Car the worst. I've sunk more $ in2 it than she cost to buy. $15,000 at lst. Head gasket x2. Intake manifold x2 window parts x2 brakes, pads rotors engine replaced in 2009 by quack mechanic on advice from a friend car 3 mths on lift! Cost $1000 a yr 2 pass nys inspection had catalytic converter & gaskets replaced after I begged do it! Cat whole prob for 31/2 yrs. Erg valve selonoid changed. Coils springs, strut mount(sensatrac) strut was only after I had tires replaced for upteenth time realizing it was cutting into 1 tire driving out of the shop. Antifreeze still oozes out regardless how many x's work done on cooling system. Thermastat twice fuel injector oxygen sensor antifreeze reservoir, hoses muffler rearview mirror fell off twice timing belt. Headlights several times rear lights. 2 or 3 batteries. This car should run like new- almost everything's been replaced nope! Was towed twice last 2 weeks due to coolant loss overheating engine stopping. Informed today after car again overheated & lost power it's probably intake manifold & head gasket, oil is dripping from sides of engine. Computer amuck nowodometer flashes 1/2 numbers instead of true mileage. Abs? Light mechanic stated its a waste of your $ to repair.... Three head gaskets? Another intake manifold? Hello! I've maintained this car it is a lemon a rotton lemon at that. Gm knows these issues & does nothing. In michigan consumers won a class action lawsuit because of this. Gm shoulda recalled this car period. I wasn't informed or savvy enough to know this cars issues upon purchase. What makes this worse, I now understand my rights were violated as a consumer for years! I'm poor & can't afford another car due to this car continued problems cost. I need a vehicle but am left with bus rides taking almost 3 hrs one way to work or a $35 cab fare one way. As of today my car is trash.
1999 Pontiac Grand Am engine complaints
Page 2 of 6: complaints 11 to 40 of 148, newest first, as owners wrote them.
My husband and I had just made it into the city after a 1 and a half hour drive. After driving around town for about an hour our car, 99 pontiac grand am, shut off. We sat for a bit and tried it and it started right up. But it kept doing it several different times throughout the day. We thought it overheated but the temperature gauge read 200 degrees. He changed both o2 sensors, cam shaft, alternator, water pump, put on a used fuel pump. We were thinking that it might be the fuel pump, but are unsure. The possible problems we have came up with are the fuel pump since it's used, the cadillac converter because it smells bad at times, like when we go up hill, or as I was reading all the problems people were having with there 99 pontiac grand am vehicles, would be the intake gasket or the ABS light that goes off and comes on when it feels like it. I have spent alot of money trying to figure out what is wrong with this car and I need help.
I bought this 99 pontiac grand am se 3.4 liter engine and overheating all the time now I had it looked at and was told that it is my head gasket I was told that they are notorious for this something about a plastic gasket being the cause for it and that there was a possible suit going on about it so I would like to take action if possible.
1999 pontiac grand prix. Consumer states vehicle fire from under hood *tgw the consumer was able to extinguish the flames.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35-45 MPH, the vehicle would suddenly stall. After the failure, he noticed that the ABS light illuminated on the instrumental panel. The vehicle was able to restart after the contact waited a while. The vehicle had not been inspected or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 100,000.
I have a 1999 pontiac grand am 3.4l. I've owned this car since 2001 and I have already replaced my intake manifold gasket (under warranty) in 2002. I now have to replace it again! Except this time there was a fault in the gasket in the engine as well, which resulted in seized bearings, snapped camshaft, broken and bent valve as well as the caps to the oil and coolant being overheated and not going on properly. I am told this is because of dexcool and the gaskets.
