Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||||
| PIC-5351A | 10/11/2011 | 10042292 | Pontiac: certain vehicles are exhibiting inoperative blower motor, except on high setting or drl's inoperative or headlamps inoperative rather high or low beams and the rear window defogger is inoperative. *pe | 12/05/2011 | |
| 000604049 | 11/01/2000 | 617729 | Some vehicles built prior to vin breakpoint 1f136536 may exhibit intermittent malfunction indicator lamp / service engine soon indicator illumination; anti-lock brake system warning light illumination; stall / no start condition; various el | 03/24/2001 | |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||||
| 57 | 07/01/2003 | 10016464 | Wire harness may be stretched, or the pcs may not be oriented in the same position, after installing a service replacement valve body assembly. gm tech link. *tt | 09/13/2005 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 03/21/2012 | 174621 | ||
| Car was driven less than 2 miles. parked and when returned 15 minutes later troy ny fire dept had hood up and put out a small fire under engine cover. they said it appeared to be electrical in nature. this car had a recall issued and work completed to correct a engine fire issue on 9/24/2010 at 172,221 miles. i contacted pontiac and they gave me a case # and said they would take a look at the car. a couple of weeks later they sent me out a denial letter stating that nys only requires a 4 year from in service date warranty and that i was well past that timeframe. my concern is that their recall did not remedy the situation and that the work was completed before i even put three thousand miles on the car. | |||
| 04/13/2004 | 50000 | ||
| The car damaged the plenum three times, this cause multiple missfire until the car wont start; there is corrosion on spark cables, damaged the coils. all power window machinery and/or motors also damaged. | |||
| 04/11/2011 | 161813 | ||
| Early monday morning got into car as normal to go to work, turned the key to start and immediatly there was a loud thump then smoke started pouring out of hood area, i opened the hood and the engine was engulfed in flames, the noise was so loud it woke my family in which they called the fire department by then i had already ran to my boat to retrieve my fire extinguisher to put the fire out, luckily i had the extinguisher and was able to cancel fire department call and put the fire out by myself, now i am awaiting estimate from mechanic to see if engine can be salvaged or if it is a total loss | |||
| 04/28/2010 | 173000 | ||
| 1999 ponitiac grand prix gt. turn on blower motor to positions 1-4 and headlights go out and blower motor does not run. turn to position 5 and blower motor runs and lights come on. i have replaced the blower motor resistor and the results have not changed. there are a number of discussion groups and threads on the internet indicating this is a well known problem with ponitacs and the ignition switch. | |||
| 01/01/1999 | 1 | 1 | |
| Car over heats in stalled traffic. i have reviewed the overheating and car fire complaints in the defects data base and believe the main problem has not been identified: 'the computer will not call for full fan power' unless the a/c iis running.. driving the car with the windows down on a warm day in stalled traffic, will raise the engine temperature as the cooling fans are both running in slow speed and will not go to the high cool mode. but, turning the a/c on will speed up the fans to high and cool the engine. the computer should recognize the need for additional cooling with out the a/c having to be turned on. the increased engine heat due to this 'cooling system logic failure' will contribute to the oil leaks and engine fires that have already been reported to this agency. my vehicle, the radiator, fans, relays are all working as designed, and there are no diagnostic codes. thus i am advising that this is a defect in logic with regard to controlling the high speed function of the radiator cooling fans. having installed a new radiator recently and resealed the valve cover pans, i remain convinced that the problem is with the 'cooling circuit logic. *tr | |||
| 02/25/2009 | 135533 | ||
| Tl*the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand prix. within two weeks of purchasing the vehicle, the brake line failed. the contact pulled into her driveway and noticed that she was no longer able to brake. she took the vehicle back to the sales dealer and they repaired the failure, although she noticed in march of 2009 that the battery failed. the contact purchased another battery. the same day, the fuel pump and fuel filter malfunctioned, which the contact noticed when the vehicle was shut off. the contact had the failures replaced, but the vehicle still would not remain on. she had not taken the vehicle to the dealer or spoken with the manufacturer. the current mileage was approximately 135,700 and failure mileage was 135,533. | |||
