6th Jun 2005, 00:30

I have a 1996 grand am se. I know it is fuel injected, but I have to push the pedal down to get it to start could anyone tell me why?

11th Sep 2005, 15:39

Hey its too bad we couldn't find a GM rep to talk to us on the forum, maybe a retired or fired one would be best. Well unfortunately I have just received one of these wonderful cars, but fortunately it was free, so I won't run it down yet until I have it for a few days at least. The only good thing is that it was just e-tested and certified, something us Canadian's have to go through. The worst part is it has over 270,000 km on it, but still runs and sounds good. Maybe the poor sucker already fixed everything. YEAH RIGHT Oh by the way he told me about the key sticking thing.

25th Jan 2006, 20:23

I got a 1996 Grand Am SE about a week ago and it dies at random times and sometimes won't start, my mechanic says he checked with the scan tool and the theft system has a short and possibly could be causing this. If anyone knows anything else about why it does this, please e-mail me at jordonlocke88@yahoo.com

28th Jan 2006, 12:30

I have a 1996 Pontiac Grand am, and have had quite a few problems with it. One of the problems was it would just die on you while you were driving down the road, if you waited a few minutes it would start backup. About 1,000 dollars later we figured it out to be the ignition module.

10th Oct 2006, 17:28

I bought a 96 Grand Am from my mechanic and I will never buy another one again. It has been nothing, but problems for me when I really needed to have a dependable car. Its been something constantly. Lately there has been a strange rattling noise like somethings loose. Then it started acting like the battery was going on it. I'm assuming its the alternator and or the battery. This car is also hard to get in and out of so if you are elderly or have any physical disabilities I would not recommend this car. People have trouble lifting their feet over the threshold of the door or they get caught on it. I personally will not buy another car like this or one from this company.

7th Feb 2007, 11:13

I purchase my Grand AM off the lot in '96. With in the first week the radio went dead, returned to the dealer and they "fixed" it. A few years later the controls shorted out and the clock no longer displays. I had the same tape playing for 6 months. I had the alternator go in 2001. I had the stall out issue and it turned out to be an engine temperature switch that went bad that does not register with the computer. Since the part was not reporting an error code to the computer system my mechanic had a hard time finding it. I hope someone finds that information useful.

1st May 2007, 16:24

Have a 1996 grand am, but it needed a starter, but someone took it out, but know I have no idea where the wires go please help.

16th Aug 2007, 13:05

Sigh...I, too, have a 1996 Grand Am SE lemon. Trusted a mechanic "family friend" who knew I needed a reliable car. Coolant leaking, requires a gasket repair ($600). I know I was ripped off, now I just want it gone! Also the rain getting through to the driver's floor, and the hardest vehicle to get in and out of...I'll never do a Pontiac product again.

21st Aug 2007, 20:22

Let me start out with the fact that I am sad to hear that all of these people are having such problems with their GA's.

I have now owned my 1996 Pontiac Grand Am SE Coupe (L4 DOHC) for a number of years, the only time I had an electrical problem was when I first started adding things to it, I overloaded my system to where I quite literally exploded my battery under my hood, in which I had to replace both my battery and my alternator.

I had slight problems with the hesitation and stalling at first, all leading back to the vehicle is designed for octane ratings of 87 or higher, that fixed that problem.

Since the beginning of owning my GA I have added several aftermarket parts, which were rather pricy, but well worth it, I shall list them below along with avg. cost.

Upgrades/Aftermarket:

1. Short Ram Intake System ($250)

2. Simply installed Bosch +4 plugs ($20)

3. Eibach Pro Track Suspention System ($890) <- pro install.

Along with these upgrades I also run Royal Purple (tm) oils in both the crank case and the transmission.

I do have the gas door thing happen to me every once in a while, just get a can of penetrating lube and wet the punch down, usually that does the trick.

The one and only real issue I have ever had was a hose going bad on me which caused it to pool Dexcool anywhere I decide to park my car, replacing the hose myself cost all of $5.

They have released many recalls on the GA to try and fix problems, I am fortunately one of the proud owners of my Grand Am. With as few aftermarket parts on it I am well impressed with being able to stay neck and neck down the track with a BMW 328i.

SLC, UT.

30th Nov 2007, 07:48

We just bought a red 96 Grand Am with 72,000 miles on it from a private owner. We paid $2,000.00 for it. Nice looking car. My husband owns a gold 96 Grand Am and it has 180,000 miles on it and the engine still sounds good so we thought we were getting a good deal on the red one.

I guess we've had the red card, maybe a week. The engine has blown. There is a rod knocking. Sounds bad.

I have been told that the motor is notorious for leaky head gaskets and that makes the antifreeze leak and mix with the oil; then knock, knock, knock. Any feedback on this one?

16th Dec 2007, 16:55

We have had a 1996 Grand Am for 10 months. It ran really good till about 1 month ago, other than needing a new gas tank.

About a month ago, all the lights on the dash started coming on and off. The RPM and battery gauge would not move either. Two weeks ago I went to start it and it wouldn't start due to what I thought was no fuel in it. After we put gas in it, it still wouldn't start till about 10 hours later. I still had the dash light problem, but it started good.

Then 3 days ago, I went to the grocery store and came back out and it wouldn't start. My mechanic came to look at it and said my theft system was shutting it down. He said to turn the key to just before it starts for 10 minutes and it should reset itself. Well I still couldn't get it to start, so he went in the am to get it, and it started for him. He took it back to his shop and ran the computer on it. The code for the theft system was there, so he took it out. I was also told it needed 2 sensors for $200 each. But he didn't tell us what sensors they were.

My brother works on cars. He has his own computer, so he came to test it because he could get them cheaper. The one sensor that came up bad was crankshaft sensor. To get a new one would be $20. But we have no clue where it goes. I have no idea what the other sensor was, but my brother said it sounded like the crank was bad. So now I have a dead Grand Am in my driveway. The battery is dead because of trying to start it.