10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 11
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 134,711 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.
While my mechanic was checking tie rods on the car they noticed seepage from the intake manifold. Luckily it was caught very early-no mixing of oil and coolant. Intake manifold, elbow and assembly replaced; original GM gasket design and materials were inferior however the gasket redesign takes care of the issue. Plenum was also weak; something he said he commonly sees on my series of 3.8L GM engines because of faulty design and materials. $943 job when all was said and done.
- Milwaukee, WI, USA
The contact owns a 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix GT. The vehicle burnt while it was parked at her place of employment. The fire and police department were present. The police report number was 20094185. The fire department report was not available. The fire initiated in the engine. The vehicle didn't have any prior failures and was always serviced as required. The vehicle didn't have full coverage; therefore, the insurance company will not investigate the cause of failure. She will notify the manufacturer. The failure and the current mileages were 88,000.
- Wilmington , NJ, USA
The contact owned a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that the front wheel hubs kept detaching from the vehicle and had to be replaced several times. In June of 2006, the vehicle caught fire and had to be towed from the scene. A fire report was filed. In January of 2008, the vehicle caught fire again at a rest stop. A police report was filed for this incident. There were no injuries. The vehicle was unable to be driven after the second fire. The failure mileage was 40,000 and current mileage was 140,000.
- Rigby, ID, USA
The contact owns a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that oil drips onto the exhaust manifold and causes it to smoke. He received a recall notice for NHTSA campaign id number 09V116000 and GM recall number 90047 (engine and engine cooling:engine), but was informed that the remedy would not correct the failure with his vehicle. The dealer stated that the plastic was warped and needed to be replaced. The contact stated that the repair cost was too expensive and the vehicle could still possibly catch fire. The failure mileage was 120,000.
- Dewey, OK, USA
The contact owned a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. After driving the vehicle for one and half miles, it began smoking and caught fire ten minutes later while parked. The fire originated from the engine compartment and the vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. A few days prior to the fire, the contact noticed a burning odor coming from the vehicle while it was parked. In November of 2008, GM informed the contact that the vehicle was not included in NHTSA campaign id number 08V118000. At that time, the dealer stated that it would cost approximately $400 to repair the issue. The contact could not remember what the dealer stated caused the failure. The current and failure mileages were 95,000.
- Moon Township, PA, USA
Lower and/or upper manifold cracked/ gasket 4 times. 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008- leaking engine coolant. The first 2 times the repairs were covered under warranty. In July 2007, had it repaired again at the Pontiac dealer for $1000. Discovered problem has re-occurred and coolant is leaking again as of Dec. 2008. Cannot afford another repair out of pocket. Just trying to keep coolant levels up by re-filling and keeping it parked away from the house and other vehicles for fear of fire.
- Collegeville, PA, USA
I own a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with a 3.8L engine. On Oct 31, 2008, my son drove into his mother's driveway and parked the car (engine off) and went into the house. A few minutes later (5-10) he returned to retrieve something from the car and discovered the engine was on fire. The vehicle is serviced regularly and ran like a top. No issues until now. Only the engine compartment was affected by the fire, but insurance says that it is a total loss due to extensive damage to external engine parts and electrical systems.
- Knoxville, TN, USA
On Sept. 26th 2008 my 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix gtp started on fire in the engine compartment and damage had occurred. There was a recall on the vehicle so I talked to GM and they took me through.. step by step of what I should do.. it has been two weeks and Pontiac has not sent anyone to investigate the situation so I am left with no car and no clue of any conclusion for this issue... they have also refused to provide me with a rental car until this issue is completed.
- Appleton, NY, USA
The contact owns a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. After being parked in the garage for ten minutes, the engine compartment of the vehicle caught fire. The vehicle had previously been driven for 5 miles. There were no prior failures or warning indicators. The fire was doused with a fire extinguisher. The vehicle was inspected to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was damaged and the carpet in the garage was burned. The current and failure mileages were approximately 89,000.
- Auburn , WA, USA
On the morning of Feb 11, 2008, I drove my car to the store (apx 5 miles) I then returned home drove my car into the garage shut it off and went inside. I was putting my groceries away as our smoke detector went off. I smelled smoked and ran around the house to try and find the source. I opened my garage door and flames were shooting out of the hood. They reached to the ceiling. My neighbor ran around the corner to my house I handed him a fire extinguisher and he yelled at me to try and open the hood. I did he then extinguished the fire.
- Auburn , WA, USA
The contact owns a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. The vehicle caught fire while it was parked in the contact's garage. The fire and police departments arrived at the scene and a report was filed. They stated that the fire originated from the engine compartment. The vehicle was destroyed. The garage sustained severe property damage. There was no recall information available. The manufacturer has not yet been notified. The failure and current mileages were 105,000. Updated 3/7/08
- Indiannopils, IN, USA
Purchased this car used, it was 2 years old with about 21K miles. Kept up with all maintenance. Dealer extended warranty for 3 months. But did not notify me when the original manufacturers warranty expired so I was unable to extend. Purchased a platinum warranty from aaa. Transmission "blew up" at 48K miles. Had it replaced per warranty w/a used transmission as warranty would not pay for new one. Drove the car for 19 mos and 12K miles and transmission blew up again! dealer said warranty was only good on transmission for 1 year and they are making inquiries as to whether I have to pay for another one even though my contract w/aaa warranty co is good to 8/10/08 or 83,894 miles. Why is my car eating transmissions"?" help!
- Manasquan, NJ, USA
- the contact owns a 2001 Pontiac grand pre gtp. The contact stated that on a daily basis she had a problem with the dashboard being too hot, or electrical heat radiating from the dashboard. Also, the contact stated that she had electrical problems in the past, and had to replace it on tar system 2 or 3 times. In addition, had a problem with there being a wine in the engine, and a smell of oil when she turned the car off.
- Temecula, CA, USA
I purchased a new 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix in December, 200. Never had any problems with it. On Monday, March 20, 2006 everytime I stopped at a traffic light or stop sign it wouldn't die but acted like it wasn't getting gas. I had to mash the gas pedal a couple of times to get it going. On Thursday, March 24, 2006 my car caught fire and burned after parked for 30 minutes. The flames were coming from under the hood. I contacted GM and their so-called expert supposedly can't determine the cause of the fire. No help.
- Enterprise, AL, USA
- Brogue , PA, USA