1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX Complaints

1999 GRAND PRIX PURCHASED USED IN 2002. IN FALL 2003, ONE POWER WINDOW FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. IN AUGUST 2004, A SECOND POWER WINDOW FAILED AND HAD TO BE REPLACED. IN SEPTEMBER 2004, A THIRD POWER WINDOW FAILED. IT IS STUCK IN THE UP POSITION AND HAS NOT YET BEEN REPLACED.*AK

THE FRONT HEADLIGHT LENS, AFTER 5 YEARS, HAS BECOME EXTREMELY CLOUDY AND LETS LESS THAN 50% LIGHT THRU IT, CAUSING THE ROAD TO BARELY BE LIT UP AT NIGHT. I HAVE TALKED TO A PONTIAC DEALER AND A CAR REPAIR COMPANY AND BOTH SAY THAT THIS IS NOW COMMON SINCE CHANGING FROM GLASS TO PLASTIC. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD AND NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM WITH A RECALL. WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL OLDER VEHICLES SUFFERING OVER 50% LOSS OF HEADLIGHT LIGHT?*AK

WHEN THE CONSUMER STARTED UP THE VEHICLE, SMOKE WAS COMING FROM UNDERNEATH THE HOOD AREA. THE VEHICLE CAUGHT FIRE. THE CONSUMER WAS ABLE TO GET OUT AND CALLED THE FIRE AND POLICE DEPARTMENT. THE FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED. NO INJURIES. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED AND TOTALED OUT BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY. PLEASE FILL IN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. *JB

THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT AND COOLANT LIGHT CAME ON. THE COOLANT IN THE CONTAINER WAS BOILING. THE INTAKE VALVE WAS DEFECTIVE, AND THE COOLANT WAS GOING INTO THE OIL.*AK

WE HAVE A 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX WITH A LITTLE OVER 100,000 MILES ON IT. IN THE PAST MONTH, IT BECAME MORE AND MORE DIFFICULT TO REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION. FINALLY, WE WERE UNABLE TO REMOVE THE KEY AT ALL. WE HAD THE CAR CHECKED OUT BY A LOCAL PONTIAC DEALER AND WE WERE TOLD THAT THE CAR COULD NO LONGER RECOGNIZE WHEN THE CAR WAS IN PARK. WE WERE TOLD THAT THE COMPLETE FLOOR SHIFTER WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THE UNIT PARTS COULD NOT BE INDIVIDUALLY FIXED. WE ALSO WERE TOLD THAT THE PROBLEM COULD BE BYPASSED, BUT THAT IT WAS REALLY A SAFETY ISSUE. I WORK WITH SOMEONE WHO ALSO OWNS A 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX WITH A LITTLE OVER 100,000 MILES, AND THEY HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. MY DEALER TOLD ME THAT THEY ARE SEEING A LOT OF THIS PROBLEM ON THE 1999 VEHICLES WITH THE SAME MILEAGE. IT COST OF $377.16 TO REPAIR THIS PART.*AK

