New breaks have been installed three times in the past two years. I had to buy each time, break warranty wasn't covered, the sales clerk told me it was due to the car not using breaks properly. When checked out, breaks seems fine, no problems found. Brand new breaks makes noises. But breaks do work.
Replaced water pump at 117,000. Personal mechanic done to save money from overcharging-dealers. Took a week to get to the pump due to location. Took another week to fix because when pump went out, timing chain also broke, as well as the cheap clamp holding it. Total repair was about $150.00 by having personal mechanic fix.
There is a bar that sticks in your back in the driver's seat, where seat is obviously broken. Very uncomfortable. Have to use a pillow.
The plastic part around my dash defroster vent is cracked in two places.
My wheels rattled bad until we removed them and purchased cheap caps to replace.
Oil is leaking. Can't seem to find the leak, but it leaks aprox. 1/2-1 Qt. every two days.
All of the hoses were replaced around 115,000 miles. They were cracked.
Coolant leak detected, replaced hoses, and checked, but still slowly leaks.
The radio is wacky! It works, but if you need to turn the sound up or down, you have a little problem, as it doesn't seem to want to cooperate. The clock/radio frequency display jumps occasionally to different numbers, and half numbers. But most times, it's correct.
Other than these problems, the engine runs good. The car has never left me stranded.
It hasn't been a bad car, but I wouldn't buy another one. I am selling this one before it gives me anymore headaches!
I am experiencing many of these same problems..
Radio has a mind of its own. Whenever I attempt to adjust the volume, I have to spin the dial a few times for the volume to actually work. Sometimes the display will show weird half numbers..don't know what to do with that.
The interior dome lights will randomly turn on and off. For example, I was pumping gas, and the lights of my car turned on! I couldn't figure out how in the world that happened because the vehicle wasn't on, and I had my keys in my pocket.
There is a rattling in the front of the car, almost a "thud" noise whenever I go over a bump or a dip in the road.
Brakes on the car are absolutely horrible! I almost cannot keep up with them. There will be times when they make a lot of noise, and other times they will be fine. When they make noise, it almost seems as if the entire rear of the vehicle is being pulled down towards the road. Doesn't seem too normal to me..
The vibrating of the car when I'm on the highway drives me insane. Especially when I need to stop quickly, the entire car shakes horribly. It almost makes me nervous to brake at high speeds.
I went to lock my car doors by pushing on the power lock button on the driver's side door, and the entire button fell into the door! Very dis-satisfied because I wasn't pushing hard on the button at all.
Seat is very uncomfortable, there seems to be a metal bar going across the middle of the driver's seat. After a few weeks of driving the car daily, my lower back began to hurt. I now have a padded seat cushion to make it more comfortable.
Otherwise, I love the way the car looks. I have the 98 GT edition. The rear spoiler seems to be a whole different color-it looks like it is warped or faded.
The entire inside of the vehicle seems to be falling apart. Absolutely everything squeaks whenever I drive over the smallest bump, and it drives me crazy! The dashboard where the radio is seems to be shifting or falling out.. not very impressed.
I would never purchase another Pontiac. This car has been nothing, but trouble for me. Very disappointing.
Have some of the same problems. Brakes are yearly - especially front. Rotors tend to warp, causing the car to shake heavily under hard braking. My gas tank just started leaking and last week, the timing chain broke and destroyed the engine. The power window 3of 4 haven't worked for a year and the drivers side automatic door lock button fell through. The car hasn't been bad up until last year when I hit approx. 220,000kms when everything started going down hill. Oh yeah, my cooling system leaks like a sieve and I had the water pump replaced as well.
Well I have a 1998 Grand Am GT four door with the 2.4 engine. The paint is a dark purple that loves to fade the front and rear bumpers have faded to a pink color on top and well the rear spoiler its some color that doesn't even look purple now at all. I wouldn't not buy another pontiac after having this one if I hadnt bought it straight out with cash in 2000 I wouldn't still have it. I got a little money and decided I would go out and just buy a car and be done with it I don't know why on earth I bought this thing.. I liked the color and it was very sporty... but every year something has went wrong with the car and its never cheap to fix and I also have had brake problems no matter what anyone does they never feel right. My last major issue was with the heater core which cost 600.00 to fix and was in the shop for two days.. now the heat barely works. I've had to replace the OEM factory stereo because the other one just went crazy the display and the cd portion decided it was going to quit working. This car makes some of the most bizarre noises I have ever heard. I have to say though that the four cylinder engine is very quick. The tires are also expensive to replace. Poor GM quality is all I can say about this when I bought it it had 26,000 miles and now it has 121,000 and I have come to the conclusion that when I reach 150,000 miles (if it makes it) I am going to sell it or trade it in for something more reliable. When I think back to it when I bought the car on the lot was a 1997 Geo Prizm and I wish everyday I had bought that car instead of the pontiac so maybe this time I will get a new Corolla or something.
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