28th Nov 2012, 15:44
It's probably your locks on your door. If you tap your locks down, don't try to lock it, just tap it; you should get a beep, then close the door. The doors should lock and the horn should blow automatically. Then use the key to get in. Try that.
21st Dec 2012, 11:40
Hi, I'm asking all around the Internet, what is the best antifreeze for a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am GT? They say Dex-cool is what it uses, but then they say it can damage your car, so which antifreeze do you use for your car, since you haven't had any problems?
22nd Dec 2012, 15:41
As the former owner of an absolutely flawless 2001 Grand Am SE-1 with the awesome Quad Four engine, I strongly endorse these cars. My only complaint was having to replace the original brake pads at only 70,000 miles, but for the first 20,000 miles of its life the car was a rental car and was used a lot in stop-and-go city traffic. I attribute the premature brake pad replacement to that factor.
I never changed the Dex Cool in my Grand Am. I am a strong believer in following the manufacturer's recommendations, since they built the car and their engineers know much better about the car's requirements than the dealer (who wants to make money with unnecessary maintenance) or repair shops (ditto).
Other than the premature brake job I never had a single problem with my Grand Am. It was as good when I traded it after nine years as it was when it was new. These are some of the best values around in used cars.
11th Feb 2013, 12:25
About a week ago we traded our 95 Ford Explorer for a 2000 Grand Am. My wife loves these cars, so she jumped at the chance for a straight trade. Unfortunately she was lied to; the ad written for this car stated many untruths.
Our first problem started on the very day it was traded. Judging by the shape of the front brakes, I'd guess that this was 1 of the reasons the previous owner wanted it gone. The Grand Am would idle at 2000 RPM, which made holding the car at a light very difficult. If you experience this problem, it is the throttle positioning sensor. The part cost me $94.00 and has totally fixed the issue. The TPS is located on the lower right hand side of the throttle body. A good troubleshooting tip would be to start the car, open the hood and unplug the TPS; it has a purple color to it. If the idle returns to 800 RPM, then you have found the problem. Simply plug it back in and go to the local auto parts store for a new one.
The front brakes were destroyed (probably from holding the car at red lights while idling at 2000 RPM), which I replaced with new rotors and better than average pads. The calipers seemed fine.
Now, my issue is the cooling fans. The temperature gauge sits just over the halfway point, slowly climbing.
I will post here when I have figured out the problem.
12th Feb 2013, 12:07
The coolant temperature sensor was bad. After changing it out, the fans began to work again. Although I did notice that the anti freeze was almost all water, and had the radiator flushed and new Dex-cool installed by the local Jiffy Lube.
Does anyone know what the fuel mileage is for the 3400 V6? I'm curious. No owners manual came with the vehicle, and I've only been able to find the fuel mileage for the 2.4.
My next project is to have the transmission fluid serviced. I'm sure that it is the original fluid in there.
13th Feb 2013, 15:14
Leave the transmission fluid alone. Pontiac does not recommend EVER changing the transmission fluid in your Grand Am unless you subject it to VERY severe use, such as towing a trailer or doing all your driving in the city or mountainous areas.
Sometimes changing the fluid can actually harm the car. Several people I know have had transmission failures immediately after changing fluid in high mileage Pontiacs.
A good friend of mine who worked for a major national transmission service advised me not to change transmission fluid in my Ford that had 120,000 miles on the original fluid. He warned that it could cause problems. The owner's manual for my 2001 Grand Am clearly stated "Under normal service the transmission NEVER needs servicing." Mine didn't even have any place to add transmission fluid. In nine years I never touched it, and it shifted just as silky smooth when I traded it as it did new.
1st Jul 2011, 13:32
I have owned a 2000 4cyl Grand Am now for a little over a year. Car ran great until a couple weeks ago. Now I have major brake issues.
The low traction light comes on and I can hear the brakes compress, then a loud clanking sound, then decompress, and the car keeps on rolling. I wouldn't think too much into this if I were maybe listening to the song Big Wheels keep on rolling. However this is not the case.
But this is by far not my only issue. So I have that brake problem, and also the ABS light, Trac Off Light and Service Vehicle soon light will go off all at the same time, and with the lights comes the ding ding ding dinging. It makes me want to go play video poker. It sounds like I just hit the jackpot in a Vegas Casino. Not a good thing to happen if you're anything like me with a Poker habit that you're trying not to relapse from. Good for Oregon Lottery though, not good for your pocket book or bank account.
Oh, I didn't mention that I have now changed the brakes twice now and rotors once since owning the car, and I get grief from anyone that rides with me because they all hear the familiar sound of the grind. Lucky for me however, I have a kick ass stereo system that goes boom and masked that pesky noise.
Now let's talk about the cruise control... The one and only time that sucker decided to work was one random hot sunny day, I jumped into my car and discovered the cruise control light was on. I was on top of the world that day. It worked for 2 whole weeks. Sweet deal until I received an email from my insurance company, because my My-Rates insurance spy tracker deal I have installed so I can get cheaper insurance, had stopped working for the whole 2 weeks my cruise control worked. Weird!!
I would love to get into what an awesome job Pontiac did on their security system, but not sure how much room I get.
Anyhow, if someone knows or has any knowledge as to the issue, please email me, call me, send a smoke signal, drop a line or even a piano on my car would be fricken awesome.
Thanks, desperately going nowhere fast.
Jamie bratt28@hotmail.com 503-975-9612
P.S. No perves unless you honestly can help fix my car...
K and thanks.