1997 Pontiac Grand Prix SE review from North America

Both headlight lens covers fell off, within a couple months of each other. The dealer was advised, but no assistance was offered.

One day windshield wipers parked in the upright position. Brought it into the dealer they advised it was due to ice buildup. At the same time they made a recall repair to the wiper connecting arm under the windshield cowling. A week later, the passenger wiper stopped in the middle of the windshield and the other wiper kept going... the result, both wiper blades flew off the car. Dealer did not accept any responsibility, except to charge my credit card $100 for new blades and parts.

A couple months after the wiper problem I lost the low speed settings on my blower motor; the fan only worked on high; then within a few weeks, the high speed quit too. Staff at the dealership were on strike so the problem was brought to another shop. The heater motor resistor was blown. Repaired at a cost of $200 ($40 parts, the rest labour)

Four months later, I lost the fan low speeds again. The dealer looked at it and explained the damage was due to water leaking in and hitting the unit. They estimated the repair cost to be nearly $500 (the blower motor was now going too) so I got into an argument about the water leak with the service rep and told them to put the old parts back in. The blower motor continued to work at the high speed for a few more weeks then seized up.

I removed and replaced the blower and resistor units myself and when I removed the motor, water ran out of the housing under the dash. Further investigation revealed an improperly installed weatherstrip under the windshield cowling which allowed water to run off the windshield straight down into the blower housing. All these problems for lack of less than $1 worth of weatherstrip adhesive. Poor workmanship both at the factory and the dealership.

Noted during two consecutive oil changes that the coolant had to be topped up. The guys at the lube shop I deal with noted an oil film in the rad, which they indicated may be a head gasket problem. Brought back to the dealer and head gaskets had to be changed at 105,000 km. Cost approached $1500, most of which was covered by a used car warranty. They guys at the lube shop advised the problem with the head gaskets may be related to the problems with the Dex-cool coolant.

Within 500 km of having the head gaskets changed the water pump went, leaving small puddles of coolant under my car when I parked. The dealership obviously did not diagnose the full problem with the coolant leak.

A recall notice was received for a steering bushing problem. I brought it in for that repair at the same time as the water pump problem. When I got the car back, the steering was "clicking" when I turned. I brought it back to the dealership again and they advised that my upper strut bearings had gone. I left in anger. Later, a buddy sprayed some lubricant into the top of the struts and the problem disappeared.

The clock and display lights on the radio occasionally go out completely, but can be fixed quickly with a good solid "Fonzie" tap.

Lots of other minor problems too.

I've lost faith in General Motors. I've owned dozens of their vehicles over the years and none have demonstrated such poor quality in workmanship as this Grand Prix. Many of the problems are safety issues; many are costly; some are just a nuisance and aggravating.

The dealership will never see me again. In fact the service manager invited me to 'find another place to have my car serviced'. That is easy advice to follow.