2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE from North America - Comments

Master Window Switch malfunctioned at 40,000 miles.

Flywheel cracked at 47,000 miles.

Fuse blows when cigarette lighter is engaged.

Throttle body is covered with carbon buildup which causes it to stick shut when the engine is hot. It has to be cleaned every 400 miles.

The turn signal audio clicks constantly in the cabin when the blinker is not even on. Probably a crossed wire, but very hard to get to.

Consumes oil at a higher rate than any other car I've owned. Roughly 2 quarts per 3,000 miles.

A strange electrical problem has recently surfaced where the car has seemed to grow a mind of its own. This has caused trouble starting, and a gallery of warning lights, doors locking and unlocking by themselves, and occasionally it stalls while driving.

When the steering wheel is turned after startup the ABS, Traction Control, and Service Vehicle lights come on.

The brakes have actually engaged while I was accelerating several times.

The car is in the shop right now for the brake and electrical difficulties.

This car has good acceleration and handling.

There are just too many little and now big repairs that I have had to make.

This piece of garbage is one reason why Pontiac will soon

be following Olds to The Big Racetrack In The Sky.

There are some telltale signs in your review that suggest you might be driving this car very hard. Your car has traction control, and it is normal for the brakes to engage under hard acceleration to prevent the tires from spinning. That is (for the most part), how traction control works. If you regularly drive in such a manner, so as to accelerate strong enough to spin the tires, and engage traction control, that would also explain your throttle body oil problem as well. When you accelerate that hard, you are causing a large amount of blow by past the rings, to the extent that are building up enough pressure at the PCV valve to not only vent exhaust gas, but to also push oil out the valve (and into the throttle body as well). If you pull your breather hose off the throttle body, I am sure you will find that it is full of oil. All engines will do this when they are driven hard. If you are driving very hard, try easing up a bit, and the carbon problem might stop. However, if the rings are now bad (from hard driving or otherwise), it will not stop.

Good Luck.

I have a 2001 grand am se, I was driving and my ABS, traction off light and service vehicle soon light came on. the clip that holds the sensor to the wheel bearing broke so I zip tied it back on and now the lights don't turn on. that's the only problem I've had with my GA.

I drive a Pontiac Grand Am SE1 and I have had no problems with it at all. The service light, ABS, and traction control light do cme on every once in a while, but the never interfere from point A to point B. I love the car and will probably trade it in for a newer pontiac in four years. This car is luxurious and outstanding for having 96000 miles on it. I Love it!

I absolutely love my 2001 SE-1 4 cylinder and have yet to have one single problem with it. It uses not one drop of oil, has never had a brake job, and has awesome acceleration for a 4 cylinder. I traded a V-8 Mustang in on this car and I honestly gave up very little in the way of performance while getting exactly TWICE the gas mileage (30 versus 15).

The brakes applying by themselves does baffle me. My Grand Am will smoke the tires for 15 or 20 feet even with the traction control on. Of course, that could mean the traction control is not working. I can't tell any difference with it on or off. It's never bothered me one way or the other, as the overall performance has been so good.

My 2001 Grand Am is by far the best car I have ever owned. It has never had one problem. I've owned American cars, Japanese cars, one Gernman car, Muscle cars, luxury cars and compacts. Not one of them has come close to the reliability and quality of this Grand Am. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if Pontiac still made them. As it is, I'll most likely step down to the G-5 Pursuit, as I hate the ugly G-6.