2004 Pontiac Grand Am: loss of power steering

Filed Mar 20, 2017 · Airbags, Electrical · 170,000 miles · NY · crash

Tl* the contact owned a 2004 pontiac grand am. While the contact's daughter was driving and attempting to turn, the power steering failed without warning. The vehicle became difficult to steer and caused the driver to crash into a snowplow. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. A police report was filed. The air bags did not deploy and the front end of the vehicle was severely damaged. The driver did not receive any injuries. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v400000 (electrical system) after the failure occured. The approximate failure mileage was 170,000.

Filed Apr 5, 2016 · Electrical, Engine · 120,000 miles · WV · fire

Regular occurrences started at 120k miles, these are all issues which previously complaints have been filed by current 2004 grand am owners but have not been corrected and I have called every 6 months filing these complaints. 1) gas fumes are coming in the car when it is running or sitting still idling, 2) blinkers start blinking on their own around 80 degrees f outside temperature, mechanic said it was because grease in steering column becomes thin and shorts out other wiring causing the smoke (fire) which comes from steering column, this occurs every summer to fall when temps are 80 degrees or higher), 3) horn does not work, mechanic replaced horn mechanism but it did not fix the issue & I am concerned the air bag system won't work either since they are inter twined in the steering column, 4) the dash is warping, cracking and breaking horribly, it causes a sticky haze (gas) on my windshield causing issues when driving at night, I continually wipe off but it does not help, 5) the service engine soon light has been on for 2k miles, the mechanic states it is a fuel system indicator code, indicating the fuel cap is not fitting correctly, which he has confirmed is incorrect. Starting at 142k the car overheats (I just got the water pump and thermostat changed), the car shakes tremendously and shuts off while driving when temperature gauge is indicating this overheating, leaving the car unable to be driven since no power steering etc, the replacement of the parts has not corrected the issue. I am very tired and worried about my family's safety in this car. Please assist as I have been calling since 2013 about the #'d issues. Thank you. [xxx] information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).

Filed Aug 20, 2014 · Electrical · 166,000 miles · NY

During traffic my 2004 pontiac grand am just shut itself off! Moments before I did hit a pothole. Suddenly, the lights in dash illuminated, bells sounded, and my key independently moved from the on position to off. I lost power steering, brakes. The car slowed to a stop. I called 911 in desperate fear of being hit.-car wouldn't restart, key wouldn't come out of ignition. I became angered and pounded on the ignition area and near the radio. The car then was able to respond and turn on. I learned that my car had been recalled in july, but there is no remedy on how to fix it. I was towed to the dealer. Mechanic, at dealer, said no codes came up to indicate a problem. He said though I had some miles on my car, the car was in terrific condition and didn't appear to be this old. I told him that I have been impeccable with my car. The service manager told me they aren't going to do anything because there is no remedy. However, the service manager said my car is not safe. I was never so scared in my life. All I could think about was my children. My life was endangered as there was no way to make my care indicate there was a problem- flashers weren't responding. On may 23, 2014, I hit a pot hole pretty hard while entering a parking lot (I was going slow), my car shut off and on in moments, lost power steering momentarily. The key was stuck between on and off, not coming out of the ignition. I was towed to the dealer, they replaced the ignition. According to my paperwork and repair by the dealer, gm has advised me that my car in involved with a recall and I should seek reimbursement for the ignition switch I had repaired.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Electrical · 56,000 miles · OH

We own a 2004 pontiac grand am. Wondering why it is not included in the gm recall. We have had 3 separate incidents while driving where we lost power and the car was hard to control due to loss of power steering and brakes. My 17 year old son was driving and lucky for us he was in the neighborhood going extremely slow or it could have killed him if he was on a highway going at a higher rate of speed. Doing an internet search turns up hundreds of people having the same problem with their grand ams. Could you please explain why this vehicle is not also being recalled. Thanks.

Filed Mar 2, 2010 · Steering · 30,000 miles · FL · crash

2004 gm pontiac grand am with power steering issues that have occurred after 30,000 miles. When the powering steering fails it's extremely difficult to steer when traveling under 15 MPH. At that time, it's hazardous to myself and other vehicles as it's challenging to avoid a collision due to steering failure unless the vehicle is accelerated above 15 MPH. I previously struck a vehicle while parking due to the power steering failure, however a police report was not filed due to the extent of damage was not significant. Gm has recalled similar compact cars with the same issue/ road hazard as my gm model.

Filed Aug 26, 2005 · Electrical · 42,000 miles · CT

While driving my 2004 pontiac grand am the car failed at 30 MPH. It completely shut off leaving me with no power steering and no way to regain control of the car until coming to a complete stop to restart it. Once I had stopped it did restart without incident. One week later the car failed to start at all not even turning over. When the problem was diagnosed at the garage it was found to be a faulty "ignition control module" in the car. At this time the part was replaced only to fail again within 2 months time again while I was driving this time in a much more hazardous condition being that I was on the highway and was traveling at 50 MPH and had to travel across two lanes of traffic to even pull over to try to restart it. The car continued to start and shut off all the way to the service garage where it was again found to be a faulty "ignition control module". In another two weeks time the car failed to start and when diagnosed this time it was said to have "electrical problems" possible the "power control module". At this time the car is still undriveable and unsafe for travel.