1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE review from North America

Where do I start, well the 1st thousand miles the brake rotors warped, replaced under warranty.

Next at 2800 miles the transmission let go, but service department said it just leaked out so they changed filter and added new fluid (warranty).

At 4,000 miles the wiring harness had to be replaced as all connections were corroded (warranty).

Very bad shake and shimmy at between 30 MPH to 50 MPH, service department could not duplicate. Rebalanced & rotated tires, still have problem. I've taken the car to another garage and they have indicated the problem was in the transmission and drive line. Dealer says nothing wrong with car.

The front floors were continously wet, dealer finally found leak in the firewall (warranty).

Side door panels kept peeling and coming off, dealer used some type of glue that left bumps when they restretched them, not replaced them. Kinda cheap of them I thought.

At 5,500 miles brakes let go again, replaced all calipers, rotors, drums and shoes, not covered under warranty as over one year old, my cost $946.00.

Car sometimes won't start, and when it does and the car is put into gear, the car won't move, the engine revs, but won't move. Service department still out on a fix for that problem.

When starting the car sometimes there is a loud grinding sound and whole car shakes, service department unable to duplicate the problem, funny the car still does it when I try to start it at home.

Valve cover gasket leaking badly, dealer won't replace it unless they actually see the oil gushing out while engine is running.

At 11,000 miles, noticed anti freeze drops in the driveway, went to dealer and they indicated couldn't find any leaks and system didn't need any fill up. Two months later at 12,600 miles, the car overheated and was towed to the shop where the service department advised that I would need a new intake manifold. Not covered under warranty, my cost $750.00. Guess my anti freeze leak wasn't all in my head. Valve cover gaskets still leaking and am losing oil at a rate of 1 quart every 500 miles. Dealer still won't replace. At least when the intake manifold was installed they pressure cleaned the motor and I can now see the engine.

Brakes let go again at 18,000 miles, not under warranty, took the car to an independent garage and had some good rotors and pads put on - 3 years later and odometer at 25,000 miles, still no problems with bakes, rather ironic that GM parts don't last. Brakes don't fade now.

Took car in for a safety inspection at 21,000 miles and was informed the car wouldn't pass, I would have to replace control arm & sway bar bushings, no warranty, my cost $585.00.

At 23,500 miles car wouldn't start, towed to dealer, computer failed, dealer didn't have one in stock, waited 10 days with no car, replaced at my cost of $945.00.

Air conditioning not blowing cold air, and compressor not kicking in, took it to dealer and they pressure checked it, injected dye, no leaks, filled up with 1.2 lbs freon, my cost $285.00.

Three months later air conditioning not working, took car to dealer and lo and behold, found a bad leak, service department fixed, my cost $310.00. Funny that there was no leak before, but a few months later there was.

Muffler bracket fell off while driving and muffler scraped on road. Had to replace muffler and two clamps, cost to me $110.00.

I'm now at 24645 miles, car is almost exactly 6 years old and I'm wondering what else can go wrong? As you can see I don't drive very much and car is stored in an unheated garage out of the elements.

I have taken good care of this vehicle, changed oil every 2000 miles or three months, whichever came first, have been the only driver and made sure car was always cleaned and waxed 5 times a year. At least the paint is still looking good.

Good points of this car;

Car is very sporty looking, handles extremely well, although has a bit of body roll, but does not affect it too much on hard cornering.

Lots of power, but fuel injectors will cut out at 115 MPH, so be careful if you're trying to pass a transport truck.

Seats are not very comfortable, but lots of head and leg room. Of course I'm only 5'6" and weigh 130 lbs.

Lots of trunk space and with the folding down rear seats, you can put almost anything in the trunk.

Great in the snow and with the traction control, it's almost like having a 4 X 4.

All interior gauges and controls within easy reach, and driver's side gives a nice feel of a cockpit style area.