1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT from North America - Comments

At 68,000 KM, the rear main heat shield were replaced.

At 69,000 KM, the platinum spark plugs and spark plug wires were replaced.

At 75,000 KM, the left rear tie rod end snapped while backing out of my driveway. At my dealership's advice, I drove the car to their lot, rather than have it towed, and the broken tie rod punctured my left rear tire. Both the tire and the tie rod were replaced.

At 85,000 KM, the passenger-side power window motor was replaced.

At 95,000 KM, the driver-side power window became lodged open in a blizzard. The power window motor was replaced.

At 120,000 KM, performance was sluggish. The leaking rear main seal was replaced.

At 120,000 KM, steering became tight when turning to the right. The entire rack and pinion steering assembly was replaced.

At 127,000 KM, the engine failed. The engine was "overhauled", despite the fact that the dealership lobbied with GM Head Office to install a new engine.

At 140,000 KM, the right headlight, which had been collected moisture, fell off. The entire headlight assembly was replaced.

At 145,000, the thermostat was replaced (#1).

At 150,000 KM, the water pump and serpentine belt failed, and both were replaced.

At 150,00 KM, rust developed on the right rear fender, and the pain began to peel. The dealership stated that it was a normal problem and to "get the car repainted".

At 155,000 KM, the thermostat failed again. It was replaced (#2).

At 160,000 KM, the alternator failed.

At 160,000 KM, the rear spindle rods snapped.

At 160,000 KM, the thermostate failed yet again. It was replaced (#3).

At 170,000 KM, all electrical power failed. The Body Control Module (BCM) and Power Control Module (PCM) were replaced.

At 170,000 KM, the heater began working only on Level 5. The resistor coil was replaced.

At 170,000 KM, the leaking transmission seals were replaced.

At 180,000 KM, the car began overheating in -22 degree weather. The intake gaskets failed.

I purchased my vehicle from a reputable GM Dealership in July 2000 with 67,200 KM. I elected to purchase an extended warranty to 127,200 KM, for $2000. The problems almost immediately after taking possession of the car.

My vehicle was at the dealership at least once per months to diagnose a problem. The service advisors constantly reassured me that my vehicle's problems were normal, and due to standard wear and tear. A service advisor from my regular dealership, moved to a new dealership, and later advised me that they had routinely laughed at how frequently my vehicle necessitated repairs, and found it quite funny.

When my engine failed at 127,000 KM, I was informed that it was due to a factory defect, and that a bolt had simply "come loose" over time. My vehicle was in the shop for over 3 weeks while the dealership lobbied with GM to replace, rather than overhaul my engine. Their request was denied.

While the car looks great, and the performance is fantastic, the car lacks in overall quality. It is unreliable, costly to maintain, and quite frankly, unsafe to drive when one considers that items such as headlights fall off or fail when driving.

To date, the vehicle has incurred approximately $16,000 in repair costs, and I have had the car for only 4.5 years. Approximately, $12,000 of those costs were taken care of by the extended warranty that I purchased, but I am now spending approximate $1000 every 3 to 6 months to repair problems that arise.

The vehicle has required towing approximately 4 times, once leaving me stranded on a snowy highway at night until the tow truck arrived.

I would definitely NOT recommend this vehicle, and will certainly not buy another vehicle from GM in my lifetime.

I totally agree with this comment. My 98 Grand Prix GT has had nothing but problems since I bought it. It is in the shop right now as a matter of fact.

I find this quite odd. I have a 97 Grand Prix as well, and I've hardly had a single problem with it. I've had to replace the air filter once or twice, and other routine tune-ups, but nothing major has happened, and it's nearly at 140,000 miles. Sorry you've had so many problems with yours.

~Chris.

Hmm... I was going to write a review of my '98 Grand Prix, but yours pretty much summed it all up. Don't buy a GM. Unless you love hanging out at the repair shop and spending spending spending.

Basically, if you knew the first thing about taking care of a car, this wouldn't happen. I turned my GTP into a straight street rodding car. Through all of the beating on the tranny/motor, I haven't had to replace either.

It's funny you list s-plugs as a problem... you have platinum, what do you expect? Get copper plugs once you take it from the dealership and you'll never have a problem with it.

Everything else you had go wrong with your car could have been easily prevented.

"Basically, if you knew the first thing about taking care of a car, this wouldn't happen..."

"Everything else you had go wrong with your car could have been easily prevented."

Are you kidding me? People shouldn't have to be grease monkeys for a car to be reliable. The guys review said he was in and out of the shop at least once a month, and you think that's his fault? Sure, all of that stuff may have been preventable, but it sounds to me like this guy took good care of the car and even got regular (usually unwanted) maintenance done. Just face it, GM has been going downhill for years and they're worse now than ever.

Watch the documentary "Who Killed the Electric Car" and you'll hate GM for the rest of your days.