Plastic trim near the door started to fall off, parking brake light would not turn off when the car was turned off, car stalled once in a parking garage, and the original dealership that I bought the car from put on the wrong type of wheel nuts to hold the wheels on, so when it came time for a tire rotation, the dealership that I changed to discovered the problem, because they had a hard time to remove the nuts, it had to be drilled out. Plastic trim was fixed, the issue with the parking brake light and stalling was fixed with a new computer for the car, and the wheel nuts issue was fixed and replaced. All of these problems were fixed by my current dealer.
I admit that this car had a few problems when I bought it brand new, but when I tried to get the Pontiac dealer to fix it (where I originally bought it), they refused. So I changed to another Pontiac dealership, they fixed all the problems, and therefore have earned my business. I never service my car anywhere else. Even something as small as an oil change, I only take it to this dealer. The car has fast acceleration, great passing power, and looks great. It's good as a highway cruiser (it's great on gas there), but the fuel economy for city driving is not the best. I have no problems outrunning or outgunning your common Civic.
Just an update of my car listed above, it's coming up to 31,000km, and I had to take it to the dealer, as I was hearing a groaning noise from the struts... dealer fixed it no problem. Other than that, no problems, just the regular oil changes, maintenance etc. Car is still purring like a kitten.
Just another update on my car. I'm at 34,200 km, and took the car in for service at 33,998 km, (oil, lube, filter, power steering flush). Car is still running great. I had one issue though. On the front right tire, one wheel nut went missing for some reason. I just got a new one installed today (June 22/04) for a fee of $10 (Canadian). Other than that, nothing significant to report.
Another update on the car: I took it in on July 3/2004 as the same piece of trim from the front right passenger door area near the bottom was coming off again. I took it to the dealer, and they fixed it promptly. Other than that, no other problems. Car runs fine.
Another update for my car... The car now has 40,000KM. I had to get my rotors serviced (now the steering wheel is not vibrating when braking), and I had to replace my front brake pads, a tire rotation, and another oil change. The car still runs great. Total cost, $472 Canadian.
Just wanted to thank you for the constant updates. Its nice to see the progression of a vehicle over time. I wish more people would do the same.
Here's hoping your Grand Am continues to run trouble free. Enjoy =)
Update on my car: It's now past 50,000 km, and it's still running fine. I have done all required maintenance. The only problem that I had with the car is that I had rust developing on the inside, bottom part of the driver's side door (near the drain hole). The dealership sandblasted it, re-primed, and re-painted the area, and applied seam sealer and a rust-proofing chemical to all the doors on the bottom edge.
Another update on my car, it's now almost at 54,000km, I just recently had the vehicle serviced at 53,517km, (for 55,000km service). I had the oil & filter done, flush and replace the brake fluid, tire rotation, and serviced the rear brakes. I have not had any other issues lately with this car. It's been running just fine.
I have a 2003 Pontiac Grand Am Se 1 with the 2.2 l ecotec 4 banger. And it has the monsoon stereo system. Power windows and locks and a moon roof. I really love the car. When the car dealership tryed to get me to drive the 4 cyl I thought they would be gutless. But I was wrong. I actually beat my sons bosses Honda Civic Si. Even got a little rubber.
I am the original owner of the above reviews for the 2003 Grand Am. When I drove the 2.2L DOHC 4 cylinder Ecotec engine equipped Grand AM as a rental car during warranty work, I found that it was way under powered. The fuel economy was close enought to the 3.4L Pushrod V6. The 3.4L V6 suited my needs better as I do tons of highway driving. It is also much smoother and quieter in operation. The Ecotec engine sounded like a lawn mower.
Update on my car: I was in Hawaii from February 5-19/2005, and I was told that the tire had a slow leak. I had it plugged, and had the same Pontiac dealership replace it with a new tire. I have just taken the car in at 59,517km, on March 7/2005 to have the 60,000km service. The car is running great!
Update on my car: I now have about 62,800km. I took the car in to the dealership as I started to hear an "performance exhaust sound" coming from my front left tire. Since the tire was brand new, I first thought that it was the new tread. I brought it to the dealership, and it turns out that the wheel bearing had to be replaced at about $500-$600 Canadian dollars. This was covered under GMPP warranty (thank goodness I bought it for $300). The service advisor put me in a Pontiac Vibe (which is a nice car) while my car was being fixed. I also had to spend more money as I also needed the 2 front rotors replaced with AC Delco rotors, get the calipers adjusted, rear brakes needed service, and get an alignment. The repairs were done, and the car runs fine.
April 18/2005, another update on my car. The car is almost at 64,000km. I brought it to my dealer as my Monsoon cd player would not eject cds, as it would "stick" and you would have to pull it out when it's half way out. I also had condensation in my driver's side fog light and on my reverse light on the driver's side (on the bumper). The cd player cost $500 Cdn. to replace, and the seals for the lights cost $300-$400 Cdn. My GMPP warranty did not cover this. Fortunatly, my dealership gave me "good will" warranty service. They replaced my cd player with a new one, fixed the seals for my fog and reverse light, and put me in a rental car (2005 Pontiac Sunfire) while my car stayed from 7am-3pm. My service advisor told me that they will do this for me as I have done all of the required maintenance on the vehicle, they know that I baby my car, and because I am a very loyal customer. Thank goodness I wasn't out another $800-$900.
April 29/2005, another update on my car, it's at 64,000km, and at 1pm, was involved in a collision on highway 401. My wife was driving and had to stop due to the volume of traffic. While stopped, some lady in a purple Hyundai slammed her from behind at about 90km/hr. The car has extensive rear-end damage now. Thank goodness we are not at fault and do not have to shell out a cent. The car is now at the Pontiac dealer waiting to be appraised. The service advisor told me that there is extensive frame damage, and may be unrepairable. We'll see what happens.
May 11/2005. Another update on my car. My car is currently at the dealership. They said that it make take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to repair the car. There was $5000-$7000 (Canadian $) in damages to the rear of the car. Unfortunatly, it was not declared as written off. The insurance company gave me a 2004 Buick Century to drive around until the car is fixed. Will come back with more updates.
I wish to thank you for your updates. I am curious, what has happened to your car? You have not done any updates since May. This information is invaluable, since I usually keep my cars for a long time (current 1990 Chev G20 230000km).