The multi-function switch has "burned out" 2-3 times since I've owned my 95 Grand Am SE. When switching to high beam, the headlights would go out. Repeatedly switching between low and hi would eventually turn the lights back on. My workaround was to never turn the high beams on (keep on low). Since I never take this car out of town anymore, no need to have this fixed.
Heater core went out - 145,000 miles.
Alternator burned out - 75,000 miles.
Power door locks driver & passenger side went bad - replaced one time under warranty.
Water pump - replaced twice.
A/C stopped working at about 100,000 miles, had compressor replaced for $800. Thereafter, still did not cool adequately, but recharging with stop leak seemed to improve the cooling inside.
Current concern - the car knocks or rattles significantly at idle, especially after a cold start-up. Not sure if the rattle is coming from the engine, transmission, or exhaust system. Rattle goes away upon acceleration, and nearly goes away at idle after the engine is warmed up.
Has anyone had a similar problem or have a solution to the above? I'm hoping to get 200K out of this car, but anything major that needs to be done will grudgingly have to give it up for a newer model.
I have a lot of the same problems with my 1995 Grand Am. First off, the power windows went bad. The driver side window does not work at all. The passenger side goes down inch by inch, and you have to wait a couple of minutes before it will go down again. My heating core also went bad at 140,000 miles. It will occasionally leak coolant and the engine thermostat will read almost 280 degrees when I drive it. I have been using stop leak, which seems to work somewhat. My car also has this stalling problem. Let's say I stop for a stop sign. I hit the accelerator and the engine shuts off. It has really bad gas mileage. It probably gets between 15 and 20 miles to the gallon. My power locks and mirrors burned out also. The car also has a high idle, which I think, is one of the reasons why the gas mileage is no good. My heating selector switch does no work at all. The heating is stuck on the front window defroster. Other than these problems, the body is in very good shape and the thing really accelerates. I can't wait until I get rid of this thing.
Yeah the knocking is more than likely the engine. I had a 1995 grand am SE with a quad 4 and it lasted me till about 186,000 miles. After that, the head gasket went cause the head gaskets are made from aluminum. I wouldn't buy another car with a quad 4 engine again... but they aren't made anymore, so that's good.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site