Had all window mechanisms replaced after enduring a wonderful garbage bag cover treatment for window beauty enhancement last winter 2007-08. Found my ignition refuses to start w/ 1 key. I started noticing the smell of antifreeze. Took to my mechanic of 22 years. Thought it was a crack in the actual container which houses antifreeze. This was replaced. Nope. Still leaking. Car never indicated on panel that it was above temp & overheated, stayed within the normal range. The car never once overheated. Mechanic couldn't find the problem. Said it was a faulty computer... Indicates, tires need checking, flashing lights, ABS off/on...which by the way was causing me to not have my car pass inspection to add insult to injury!! Found I was all of a sudden replacing antifreeze by the gallons. Was still paying off mechanic from previous issues. Don't ask, while trying to figure out the antifreeze problem! Brought car in to have radiator checked by friends mechanic, fluid was literally pouring out of bottom of car. $1600. Later!! Head gasket set,waterpump,serpentine belt, radiator hoses, thermostat & gaskets, crossoverpipes, airfilter...now? 1 1/2 months later? Well hey.guess what? Riding merrily to work last sat. Car stalled all the way...& yipee another visit, another mere 900. Bag of shells consisting of crank shaft, bearings. Can you believe it? I don't have it!!.....I thought this guy was putting me on...I've lost work since I'm 45 min. Away. I've spoken to pontiac several times. They want nothing to do with this. Act dumb- the american way...weird, I've read more complaints about this issue, I'm surprised you guys don't demand some resolution for consumers. What gives? It's so incredibly obvious this is a real solid complaint about engine defect with all the evidence to back it up!! I think it was minnisota or missouri that consumers actually won a class action suit against pontiac for these specific complaints. Namely head gasket, engine related issues..
Coolant rservoir intake manifold on my 99 pontiac grand am kept messing up ive spent over 1200 in a matter ot 2 months.
Tl*the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand am. While driving 35 MPH, the vehicle completely shut off. The contact pulled over and the vehicle was able to immediately be restarted. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, but they could not correct the failure. The current mileage was approximately 110,000 and failure mileage was 100,000. Updated 03-07-08 *bf the consumer stated various lights illuminate on the instrument panel such as: oil pressure light, air bag, engine light ABS. The security passlock system was inoperative. The hazard and turn signal lights did not work properly. There was hesitation upon acceleration. The traction conrol was inoperative
Tl*- the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand am gt. The vehicle's current mileage was 61,000 miles and the failure mileage was 60,900. She took the vehicle to dealer for an oil change and inspection. The dealership informed her that the vehicle was leaking antifreeze and oil, and the intake gasket needed to be replaced. She found many complaints on the federal safety agency website for this same problem for the engine and engine coolant: exhaust system: manifold/header/tail pipe. The dealership informed her that this will cost her $1,100. She would be contacted by the gm manufacturer. There was no indication of this problem, and was surprised when the service department informed her of the oil and coolant leak.*ak updated 05/21/07
Intake gasket on 1999 pontiac grand am failed for the thrid time. The second time I almost had engine damage. The car overheated and warped the heads, but was not enough to be replaced.
I own a 1999 grand am se that I purchased used in 2001. In the 5 years that I've owned this vehicle the heater fan motor has been replaced 4 times. It starts out with only a few of the fan speeds working then a terrible smell with smoke coming up through the dashboard then the fan doesn't work on any of the speeds. In each of these episodes the blower resister got melted and had to be replaced. The last time this happened in october 2006 my car had to be sent to an electrical mechanic due to a short in the wiring which resulted in the dash having to be removed then the fan motor and fan resister could be replaced. In 2006 I also had problems with the drivers door window when it finally just fell down into the door to the cost of $250.00 and a rental car for 2 days due to the wrong part being delivered to the dealership. I've also had numerous problems with the front brakes and the passenger door has a loud pop every time it is opened, I'm scared of getting an estimate on this problem because every repair for my grand am is ridiculously expensive, when I question the cost I always hear "well it's because it's a grand am, they're a piece of crap, especially the 1999's".
Near crash. Occasionally the rpms while in gear will raise to 3300 RPM making it almost impossible to stop quickly enough to avoid and accident. I found if I put the car in neutral and turn off the ignition then restart the idle will return back to 650-700 rpms. Now this has been happening for almost a year. I went to pontiac and they couldn't find a problem... I had a friend who also had a 1999 grand am who had the same problem happen with him which cause him to have a single car accident on a wet road. Has anyone else wrote into you about this problem?
Purchased the car in 2005 with 68k on it. One month later coolant light came on, found out the manifold gaskets were in need of repair, 800.0, two weeks later same problem this time the leaking caused damage to the heads 1700.00 repair.....have a call into gm now.
