2002 Pontiac Grand Am: sudden loss of power

7 of the 395 complaints about the 2002 Pontiac Grand Am describe sudden loss of power.

owner complaints: 7
of this car's complaints: 2%
typical mileage: 92,000
recalls: 0

Is there a fix? 95 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below

Sudden loss of power by model year

2005
1
2004
6
2003
8
2002
7
2001
5
2000
4
1999
11
1998
1
1997
3
1996
10
1995
4
1994
3
1991
1

What owners say

Filed Nov 28, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · 180,000 miles · TN

I was diving down hwy 70 going to pick up my first delivery for the day when, I'm not sure how but the key came out of the on postion and fell out on floor, scared I was going to crash I hurriedly reached down and put it back in and noticed the security light had came on and within minutes it lost all power and shut off, luckily I am a good driver and didn't crash but manage to get off road safely. I'm so glad worse didn't happen. Now I have no car and probably lost all 3 jobs I had.

Filed Jun 16, 2014 · Electrical, Fuel system · 120,000 miles · OH

I bought my pontiac a year ago. A few weeks after buying it, it had trouble starting. It only happened a couple of times, but it would always eventually start. However, last week it took us almost two hours to get it started. After that it seems to lose power going up a hill or even when at a stop. My brother-in-law has replaced the fuel pump and sensor and it still is doing the same thing. It is so frustrating that so many people are having the exact problem but nothing is being done about it. It shows what kind of a dealer gm really is! They only care about the money and not the safety of its' customers!!!

Filed Jun 29, 2010 · Engine · 95,000 miles · CT

My wife's car is a 2002 pontiac grandam 2.2l ecotec engine. At 95000+ miles, the car just lost all power and my wife was able to get to the side of the road and the car died. Car was taken to 2 garages and found to have a broken timing chain (not belt). Gallagher buick in new britain ct found that the engine is now destroyed and needs to be replaced. It is an interference engine. She has kept up with required maintenance.I have looked online for more instances of this happening and seems to be a common problem with this engine. One individual had his timing chain break at 57000 miles. Gm is not accepting responsibility for this problem. They are telling us to deal with the repair dealership about this. Please investigate since you can read many horror stories online about this engine and the defective timing chain breaking premature (as my mechanic has said ) and engines being ruined.

Filed Feb 9, 2007 · Fuel system · 85,085 miles · CT

While driving at 45 MPH on a back road my car shut off and at that point I also lost power steering so I had to get out and push the car off the road by myself. Had it towed; first mechanic said it was the security system and a dealer would have to look at it. So I had it towed 42 miles to a dealership and they told me the fuel pump had burned up, but this is clearly a safety hazard as the car just shut off in the middle of the road, not to mention on an extremely bad corner that I could hardly maneuver due to the lack of power steering. Car also has problems with brakes...had brakes & rotors replaced twice now (once in august 2005 and most recently on december 28, 2006) and now there's already a problem as the brakes failed when I had to stop short, luckily an accident was avoided.

Filed Jun 16, 2006 · Engine · 92,000 miles · OH

Dt*: the contact stated while driving 75mph on the interstate, the vehicle lost all power without warning. The contact managed to pull over without incident, but the engine would not restart. The vehicle was towed to an authorized dealer for inspection. The mechanic determined the timing chain fractured which caused damage to the engine. The dealer suggested replacing the engine.

Filed Aug 23, 2005 · Engine · 57,000 miles · OR

In 2003 I had the exhaust manifold replaced because the car was leaking anti freeze. Short time later I had the entire exhaust system replaced because anti freeze got into the exhaust system and engine was burning too hot into the catalytic converter. This plugged the converter causing the car to lose power since there was no where for the exhaust to go. Work was covered by warranty/work completed in california. I was told that the very minute I smell the rotten egg smell that this would mean that the exhaust manifold seal was leaking again. 8/2005...just had the exhaust manifold seal replaced for secont time. Car is now at 85k. Have extended warranty too 100k. I had the car out for a week and again the smell is back. I see from this site that there are many of us out there that have suffered the same problem. If the problem is recurring then gm should have to pay to fix it even after the extended warranty period. 8/2005...

Filed Apr 1, 2004 · Steering · 70,000 miles · GA

While driving consumer lost power steering. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak it was stated that power steering pump failed. Power steering pump was replaced.