Comments: 1-15, 16-29
Well...
45,000 miles... heater fan/motor died.
New front brakes around 50,000 miles.
Fog lights have both burnt out twice in 28,000 miles.
Spoiler fading and was repainted by previous owner at 35,000 miles.
Rear windows scrapped strips of professionally installed window tint from windows due to going up and down. NOT TOO HAPPY ABOUT THIS!
Fuel injectors were cleaned due to transmission hesitation. Sometimes still occurs.
Both rear door panels became extremely lose after 50,000 miles. All PLASTIC screws were stripped and were replaced.
60,000 miles Check engine light came on. Dealer stated that a charcoal canister in the emissions lines corroded out. What in the world is a charcoal canister?...was covered under extended warranty. The only thing that was ever covered!
65,000 miles steering column is starting to rattle especially when making turn to right at 40+ mph. Have no clue what is wrong.
66,000 miles car will not let me out of park and will not let me get key out of ignition. Paid $400 for new gear shift assembly. Still not fixed! Dealer replaced brake sensors. Still not fixed!
Dealer now ordering new neutral safety switch. If this doesn't fix the problem I think I'm going to request my $400 back! I still think that it is the ignition switch causing the problem, but what do I know?...Has anyone else had this problem; I would appreciate the help!
An absolutely great car.
Now it is just starting to really nickel and dime me!
It only has 68,000 miles and I take extremely good care of the car. Polished every other week, Plus gas, regular oil changes, and no dogging the engine. Why are so many things going wrong that can't be fixed?
I love my car, I just wish that it would stop falling apart!
Sounds like the previous owner is to blame with some of your problems. Obviously the rear spoiler wasn't painted correctly if it is fading at all. Brakes at 50k is normal, depending on driving habits. Window tint problem is not the car's fault; tint is a usually cheap, poor aftermarket add-on. Shifter assembly should've fixed the problem; its design has been updated by GM. This sounds like a dealership problem. The fan motor problem was probably a resistor problem; again, the resistor design has been updated. The rear door panel problem sounds like someone had them off at one point, and didn't reinstall correctly. (Window tint?) These panels simply don't just fall off by themselves, on any car.
Hey...thanks for your advice!
I'm glad that somebody made a comment.
Yeah I had never thought about them taking the doors off in the back to put the tint on...i'll have to look into that.
Yes..the gear shift assembly was obviously replaced.. then they had to put in a new brake sensor.. but the new neutral safety switch seems to have fixed the problem. (Knock on Wood)
Do you know anything about the Charcoal Canister at all in the emissions system?...just wondering!
Thanks again for your suggestions and help!
Hello Steven:
My GP is going through similar problems. Where is the neutral safety switch located? I was going to try it on my car, but don't know the location.
Mike.
Mike:
The neutral safety switch is the little knob to the right of the gear shift assembly... just pull the cap off of the switch and put a screw driver down the hole... then you'll be able to bring the car out of park!
Andrew.
Hi, I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix with 56,000 miles and I am also having a problem getting my key out of the ignition and the car out of Park. Dealer replaced "switch interlock" ($390) but it did not fix the problem. Cars handbook says that Battery could be the problem. I was having a problem with the battery and I replaced it, but it also did not fix the problem. After about 15 minutes of trying to get my car out of park by starting and restarting my car. I stuck a pen into the "shift lock release" and then I was able to drive home.
Not sure what else to do. Dealer could not get the car to act up.
I also have a 2000 grand prix GT, it only has 44,000 miles on it and I also cannot get it out of park. Every morning I have to sit there a while to try to get it to go, I also stuck a pen in the shift release button and was able to take off. Then when I get home I have to sit there a while again to try to get the key out ot the ignition. It surely is driving me crazy!
We had multiple problems trying to get the vehicle out of park as well. THE FIX - I believe there are three separate solenoids that must function to allow the shifting to take place. After a few tries, once we replaced (JUST THE SOLENOID) in the shifter all was back to normal. I believe the solenoid failure in the shifter was caused by a bad habit of simply tapping the shifter while cruising down the road.
