1999 Pontiac Grand Am

SECURITY LIGHT\PASSCODE, PASSLOCK IGNITION ON GRAND AM GT VEHICLE UNABLE TO START WHEN SECURITY LIGHT COMES ON- ANTI-THEFT SYSTEM IS DEFECTIVE. MUST LEAVE KEY IN ON POSITION TO RESET- TAKES A WHOLE 15 MINUTES TO RESET- LATE APPTS, SCHOOL DELAYS, ETC... NOW PASSCODE FEATURE IS DEFECTING THE ABS & TRAC FEATURES ON CAR- COST OF REPAIR FOR NEW IGNITION SYSTEM & OTHER NECESSARY PARTS RELATING TO PASSLOCK = SECURITY DEFECT IN CAR FROM DEALERSHIP IS CLOSE TO $600, THIS AMOUNT DOES NOT INCLUDE LABOR CHARGES. *NM

DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS THE ENGINE OVERHEATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP FOR INSPECTION. THE MECHANIC DETERMINED THE ENGINE'S HIGH PERFORMANCE ADDITIVE CAUSED CORROSION TO THE ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEAD. THE CYLINDER HEAD WAS REPLACED WHICH CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. UPDATED 3/28/2006 - THE WATER PUMP FAILED. THE BATTERY AND BRAKES FAILED. THE COOLANT LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE DEALER DETERMINED THAT THE ANTIFREEZE HAD CONGEALED AND NEEDED TO BE FLUSHED AND REPLACED. THE DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT WENT OUT. THE DRIVER SIDE WINDOW REGULATOR BROKE. *NM

STARTED WITH WARNING LIGHTS ON DASH COMING ON AND OFF INTERMITTENTLY, TOOK TO LOCAL GARAGE AND THEY PUT IT ON THE COMPUTER BUT NOTHING SHOWED UP. HUSBAND BOUGHT NEW BATTERY AND NEW ALTERNATOR. DID NOT HAVE THE PROBLEM FOR THREE MONTHS AND THAN I WAS COMING HOME FROM WORK AND ONE BY ONE THE WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON, SPEEDOMETER, GAS GAUGE, ODOMETER, ETC...WENT TO 0 AND THE CAR JUST STOPS. THIS HAPPENS IN THE SPAN OF APPROXIMATELY 2 MINUTES. FIRST TIME THIS HAPPENED I WAS IN THE OUTSIDE LANE OF A 4 LANE HIGHWAY. FORTUNATELY TRAFFIC WAS LIGHT AND NO ONE HIT ME. CAR WOULD NOT START AGAIN. TRUCK DRIVER PULLED HIS TRUCK BEHIND ME WITH FLASHERS UNTIL WE COULD GET MY CAR ACROSS TRAFFIC AND SAFELY TO THE SHOULDER. THIS HAPPENED 9/9/2005. TOOK MY CAR TO LOCAL GMC REPAIR SHOP AND THEY SAID IT WAS A FUSE BOX THAT WAS CORRODED DUE TO A LEAK AND REPLACED IT. RECOMMENDED THAT I HAVE MY CAR CHECKED FOR LEAKS WHICH I DID AND THERE WAS NONE WHICH AT THE TIME I THOUGHT WAS ODD BUT MY CAR SEEMED TO BE BETTER. 12/9/2005 SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN ONLY THIS TIME WHEN IT STARTED I WORKED MY WAY TO THE SHOULDER PRIOR TO MY CAR STOPPING. TOOK BACK TO SAME GARAGE, THEY PUT IT ON THE COMPUTER AND COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG SO THEY CALLED THE COMPANY FOR GUIDANCE. FIRST THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE IGNITION SWITCH, REPLACED THIS BUT DID NOT STOP THE DRAIN ON MY BATTERY. THAN THEY THOUGHT IT WAS THE ONE SIDE OF THE MIDDLE FUSE BOX BUT AFTER REPLACING IT, DISCOVERED THAT WAS NOT IT, THAN THEY REPLACED MY INSTRUMENT PANEL CLUSTER. IN THE MEANTIME I WENT ON LINE AND DISCOVERED THAT I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE TO HAVE THIS HAPPEN AND THAT IT APPEARED TO BE A DEFECT IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM BUT GMC IS NOT RECEPTIVE TO ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM. I WROTE THEM A LETTER AND THEY CALLED AND SAID I HAD TO LOG MY COMPLAINT WITH YOU. I HAVE THE FIRST FUSE BOX THAT WAS REPLACED BUT THEY DID NOT GIVE ME THE OLD PARTS THE SECOND TIME. I DID GET THE REPAIR SHEET WITH CODES AND COMMENTS. *JB

