I have owned my 2002 grand prix for about 7 years. On june 8, 2011 about 6:30 p.m. My car caught on fire by just being parked. I called the customer service where they told me it would be 7 days before a rep got in contact with me. I have no money and I need a car. When will someone take this serious before someone gets really hurt.
2002 Pontiac Grand Prix engine complaints
Page 5 of 6: complaints 101 to 130 of 148, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Tl* the contact owned a 2002 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the front end was on fire within minutes. The contact stated there was no prior warning of any failure. The fire department was called to extinguish the fire and a fire report was filed. The fire department concluded that the fire originated from the engine and the vehicle was destroyed. The contact referenced the federal safety agency campaign id number: 09v116000 (engine and engine cooling) and stated that the recall repair was previously performed on the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 112,000. Updated 5/2/11 *cn updated 05/11/11
My 2002 pontiac grand prix with a 3.8 liter engine caught fire while parked in my driveway after a short trip. There was a recall on the car involving engine fires. I took the car to a gm dealer and had the recall work done on september 16, 2010. The car was lost due to the fire on february 22, 2011. I later found out that the recall for cars with supercharged engines included replacing the valve cover gaskets. If this had been part of the recall for my vehicle, I believe that the fire would have never happened.
Smoke coming from under the hood, followed by thick dark smoke coming from the gear shift inside the vehicle. Loss of steering followed by a loss of brakes. Coasted to a stop at an intersection. Upon exiting the car the right front tire had begun to melt. Flames where coming from under the front passenger fender well. Within 5 minutes the entire engine compartment was on fire.
I recently had to replace my intake manifold for my car in july, and just today I had to take my car to the mechanic because he said that the rear intake manifold was cracked and had to be replaced. He stated that grand prixs were built with plastic intake manifolds.
Exhaust manifold gasket failure due to design manufacture ie coolant defects leading to overheating and possible engine fire--consumer cost to repair in excess of 1000.00.
Car was not accelerating on high way then all power was last in car including the breaks. I was able to get the car to the side of the highway. Dark smoke began coming though the car's vent and out the hood. I exited the car and then saw flames coming out the engine. I received a recall notice in may 2009 for a problem with possible engine fires. Car was serviced at the dealership it was purchased from to fix the recalled item.
Intake manifold leaking.
There was a recall #id#08v118000 concerning the front rocker cover gasket and eventual oil seepage. I was told by the dealer that the recall was addressed and parts were replaced. Shortly after the recall I was told by the dealer that the valve cover gaskets were leaking and later verified that the rocker cover was the same as the valve cover. After 3 oil changes (scheduled) I was told it should be taken care of and the cost would be 1,300.00. I asked them about the recall and was told my vehicle was not part of the recall 2002 pontiac grand prix. I called pontiac and they told me it was part of the revision recall 09047 that only covered the spark plugs. I'm confused, I don't know why my vehicle was not part of the original recall, however, was part of the revision. It appears that the problem I am having should be covered under this recall. Has anyone else had a similar problem or is there any assistance/advice you can give me. Thank you.
I parked my car outside of babysitter's house to pick up my daughter. Was inside about 10-15 min when smoke started billowing out from under the hood! The engine had caught fire! Luckily, myself and my daughter were not inside at the time. Come to find out, later, there is a recall on my vehicle for 'engine compartment fires'....nice to find out afterwards! I bought the car from an authorized pontiac dealer....thanks for the warning jerks!! Guess everyone is greedy...no matter at what cost to innocent buyers.
