Comments: 1-15, 16-25
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.
We need more people to include which engines they had in their Pontiac. The 4-cylinders seem to have less satisfied customers than the V-6 engines.
However, I am interested in the ecotec 4 engines performance in long run, so I feel it makes it even more important to include these details for better reviews.
My 2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE 2.4 liter engine, that has 22,000 miles on it is having a problem with the gas gage. How much did it cost to replace the gas gage and how much trouble was it? hotheat78@yahoo.com.
Yeah this grand am se isn't very reliable, we have the smaller 4 cylinder engine and have had a few problems with it. The worst problem we have faced is parking the car for a few minutes and going back to try to start it only to have it sit there and sound like it's out of gas... get it towed under warranty thank god only to find out there's a faulty cylinder in the ignition switch (least that's what the repair sheet says) this has happened not once.. but twice.. and both times there hasn't been any warning... just looking forward to it happening again after the warranty runs out!! and being stranded hours from home
various other problems we have had is the front right hub has went and apperently there's a flaw in the braking system that wears out brake pads at an extremely fast rate... go figure...
There's also been a weird ticking sound coming from the dash board... sounds like the signal light is on even though it's not, and it ticks at random rates some times fast some times slow
another great flaw found with this car is it's horrible for night time driving in a city, the street lights cause a horrible glare on the front window making it almost un bearable to drive at night (i asume this is because of the front window being slanted at a greater rate then most vehicles) and another problem as far as visibility goes is the side beam between the side window and the front window is in such a spot that seeing around a corner as your turning is quite difficult.. find yourself twisting in odd ways to make sure nothings there.
My 2001 Grand Am SE-1 with the 3.4 V-6 had an engine service light come on. It was a faulty gas level sensor. It appears the contacts are corroded by the sulfur content in the gas. GM has admitted this problem, but has done nothing to rectify it. In Canada it costs $500.00 to replace the gas sensor in the tank. A recall is out from GM on the 4-way flasher module as being defective.
My grand am has the 6 cylinder engine. I bought it in July of this year with 30,000 miles on it. Since I purchased this car, there have been a number of things that have gone wrong with it. I have replaced wheel bearings and a heater blower. (Now the heater only works on the highest speeds) The brakes always squeak and I have to get the brake pads changed about every two months. All of the service engine, ABS, and traction control lights come on and go off at random times. And most importantly, my turning signal does this too. (I have already had a ticket for that) I am very disappointed at my decision to buy this car.
Replaced front wheel bearings at 137,000 km (78,00 miles). According to the mechanic this is a common ailment on GM cars manufactured from 2000-2004. Also replaced the front brake discs, warped due to heat build-up. Not impressed with GM quality. Have owned 2 Fords and never had this problem. I will go back to Ford next time. No more GM for me.
We purchased our 2001 Pontiac Grand Am 4 years ago. We have had the fuel injector go out once and believe it is out again. Our door locks are broken also. We have had the security light come on which was resolved by the gasoline cap being replaced. The service engine light comes on all the time. We have had other repairs, but I do not know or remember what all of them were for. I do remember when we first bought the car the right floor board stayed wet all of the time. The care dealership advised it was bad door seals.
We are having trouble cranking the car now.
I have a 2001 Grand Am SE 6 Cylinder for all of you who are having trouble with your car starting. It is the Passlock shutting the system down try to crank your car if it doesn't crank turn the switch to OFF and then to the ON position again (don't try to start it) leave it for 10 minutes when your security light stops blinking after 10 minutes turn the switch off and then try to crank it again. It took me $800.00 for a new fuel pump and fuel injector sensor. But that is just the beginning. My problems are the same as most of you so I won't list them. 13 mo left owing on it and now problems with the transmission!
I purchased a used 2001 Pontiac Grand Am in March 2005. it had 67,000 miles on it. It now has 90,000 miles on it and the transmission has failed. I am very disappointed with this vehicle.
2001 Pontiac Grand Am: I used to have the problem with it cranking, but not starting, and learned what I have seen in this board: Turn to On for 10 minutes, turn off, then it will start. That worked fine. Also, thanks to that one person who mentioned the "mad clicking" behind the dashboard that sounds like a turn signal racing at random. What's up with that? I haven't had that happen for a few months, but now I have a new problem: It will surprize me with not cranking at all. When I try to start it, all the idiot lights go out, and I get nothing!
My Grand Am has 108,000 miles on it and it has been a decent car, except for the last year. The security light keeps coming on and at times won't start. The dealer has replaced the ignition switch 3 times, but not fixed yet. I tried to go to work this morning and it would crank, but not start. After getting home later and trying it again it fired right up. I need something reliable, not a hit or miss vehicle.
Other problems have included a right front wheel speed sensor going bad, eating brakes, and running out of gas because the fuel gauge was off. Hope I have better luck with my next car...
Do not buy this vehicle. I purchased a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE, V6 with 27000 miles in 2003. Since then I replaced the intake and head gaskets at 60000 miles.
The coolant started leaking before 50000 miles. The replaced gaskets did not stop the leakage problems and the motor failed before 100k miles. I replaced the engine with a rebuilt.
The transmission failed at 115k miles.
My turn signal clicks randomly even after the replacement of the hazard switch recall. I had to replace the clips on the driver side power window which cracked.
I went through a brake job in 1 year and then had to replace a caliper.
The tie rods went bad causing a great deal of vibration. (possible cause of the poor brake life?) I thought I was getting a good deal when I purchased the car for $12,500 in 2003, but after $10,000 in repairs, just to get less than 100,000 miles, I feel taken. I will never purchase a Pontiac again, and question GM in general.
My experience with the Grand Am is just the opposite. I did not replace the brake pads on my 2001 GA until over 70,000 miles, and it cost me a whopping $17. Mine has been flawless from day one. I'd buy another used one in a heartbeat.
I have the 2001 Grand Am with the six cylinder. Got it with 64k miles, it now has 80k.
The fan motor only works on speeds 3-5.
The driver's window only works when I'm NOT at a drive-through window, toll booth, or anywhere else I actually need it to go down. Luckily, when it does go down it always goes back up. The switch is a darker color than the others, so it might have been replaced already.
The turn signals only work about 60% of the time. Sometimes, if I put the 4-ways on for a second the turn signals will work right after.
The super-fast blinking right turn signal was one of the two bulbs in the rear burned out, but the replacement only lasted two days - I think rainwater leaks in and shorts it out.
Strange how so many people have the same problems. GM should stand behind their products!
Honda sent us a letter extending the warranty on the transmission in our Odyssey to seven years/100,000 miles because many people were having problems, and still replaced it for free in the eighth year!
"The fan motor only works on speeds 3-5."
This occurred once with my 2001 GA. A gentle tap on the switch assembly corrected it (NOT a hard smack, that can damage it). Sometimes circuits can get minute deposits on them that can interrupt the current flow. I'd try that first, but again, use only your finger or a small PLASTIC OR RUBBER implement to avoid inadvertently damaging the control unit.