WHERE TO START, .BOUGHT 1999 GRAND AM GT IN AUGUST OF 2002 AND ITHAS BEEN DOWNHILL EVER SINCE. REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR TWICE, HAVE EXPERIENCED THE SAME INTAKE MANIFOLD GASKET PROBLEM, WHICH WAS REPLACED, BUT STILL LED TO THE DEMISE OF MY ENGINE, CAUSING CAMSHAFT TO SNAP IN HALF. THOUGHT THE TROUBLE WAS OVER WITH THE REBUILT ENGINE THAT WAS PUT IN, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE. THE WINDOW REGULATOR BROKE IN THE MIDDLE OF A SNOWSTORM ,CAUSING ME TO DRIVE WITH NO DRIVERSIDE WINDOW. WITH THE NEW REGULATOR I ASSUMED THAT THE WINDOW WOULD STOP SQUEAKING, WHICH DID NOT. I ASSUMED THE SCRATCHES ON WINDOWS WERE JUST FROM ME-SAND OR SOME OTHER ABRASIVE MATERIAL IN THE WINDOW TRACKS--AFTER REVIEWING OTHER COMPLAINTS I DISCOVERED I WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE WITH THIS PROBLEM. HAVE EXPERIENCED VARIOUS ISSUES WITH THE NO TRAC/ABS LIGHTS, REPLACED THE WATERPUMP, DONE BRAKES 4 TIMES IN 4 YEARS, FRONT HEADLIGHTS ARE MILKY AND MAKE IT HARD TO SEE AT NIGHT. HAVE REPLACED THE STARTER 4 TIMES IN JUST THE PAST 2 YEARS. NEEDLESS TO SAY AFTER READING ALL COMPLAINTS I FEEL MUCH BETTER KNOWING THAT IT IS NOT JUST ME, OR MY CAR, BUT ALL PONTIACS. BOUGHT THE CAR FOR $10000, HAVE PUT OVER $5000 WORTH OF WORK INTO IT. WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER PONTIAC. *AK

REPLACEMENT OF THE FOLLOWING PARTS ON 99 PONTIAC GRAND AM, R&R FUEL STRAINER & FILTER/FUEL FILTER/FUEL PUMP/FUEL INJECTION/WATER PUMP/ECM/2BRAKE JOBS/THERMOSTAT/ALSO I AM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH COOLANT SYSTEM OVERHEATING/ LOSS OF COOLANT/ FOG WINDOW/ SMELL OF COOLANT/ LOSS OF POWER/ LOW COOLANT CONTINUALLY I HAVE TO ADD COOLANT EVERY WEEK. *NM

I BOUGHT MY 1999 GRAND AM IN OCT' 04. THE FIRST 2 MO. OF OWNING IT MY ALTERNATOR WENT OUT. A FEW MONTHS LATER I HAD TO REPLACE MY FRONT BRAKES. SHORTLY AFTER THAT MY(2ND) ALTERNATOR AND A/C PUMP WENT OUT NOT TO MENTION THE BATTERY TOO. OH AND NOT ONLY HAS THE SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT BEEN ON MOST OF THE TIME, A SECOND SERVICE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON! I HAVE NEVER KNOWN A VEHICLE TO HAVE 2 SERVICE ENGINE LIGHTS ON AT THE SAME TIME!! WAS THIS SOME KIND OF PREMONITION!? AS SOON AS I GOT THE CAR BACK,I WENT AND PICKED MY KIDS UP TO GO TO THE FAIR. WE WERE NOT EVEN 2 MILES OUT OF TOWN YET WHEN MY ENGINE STARTED OVERHEATING. I HAD TO PULL OVER AND WAIT FOR QUITE SOMETIME BEFORE I COULD MAKE IT HOME SAFELY WITH MY CHILDREN. NOW MY CAR THAT I'VE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON, NOT JUST PURCHASING THE CAR,BUT ALSO IN PARTS IS CURRENTLY IN THE SHOP FOR EITHER A BLOWN HEAD GASKET OR THE ENGINE BLOCK IS DAMAGED. THE MECHANIC TOLD ME THIS IS HAPPENING TO A LOT OF THESE SPECIFIC CARS OR SHOULD I SAY ENGINE TYPE. NEVERTHELESS, THIS IS COSTLY AND VERY DANGEROUS TO EVERYONE WHO OWNS ONE OF THESE LEMONS!!!! SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE REAL QUICK WITH THESE PROBLEMS OR THE MANUFACTURE OF THESE VEHICLES WILL BE PAYING FOR MORE THAN JUST PARTS! *CB *NM

