2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE1 review from North America

My car began not starting intermittently in the winter of 2004. Dealer replaced lock cylinder. Winter 2005 rolls around and same thing. Dealer replaced ignition switch. Seems fine now.

Also in 2004, I started getting puddles of water on the driver's side floor. Took it to the dealer and they determined that the windshield was leaking around the bottom. Of course, it wasn't covered on the after-market warranty. I called Pontiac to see if they'd back up their car and they talked the dealer into doing it at no cost to me. They fixed the windshield and completely removed the interior to dry out the carpet.

The knobs for the climate controls are cheap! the dealer keeps these in stock for about $5 a pop. What's that tell you?

My driver's side window won't go down all the time. I suspect a bad window switch.

The rear defrost stopped working in the winter of 2005. The wire disconnected from the rear window.

I tried to go through an automatic car wash, and they informed me that they've been having a problem with Pontiac Grand Am and Grand Prix ripping their side mirrors off!! Supposedly, GM is aware of it and can't do anything for now.

I have the Monsoon stereo with the Cd player and the cassette player. I was cruising down the road jamming, and apparently blew the right rear 6x9.

Overall, I think this car is pretty good. It's been reliable since the ignition switch has been replaced. The last time I checked, it gets 26mpg for a mix of both town and highway driving. Performance is satisfactory and it rides nicely with little road noise. I just think some features were made pretty cheap.