8.1

pretty bad
Typical Repair Cost:
$480
Average Mileage:
83,800 miles
Total Complaints:
33 complaints

Most common solutions:

  1. not sure (14 reports)
  2. wait 20 minutes with the key in the ignition (9 reports)
  3. wait 10 minutes with the key turned to the on position (6 reports)
  4. did the bypass of the passlock (2 reports)
  5. hit the dashboard! (1 reports)
  6. replacement (1 reports)
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« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #13

Jul 232009

Grand Am SE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 58,907 miles

I am having alot of difficulty believing that there is no solution to this passlock problem. Other than buying a bypass system... I have tried to reset it to no avail... but now I am almost afraid to drive it with all that has been said about the engine just stopping with no reason....

- Sherry J., Indianapolis, IN, US

problem #12

Jan 082009

Grand Am V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 89,000 miles

if there have been so many problems with the passlock for everyone ,why hasn't the manufacturer done anything? is there a way to bypass this problem? i am sick of it.!!!!!

- Sherry C., Williamsport, KY, US

problem #11

Mar 212009

Grand Am V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 53,000 miles

I traded my car which was a 1997 Ford Taurus at a dealership. I wanted a new car that didn't have problems like the Taurus did. The dealership where I got it was going to get me in a 2009 car like I wanted. I didn't have any credit built up because I am young. So they tossed me around trying to get me in different cars and then they said a Pontaic just came in and they could get me in that. So of course I said "okay", which now I know was a big mistake. When they got me in the car I pressed on the brake and i told him it went all the way down to the floor, to which he responded that the brakes just need to wear in. That's a lie.

So I've had the car only for 3 months now and I already had to get the coolant fixed which I didn't have to pay for and the turn signal fixed too. Then today, the car won't seem to take the key at all. So I was stuck at a store with no phone and had to walk home. Then I didn't know about the bypass lock!! I called Pontaic and filed a claim with them and told them my problem and they said this is the most common problem with this car. Well no sh*t! Fix the damn problem then assholes.

This is so dangerous for them to make a car like this...losers! I will be taking this cat back on Monday. I'm not going to be paying monthly payments for a car that I can't even enjoy and drive!

- ilovejesse1719, Mishawaka, IN, US

problem #10

Apr 042008

Grand Am V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 60,000 miles

I have had problems with my security system on my vehicle for the last 7 months! I refuse to get it fixed until GM recalls this problem! I have had a brother,son,and parents who all have GM vehicles and they are not the Grand Am.They have each paid $350.00 to have this repaired.I'm sick and tired of waiting ten minutes for my security light to reset.What does it take for a recall.I can't imagine how many more people have had to have this replaced when just in my family there are four of us with the same problem!! I am a quality engineer for an automotive plant.We make car suspensions for the Accord and Civic.We would not treat our customers like this or we would be out of business.Hum,maybe that's GM'S problem.

- kmayberry64, Troy, OH, US

problem #9

Jul 252008

Grand Am SE 3.4L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 57,166 miles

This started occurring once every other month. I just did the 10 minute key in the on position to fix it, wasn't a big deal at first. Then it went from every other month to every month to once or twice a week. I can't count the amount of time I was late for work and appointments. I even had this happen to me after filling up at a very busy gas station blocking off a lane of pumps.

- James C., Summerside, PE, Canada

problem #8

May 082008

Grand Am SE 3.4L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 85,000 miles

This car was nothing but a complete disaster ever since I bought the damn thing four years ago

- slapnutsgalore, Volant, PA, US

problem #7

Jul 122007

Grand Am V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 53,000 miles

well like everyone on here have had nothing but a headache with the passlock system.it has done it over 20 times or more,i have had to sit in the car and wait too many time,i have call the dealership and complain with it i hope they would recall it and fix it cause it is dangerous to have it do it to you in any situation,my hubby and his brother bypass it and put a toggle switch to see if it would help with out me having to wait on it.please let me hear more about it from you.

- Rebecca B., Spencer, VA, US

problem #6

Apr 212008

Grand Am

  • Automatic transmission
  • 45,000 miles

IF ANYONE HAS THOUGHT ABOUT BUYING A GRAND AM....DON'T!!!! i bought my 2004 grand am shortly over a year ago...the car was 2 years old when i bought it. and all i have had are problems with it. my uncle's a mechanic, could not figure it out...the car does not start in extreme heat or extreme cold....called up Pontiac and set up a file with them..said to go and have an updated diagnosis of the car before they would do anything..(i had to pay for it $45)..the dealership told me i had to replace the ignition lock cylinder(~$650) at first the car just didn't start...ok i could deal with it. about 3 weeks ago, it didn't start before i left to go home from work..i got home, put the car in reverse to get closer to the curb, and the car shut off on me!!!..what makes me mad is when i was still covered under the warranty of the dealership i took it to them multiple times, and they 'couldn't figure it out'....so that is when i called Pontiac. Pontiac c/s told me to turn the key on the on position for ten minutes, then take the key out, then the car will start...told my uncle this his response was "if you do that enough, you can fry your computer..." which would cost me a ton of money!! the other day, i'm driving home and i hear my car accelerate then stop...literally the car shut off in the middle of me driving it!!! i could not turn the steering wheel at all!!!..i was about a foot and a half away from hitting a tree..called Pontiac again when i finally got the car started!!!..'well what would you like from us?' a permanent solution not a temporary fix that could eventually cost someone their life...if anyone else is having a problem with their passlock system or their security light(and if it starts blinking get off to the side of the road)...call 1-800-762-2737 and file a claim...then call the nhtsa..at 1-888-327-4236 and file a report with them..eventually someone will stand up and do what is right!!! this may be the reason why Pontiac stopped making the grandam's after '05!!!...the reason why there is no recall...is because no one knows what part needs to be recalled!!!!...this is a safety hazard!!..a MANUFACTURERS DEFECT!!!...us hard working host Americans do not deserve to be treated like dirt on the bottom of their shoes and get treated badly just because they want to make 'a buck'!!!!

