2002 Pontiac Grand Am SE from North America - Comments

Thanks for encouraging people to perform some of these relative minor repairs themselves. It saves a HUGE amount of money of you will just learn a few simple mechanical lessons. I've seen comments on here about people paying $2000 to have those little window clips replaced!!

I became so disgusted with one major automotive magazine for putting down the Grand Am that I canceled my subscription to it.

My family and I have owned everything from a 5-series BMW to a Dodge Viper. The Grand Am I currently drive as a third car is one of the best values in a car I've ever owned. ZERO problems in 8 years, great ride, handling that isn't commonly found in inexpensive compacts, and much more power than you'd expect from its 150hp rating. It will cruise all day at 100+ mph (if you don't get caught) and it still looks and drives like it did the day it rolled off the assembly line. It was the first GM car we had owned in almost 30 years, and it convinced me to give them another try. We currently have 2 GM's and both are flawless.

As you all know this happens a lot... my wife's 02' Grand Am SE has had the driver side changed once, and several months ago the passenger side fell inside the door.

Now I have had to "rig" things up with other piles of junk I've had, and so for the past several months two suction cups have been holding up the window.

I am going to try and sell the car, so I am going to have to fix the problem. I called the dealer and they didn't even have to think of how much it would be. As soon as I asked how much, they replied $350! So I looked at the auto parts stores and all of them wanted about $150. So I checked on-line and found one for $70.

I am not going to give another dime to Pontiac. I will take it all apart and fix it myself. We have since decided to give Ford a try. Pontiac you will never see me in your doors again!

First of all, 3 out of my 4 windows on my '99 Pontiac Grand Am have had a little plastic piece snap in half. I'm sorry if rolling these windows up and down is asking too much. Secondly, maybe I wouldn't slam the doors if I didn't completely disrespect this poorly manufactured GM car so much. Good thing I get free tape from work, at least I know the tape will still be working when I get up for work in the morning.

I have a 2001 Grand Am GT and have had the window problems and then some. I take good care of my car and I don't slam doors yet both windows have broken, the sunroof no longer works, my brakes wear out about every 20,000 to 25,000 miles and I've had the notorious $1500 repair for the DexCool (which there is a class action lawsuit for).I dread taking it in every 3,000 miles because my mechanic calls to tell me "There are some problems with your car". I've put more into the repairs for this car in the last 8 months than it's worth. Those of you who have not had problems... consider yourself lucky.

As far as the window motor/regulator, go to Advance Auto Parts (if in your area) or any auto parts store. They have these (in stock because apparently it's a common problem) for around $90 bucks. The Pontiac dealership where I live wanted $600, without labor, to fix the window. Instead, I paid $97.00 for them to pull the window back up and stick cardboard in it to keep the window from falling back in. I found a mechanic who only charged me $70 to fix the entire thing. If you have this problem DO NOT go to a dealership. If possible buy the part and have a local mechanic put it in. It's not hard... just takes a bit of work.

The problem : In a Grand Am the window either fell in the door or rolls up at a slight angle.

The fix it your self solution: take the door apart by poping the reflector off the bottom corner of the door under it there is one screw and the other screw is behind the door handle. Remove the door handle plastic to get the the screw. When the screws are removed the entire door panel can be manulally pried off just by pulling it. be sure to pull the panel enough to see were the little plastice srews are located that way you can pull right next to them to keep them from breaking. when you have the panel off unplug all the wires and put it aside. Pull off the cotton insulation by hand and it will reveal the interior of the door. Check to see if the two clips that are glued to the bottom of the window are broken. There are two and usually just one breaks. Also, When the Clips break it puts pressure on the plastic guides that hold the window to the black rail. Check to see if the plastic guides are broken. If both clips and both plastic guides are broken you can find them at your local GM dealer. They will know what you are talking about because this problem is so comon. The sashes or clips are around 10$ a piece and the guides or plastic conectors are around 36$ a piece. I suggest when you connect the clips on the metal bracket super glue the base and wrap it in electrical tape for extra support. Good luck with the job.

Hello, maybe this is going to make you people happy. I was looking for something new for my Pontiac grand am 2000, and I did it. I found those desired window sash clips!!!.

I really hope this comment helps you guys, cause I've had the same problem with my windows. Just go to ebay motors, in the search bar type grand am window sash clip fastener and that's it.

Hurry up and good luck¡

I'm just going to chime in as yet another person who has the same broken window sashes. Glad to see I'm not alone. I'll admit I didn't read every comment posted but for those who have done this already, how hard is it to get the old ones off the window and is there any special adhesive I should be using?

So how many failures and future lost GM customers does it take to generate a recall? Not to change the subject, but I'm sure many of you have replaced wheel bearings and lower intake manifold gaskets as well!

Is there a special glue I should use to re-attach the plastic clips to the bottom of car door window? Thanks for all the previous comments, all were very helpful.

Super Glue Gel works great for attaching the window clips. Be sure to clean the window and clips thoroughly with an alcohol pad prior to gluing. I know these clips are prone to break, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I'm a mechanic who owns a Grand Am SE-1 as a second car and after 8 years NOTHING on this car has ever broken. If you keep your wife, friends and kids from slamming your doors, you WON'T have this problem. Every single case that I know of where the clips broke, the car's owner acknowledged that they or a passenger had slammed the door and broken the clips.

The idea that the reason for the clips breaking on these vehicles is slamming the doors is ridiculous. The reason is poor engineering and cheap materials. The right rear door has never been opened on my vehicle, never and it is broken. And if it was a jarring that caused it to break then why didn't the rest break as well. www.a1electric.com has a do-it- yourself guide as posted above and the clips can be purchased there as well. Can you say class action lawsuit, IF anyone knows a good attorney.

The GM part number for the sash (the part that the window actually sits in) is 22689012. the dealer initially acted like that these were not available but after I ask for some rubber wedges to hold the window up they found the part. Good luck.

I have been on various websites where people are complaining of things on their Grand Ams like bad brakes, defective manifold gaskets, Passlock systems that won't allow them to start their own cars, airbags that failed to deploy in crashes. With these consumers, it's usually one thing or the other. With my 2002 Grand Am, ALL of these things have happened!!! I purchased the car in 2003 with 20000 miles on it from a dealer. Since then, I have replaced brake pads and rotors with ridiculous frequency, I've replaced cam and crank sensors, manifold gasket! I was in a frontal collision on the freeway at highway speed, and the airbag didn't even think about deploying! The A/C is now blowing hot air! I have cared for it very well, with regular maintenance every 3k miles, and all I have gotten in return are problems, tow bills, and repair bills! I'm soooo over Pontiac! Never again!

Can someone share how to remove the old sash clips that are glued to the window? Both clips are still attached to the window but broken off just below the base of the window. Thanks!

The window clips are a such a common problem on the Pontiacs it's not funny. My local dealer's parts department has a bin of the white clips because they break so frequently. When you bring this in for repair the dealers will try to fix the problem by replacing the regulator and the motor, which is fairly expensive, but if you push them they will eventually realize they do have replacement white clips and fix the problem for about a 100 bucks.

I commute in my Grand Am, and I have no idea the last time somebody actually sat in the passenger seat. I've had a organizer in the passengers seat for CD's and my cell phone for years and I can't recall ever moving it to the back seat for someone to sit down. A couple weeks ago I went outside and the window was down, turns out down meant fell down into the door, another case of broken clips.

The part number for the clips is 22697623 and 22697622, it's a little work to snap them on and line up the nut, but it's half the price of an aftermarket regulator.