10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
64,117 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.

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problem #6

Sep 012008

Grand Am

  • 98,000 miles
Water getting into vehicle somewhere behind firewall. Started approximately 1yr. Ago. Caused all lights on dash to light up, now vehicle will not start, could not afford to have Pontiac fix, although they did issue a warning regarding issue, but will not help with remedy.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

problem #5

Jun 132008

Grand Am

  • 186,000 miles
I have a 1996 ponitac Grand Am that has water in the passenger compartment. GM sent a letter stating that the air bag module could deploy the air bags with warning while driving without a crash or when the key is turn on. This has many complaints but no one is doing anything. As a auto tech for my own safety as well of others there should be a recall and of the effective years or 96-98 Grand Am. They said injuries have been reported already.

- Mounds View, MN, USA

problem #4

Oct 222007

Grand Am

  • miles
Drivers side interior floor keeps getting extremely wet. Just the other day there was about an inch of standing water on the backseat drivers side floor board. All windows are always up and there is even water on the floor boards when it doesn't rain.

- Pittsburg, KS, USA

problem #3

Sep 011996

Grand Am

  • 11,700 miles
06/05 water under the dash made me think the windshield was leaking-an auto glass dealer determined it was not leaking and agreed to take out the carpet-he discovered the firewall was not sealed properly from the factory- I paid him to seal it & dry & replace the carpet...09/07 I had problems with the all the alarm lights on the dash coming on---after turning off &restarting the car--the only light left on was the air bag light----06/17/08 I received an 'owner manual supplement' to add to my owners manual telling me the "air bag controller" may or may not deploy in a crash or even without warning....this is a design defect...there are 1000's of the these time bombs going down the same highways we are traveling-GM needs to issue a recall & replace these---GM is not able to notify every owner of this problem after 12 years-people are driving these vehicles 60 and 70 miles an hour down the highways & their air bag may deploy without warning--the potential for horrific accidents even deaths of innocent people are inevitable-please force GM to take recall not print inserts for the owners manuals.

- Muncie, IN, USA

problem #2

Jun 162008

Grand Am

  • miles
There is water on all four floors of my car (front driver and passenger/back seat two both passenger sides). The rear left floor has particularly heavy water saturation. My air bag light has also stayed on for the last two weeks. Yesterday, I received a letter from GM indicating that the air bag controller on the 1996 Pontiac Grand Am is mounted above the floor pan beneath the front passenger seat, and that if the vehicle is exposed to significant water entering the interior and soaking the carpet, the air bag controller can be soaked and damaged. The damaged controller can make the air bags deflate, even without impact or crash. Conversely, the air bags may not deploy at all because of the controller damage. This letter was sent by GM as an owner manual supplement and they will not be responsible for what is clearly a problem. At this point, no recall has been issued. Because I am unemployed, I have no money to repair the car, and am scared to drive it. Hence, I now have no transportation as well as no money or job. GM should be responsible for this. If they are aware enough of a problem as to notify owners of this car, they should be paying for repairs to a car that is saturated with water.

- Chicago, IL, USA

problem #1

Oct 152004

Grand Am 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 89,000 miles
During inclement weather conditions, water was leaking through the vehicle fire wall onto the electrical harness leading into the taillights. The consumer has a concern that the condition may lead to a electrical short.

- Erie, PA, USA