While driving 3 MPH over a mud puddle the front air bag inadvertently deployed. Vehicle was still drivable. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak the left front spring broke. *bf
1999 Pontiac Grand Am suspension complaints
Page 3 of 5: complaints 41 to 70 of 107, newest first, as owners wrote them.
While traveling at 50 MPH on a 4 lane road there was a loud noise (bang) from the right front of the vehicle. Suddenly the right front tire blew out, the front of the car drop and pulled severely to the right, causing the car to travel completely accross the right hand lane and into the shoulder of the road before being able to stop. After stopping it was found that the right front coil spring broke in half, ripping into the inner side wall of the front tire for approximately 12" and seizing the right front wheel from rotaing. Replaced both front strut assemblies and the right front tire, which had less than 1,000 miles useage.
1999 pontiac grand am gt was backed out of garage and a light thumping was noticeable from the front of the car. Vehicle backed out of driveway and proceeded down street - light thumping sound still noticeable. Suddenly, front left end of car dropped - steering became difficult and burning rubber smell was noticed along with some smoke coming from under front left wheel well. Car was turned around and returned home - 500 yds. Car was towed to dealer. Dealer diagonosed problem as broken spring - complete older break and new break identified in spring. Collapsing of spring also damaged strut. Spring, strut and mounting assemblies were replaced and covered under extended warranty of owner. Owner inquired about recalls and requested dealer to also replace front right spring and strut assembly. Dealer and gm representative refused to pay for front right replacement. Owner paid out of pocked $500 to replace undamaged front right assembly for fear of sudden future failure. Dealer would not allow owner to keep broken spring - indicated that it needed to be returned to the factory. Owner obtained spring/strut of undamaged front right assembly.
Pulled vehicle out of the garage, heard a loud snap, and the right front of the car dropped. I pulled the car back into the garage, jacked it up and investigated it. I saw that the coil spring had snapped into 2 pieces, and pressed itself against the tire making it impossible to drive. I searched this and found over 20 incidents that were reported in the last year alone!
While driving steering wheel and the front of the vehicle started shaking uncontrollably. Consumer was able to maintain control of the vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic indicated that the problem could not be duplicated.
On november 3, 2004, upon leaving work, I noticed a noise coming from my left front end. I pulled over in the parking lot of my work place, but unable to identify the cause. I proceeded to the rinke pontiac dealership in warren, mi. The service technician performed a cursory check and determined that the strut (and possibly) the spring was broken. After verifying with him that it wouldn't be dangerous, I continued toward home. When I arrived at my turn-off, my front passenger tire blew out. I made it home and called aaa mich; the driver who came to change my tire informed me that the coil spring was broken. On november 4, 2004 , I took my car to noonan pontiac for repair. They replaced the left front coil spring, strut, mount, spring and seat which resulting in a total charge of $614.23 (minus discount). I retained the old part. I replaced the tire and alignment separately.
The consumer heard a loud noise. Front spring broke. *bf while the consumer was backing out of a driveway one of the vehicle's front springs broke. The vehicle wa towed to a garage where they replace the spring and strut.
Reference to : the federal safety agency action number : pe03031.left front coil spring fractured at the top coil upon entering the driveway of my employer. Low speed so there were no control issues. Car was driven aprox. 5 miles at low-moderate speed with minor noises from suspension at railroad tracks, expansion joints, etc, without control issues. Local dealership inspected the car and found broken spring. Ar will be repaired at the dealership. Replacing spring and isolators, with further inspection of chassis on removal of suspension assembly. Amaged parts will be returned to me.
When making left hand turns consumer heard a knocking noise coming from underneath the vehicle. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
The coil spring on the left side broke while we were on vacation and left us stranded. Luckily it did not cause an accident. Pontiac refuses to take responsobility for this. I have been told by several mchanics that this is not common and should not have happened unless there was a defect.
Vehicle was parked in garage, coil spring on right front fractured, replaced both of the front springs,struts,top plates & dust boots. Cost of repairs in excess of $500. Fractured spring & non fractured spring are available.
While pulling out of the garage the consumer heard a noise. The consumer thought it was a blown tire but when the consumer examined the tire and changed it, he discovered that the coil spring had broken. This breakage damaged the tire and the front right strut. The consumer called the manufacturer, but was told by the manufacturer that they would only provide 40% of the cost. The consumer felt that the manufacturer should pay all of the cost because this was a defect. *ak *sc
While pulling out of the driveway consumer heard the tire explode. Consumer put the vehicle back in the driveway to repair the tire, and discovered that the right front spring broke in half. Manufacturer was consulted about the problem and offered a forty percent discount. *ak the faulty coil spring also damaged the vehicle's strut when it broke. The consumer believes they should pay for all the repair cost.
Left front coil spring broken on 1999 pontiac grand am. *mr *sc
While driving, the driver side front coil spring broke which caused a loud noise at 45-50 MPH, driving. *jb the consumer heard rubbing noises after several turns. The consumer found a broken spring resting on the tire. *sc
While backing out of a parking space a loud snap occurred from the right passenger side. A coil spring snapped into two pieces and caused the car to immediately drop down on top of the right front tire. This LED to puncturing of the tire. The car had to be towed to a garage and it is currently being serviced. After looking on this website I saw at least 15 cases like mine. This could've LED to a serious injury if I were traveling at a higher speed. Please look into this situation.
While the vehicle was parked the driver noticed that the front driver side tired was deflated. The driver inspected the tire and noticed that coil spring was broken. Please provide further details.
