Bulletins


BulletinBulletin dateReplacement BulletinItem no.SummaryAdded
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
010730032B11/01/2004010730032A628928Some owners may comment on a transmission oil leak. *tt updated *eh03/25/2002
POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY
990730030A04/01/2001990730030619370Owners of some vehicles equipped with hydra-matic 3t40, 4t60, 4t60-e or 4t65-e transaxles may comment on a grinding and / or growling noise that is noticeable when standing in park on a hill or slope with the engine running and the parking05/24/2001
99073003012/01/19995751136089996Some vehicles equipped with hydra-matic 3t40, 4t60 or 4t60-e transxales may comment on a grinding and / or growling noise that is noticeable when in park on incline. *tt03/01/2000
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
000730002B07/01/2002000730002A634985Concerns with slips, harsh upshift or garage shifts, launch shudders, flares, erratic shifts and intermittent concerns, diagnostic trouble code p1811 or p0748 set. *tt10/11/2002

Consumer Complaints


Fail datemilesoccurencesPurchase date
POWER TRAIN
907/02/1998
 A check for transmission fluid leak, bolts loose on pan tighten and top off, pan and/or gasket transaxle oil replaced. popping noice when braking now crunching noise. brake pedal bushing noisey, blower motor noisey. r&r or replace pedal and/or bushing, brake, motor and/or fan. vehicle will not start and battery is leaking, due to cracking, replace. pass headlamp fills with water, improperly sealed.
POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
05/13/2011180000
 The gas tank is not sealed in the the middle allowing gas and fuel vapor to leak from car! all the sway bar on the driver side has separeted due to the rack and pinion, car has no sound when turning to the right but if you try and turn the car to the left it is as if the power steering is going out and make a loud grinding noise and is getting very diffucilt to turn left, also the windsheild wiperdo not work proper and cause problems in the rain, the key get stuck in the ignition all the time,feel as if motor is twisting or moveing forward, will be contacting pontiac due to recalls and problems arriseing
01/01/20071000001
 I purchased a 1998 pontiac grand prix gtp from a friend of mine with about 97,000 miles on it. he said it was in good shape and running good. about 4 months after i bought it, it had around 102,000 miles on it and the transmission started to go. it suddenly wouldn't shift from park into gear sometimes. i had very little power in reverse, i had to rev the engine to 3500 rpms to get the car to budge in reverse. then the check engine light came on. i took it to a mechanic and he said the transmission had to be replace. he referred me to a shop that only works on transmissions and they confirmed that it had to be rebuilt. it cost around 2,000$ dollars and i have since read that this model car has a known problem for transmission failure around 100,000 miles. *tr
04/09/2004101/04/2002
 Transmission started making a whining noise and at times would shift hard and sudden. took to trans. shop, was told pontiac had put out a bulletin stating a problem with the trans. and what was wrong if a certain code came up.it turns out they have been having trouble with the pressure sensors on the trans.,and need to be replaced.this ended up costing 500.00. i called the pontiac dealer and was told it was something they were having trouble with but there was no recall.*ak
03/01/200457700206/23/1998
 This is the second transmission that i have had to put into my wife's 1998 pontiac grand prix. the first one died at 3600 miles and gm installed that one under warranty. now with just 57,700 miles on the car i am having the same exact problem and the car is technically out of its 5 year/50,000 mile warranty. the car is in no way abused and i religiously change the transmission fluid every 20,000 to 25,000 miles. i am an engineer and i know what quality is. from my search on the internet it's obvious that there is a big problem with these transmissions and it appears that gm is coping out on its responsibilities to its customers. i am the original owner of a 1969 pontiac lemans and with 220,000 miles on it i still have the original transmission (that's quality). it's time that gm owns up to this apparent design deficiency and reimburse grand prix owners for this problem. i can assure gm that this is the last american car that i ever buy and the same goes for my children and their children!!!! *ak
11/01/2003207/07/2001
 Ignition key occasionally (sometimes for few minutes,sometimes for days) gets stuck in the ignition lock in a slightly turned position. i've had this problem since 2002. one repair shop suggested that there may be a problem with shifter - brake pedal - ignition lock, but decided not to touch it. *la
07/18/200382307103/12/2002
 Battery blew-up and started small fire after i noticed the positive termanal leeking as i diconected the battery it blew acid all over the car and myself causing a small fire after replacing the factery ac delco battery the transmision slips when switching from 2nd gear to 3rd gear.*ak
04/18/2002101/03/2002
 Transmission sometimes will start to make a loud whining noise and start to shift hard and sudden. doesn't do it all the time,usually after i have been driving a while. also sometimes feels like it is surging. i heard the 3800 transmissions were a good transmission, i don't know. *nlm
08/31/2002111/01/2000
 No summary listed for above vehicle.
04/15/2002107/01/2098
 At 38,000 miles my dealer claims the transmission needs to be replaced. i believe this is a result of the uaw strike in 1998. *ak
11/01/1999507/01/1998
 Trans. upshifted while accelerating, engine stalled on onramp. occurred 5x. original complaint documented @ dealer, happened numerous times since then and now out of warranty. $3000 to fix an obvious (and commonly reported) transmission problem on this car. narrowly avoided 2 accidents after engine died. dangerous safety issue that needs attention by nhtsa and pontiac.
08/20/2000112/01/1997
 The transmission failed while i was accelerating onto an interstate highway from an on-ramp. this resulted in my inability to safely accelerate into traffic, forcing the traffic behind to take evasive maneuvers.
05/12/2000111/01/1997
 I was told by the dealer and gmc headquarter, in oder for me to get any kind of help from them or assistance, i would need to pay 300.00 first to find out if the trasnsmission is defect. and then they will what they can do for me. a customer service rep. told my husband boss that the company will give me the run around because i am a women. sgt lewis is in saudi for 3 mos. and i bridget lewis his wife have been dealing back and forth with the dealer and thegmc motors head office. i have sent letter to the bbb auto line they told me that they could not help me, because of the miles i have on our car. but i have been tolf that it is very unusally for a transmission to go out in a 98 . especally if you have kept up with all the car tune ups. from may 12 to may 17 my car was seen three time by a pontiac dealer. i have not bee able to get a good answer on why i am having this kind of problem. but the dealer in crestveiw fla. wants to charge me 2400.00 for a rebuild transmission. *ak
04/02/1998403/01/1998
 No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak
06/01/199805/01/1998
 Transmission and braking problems could cause accident & should be recalled. *ak
03/01/200005/01/1998
 Transmission problem to be looked into by dealer on 03-13-00
201/01/1998
 Transmission is making noise and surging. yh
1
 Performance shift switch / handle failed. *yc
POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION
11/04/2002
 Consumer stated that they could change the gears when foot is off brakes. dealer notified ts