1999 Pontiac Grand AM problems
Owners have filed 1,318 complaints about the 1999 Pontiac Grand AM with NHTSA. Service brakes, hydraulic account for 19% of them — the clear leader, ahead of electrical system at 11.5%.
Complaints1,318
Crashes99
Fires15
Injuries94
Deaths18
What owners report breaking
Service brakes, hydraulic 19.0% · 250
Electrical system 11.5% · 152
Engine and engine cooling 10.8% · 142
Suspension 8.6% · 113
Visibility 7.5% · 99
Exterior lighting 6.2% · 82
Air bags 6.1% · 80
Steering 5.7% · 75
Severity
Of those complaints, 99 describe a crash, 15 describe a fire, 94 report an injury and 18 report a death.
Reading the numbers
Across the 15 model years of the Pontiac Grand AM in this data, 1999 draws the most complaints of any of them.
Filings have fallen off, 19 in the last three years against 47 in the three before. That is normal as a generation leaves the road.
The median odometer reading at the time of complaint was 70,000 miles.
In owners' own words
My front rotors have been replaced 5 times since the vehicle has been purchased. It has caused excessive grinding and vibration when applying brake. I also have noticed grinding on the outside of the calipers causing worry about this vehicles braking system. My rotors continue to warp. Gm won't define why the calipers are grinding on the outer side when atleast a 1 inch clearance available for any moving parts. Service brakes, hydraulic
Excessive vibration and grinding noise when applying brakes, vibration is felt throught the steering wheel. Condition has repeated five times, three times the dealer resurfaced the rotors, replacing pads once ( I paid), once rotating the tires ( I paid) and now they are refusing to perform any work (milage). There is a tech service bulletin that states the rotors should be replaced (#00-05-23-002, feb, 2000). Service brakes, hydraulic
Rotors warp too easily under normal driving conditions. Seems to be a debate over wether there exists a tsb for this problem or not. Wether or not a tsb exists, gm needs to fix this known problem so that the rotors don't need to be replaced very 15,000 miles. Mine lasted untill 35,000 miles because they were replaced at around 15,000 miles before they had a chance to warp.*Ak( dot number: tire size: p215/60r15 ) Service brakes, hydraulic
Verbatim from NHTSA filings. Complaints are unverified owner reports.
Safety recalls
Checking NHTSA for open recalls…