1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX Complaints

HEADLIGHT LENS SEPARATED FROM VEHICLE, EXPOSING WIRES. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

WHILE DRIVING RIGHT HEADLIGHT COVER FELL OFF,.ONE WEEK LATER, LEFT HEADLIGHT COVER FELL OFF.*AK

LENS FELL OFF HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY DUE TO BONDING AGENT FAILURE, OTHER HEADLIGHT FOGGY AND MOISTURE LADEN. BONDING APPEARS TO BE FAILING ON THAT ASSEMBLY ALSO. DEALER ASSUMES NO KNOWLEDGE OF CHRONIC FAILURE IN THESE HEADLIGHT LENSES.MANUFACTURER HAS NOT YET BEEN CONTACTED FOR THEIR RESPONSE BUT THEY WILL BE.*AK

HEADLIGHT LENSES FALL OFF WHILE DRIVING. THIS CAUSES BULB TO BLOWOUT. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

PLASTIC HEADLIGHT COVER GLUE FAILS, CAUSING THE PLASTIC COVER TO COME OFF. WHEN THIS HAPPENS THE HEADLIGHT WILL GO OUT. I WENT TO THE DEALER WHEN I FIRST NOTICED THE COVERS COMING LOOSE WHEN THE CAR WASOVER 36000 MILES AND THEY TOLD ME IT WAS A COMMON OCCURRENCE ON THE GRAND PRIX FOR THE COVER TO COME OFF. IT IS EXPENSIVE TO FIX $90+ FOR EACH ONE. I HAD THE SECOND ONE COME OFF THIS WEEK. AGAIN I WAS TOLD ALTHOUGH COMMON IT IS NOT COVERED UNDER ANY DEFECT POLICY WITH GM. I CALLED GM CUSTOMER SERVICE IN DETROIT. AND GIVEN A CUSTOMER COMPLAINT # S1-1898506. I WAS TOLD BY THEM TO CONTACT THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU AS IT WAS NOT THEIR PROBLEM. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A DANGEROUS PROBLEM AS WHEN THE COVER FALLS OFF THE HEADLIGHTS BLOW. THIS COULD CAUSE A ACCIDENT AT NIGHT. AT THE SAME TIME SINCE GM KNOWS ABOUT THE PROBLEM THEY SHOULD FIX THEM FREE OF CHARGE.*AK

GM CLAIMS IT IS NOT COMMON FOR RACK & PINION FAILURE, BUT I'VE READ A NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS ON HTTP://WWW.CLUBGP.COM/FORUM/TOPIC.ASP?TOPIC_ID=6400626&FORUM_ID=5&CAT_ID=1&FORUM_TITLE=QUALITY+%2F+PROBLEM+ISSUES&TOPIC_TITLE=STEERING+RACK WEB SITE. I ALMOST HAD A ACCIDENT WITH MY SON IN THE CAR, BECAUSE OF THIS FAILURE. ARE THEY WAITING FOR PEOPLE TO DIE BEFORE ANY ACTION?*JB

THE RACK AND PINION UNIT IS GOING BAD. LOSS OS STEERING CONTROL IS DUE TO LOW PRESSURE ON THE LINES. CAN NOT STEER THE CAR SOMETIMES.*AK

AT 38,000 MILES MY DEALER CLAIMS THE TRANSMISSION NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. I BELIEVE THIS IS A RESULT OF THE UAW STRIKE IN 1998. *AK

RIGHT LENS FELL OFF. FIRST PONTIAC DEALER I CONTACTED, JONES MOTORS IN SAVANNAH, TN, (731-925-4923) TOLD ME IN NOV. 2001 THAT I HAD TO BUY WHOLE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY AT $225+ LABOR. TRUSTING THEM, I BOUGHT AND INSTALLED AN ENTIRE AFTERMARKET ASSEMBLY. THEN I FOUND SERVICE BULLETIN 010842004 AT NHTSA.ORG, PLUS AN INDEPENDENT BODY SHOP MAN TOLD ME THE LENS WAS AVAILABLE BY ITSELF. I CALLED JONES BACK TODAY (4/22/02), HOPING THEY HAD DISCOVERED AND CORRECTED THEIR MISTAKEN INFO. THEY STILL TOLD ME I HAD TO BUY THE WHOLE THING, BUT AT $100+ LABOR THIS TIME. I DON'T KNOW WHY THE PRICE HAD BEEN CUT IN HALF. WHEN I ASKED THEM ABOUT THE SERVICE BULLETIN, THEY CLAIMED TOTAL IGNORANCE. THE PARTS MAN SAID HE DID NOT HAVE ACCESS TO BULLETINS. HIS MANAGER CALLED ME BACK LATER AND OFFERED TO GET ME A LENS OFF "ONE IN THE BACK" BUT I REMINDED HIM IT WAS TOO LATE FOR ME--I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE OTHERS DID NOT GET TAKEN BY THEIR MISINFORMATION. THEN I CALLED MATHEWS' (1-800-WILSON GO), JUST TO SEE IF A MUCH BIGGER DEALERSHIP WOULD NOT SURELY BE MORE INFORMED. THEY ALSO TOLD ME THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY WAS MY ONLY OPTION. WHEN I TOLD THE FELLOW ABOUT THE BULLETIN, HE TOO CLAIMED TO BE IN THE DARK ABOUT SUCH MATTERS. MY QUESTION IS, WHY DO GM'S OWN PEOPLE NOT KNOW ABOUT THEIR SERVICE BULLETINS WHEN INDEPENDENT BODY SHOP PEOPLE DO? IS THIS A SCAM, OR AN INEXCUSABLE LACK OF COMMUNICATION?*AK

1997-1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX HEADLIGHTS ARE DEFECTIVE. THE LENS COVER FALLS OFF. THIS HAPPENS ON BOTH FRONT HEADLAMPS. I HAVE READ THAT A DEFECTIVE SEALANT IS THE CAUSE. BOTH COVERS HAVE FALLEN OFF OF MY VEHICLE, WITH THE LAST AT NIGHTTIME DURING A RAINSTORM. THIS CAUSED THE BULB TO BECOME WET AND EXPLODE DURING DRIVING. THIS HAPPENED WITHIN A MONTH OF THE FIRST FAILURE. IF BOTH HAD FALLEN OFF AT THE SAME TIME, I WOULD HAVE HAD NO VISION. PERFORMING A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I FIND THAT THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM THAT I AM SURE PONTIAC KNOWS ABOUT. I KNOW THIS MAY SOUND LIKE A MINOR PROBLEM, BUT IF POSSIBLE I WOULD LIKE TO REQUEST AN INVESTIGATION INTO THIS PROBLEM AND A POSSIBLE RECALL. NEW HEADLAMPS INSTALLED COST CONSUMERS $130.00 EACH.*AK