1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE 3.1 V6

Summary:

I'm loyal to Pontiac but I'm starting to hear some bad things

Faults:

Hey I have a 95 Pontiac grand am and it has a 3.1 v6. I bought it last fall just before starting grade 12. When I fist bought the car it ran like a dream and then in the winter I came around a turn to fast, hit some snow and slid into the curb. I knew it was bad, but not as bad as it turned out to be. I needed to replace my CB shaft, my lower control arm, and my link! lucky enough I got the parts brand new for cheap cause my dad works at General Motors so I got his discount. After I got this replaced I kept hearing a grinding noise coming from my front right side wheel (the wheel I got fixed). Now when I start my car there is a weird tapping noise coming from my lifters. Just yesterday I was driving my girlfriend home and the tapping noise got really worse! I pulled the car to the side of the road and it stalled. I started it again and it stalled again. I thought it was my oil cause I changed it the day before and I put in 4.4 liters in, but I got told it wasn't that. It sounds like there is something broke and grinding. If I start it, its fine, but if I give a little gas it grinds and taps really loud. I can't even get the car to 100/kph (60/mph), and before she had no problem getting to 160/kph. thanks for the help. Send any problem solving tips to robbie_0250@yahoo.ca

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 31st March, 2005

1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE V6

Summary:

Very fast and cute!

Faults:

The driver's side window (which has a manual crank) won't roll back up when I roll it down. I think it's off track, but I'm not sure. I took it in to a shop, and let them try and fix it, but it still is having problems! Do I need a new window assembly?

The other problem I have with my car is that the interior door panel is a bear to try to get off. I broke some pieces on the panel trying to fix my first problem!

I bought the car for $1,000, so I really can't complain much, and I know it's not brand new either, but I can take care of it and see where that will take me.

And there is one more problem that the car has, it has an oil leak somewhere and I check my oil regularly, and my "check oil" light will turn on and off sometimes, but normally it's on, I think it's a lower main that has the leak. Anyone have any advice?

General Comments:

I like the body style of the car, I like how the car handles. The car in general is very fast, and is good on gas mileage too. Overall, I do like the car, and I would buy another one.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th March, 2005

1st May 2007, 08:52

The oil light is always on in my grand am 2.

1995 Pontiac Grand Am SE Quad 4

Summary:

Don't buy one with over 100,000 miles

Faults:

I recently bought my 95 grand am SE and right away I began noticing all of the problems that seem so common. The overheating, which stumped me, seeing as how it would only heat up while idling. An entire cooling system and replaced head gasket later, it was realized that the heater core was backed up and wasnt allowing air to fully circulate through the engine. Now that the cooling system is all reworked, my car is again in the shop, this time for my pistons, bearings, and cam shaft... Apparently running hot weakened my aluminum quad 4 and now everything else is going out... I haven't seen many comments on transmissions, so hopefully after this (my entire engine being rebuilt) my transmission won't go out the next day..

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 22nd March, 2005

23rd Mar 2005, 22:26

Unless you can`t avoid it, I would hesitate to buy ANY car over 100k.

20th Jan 2007, 23:52

The Quad 4 was a badly designed engine. Hopefully you can unload this car, and have pity for the next owner. That engine was plagued with head gasket problems, prone to overheating, among other things.

21st Jan 2007, 09:39

"Unless you can`t avoid it, I would hesitate to buy ANY car over 100k."

It depends on the person and their needs. My family has been buying cars for years with over 100,000 to use as runabouts--driving mostly within 30 miles of home, with the occasional hundred-mile or even thousand-mile trip if the car is proving to be reliable. The 100,000 mile mark used to be Big Taboo, but since the 1980's that mark doesn't seem to mean much. We have or have had a dozen American cars that reached and surpassed 200,000 miles, and we bought them at well over 100,000 miles. I think it is worth it if you get the car cheap, have the option to keep it near home (so you don't have far to walk or be towed if something does go wrong), and are willing to get a few things fixed periodically. It is also important to be the kind of person who is willing to religiously do routine maintenance, and not abuse machinery.