2002 pontiac grand prix has a faulty catalytic converter because of the plastic parts. *nj the consumer also stated the upper intake manifold had to be rebuilt as well, due to the plastic parts that were used. The catalytic converter became clogged and caused the upper intake to warp.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix. While driving 65 MPH on the freeway, the contact heard a popping noise and pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. He noticed smoke underneath the hood. The contact opened the hood and noticed flames. He grabbed water from a ditch and used it to extinguish the flames. The fire department was not notified. The vehicle was towed to his residence. The insurance company was notified and the dealer will be informed of the failure. The federal safety agency campaign id number 09v116000 (engine and engine cooling) was referenced. The chevrolet dealer came to inspect the vehicle. When the vehicle was started, it caught fire again. A fire extinguisher to douse the flames. The flames reappeared and he had to repeatedly extinguish them with the fire extinguisher. The fire would not cease until the vehicle was towed away. The entire engine burned and melted in his driveway. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure and current mileages were 153,000. Updated 4/28/09 *cn the consumer stated someone else started the vehicle when they were not supposed to and that person put the fire out. The vehicle was declared a loss. Updated 04/30/09.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix. An hour after the vehicle was parked, it caught fire in the contact's driveway. Prior to the fire, she received an important safety notice stating that a recall was about to be issued to prevent the vehicle from catching fire in the engine compartment. The dealer did not have the parts for the repair and the manufacturer would not assist. The fire department made the contact tow the vehicle from the residence because they believed it could catch fire again. A police report was filed. The failure and current mileages were 110,000.
Parked into a parking lot, turned vehicle off. Everything seemed fine, no smoke, no warning lights. Went into store to pay a bill, walked out a few minutes later and my car was on fire and smoking under the hood. The car proceeded to burn as we waited for the fire department. The car was a loss.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix. While being parked in the contact's driveway for two hours, the vehicle burst into flames. The fire originated under the hood and the fire department extinguished the fire. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a body shop, but it will not be repaired. The failure mileage was 80,000.
Recurring burning oil smell and oil leak on my 2002 pontiac gtp grand prix. @ different dealers have had the vehicle to fix it multiple time and at a cost of more then $1600 dollars. Only the have the repair fall under a recall after which they wont refund my money. Additionally the car still have a oil leak and burning oil smell. These are the symptoms for the engine fires that consumers are experiencing with this engine. I cant even sell the car, no one wants it due to the nature of the problem. I'm reading dozens of similar situations even some homes being damaged from fire resulting from the engine fire after you turn the car off.
I have a 2002 pontiac grand prix se. It is a 4 door. I have had to replace the manifold gaskets twice with in 9 months. I started to notice that I did not have any heat. I took it to a mechanic and they said that my gaskets were leaking. I was told it would run me around $900. The parts were about $76. The labor was the majority of it. I was then told I had to have my oil changed and thermostat. This had caused my thermostat to go out. I had it replaced. About 9 months later the same thing happened. No heat and ect. Took it to the same mechanic and he said it should've lasted longer. He checked to see if it would still be under warranty and it was not. Gm only guaranteed this job for 6 months. I again had to replace the gaskets. Gm had put in plastic gaskets instead of metal gaskets. I again had to pay additional $800. I checked on the recalls for this and there weren't any. I also googled this complaint and have found many other people with the exact same thing go on with their vehicles. My family has always been a gm family, but we have now elsewhere. My brother is a salesman and he says that gm products are the first to go and they wear out the easiest. Pretty sad when a salesman you know doesn't enjoy selling gm products. Anyway, my point is this needs to be taken care of and gm needs to step up and take on the responsibility for this defect. They are losing enough business the way it is. I think they need to man up and stand up to their defects. I work in the oil and gas industry and I can tell you this, gm products are not purchased by any of the companies, because they are not reliable to go an even 80,000 miles.
Gunk in my engine causing lifters to stick.
I have a complain on my 2002 pontiac grand prix v6, we have changed the thermostat, water pump, belts, hoses, etc, anything u can think of we've done it. However the intake manifold is leaking apparently the gaskets are cracked, well I've read online that a lot of these cars have this issue and its a very costly price to fix, why hasn't there been a recall by pontiac for the problem it is extremely ridiculous.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix se. While performing an oil change, the mechanic discovered a coolant leak around the intake manifold gasket. The vehicle is not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling). The current mileage was 30,600 and failure mileage was 12,000.update 09/10/08 *cw updated 09/15/08.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix. After parking the vehicle, the contact smelled burning motor oil. He noticed oil on the ground underneath the vehicle. He replaced the front rocker cover gasket, but stated that the rear gasket was the one that needed to be replaced. The contact recently received a safety recall notice for the front gasket. He would like to be reimbursed for replacing the front gasket and would also like the manufacturer to replace the rear gasket. The contact also stated that he could place his hand behind the engine and find oil leaking. The federal safety agency campaign id number 08v118000 (engine and engine cooling) was referenced. The current mileage was 120,000 and failure mileage was 80,000. Updated 07/09/08 *bf updated
Car was parked in a sloped drive-way. Was not drivin in a few hours. Heavy smoke from wheel wells. Entire engine compartment was completely engulfed in flames within 8 minutes. Fire department was called, they extinguished fire within minutes. Luckily my car was not parked in my garage.
