2001 Pontiac Firebird Base Coupe W68 3.8 from North America
Summary:
Great looking car that turns heads everywhere I go
Faults:
Transmission was throwing a code when I bought it. Turned out to be the torque converter. Changed it for $600 and has been fine ever since.
Had to replace ignition coils once at 100k miles.
Window motor needed to be replaced.
General Comments:
I love the looks of this car. I am constantly getting comments how good it looks.
I really like the roominess of the interior in the front seats. I am 6'4" and my Firebird is the only car I can stretch my legs comfortably in.
Gas mileage wise, I get 22mpg around town and I have gotten 32mpg on the highway doing 65-70 the whole way, with 100k miles on the engine.
It's pretty quick for a V6, however the V6 Firebird with the performance package is quicker due to the gearing, which I do not have.
The W68 appearance package looks amazing!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 15th December, 2010
15th Apr 2010, 19:27
I received a letter from Pontiac dated December 2006 that stated there was a problem with "some 2001 model year Pontiac Firebird vehicles equipped with the 5.7L V-8 engine, which may have a failure of the left or right catalytic converter".
The "Service Engine Soon" light would come on every so often, so I had the codes pulled and it gave something like "Rightbank Cat Under Threshold". I had to get it inspected and we have a smog check here, so I knew it wouldn't pass. Luckily, I remembered the letter from Pontiac!
I took it to Pontiac, and yes, one cat was bad! Long story short, they ended up replacing BOTH of them! The letter says 10 years or 120,000 miles, so you should still qualify!
I hope this helps, and I hope this works, because I have a copy of the letter posted at http://www.streetfire.net/photo/1918229.htm. We need to get this info out to ALL 2001 Firebird owners, so GM will fix their mistake!
1stbird.