2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE review from North America

When I had only 4,000 miles on my car, there were three large air bubbles in the dash.

At about 6,000 miles the power mirror switch fell down into the door. Only weeks later, the power door lock on the driver door broke. Before 9,000 miles were on the car every switch on the driver's door broke and had to be replaced.

Around 6,000 miles, I started having trouble cranking the vehicle. It would start out fine, but it wouldn't turn over. It only happens every few weeks, but I have two children and I need a reliable vehicle. I have taken it in to be checked several times and they "cannot duplicate customer complaint", therefore they cannot fix it.

The air conditioner drainage has back flowed into my car, not once, but twice. My floor board has a wonderful mildew smell that I will never be totally rid of. This has also happened multiple times in other Pontiac cars I know of.

Around 20,000 miles, my gas gauge had some sort of problem. It would say that I had a quarter of a tank, but was empty. I ran out of gas at 5:30AM on a rainy Sunday morning after working third shift. I had to walk to a stranger's house to call my husband. The second time, I had my 4yr old and 14 month old little boys with me and had to walk for help. (At least it was daylight and not raining.)

I bought this vehicle because I wanted a nice, reliable vehicle with a warranty. I could have bought a car for $500 and had better luck. It absolutely infuriates me that for $19,000 I get broken switches, mildewed floor boards, and to walk in the rain. And last, but not least, I get the pleasure of wondering if it will crank. I did try to contact Pontiac and later GM about my problems. My case was closed "dissatisfied". After 7 months of dealing with GM, they decided they were done with me. To sum it up, I would never recommend this vehicle to anyone.