are VERY sensitive and usually mean nothing. Even a gas cap that isn't sealing properly will cause them to come on. If your car runs OK for two weeks with the light on, you can pretty much just ignore it. You might want to check your gas cap, and run a tank of premium gas with injector cleaner through it. This sometimes makes the light go off. My wife drove her GMC for over 2 years with the "check engine" light on. It was running flawlessly, so I never bothered with it. I finally ran a scan and (as I suspected) it came up "minor leak in EVAP system". That is car-speak for "take me to the dealer and pay them $500 to push a little reset button". I pushed the reset button myself (for free) and we went on our merry way.

I always encourage car owners to learn a little bit about their cars so they aren't so dependent on others (who may not be 100% honest). If your car is running smoothly, has plenty of power, isn't overheating and has good oil pressure you can pretty much ignore the "check engine" lights. I have found that the lights on most vehicles are so sensitive that just removing and re-tightening the gas cap will make the light go off.

I own a showroom fresh 2001 Grand Am SE-1 Quad 4 (as well as 3 other vehicles) and I have found it to be one of the best cars I've ever owned. In 9 years it has had one light bulb replaced and front brake pads at 70,000 miles, which I replaced myself at a cost of $17 and did in 15 minutes on my lunch break. These cars are very solid and reliable IF you never over heat the engine (if you do sell it, it will NEVER be reliable after that) and if you avoid slamming the doors and breaking the fragile plastic window clips. Any time anyone gets in my Grand An I immediately say "Don't slam the door please". I've never had even one broken window clip.