Intake manifold gasket on pontiac grand am.
I have a '99 pontiac grand am with 65,000 miles with a defective intake manifold gasket. I understand this is a class action suit issue in canada and is a common issue in the USA also. Gm is not issuing a recall even though there is evidence this is a defective part (or defective because of the dexcool coolant). I spoke with gm and was told this was not a recall item and the car was out of the warranty period. Fortunately, this problem was recognized and remedied prior to ruining the engine. The repair bill was $558.84.
Dt*: the contact stated while driving 60 MPH all the lights on the dash failed and the engine stalled. The vehicle was pushed to the side of the road. After the vehicle was restarted, it was taken to the dealership for inspection. They replaced the ignition switch and cylinder, which remedied the problem.
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.
While driving to work, my intake manifold gasket on my 1999 grand am was totally dissolved. I had it towed to a shop which the mechanic stated with the dex-cool in this year vehicle gm have had problems, with the dex-cool eating the gaskets and water pump. I have gone through 2 water pumps already, and now my intake manifold gasket had to be replaced at a charge of $700.00.
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.
After about 100,000 miles, I was told the intake manifold gasket on my pontiac gm 1999 grand am needed to be replaced (coolant was leaking and after investigation I saw that the dexcool coolant was to blame for wearing of this intake manifold gasket). Of course, my vehicle is not under warranty, and gm will not cover it. If I didn't pay (or have ) the $1000 to fix this, I was probably going to ruin my engine. So, I needed to save up, and I am afraid that when I take my car in tomorrow for repairs, they will tell me the engine will have problems. There are many people complaining about this issues with the delco intake manifold gasket. This was the first vehicle I purchased as new, and even though I work for the american auto industry, this is deterring me from buying from gm again. I would appreciate them taking responsibility for a defect that should not have happened.
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.
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
I purchased my 1999 pontiac grand am gt in feb. 2003 with 55000 miles on it. In june 2004 without any kind of warning it dumped every ounce of coolant 2 blocks from my house. I had to have it towed to the dealer where they diagnosed that the manifold gasket had blown and my battery was no good. There had not been one problem with the battery until the gasket blew. I had the car repaired (500.00 dollars). Then this past april 2005 I had to have the water pump replaced. Two days ago I notice a puddle of coolant under the car, I investigate it's origin and there is a stream of coolant running along the seam of the manifold gasket! I haven't even put 10,000 miles on this car since it blew the last manifold gasket. Gm knows there is a problem here, show some integrity and take care of these problems!
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.
My 99 pontiac grand am is slowly leaking anti-freeze, the mechanic I went to knew exactly where to look, the intake manifold. He said they are getting one or two each week and did not know why they have not recalled the vehicle. I figure this would be an environmental concern and I have never heard of any vehicles leaking a coolant after only 60,000 miles.
My 99 pontiac grand am started having coolant problems, the vehicle engine temperature would go up and down for a month, finally the vehicle just one day overheated. I had the whole coolant system replaced, ( 600.00 later). About a week or two after it started to overheat again, before I could bring it back to the mechanic to check it out, the engine blew. I have not been able to replace the engine yet, nor do I know if I will as the vehicle is not worth the cost to repair. I refuse to pay almost 2k to get an engine for something else to go wrong.. I know there is a defect in the coolant system causing the engine to over heat.. My mechanic said my camshaft completely split in half, and he has never seen this before but knows of a few people who have same year make and model that the same thing happened to. It cant be a coincidence.
When driving steadily over 50 MPH for a period of 15 minutes or more the engine revs at 2000 RPM or higher. When going into neutral or park it reaches 3000 RPM. This is an intermittent problem. In the beginning it would stop once I turned the engine off and restarted it. Now I must sit and wait for the engine to cool in order for it to stop happening. I have not yet repaired this because I have not been able to recreate the problem when brining it in for service. The service engine light does not come on.
Pontiac grand am: I have heard of several owners having repairs for the head gasket or aluminum heads malfuncioning causing cracked block. The radiator starts leaking imperceptively, problem before you have time to notice car overheats
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.
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