While driving on the interstate , the front right tire blow . Which caused the front right spring to break off . Luckly , the vehicle did not flip over on the interstate . Had to get the car towed because the front of the vehicle was lying on the ground becaused of the spring braking off . Had to replaced "new ", right spring , right strut and a new right tire for the vehivle . Now have to replace left strut and spring due to car not level . 1999 grand am se.
1. Drove 1999 pontiac grand am with 55,000 miles about 600 miles at highway speeds over 3 days, then parked car overnight. 2. Pulled out of driveway at slow speed next morning. Rubbing noise and some resistance from right front (passenger) side wheel. Stopped car after 50 feet. Thought it was wet brakes. Stopped car and started up again and same rubbing noise. Backed car slowly back into driveway. Shut off car. Heard loud metal snap noise from right front (passenger) side wheel. Car then dropped down with no space between top of tire and suspension. 3. Called local garage and had car towed. Replaced right front (passenger) wheel spring. Checked, adjusted and did full alignment on car. Would have replaced both springs but parts on national backorder. 4. Tire puncture and major accident or death could have occurred if this had happened only a few hours earlier while driving at 65 MPH!
Fortunately, I was backing out of garage and turning steering wheel when the front left coil spring snapped and dug into the back of my front left tire. I only wonder what would have happened if the had been on the highway at a high rate of speed with surronding traffic. Coil springs were replaced along with a new tire for wrecked one that only had 8000 miles on it. Total cost $545.26.
Consumer was pulling out of a parking lot and heard a loud crack. Vehicle was towed to mechanic. The mechanic determined that pr coil springs were defective.
It is now sept. 2003, the first coil spring broke at the top section ( one ring from top of coil) back in aug. 2003(driver side). Now the second one has broken on the passenger side. From what information I can get from a friend at my local dealer, they have sold 48-50 of these springs between may and aug 2003. This is said to be a very unusual number of springs to be replaced for any car. If this is such a common problem, and all these springs seem to be breaking at the exact same spot, I think they should be on a recall list for a defective part. Can someone look into this and let me know. Thank you
The heater control won't work at speed 1 and 2. The paint on the window frame is falling away. The rear struts failed. The transmission completely stopped working at all with no prior warning. The car doesn't heat up fully when it gets under 20 degress temperature. The rotors warp too quickly.
The vehicle had a broken front coil spring that wrapped around the shock absorber. It broke in two and prevented the vehicle from moving. *ph after breaking, part of the spring came to rest on the top and inside of the tire. It wasn't punctured and there was no accident. Triple aaa was called and they had the car towed to the nearest repair shop. The cost for repairs were $500.00. The consumer was brushed off by pontiac chevrolet. *cb
Coolant system- intake manifolds. Dealer advised the intake manifold is leaking. Vehicle has 90k miles (highway). Dealer advised the coolant will mix with the engine oil causing a catastrophic failure. See many other complaint regarding the same replacement on 3.4 liter engines. Previously have replaced both r/l hub bearings, alternator, starter, drivebelt, power steering pump and return line, and radio.
Reference the federal safety agency pe03031. While making a turn, heard noise and felt shake through vehicle. Noticed lean towards left side. Upon inspection, found left front coil spring broken. Spring broken with a shearing/slashing break. Clean gray metal. At bottom coil, approx 1" before it passes over starting point of the coil. No damage to tire. Dealer replace both springs. Manufacturer notified by dealer. Parts will be saved if need for inspection.
While driving the front passenger side spring snapped at the bottom. The spring punctured the tire which caused the vehicle to swerve as the passenger side of the vehicle collapsed to the ground and skid approximately 15 feet to a stop. The tire dealer replaced both front springs, the tire and struts. *cb *scc
1999 pontiac grand am 2.4 l auto severe brake failure---replacement of pads 8 times, rotors 3 times and calipers 2 times in 80,000 miles. Brakes occasionally lock up and make loud grinding and squealing noises steering shudders and vehicle pulls to left.. Participating pontiac dealer failed to fix this problem since purchase at 11,000 miles. Under warranty replacement it has had 6 door panels due to peeling leather on top of panel, 5 gear shifters due to dealers improper installation, 2 factory cd/radio failures, 1 rack and pinion unit, 2 front strut assemblies due to knocking noise from front of car (went bad after 10,000 miles use), problem with hesitation at idle-cold start(unsuccessfully diagnosed by dealer) carpet loose in trunk around latch assembly(too short for trunk and was hot glued to back wall of car by dealer instead of replacement). Turn signals still occasionally fail to work(dealer said they worked just fine) battery connection in factory battery broke loose spilling corrosive battery acid all over around battery tray area. All four wheel covers have been replaced because of "pie pan" noise when you hit a bump (new ones did not fix problem). After warranty was up pontiac' care hotline or the dealer could "care " less that after dozens of trips for repairs the dealer still didn't fix the car while it was still under warranty. Since then,besides the unrepaired items on my car, the alternator went bad at 60,000 miles ($120), glass in interior rear view mirror broke while adjusting, both outside rear view mirrors have broke off in two different automatic car washes (held into door by a stud mounted into 1/4 inch of plastic in the mirror). And the ignition switch failed at 75,000 miles($300). Fog lights and backup lights have water condensation in them shorting out bulbs. Surprisingly ,this car is "babied" ,but by in my description you sure couldn't tell it.
Both front springs broke in my 1999 grand am for no apparent reason, resulting in the car needing towed. The car has been well cared for, has about 60,000 miles on it. I had a front strut problem a couple of years ago, and replaced one. This occurred and did not result in an accident (thankfully), but I realize the seriousness of the situation and thought it was worth of reporting, as it could have been very devastating.
Right front spring broke and severely damaged right front tire
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