- Pamela K., Lansdale, PA, US

problem #5

Apr 212008

Grand Am

  • Automatic transmission
  • 41,000 miles

i bought my 2004 Pontiac grand am se about a year ago. roughly a week after i purchased the vehicle, the car started having a problem starting. I took it back to the dealership(because mind you i had too many miles for Pontiac to deal with it!) and they couldn't fix the problem. i had it back to the dealership about 3 times, the one time they had it for almost two weeks!!! When the car doesn't start, and i finally get it started the security light is on!!! I thought the problem had gone away because during the fall, it didn't seem to have the problem. Well.....the issue popped back up again in the winter!!..only in the winter and summer..extreme heat and extreme cold. About 3 weeks ago, the car didn't start leaving from work...what a surprise!! i go the car started and drove home. i go home went to put the car in reverse to get closer to the curb and the car completely shut off on me...the first time this had happened!!..i called up my uncle(who's a mechanic) and my finance called one of his friends who also works with cars on a daily basis. My uncle had no idea, he knew it had something to do with the passlock system, but he didn't specialize in Pontiac's. my fiance's friend said he had to tow someone to a Pontiac dealership for the same problem and it came back that he needed a "software update"...i then decided to call Pontiac customer service..which is getting me nowhere!!!...i had to go and get an updated diagnosis of the vehicle($45) and then she would help me. I got it done and they told me i had the replace the ignition lock cylinder; the keys and the cylinder are not reading each other properly so the car thinks that someone is trying to steal it! the totally cost for replacement and new keys was ~$650. i then called back Pontiac and told them what the mechanic had said. their solution was to turn the key on the on position for 10 minutes turn the car off then it will start...well in the meantime, i had already done my researching. and if you do that(which resets the computer) too many times, it can fry your computer and you car can shut off as you are driving down the road!!! The lady wanted to know "well what can i do for you then" give me a permanent solution not a temporary fix that eventually is going to cost me more money and possibly my life!!! well what do you know, the damn thing didn't start leaving work yesterday, when i got it started i was about 3 miles down the road and the car shut off!!! the engine stopped and i could not turn my steering wheel..i was about a foot and a half away from hitting a tree..all i can say is I'm glad i wasn't driving down the pa turnpike at 70 mph!!!...Pontiac needs to step up and take care of this problem...i know there are more people like me out there that are having this same issue with their Pontiac car...they don't want to 'fork' out the money, but is it really worth somebody's life? this is a safety hazard!!..a MANUFACTURERS defect..the car isn't even 5 years old!!! if enough of us honest hard working people stand up and fight for what is right..maybe just maybe we will get somewhere with this company...

- Pamela K., Lansdale, PA, US

problem #4

Jun 042007

(reported on)

Grand Am V4

  • Automatic transmission
  • 57,000 miles

My car recently would not start. The security light came on and would not go off. I learned that by putting the ignition in on position and hold for 10 minutes til the blinking security light stops blinking, the car will start. but it is starting to do that everytime i crank the car now.

- glenda, Wilson, NC, US

problem #3

Jan 152008

Grand Am GT 3.2L V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 86,000 miles

I am a single mom and this is the 3rd time I have had to have the passlock system repaired. The 1st time I was under the extended warranty and it only cost me $100.00 to fix the problem and it was not even a month later and the system failed again while I was at the dealership and they repaired it for free. I do not understand why they can not by pass the system or recall the system and repair it. I can not afford to keep fixing this car. I have called a couple of dealerships and independent mechanics and the price to fix the car is approximately $300.00 to change the locking cylinder or $400.00 to change the BCM module. I would like for Pontiac or GM to step up and fix the problem.

- Crystal 1., Deland, FL, US

problem #2

Jul 202007

(reported on)

Grand Am SE 2.2L

  • Automatic transmission
  • 29,000 miles

I have seen this problem over and over for earlier models of Pontiac Grand AM's with a security problem involving a passlock failure. I got in my car today, and it wouldn't start. The engine will turn over, but the fuel system will not engage. So I researched the problem and came up with this and many other web sites detailing the exact same problem. As I am writing this, I am currently resetting the passlock system by turning the ignition switch and leaving it in the on position for 10 minutes. The problem isn't the passlock system. The problem is Pontiac and General Motors refusal to do the honorable thing and recall the passlock system. I don't care if this is not a safety issue. When a company, any company, passes off a product with a known defect and then expects the customer, who in this case has paid thousands of dollars for the product, to pay for the problem as well, that's not just bad customer service, it's an unconscionable case of fraud perpetrated against the customer. I for one will be glad to throw my hat into any class action suit against Pontiac and GM for this injustice! If anyone has any suggestion as to a more permanent solution to this problem, please let me know.

- anwaraisling, Charlotte, NC, US

problem #1

Sep 192007

(reported on)

Grand Am V6

  • Automatic transmission
  • 50,000 miles

2004 GRAND AM, Royal Pain, has left me stranded several times with my 4 year old, had to be towed, the Passlock system acting up, bought new battery to no avail, the rearview mirror fell, the passenger side window does not work, the interior ac/heater button fell off, had to buy two batteries in 3 years. I am shopping for a dealership that will help get rid of this lemon. I have to work for a living, do not show up, do not get pay, single parent can't afford this junk, bought brand new, only 50,000 miles observed problems as soon as the warranty expired! CLASS ACTION SUIT NEEDS TO FILED!

- Maria V., San Antonio, TX, US