Good luck.
I haven't yet had a problem getting out of park, but have had the problem of the key sticking in the ignition. Good to know that it is not worth having it "fixed" to the tune of $400. Thanks!
P.S. My brakes are making a terrible grinding noise. Anyone else with this problem? I am taking it in tomorrow.
I have a 2000 Grand Prix GT and I have the same problem of not being able to remove the key and of course it won't do it for the mechanic. They told me to use a pen or screwdriver in the steering column to remove it. The heater fan/motor had to be replaced and the thermostat. The transmission hesitates when going up a hill. Brakes don't last long. A great looking car, but I probably wouldn't own another one unless the problems are corrected.
Taking the key out of the ignition switch: I had this problem many years ago in my '92 Olds Achieva I owned from 1993 to 2004. Turning the steering wheel a little bit helped as the steering column probably has a mechanism to keep the key in place. I don't know if the GP's steering wheel locks outright when turning off the engine, but if it can be turned left-right slightly, try this trick and see if you can get the key out. Hope this helps.
I am looking at buying a 2000 GTP and all of your comments have helped me out. I am responding to the question about the
charcoal canister. For emissions purposes the gas fumes in the fuel tank and lines are pumped into this canister and stored there. The charcoal acts as a sponge. When the vehicle is in normal driving conditions these fumes are then pumped by a solenoid valve into your intake manifold, and then burned in the engine. If there is a leak in this canister it would cause MIL light to come on because you would be venting gas vapors into the atmosphere. It is just another attempt form the EPA to keep harmful gas fumes out of the air. Thanks for everyone's input, I hope my purchase is as rewarding as yours.
Wow!!! I really feel happy that I bought a 2001. I haven't had any of the problems that you guys are describing with my GT. I'm at almost 68,000 at this point and have replaced front and rear struts, and front and rear brake pads and rotors. Pretty standard stuff for this mileage. The exhaust is still in great shape as is the interior of the car. All electronics appear to be functioning normally as well. The only other problems I've had are not even the result of manufacturer defect. I was driving on the freeway and bounced over the exhaust that the vehicle in front of me had lost resulting in a couple of bent lines and a monster dent in my oil pan. A transmission line had begun to leak due to a loose clamp and was easily fixed.
Hey guys, I've got a 97 GT. The issue with the key stuck in the ignition isn't really worth paying someone to fix. If you look at the steering column right under the key area you will see a small plastic cap. Remove that cap and just leave it out, behind it is a button placed there just for this problem, press it in and your key comes right out. I never bothered trying to fix this since it's no big deal to press the button. Good luck guys, hope you enjoy your Grand Prix's as much as I have.
I ran across this problem tonight, and found the above comment very helpful. When I removed the plastic cover, it has a round pole on it that I was able to stick a straw on (the only thing really handy), cut it down to size and shove it back into the hole. Once I get a little time to tinker, I'll find something a little more substantial to put on the pole so I won't have to worry about this problem again. But at least this gets me working again!
I really do love my Grand Prix, and just put on some Goodyear TripleTred Tech P225/60R16 - 97H, VSB last week. Those tires just ROCK in rain, snow and ice! I can only imagine how they will feel once summer hits! I'll take a little more road noise, knowing that my wife is safe driving the car in any weather condition. I slammed on my breaks (about 80%) and couldn't hardly get the ABS to engage, and came to a very quick stop on packed snow covering ice. Then I punched it about 80% throttle (I have a GTP), and the traction control hardly engaged for very smooth and quick acceleration!
I also had a problem with my Grand Prix and the Key getting stuck in the engine.
After reading this site I found that the straw trick really does work! THANK YOU!! This saved me over $400.
I took off the plastic cap from under the steering wheel and inserted a regular straw. After I found this to work, I cut the straw down to size and put the cap back on. It works very well.
I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with 163,000 miles on it. The car is great and occasionally I have a few common problems with it. But, that is expected with this many miles.