I OWN A 1999 GRAND AM SE. EVER SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR IN OCT '04 I HAVE BEEN HAVING NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS WITH IT. THIS PAST JUNE I HAD TO REPLACE THE ENGINE. LEADING UP TO THAT THE CAR WOULD DIE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. I WOULD BRING IT TO THE DEALER (MORE LIKE TOW IT) AND I WOULD ALWAYS BE TOLD NOTHING IS WRONG. THEN YET AGAIN IT WOULD DIE. AFTER THAT THE STALLING BEGAN. I WOULD BE DRIVING AND THE CAR WOULD SHUT OFF. IT WOULD USUALLY TAKE UP TO 10 MINUTES TO TURN BACK ON. ONCE THE DEALER WENT "WELL MAYBE ITS YOUR LIGHTS, YOU LEAVE THEM ON." MY RESPONSE WAS HOW DO I LEAVE ON AUTOMATIC LIGHTS? I HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY ALTERNATOR 3 TIMES AND HAVE HAD TO REPLACE MY BATTERY TWICE. IT GOT TO THE POINT THAT ONCE I SHUT OFF MY CAR THE ONLY WAY TO START IT WAS BY TAKING OUT THE MAIL RELAY CHIP FOR 2 MINUTES THAN REPLACING IT. THAN THE CAR WOULD START UP. FINALLY I WAS ON THE HIGH WAY AND OUT OF NO WHERE YOU HEAD A LOUD POP. THERE WENT THE HEADER, PISTONS, OIL GASKET. THE ENGINE BLEW. HOWEVER IT WAS NEVER A EFFECT OF THE OIL. I WAS ALWAYS CHECKING IT AND GETTING IT CHANGED ONCE EVER OTHER MONTH (I COMMUTED A LOT). SO I GOT A REBUILT ENGINE PUT IN AND THE PROBLEMS WENT AWAY... OR SO I THOUGHT. LAST NIGHT I WAS DRIVING AND ALL OF A SUDDEN MY CAR STARTED SHAKING. IT WENT FROM A LITTLE TO A GREAT AMOUNT. THE MUFFLER IS MAKING AN ODD PUFF PUFF NOISE AND THE EXHAUST SMELLS LIKE WINDSHIELD WASHER FLUID (ONLY WAS TO DESCRIBE IT). I PULLED IT INTO MY DRIVEWAY AND ON WENT THE TRAC OFF LIGHT AND THE SERVICE ENGINE SOON LIGHTS. THANK YOU. ALSO PRIOR TO THE NEW ENGINE MY CDS WOULD NO LONGER PLAY. I WOULD GET THE E20 ERROR AND THE CDS WOULD SPIT OUT. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS MY REAR PASSENGER WINDOWS HAVE SCRATCHES UP THE MIDDLE OF THEM. I CAN NOT FIGURE OUT WHERE THE MARKS ARE COMING FROM. *JB

DT: THE PROBLEM BEGAN ON 6/14/05 WHEN ALL LIGHTS CAME ON AND ALL GUAGES WENT TO ZERO, THE POWER DOOR LOCKS AND WINDOWS FAILED AS WELL. THE VEHICLE HAD NO BRAKES, IT COASTED TO A STOP, AND SHUT DOWN, OWNER WAS LOCKED IN VEHICLE. THE ALTERNATOR AND BELT WERE REPLACED, OWNER GOT IN BACK SEAT BECAUSE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. TOW TRUCK DRIVER TRIED TO RESTART THE VEHICLE BUT IT HAD A COMPLETELY DEAD BATTERY. OWNER WAS ABLE TO GET OUT FINALLY WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO RESTART THE BATTERY. SHE GRABBED THE HANDLE AND WAS ABLE TO GET OUT. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN IMPOUND LOT, AND THE ALTERNATOR WAS CHANGED AT TOW PLACE BY A MECHANIC. IT WAS 90 + DEGREES OUTSIDE AND NO FRESH AIR WAS COMING IN THE VEHICLE. *AK