19th Mar 2004, 18:07

I have a 2001 Aztek AWD GT. Recently, my A/C stopped cooling properly.

Seeing that so many others have the same problem (s) is enlightening.

My lift gate has problems disengaging on the first try also.

When I'm stopped on hills, my Aztek occasionally starts rolling backward, as if it was in neutral instead of in gear.

I think I will try to find the contact info for the district service manager, because I don't think the dealer is going to do much about it. Has anyone tried this?

23rd Mar 2004, 10:20

How many times are they going to say a stone hit the condenser to car owners, before a recall is done. There seems to be a definite problem with the condenser's leaking in the Aztecs.

Betty from Bedford.

13th Aug 2004, 17:34

My AC condenser went on my 2001 Aztec. I brought it to a local shop who said he has replaced many of them and described the original part as defective. The cover cracks.

Also, my Service Engine Soon light kept coming on and after numerous times of having it checked I finally gave up and have left it on, which has now been for two years and the car operates fine.

29th Aug 2004, 07:49

I have been experiencing the same difficulties with my 2001 Aztek as others. My a/c went last fall - $600 to replace & I'd rather sweat. The tail lights are peeling & the tailgate does not open on the first push of the interior button. It engages fine with the remote. Also, my driver's side seat has a spring poking through it.

I sent an email to GM to complain about the defective a/c. I received an email within 24 hours stating they are not required to recall it since it does not pose a safety hazard.

I love my Aztek, but am very disappointed with Pontiac and probably will not buy another Pontiac.

16th Dec 2004, 07:43

Logistically, I love my 2001 Aztek as well, BUT... I had the A/C condensor problem (replaced under warranty), one of the rear seats was jammed & couldn't be removed. When the dealer tried to force it, the lever broke & needed to be replaced. Right now, it's at dealer again. I had to have it picked up via flatbed when it wouldn't go into gear. The dealer called after inspection and said the trannie was toast. He said it looks like a bomb went off in it. He said it must have been "hot shifting", but I've never heard that terminology before.

You know, I'm a Ford guy at heart, but I've bought a half dozen or so Pontiacs over the years. I had a 1968 Tempest that needed the drive shaft replaced twice. A 1978 Firebird Esprit that couldn't get out of it's way. And a 1981 Sunbird Formula that went through 3 manual transmissions.

3rd Jul 2005, 19:11

I've loved my aztek until my condenser cracked and I had it replaced to find out that the air conditioner still doesn't work. The compressor won't kick on now and all kinds of things are going wrong with the electrical system. The mechanics can't seem to find out what's wrong.

12th Oct 2005, 11:02

I have been experiencing the same difficulties with my 2001 Aztek as others. My a/c went last summer - $700 to replace & I'd rather sweat. The tail lights are peeling & the tailgate does not open on the first push of the interior button. It engages fine with the remote. Also, my driver's side seat has a spring poking through it.

My check engine light has been on for months and just a week ago everything except lights stopped working, I don't know how fast I'm going or how much gas I have or even my miles. Has anyone else experienced this and how was it fixed?

30th Oct 2005, 09:10

Help! I have a 2001 AWD Pontiac Aztec. My gearshift won't come out of park. I had to open the bypass and use it each time to come out of park! Does anyone know what is causing this? At first I thought it was the brakes because we heard air when depressed. I had the brake pads replaced, but it still won't come out of park. If found someone had a problem like that with a different vehicle and it was a wire, but my brake lights work fine. Someone else said it may be a solenoid - but which one and where is it? I called Pontiac and they just told me to take it to a dealer - that's too expensive! I would really appreciate some input.

27th Jan 2006, 18:16

I have a 2001 Aztec 2WD that I purchased used in 2004. I have not had the peeling rear lights that other people have mentioned. The lumbar knobs are broken on both sides. The driver side broke the day we brought it home. I think either dealership or former owner only partially fixed previously.

I have the same problem with the rear hatch as many others have mentioned. Auto shop said they could repair for $450, not really worth it. My AC condenser went out at about 40,000 miles. Warranty had expired, cost about $1000. Engine makes a weird grinding noise at the start on occasion. Now the thermostat went at 49,000 miles. I have heard a lot about bad transmissions starting to get worried. Might replace soon.

Nice ride, but hate the repairs.

13th Mar 2006, 12:37

We had the same problem with the rear hatch until the dealer showed us the little black knobs along the side of the frame. If you turn those it will adjust the hatch so it opens on the first try. You still have to do it periodically, but it relieves some of the frustration. As for the A/C, lumbar knob, and grinding noise when starting, I have the same things. Don't know what I'll do about those yet.

30th Mar 2006, 17:02

Bought my 2003 Aztec in early 2004 with about 11k miles. The hatch never worked properly - when you push the remote button, you hear it click, but it just wouldn't open. Same thing with the interior hatch release button. That problem was (hopefully permanently) just fixed by the dealership, the paperwork reads "poor actuator at rear hatch actuator N6636.5 tested and straightened connector at read hatch release actuator and adjusted only". Maybe that will be of some help to someone with the same problem.

My main issue is with it locking in park, and I can't get it out of park until I turn the car off, then turn it back on. Sometimes it unlocks on the first try, other times it takes several tries. All times, but one, it only locks when I have been driving, then put it in park, then back in drive. (Like waiting in a drive-thru, etc) On one occasion it locked in park, and I knew I would have to turn it off and wait a minute, so thought I'd roll down the windows first. When I hit the driver window button, the radio cut off, the window would not roll down (none of them would) and on the radio display screen it said the word "LOCK" or "LOCKED".

We took it to the dealership this week, they replaced the 'floor shift control assembly', and we hoped it was fixed. I drove it home, went inside a few minutes and came back out, and immediately upon starting it, it was locked in park and would not shift! That was the first time it was stuck in park immediately upon start-up.

It's back at the dealer again now, and they are saying they cannot duplicate the problem, so they can't do anything. I told them of all the people I've seen on different forums talking of this problem, but of course, they say they've never seen this problem in the Aztec before, and that GM has no record of this being an issue. So, if you have this problem, please tell a little bit about it in detail here. Maybe we can all get together and have something done. If you have successfully had this problem fixed, please post what was done, the part/s replaced, etc, so maybe the rest of us can convince our dealerships of the problem and actually get it fixed! I've got 28 days left on my warranty, so I fear I will not be able to get it fixed in time - any info would be greatly appreciated, and not just by me, but apparently by many of us with this infuriating issue!