1997 Pontiac Grand Prix SE from North America - Comments

Key became stuck in the ignition. The technician found broken wires between BTSI (term listed on service invoice) and the steering column. He told me this was caused by something that I had done wrong. Hmmm?.

Passenger side front power window made noise when going down and goes up slow. The motor was replaced.

Windshield wipers would not seat in the home position. They still worked, but seated in the intermittent position when not in use. Diagnosed as a bad module and elected not to fix at this time because it wasn't covered by extended warranty.

Radio display erratic. Installed new radio.

During the same visit, complained about the windshield wipers again (at the same dealership that looked at it before), this time they diagnosed it as a bad wiper motor which was covered under warranty. Had it replaced.

Loss of power steering. Loose hose. Technician tightened and refilled fluid.

Loss of power steering. Technician replaced hose and refilled fluid.

Anti-lock brakes do not always work. Technician could not duplicate.

Blower motor does not always work, sometimes it would blow regular and sometimes it would blow only on low or not at all. Technician could not duplicate.

Relocated from Pennsylvania to California so now we are dealing with a new dealership. Just a note to let you know this wasn't the only reason why I moved.

Motor misfiring and very low on power. Technician determined the plugs were breaking down and found fouled coolant. Pressure test found intake manifolds leaking internally. Replaced upper and lower intake manifold plenums, replaced plugs and plug wires.

During the same visit, diagnosed a bad alternator which was the cause of the Anti-lock braking problem and the cause of why I had just previously replaced the battery.

And last, but not least, the all-too famous missing headlight cover. Seems to be a very common problem with these. I fortunately found mine and lightly sanded both surfaces, applied a solid layer of epoxy glue and re-applied the lens.

You know, when I first saw the grand prix I thought "Now, here's a car with sportiness for me, and yet still a 4-door to accommodate my kids", it seemed like the perfect car. My Pontiac driving experience has not been one of enjoyment. It has opened my eyes up to the world of car reviews, I will always do my homework from here on out, Thank You.

I had so many of the same things happen to my car. Keys becoming stuck in ignition, erratic radio display, blower motor, low coolant (causing replaced manifolds $$$$), and missing headlight covers (common problem). These have all been since about 100,000 miles. Too bad since I really love the car.

My 97 has had everything go wrong that's been mentioned as well.

1. Car lights would not auto-turn on, and if you manually turned them on they would cut off for no reason in the middle of the night.

2. Window motor replace 3 times, now it is not working again, and it is some other $300 part to fix.

3. Headlight assembly just came up missing one day, $100 to replace.

4. Alternator out at 40K.

5. Spun belt off at 60K, (5K after a GM tune up) causing the cam shaft pulley to be replaced.

6. Blown head gasket at 103K causing heads to be re-machined, and a new radiator. Close to three thousand dollars to fix all of that.

7. Thermostat, upper & lower hose replacement at 50K

8. Trunk area leaking water into trunk. (multiple fixes, on this one, but they finally got it done)

9. Water leaking onto floorboard passenger side (I can't even tell you how many times this has been 'fixed')

10. A/C now just turns on with no key in the ignition. Blower motor module is the diagnosis, but $300 to fix. Don't think I'll be doing that, pulling the fuse out everytime I get out will work just fine.

So here I am with a car that only has 110K miles on it, and can't order in the drive thru, and have to pull the fuse out everytime I stop. No telling what is going to fail next on it. My advice is to never buy a first year model car of any type. This was a '97, so first year of the wide-body. My '94 grand prix was awesome, until I wrecked it.

I have had no problems with my `97 GTP other than regular wear and tear, and the notorious headlight cover problem. This car has been a dream come true, and I would not trade it for anything. (Except maybe a newer model.) ^_^ As for the problems mentioned by other users; I believe many of these problems resulted from improper use or care, i.e., blown head gasket and windshield wiper motor failure; therefore, please do not let these posts detour you from such a wonderful and beautiful car.