28th Oct 2007, 10:21

My parents purchased a 1996 Pontiac Grand Am Se in 1996. It never gave them as many problems as it is giving me. I have been driving this car for 5 years. I do the maintenance on this car. However ever since I have driven this car it has done nothing, but give me problems. I have had to replace the all of the injectors, alternator, battery, different hoses, recently it has been the compressor, 3 new gas caps, and last night when I was going to my friends house this obnotious noise started coming from the engine and the sound only got worse when I accelerated. Also right now my engine light has been on for the past 2 months it goes off for a couple of hours and then comes right back on. So please do not get this car if you are a college student like myself. Look at a different car!

28th Nov 2007, 12:49

I have a 96 grand am SE with the 3.1. This car now has 201k on it and have never owned a better car. As long as the body looks good I will continue to keep it on the road. The only major problem I have had with this car is alternators and brakes.

19th Dec 2007, 14:29

I own a 1996 Grand Am GT 2 Dr with the 2.4 twin cam. I bought the car less than a year ago with 136,000 miles. I bought the car for only $2,600. The car overheats during the summer in city driving. Then when it got cold in the morning when I wanted to go to school, it would not start. It would jump and stutter on acceleration and occasionally would die while I was driving, but started right back up. The engine light would come on every once in a while, then would just shut off. Then finally it died and would not start, so I got it towed and found that the fuel pump went out ($800). Both window motors died. There is a clunking in the front which is the front control arm bushings ($400) and the AC compressor is gone, but I'm not too worried about that.

I'm glad my car has not had some of the other major problems as some. The car still looks beautiful though.

13th Jan 2008, 09:15

I too have a 1996 Grand am SE that is having starting problems. Does anyone know much about the theft system? Can this cause this? It will start then stall. It will not start again till the key is turned all the way off. Please help.

THAYS@windstream.net.

14th Jan 2008, 19:27

For those having problems with the theft system - I recently have had problems with water in the car and the theft system. To start your car, turn the key to the on position and wait approx. 5 minutes and then turn the key to start the car. The theft system resets itself by doing this... The only problem is I have to do this every time to start my car right now.

27th Jan 2008, 05:48

Have a 98 Pontiac grand am SE. It has 140k on it. The problems I have had was 1 alternator at 90k and the drain holes underneath the windshield cowl got clogged and water drained in the passenger floor when it rained. Also I've replaced the control arm bushings. I had to take off and clean the idle air control valve, and replace the O2 sensors. All pretty minor and normal maintenance. I am no master mechanic, but I have worked on all my own cars since I was a teenager. Most of the complaints are normal maintenance degradation that would appear on any car with such high mileage. Even my wife's Camry (Oh no an import) falls victim to similar ills as it ages (200k). All in all the grand am is a very cheaply built car, but the drive train has proved more than reliable, at least for me. If you want to avoid all the costly repairs, my advice to you would be to learn how to fix it yourself, and learn how to give your car the TLC that it deserves.

2nd Feb 2008, 20:21

I have a 2002 grand am SE. First thing to go was the water pump. 8 hour job had to tear the engine down to the timing $800. The next month the ignition went out and cost me $250. the next month the fuel pump relay went out. $46. Also replaced the driver side window motor, heater core, the blinker system was shorting out causing the blinker to constantly click, and at 130,100 miles I threw a rod through the back side of the block doing about 15 MPH and the centrifugal force from the piston knocked another hole in the other side. I just got the car back today after a $2100 - 21k mile engine replacement. These cars are money pits. INVESTIGATE! INVESTIGATE! INVESTIGATE! Before you buy a GM vehicle!

12th Mar 2008, 12:46

I bought a used 1996 Pontiac Grand Am V6 on 2/11/2008, I have had the car for 30 days as of today. The car has been in the shop more than I have been able to drive it. First and foremost, I found a propane tank in my trunk after a few days of having it. I thought it was the reason I was having an awful odor of gas in my car, later in the week I found out I had to have the gas tank replaced as it was rusted out, the exhaust system had to be replaced as well. Two days after I got it back from the shop, the window on the driver's side fell (it is a power window) and the whole interior of the door fell apart. Now it is back in the shop due to some kind of hose replacement and the intake gasket went (as the car went up in smoke as I was driving it). Can anyone help me out on the Lemon Law and what my rights are? Email me at tera419@msn.com.

24th May 2008, 17:39

Own a 96 Grand Am GT with 150.000. Got it from a so called friend did not have the car more than 1 day.

The battery died within 3 more days, and the upper intake gasket went bad to the tune of 750.00.

The speedo cluster went a day after getting the car back; another 300.00.

The car is a piece of junk.