I went to the store(wal-mart) with two of my children on january 3rd 2007, after we were in the store for about ten minutes my license plate was paged by the customer service counter, as I approached the counter I overheard people saying that there was a car on fire in the parking lot. I went outside and it was my car that had fire coming out of the hood. The fire department arrived quickly and put out the fire. I contacted my insurance and the dealership where I bought the car and both parties told me that my car was totaled. I kept up all the maintenance on the car and at the time I did not know what caused my car to catch on fire until the recall notice on march 15 2008. At the time I did not know who to report my car fire to but with the recall I saw the federal safety agency information and that there were over 250 reported cases already. It took me some time to find my info but I have it on hand now.
2002 grand prix gtp caught on fire and burnt up, after being parked, after driving 5 miles.
I have a random and intermittent starting problem that my professional mechanics cannot solve and for which there is no diagnostic code or even a check engine alert. Sometimes when I try to start the car, it will crank but not turn over, and eventually, nothing happens. If I wait 2 hours, the car will start. Also, the car has stalled and not restarted for an hour when it is put into park. It has stalled when I started it and pulled away from refueling, and it sometimes idles roughly as if it is going to stall at any second which, at times, it has done. I paid professionally certified gm and other mechanics on several occasions to investigate this issue with no results. In the past, I had the exhaust system repaired by gm. I have had fuel lines, the alternator, the thermostat, the starter, the battery, the exhaust, and other things on the car investigated as possible sources of the problem. Other work done has been a gasket replacement, because one was leaking, and routine maintenance. I have had several electronic diagnostic checks run, and nothing comes up. I have maintenance and upkeep done regularly on this car, so it is not that the car is not properly taken care of. It gets regular oil changes, had the transmission, radiator and brake flushes done at appropriate times, and is checked over every fall as a precaution. However, my car absolutely cannot be relied upon to drive any distance. The problems occur with short or long trips and in all types of weather, whether I drive fast or slow, or whether I am in heavy or light traffic, although after driving in heavy traffic is when it seems to not want to start the most. I think that gm should be able to provide a possible reason for these issues. I have had this issue since I first bought the car, and I am tired of investing money into trying to solve a problem which has all the mechanics mystified, including gm ones.
2002 pontiac grand prix- - catalytic converter failed at 66,300 miles. Put in shop because gm would not stand by their extended emissions component warranty. My cost $690.00 car is pure junk. Power windows work when it is colder outside, but when temp is above 75-80 degrees can't open windows to breathe>>>>>>>>>>>>>.
Hot smell coming through vents . I love my car but since hearing about fires I no longer will drive it. I have noticed the hot smell for about a year on and off.
After filling my gas tank and paying for gas, I came out to my vehicle and after starting it smoke started coming from the hood! I lift the hood to investigate and the engine was on fire. (there is a report on file with the fairfiel township police and fire depts.) walker pontiac in dayton ohio replaced the engine, I have since received a letter noting the problem with the engine but there has been no recall to date. I have been warned not to park in the garage as this continues to be a problem and there has been an incident of home fire with injuries, due to the vehicle catching fire in the garage!!!
Burning smell while driving sometimes but always when stopping the vehicle and park in the front part (engine). Also smoke.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 pontiac grand prix. The contact detected smoke after the vehicle had been parked in the garage for approximately twenty minutes. The front end of the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle and another vehicle were destroyed. The kitchen was also destroyed and smoke filled the house. A fire report was filed. The federal safety agency closed investigation number pe07006 (engine and engine cooling) was referenced. The current and failure mileages were 75,000. Updated 03/26/08.
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