Pontiac Grand Am steering lock-up problems

Filed Dec 19, 2019 · Body, Steering · OH

I was driving my vehicle on a city street and as I turned right I heard a loud pop and my steering wheel froze making me unable to steer in any direction. I had my vehicle towed to a repair shop and after inspection I was informed that my steering rack had broken off of the subframe. Before this occurred I had never experienced any problems with steering so this was totally shocking along with the repair cost. After doing a little research I discovered that there were numerous complaints pertaining to this very same thing and gm has done nothing to ensure consumers safety. This should have been recalled years ago before someone dies as a result of poor craftsmanship on gms behalf. This isn't a repair consumers should have to take on.

Filed Apr 22, 2017 · Electrical · 165,000 miles · NY

On three separate occasions in the past two months, my vehicle has turned off while driving. The steering wheel locked up and the car turned off. On all three occasions I was coming either to a stop sign or traffic light with my foot on the brake, about to make a right turn. Thankfully, I was not yet in the intersection when this happened. I believe the issue is related to the ignition switch recall issued by gm. Some time in 2015 I did make an appointment with northstar chevrolet in clifton park, ny to have the issue resolved, assuming that they were actually going to repair the ignition. I notified them that I did have issues with turning the key when trying to turn the car on. They said it was not related, that it was an old car and the ignition had worn a certain way - that's why the key didn't always turn easily. They said the recall repair was to make the hole in the key smaller so that I couldn't have heavy items attached to my key. They looked at what I did have on my key chain and said the weight should be fine, it was mainly for people that had dozens of keys or very heavy items on the key ring. I left without any changes to my key. Now, in march and april 2017 I've had more serious issues with my car turning off. I also have problems with turning my car on if the key is not pushed up in the ignition before being turned. This is the case even without anything else attached to the key when trying to turn the car on. I am fearful of driving my car without having this properly repaired, yet the dealership insists that they are only permitted to perform the specified repair to the key itself, but will not be able to make any repairs to the car itself under the recall, even though it's the ignition switch on the car that is not making proper contact to turn the car on. I need my faulty ignition switch replaced before I have an accident.

Filed Apr 26, 2016 · Steering · NY

When trying to start the car the steering locks up and you have to move the steering wheel back and forth for it to catch and finally will start like it keeps locking up. My son bought this car as his first car so no sure how long it has been like this doing this as we purchased from a friend and he did say that something was up with the steering when trying to start.

Filed Nov 10, 2014 · Brakes, Steering · DC · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 pontiac grand am. The contact stated while driving over a bump at approximately 25 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed. As a result, the contact side swiped another vehicle on the passenger side and crashed into a concrete ridge before coming to a stop. Also, the contact added that due to the failure one of the tires blew. The contact did not sustain any injuries and a police report was filed. The vehicle had not been taken to the dealer. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was included in the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v400000 (electrical system). The approximate failure mileage was unavailable.

Filed Nov 7, 2014 · Steering · MI · crash

Tl* the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the steering wheel seized. The contact crashed and the vehicle became lodged in between two trees, in the front yard of a neighboring home. The vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Nov 5, 2014 · Brakes, Steering · OH · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2000 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that while driving at a low speeds during inclement weather, the steering wheel seized and the brakes failed causing the contact to crash. The contact sustained injuries that required medical attention. It was unknown if there was a police report filed. The contact mentioned that the vehicle experience the failure directly related to recall the federal safety agency campaign number: 14v400000 (electrical system). The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic where the vehicle was deemed destroyed. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Nov 3, 2014 · Brakes, Steering · 100,000 miles · IL · crash · 1 injury

Tl* the contact owns a 2003 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that while driving at 40 MPH, the steering wheel seized and the brake pedal was depressed but the brakes failed to respond causing the vehicle to crash into a garage. A police report was filed. The contact sustained a back pain and lacerations to the arm, chest and face area which required medical attention. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000.

Filed Jun 22, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 95,500 miles · PA

Last month my car started revving up randomly while in park. Once I put the car in drive it would pull forward on it's own speeding up to 40 MPH in the worst case. It ran so rough pulling and stopping the only thing I could do was put it in park until the rpms came back down to a normal rate. From that point on, every time I started the car when it wasn't warmed up this would happen. It used to only take about a minute for the rpms to settle and the car to run fine. Now it takes about 5 minutes of warming up, settling and then drives very poorly in first and second gear. One month later the car hesitates when given gas, begins to "rumble" slowing down, and feels like it will stall out as the cars rpms approach 0. I took the car to a mechanic and they found no problem. They said the rpms were lower than normal on idle. I read online that there could be a vacuum hose leak causing air to be forced into the engine causing the issue but that doesn't make sense. Today while turning in an intersection my steering wheel locked, pressing on the gas no longer moved the car but my radio, air conditioning and engine... Was still running. Luckily I didn't hit anyone (or was hit by anyone). After restarting the car I regained control over the steering and gas. Driving home after that the car wouldn't accelerate properly and hesitated constantly. It was as though I was driving a manual transmission car and shifting gears poorly...

Filed Dec 1, 2013 · Brakes, Steering · FL · crash

Steering locked up while turning and brakes failed.

Filed Jul 9, 2013 · Electrical, Steering · 171,708 miles · WA

Car would not start. Steering locked and transmission stuck in park.key would not turn. Towed car home. Removed the ignition switch and found the ignition lock had melted. The obvious fire hazard prompted a recall search for the make and model finding an ignition recall has been issued. I contacted pontiac customer service. The representative asked me if my VIN was covered. I have confirmed the VIN is on the recall list although the rep. Failed to acknowledge this. The seriousness of the recall, potential fire hazard and validity of my complaint was ignored and [xxx] (pontiac rep.) would not assist me further. I am stuck now with trying to resolve getting my car repaired in a timely manner. Please advise. Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6).