WHILE DRIVING THE ENGINE CHECK LIGHT CAME ON AS VEHICLE STARTED TO ACCELERATE AND THEN SPUTTER AND MISFIRE, ALMOST CAUSING A MULTIPLE CAR ACCIDENT. VEHICLE WOULD NOT RESTART. AFTER TOWING THE CAR TO THE DEALER(CLOSE TO CLOSING TIME), THEY DETERMINED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS THAT THE ENGINE HYDRO-STATIC LOCKED AND THEY NEEDED TO INVESTIGATE WHY IT HAPPENED. AS AN UNCANNY COINCIDENCE, ANOTHER GRAND PRIX SIMILAR TO MINE(DOWN TO THE SAME COLOR CAR AND TOWING COMPANY) WAS THERE FOR THE SAME REASON. THE NEXT MORNING THE DEALER STATED THEY COULD FIX IT FOR AROUND $1,200, BUT NOT STATING WHY IT HAPPENED OR WHAT CAUSED THE ENGINE TO LOCK UP AND THAT THEY WERE WORKING ON IT RIGHT THEN. AFTER NONE OF MY QUESTIONS WERE GETTING ANSWERED I STORMED INTO WHERE MY CAR WAS(IN THE BACK LOT... PARKED!!!!), WHILE I CALLED A TOW COMPANY, AND DEMANDED MY KEYS BACK. A MECHANIC THAT SUPPOSEDLY LOOKED AT MY CAR STATED THAT THE INTAKE MANIFOLD WAS THE PROBLEM CAUSING THE ENGINE TO HYDRO-STATIC LOCK AND THAT MY STARTER SHATTERED UPON RESTART TESTING. AFTER LEAVING WITHOUT REPAIRS AND TOWING MY CAR TO MY RESIDENCE, I LOOKED UNDER THE HOOD AND DISCOVERED THAT MY CAR WASN'T EVEN TOUCHED...NO BOLTS LOOSENED OR DUST WIPED OFF OF THEM, THE BRITTLE WIRE HOLDERS AND CLIPS WEREN'T DISTURBED...THERE WAS NO WAY TO FIND A FAULT LIKE THAT WITHOUT TAKING THE INTAKE MANIFOLD OFF. I FINALLY FIXED THE PROBLEM MYSELF BY REPLACING THE PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLD AND GASKET AND STARTER(NO PROBLEMS SINCE THEN, WATCHING IT CLOSELY AND KEPT THE OLD INTAKE MANIFOLD AND GASKET). SQUEALING SOUNDS STARTED COMING FROM UNDER THE HOOD (BELT TENSIONER AREA) SO I REPLACED THE SERPENTINE BELT(SQUEALING CONTINUED THOUGH). I FOUND THE THAT BELT TENSIONER BOLT THAT HOLDS IN THE PULLEY WAS WORKING ITSELF OUT...NOT A GOOD THING. THE POWER WINDOWS AND LOCKS WENT OUT ABOUT 5 DIFFERENT TIMES ON THE DRIVERS SIDE, AND THE RADIO DISPLAY GOES CRAZY AND/OR BLANKS OUT AT TIMES. *JB

VEHICLE STALLED INTERMITTENTLY. IT CAN OCCUR AT ANY SPEED WHILE DRIVING OR AT A STOP POSITION. DEALER NOTIFIED. *AK

VEHICLE'S INTAKE MANIFOLD CRACKED AND ENGINE COOLANT LEAKED INTO THE ENGINE. *MR THE UPPER INTAKE MANIFOLD CRACKED AND COOLANT LEAKED INTO THE CYLINDERS AND SEIZED THE BEARINGS. ON ANOTHER OCCASION THE VEHICLE OVERHEATED. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE ENGINE WAS DAMAGED BEYOND REPAIR. *SC *JB

PROBLEMS WITH CAR FAILURE ON 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX. *MR (STALLING PROBLEM) THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *SC *JB

AUTOMATIC ELECTRIC PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW AND LEFT REAR WINDOW "FALL" DOWN AND AND WILL NOT GO BACK UP. HAVE TO TAPE EACH WINDOW UP MAKING THEN INOPERATIVE..TECH REMOVED DOOR PANEL ON REAR DOOR AND SAYS THE PROMLEM IS NOT THE SWITCH OR MOTOR BUT A BROKEN WOODEN PULLEY(MADE IN MEXICO) THAT ALLOWS THE CABLE TO SLIP OFF AND WON'T ALLOW THE MOTOR TO DRIVE THE WINDOW BACK UP..CLEARLY A MANUFACTURER'S DEFECT FROM A CHEAP WINDOW OPERATING SYSTEM ON AN EXPENSIVE CAR..GM ENGINEERS SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES FOR CHANGING TO THIS TYPE OF CHEAP DEVICE FROM THE PROVEN SPROCKET AND TEETH DRIVE MECHANISM SO TRIED AND TRUE..ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF "CHEAPER IS NOT BETTER" PHILOSOPHY..THIS WINDOW REPAIR/REPLACEMENT SHOULD REST ON GM/PONTIAC SHOULDERS,NOT MINE...JOHN N HART.*AK