Pontiac Grand Am jerking problems

Filed Dec 17, 2013 · Transmission · 193,966 miles · MS

I had just gotten off and exit ramp and was getting on the interstate. When my car got up to 40 MPH, it bogged down and down shift. I removed my foot from the gas pedal and let it get down to 30 MPH, and applied my foot on the gas pedal again. This time when it got to 40 MPH, it bogged down the only difference in the first time, it jerked. When I got off the interstate, I pulled into a parking lot and let the vehicle cool down for about 30 minutes, I started the car, but now it would not go into reverse or drive 1. I had to push the vehicle out of the parking spot, when I put it into drive, it went with easy. I noticed that the vehicle was not changing out like normal and the RPM gauge read 2500 RPM at 50 MPH. This has never happen before december 15th. I would love to know what is going on with my vehicle.

Filed Oct 23, 2007 · Transmission · 31,000 miles · NY

There issue was intermittent so there are no defining moments that lead to the start of the issue. The vehicle would idle at 2000 to 3000 RPM while in park and at time redlining itself. If the problem occurred while driving the car would begin to accelerate and would be hard to brake. At stops the car would lurch forward. During these events the vehicle check engine light would not display and not code was recorded by the computer. After four trips to the dealership the power train control module (PCM) was found to be faulty and was replaced.

Filed Apr 14, 2005 · Lights · 28,000 miles · WI

Our 2001 pontiac grand am was making a clicking noise by the switch for the hazard light for a couple months. Tonight it would not stop and the car started smoking. I went to your web site only to find out that the car was recalled and we were not notified. I am very disturbed by the fact that car manufacturers do not have to notify owners of failures to the vehicles. What if my car had started on fire and not just smoked. We had a similar incident with our ford explorer and the gas filter being faulty. We were not notified on that either and the vehicle would lurch when put in reverse. An accident could easily have occurred with that problem. I think you need to start making the car manufacturers notify owners of problems. If I didn't have access to the internet I wouldn't have known this was recalled.

Filed Sep 28, 2004 · Steering · NC

While backing out in reverse or driving vehicle had a rattling sound. Consumer noticed that while shifting the steering wheel jerked. Consumer drove vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the rack and pinion needed to be replaced.

Filed Mar 6, 2004 · Engine · 20,000 miles · MN

I have had my car in numerous times to dealership and still have not been able to fix problem. When I travel down interstate the RPM locks in at around 2.6--every so often it will kick out and move past 3. This causes a jerking motion in car that is quite noticeable by everyone in car. I have assisted my dealership in finding the cause of this problem, by having a mechanic take if for test drives, applying scanning tool, and a data recorder to engine. I have put on over 600 miles trying to diagnosis problem. I have now been told that they really don't know what is causing the symptoms, but think it may a programming error. They state that the computer controlling the torque converter is not working properly. They state gmc has approx 13 other cars in us that is doing this, but they do not know what is causing the problem or how to fix it. They are currently working on a fix---but this may take years since any changes made, have to go through gov. In the mean time I am suppose to cont to drive this car and live with the sudden quick jerks that I get every 1-2 miles going down road, wait for the comp upgrade, and hope that this is the cause!! If not we start over. I am real frustrated with this whole process and the way this has been handled at my dealership. I want a resolution to this asap. The car only has 27,000 miles on, and should not be having this much problems. At this point I am very disappointed in my service I have received and in the whole gmc technician staff, and product.

Filed Nov 17, 2003 · Suspension · 1,000 miles · IL

My suspension pops and cracks like its going to break in half every time I turn the wheel or hit a bump or incline etc... It sounds like my new car is 20 years old, I have complained several times and they act like I'm crazy they have brought it in 4 times and nothing has changed the steering will freeze and jerk out of my hands. Also there has been several times it will not even start, the dealership tells me its a different problem every time, but yet it has never gotten better just worse, it is the worse car I have ever drove and it only has 5,000 miles on it. I have complained since the week after I bought it.

Filed Oct 23, 2003 · Brakes, Seat belts · ID · crash · 1 injury

Every three months I ended up replacing brake pads and rotors on my 2001 grand am. Then one morning I was going to work traveling at the speed of around 60 MPH when the car started to drift left uncontrollably. I ended up jerking the wheel to avoid a head-on collision, which resulted in a end to end roll over crash. At which time the part of the seat belt that you buckle in to broke causing me to become unbuckled and thrown to the back seat of the car.

Filed Aug 15, 2003 · Transmission · NY

When the vehicle changed gears, the vehicle jerked intermittently. *ak *scc

Filed Aug 15, 2003 · Brakes, Suspension · NJ

At 23,000 miles had problem with my brakes pulsating, I took it to the dealer, they had to replace the brakes and rotors. At 41,000 miles had problems with the brakes pulsated again, it usually happens at speeds above 45, which makes it had to keep control over the vehicle, the dealer said my brake pads were fine, but I should have the rotors resurface when I get my brake pads replaced. At 43,000 miles had problems with the front end ( on the drivers side) and steering. The front ends was making alot of noise when I went over bumps like samething was broken, and it was going to fall apart . The steering, when going over 45 miles per hour with a 25 degree right turn would jerk, but if I had the ets off, the steering would be come very loose, making it seems like I had no steering at all. The dealer fixed the problem with the front end, which they tighten and lube, but did not find any problem with the steering.

Filed Jun 11, 2003 · Engine · 100,050 miles · WI

I have a 1996 pontiac grand am with a quad 4 engine in it. The engine has 100,050 miles on it, I took very good care of it, oil changes on time did all of the maintenance on it required in the book, etc, etc. I started the car the other day and the whole thing jerked forward, made a loud bang then would not do any thing but turn over really fast. I had it towed in to my mechanic and found out that my engine needs to be replaced because the exhaust valves smashed into the pistons and did a lot of damage. From what I was told by three different mechanics is that the quad 4 engine made by gm is the worst engine ever designed and should not have been put out on the market. I was also told that on this type of car over 100,000 miles was lucky and that kind of miles on this engine is considered high mileage. I was told one of two things could have caused this and that both problems are common in this car. The first cause could have been the hydraulic fluid that causes the manifold gasket to open when the car is shut off sludged up and this caused the timing to mis align at start up and caused the valves and pistons to smash together. The second common cause for this in this type of engine is the pin in the cam shaft snapped off at start up and caused the timing to jump and crash the pistons and valves together. Both problems are known by gm, yet the consumer is not alerted so they can go in and get the cam pin checked or have the fluid checked for sludging.