This car has a significant # of safety problems that the dealer/manufacturer have refused to address w/out significant cost to consumer. Until I sustain a significant injury &/or injure someone due to these product defects, I can not afford a legal challenge to have gm address problems, nor can I bear cost. My car is available as a sample of their junk! (signed;claims adjuster). No safety defect listed in summary.
1997 Pontiac Grand Prix steering complaints
Page 8 of 8: complaints 191 to 216 of 216, newest first, as owners wrote them.
No summary listed for abov evehicle.
Loss of control due to steering power assist loss making turns at low speeds especially left turns. Car shudders. Occurred especially in cold operating conditions.
I was backing out of parking space and went to straighten my wheels back up only to here a pop like something was broke and the wheel was real hard to turn. I turned the wheel back the other way and it became easy to turn. The steering wheel was hard to turn sometimes then easy. The steering wheel was also about 10-15 degrees of centered. I went to three shops and none were able to tell me what was wrong. My steering rack and pinion went completely out and I had to have it towed to the dealer. Cost $1304. To have mine replaced. Luckily I was turning into my driveway when it went out. Positive battery post broke completely off while testing battery. Some acid leaked in battery bay.
Cannot turn car left due to defective power steering rack unit. The car turns right just fine. I counted 17 other complaints about this same problem in your database. When will pontiac issue a bulletin???
Malfunction occurred within the rack and pinion steering, causing steering wheel to lock up while vehicle was being driven. Please give any further details.
Rack and pinion steering completely broke and froze while driving and making a left hand turn.cosnumer was able to get out of the position by jerking steering real hard. Cause was unknown. Minutes prior to incident, consumer heard a popping noise.
The car is hard to turn to the left. The rack and pinion went out. Power steering fluid leaked on both sides of the car. The motor on the driver side power window went out. The seat belt light stays on even after the seat belt is buckled. The air bag light stays on and the air bag was not deployed.
Braking system malfunctioned, causing extended stopping distance which may result in a crash. *ak the driver experienced loss of steering due to broken steering rack.
While exiting the highway and during making 180 deg left turn on the ramp the power steering assistance has failed. It required extreme effort to control the steering. We have narrowly escaped a major accident. This was only due to the fact that I am a strong individual. It still required me to pull on the wheel with a lot of force and very quickly to control it. Normally this car is driven by my wife, who would not be ble to control it, should she be behind the steering wheel. It was a horrifying experience. Specially that there was no early indication of this failure. In addition, the steering wheel failed to return to its neutral position by itself making it even more difficult to control the vehicle. It was either pure luck or god's will that we survive this one. Today I had this problem fixed at the scranton pontiac in vernon, ct and was charged a total of $1,258.63 to have the entire rack assy replaced. I was told that they have installed remanufactured unit telling me that this must be a persistent problem since this car and this type of steering was introduced in 1997. I have found some evidence of people complaining about this problem on internet. Based on my experience I do worry about the safety of my wife from now on. When tried to ask the dealer to set up an appointment with the pontiac rep they told me that they can't do anything about it. The car is only 3 years old and has 68k, mostly highway miles. We moved from fl to ct last year so the car was driven mostly in fl. Please help prevent this from happening again to anybody and have pontiac fix this problem. I don't want anybody to go through this awful experience that me and my wife have experienced. If requested I will provide you with a copy of the dealer invoice stating that the steering is binding while turning to the left and what type of repair was performed.
Due to faulty steering rack, the system provided no power assistance during left turns, this condition was most noticeable at slow speeds and when making left turns at stop lights in traffic where steering performance is very important. Nlm
Failure resulted in no power assist while turning left, but normal power assist while turning right. Dealer could not identify precise failure within system. Repair made by replacement of entire steering rack. Repair cost was $1,033. Manufacturer and dealer unwilling to discuss warranty consideration, citing fact that vehicle was 2 months and 8,000 miles beyond standard warranty period.
Vehicle windshield wiper arm (drivers) creaking noise (I believe a recall is underway). Loose trim throughout. Rearview mirror replaced, battery died (car was towed), power window failed (dealer replaced), headlights admit moisture, ashtray opens by itself, seat squeaks, dash rattles, rattle also comes from rear of car, vehicle vibration at highway speeds, seatbelts do not retract, leather on seats is cracking, key knob has too short a range, stiching is coming off the leather wrapped steering wheel, also the club lock burns inprints into wheel if left on in the summer sun, headlights turn on in the middle of the day, brakes stop working in heavy rain or when coming out of the car wash, the power door lock swithch on the passengers door fell into the door, various retaining clips have broken off trim, etc.
This vehicle has been in for warranty repair 9 times in the last 14 months in an effort to resolve a loss of power steering assist during low speed manuevers. I've filed a complaint with the better business bureau's auto line program and have followed all of the recommended procedures as prescribed by the better business and general motors corporation. General motors keeps offering us a free extended warranty for 100,000 miles but have been unable to diagnose or repair the car. It's also important to know that we have had this vehicle in for warranty repairs 16 times since the vehicle has been new, with the car being tied up for service an approximate total of over 60 days. We are at our wits end with general motors corporation and when we ask them what they are going to do to fix the car they keep offering us a free extended warranty. I recently told them that it did'nt matter how long the warranty was to be extended because they cannot diagnose or repair the car and keep side stepping the issue. We never know when this vehicle will lose its power steering assist and my wife has come close to causing an accident as a result of losing the power steering on three incidents.
Was pulling out of parking lot and power steering fell out of vehicle. Vehicle was not controllable & was not operative. Vehicle was towed to dealer. Mechanic had to replace the power steering parts. Gave no indication as tothe cause of problem.
While driving on highway at 60mph steering wheel was hard to turn. Drove into the driveway the steering wheel piston rod/pump broke . Tried to backout of driveway and the wheel went into a different direction, applied brakes, but behicle went straight through a wall.
Problem 1. Head lamp moisture inside lens assembly. Dealer said problem within allowable limits. Problem 2. Left headlamp cover fell off while driving. Out of town at time. Purchased new headlamp assembly upon return at cost of $76.25. Right headlamp assembly still collects excessive moisture. Problem 3. Reported some type of oil/power steering leak. Fluid drips on garage floor. Dealer replaced oil pan and gasket on 07/09/1999. Leak continued. Dealer replaced power steering shaft seal on 10/27/1999. Leak still continues to happen. Power steering pump looks bad.
When making turns defective rack and pinion steering is causing steering to lock up without warning, but eventually will regain steering.
Power steering hose failed twice, on second incident causing steering wheel lock up and fire.
Consumer has been experiencing problems with power steering pump. Since the car was purchased brand new in 1997, 3 power steering pumps have been replaced. During one of the power steering failures, the consumer lost control of the vehicle. The manufacturer has been contacted.
Steering and transmission failure.
Steering wheel separated from the steering column while driving. The dealer is repairing the vehicle. Owner will contact the manufacturer.
Trunk lock cylinder failed.
The engine/power steering turned off simultaneously while driving at 65-70 MPH.
Power steering hose failed, causing power steering fluid to be sprayed on hot exhaust manifold.
Steering felt loose, and when turning left or right a squealing noise was heard coming from steering column due to a faulty rack and pinion. The steering rack and pinion is being replaced. *ak
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