| 10/30/2007 | 100000 | 1 | |
| Car caught on fire. *tr | |||
| 01/23/2008 | 135000 | 1 | 08/01/2007 |
| I had been home for approximately 5 minutes after about a 45 minute drive when i heard a loud pop outside followed by a loud boom. i looked out window a saw that my car was on fire. the fire department was called to put out the fire. i bought this car in august of 2007 from friends and i have not had any problems with it since. it appears that the fire started under the hood. the hood was melted to and fire personal had to pry it open to put out the fire. battery is still intact. my car is destroyed and i am now carless. i need to know what caused this. please help. *tr | |||
| 01/18/2008 | 43000 | 1 | 09/27/1999 |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand prix. ten minutes after the vehicle was parked, it burst into flames. the insurance company had the vehicle towed and the cause of the fire has not been determined. the fire originated from the driver's side of the vehicle. a fire report was filed. the current and failure mileages were 43,000. updated 02-07-08. *kb | |||
| 03/22/2006 | 0 | ||
| Date of incident: 03/22/2006 i drove my 1999 pontiac grand prix gtp to a department store over my lunch hour. i parked the car and went inside. i came outside less than 10 minutes later and my vehicle was in flames. the fire department arrived and put the fire out and my vehicle was towed. after my insurance company viewed the vehicle the determined the fire started in the engine and it was totalled. i have recently done some thorough investigating to find out that this has happened to several vehicles. | |||
| 12/10/2006 | 132000 | 1 | 03/01/2006 |
| Tl* the contact owns a 1999 grand prix gt. the contact parked the vehicle and after 10 minutes, the vehicle caught on fire in the parking lot. the failure mileage was 132,000. prior to the fire there were no indications of any engine problems. the fire was present underneath the hood of the vehicle. the fire department extinguished the fire, and stated that the cause was an electrical failure. the contact has pictures and the fire department report.*ak | |||
| 12/18/2006 | 894000 | 1 | 08/01/2002 |
| The car caught on fire while my daughter was buying books for school. the fire dept was called and now the car is totaled. *nm | |||
| 01/30/2006 | 99000 | 1 | 11/28/2005 |
| Had 1999 grand prix for seven months already had problems with drivers window not winding down. a part of the passenger door panel started to come off. now drivers seat belt won't latch, and is currently in the shop for broken valve spring and damage to the head gasket as a result from the broken valve spring. car only had 1 other owner and was running perfect also had perfect service records. *nm | |||
| 03/18/2005 | 101000 | 1 | 04/16/1999 |
| Dt: car was parked and caught on fire while engine was turned off. the car was destroyed, the whole engine department was consumed. fire dept came. gm sent engineer out to inspect damage. contacted gm, and they did not share results of that report, stated nothing was wrong,-no defect found. *ak | |||
| 08/01/2004 | 1 | ||
| Problems with car failure on 1999 pontiac grand prix. *mr (stalling problem) the service department could not duplicate the problem. *sc *jb | |||
| 01/05/2004 | 27000 | 1 | |
| After parking the vehicle for ten minutes, a fire started under the hood on the driver side. *jb | |||
| 01/13/2004 | 2 | 11/29/2001 | |
| Multiple repair problems--air plate was repaired--new engine installed after having only 54,000 miles with regular oil changes--electrical problem with radio display--now back passenger tire/possible axle, strut; sounds like back tire is about to fall off upon hitting bumps in the road/driveways or turning. i have not had this checked out-am now unable to drive vehicle . *ak | |||
| 01/20/2003 | 43000 | 1 | 04/01/1999 |
| Drove 10 minutes to work, 10 minutes later, someone yelled there is a car on fire! i found out it was mine. flames were showing under the engine compartment. the vehicle was totaled. gm blamed the fire on the dealer installed alarm system. there was no warning of anykind. the fire spreaded quickly. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 09/09/1999 | 0 | ||
| Axle bearing went out, causing a real loud noise. took to dealer and they fixed the problem. also, alternator went out, and was also making a noise. took to dea ler and they replaced power steering pump and altenator. rear window switch also went bad and stopped working, took to dealer who replaced that. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 05/23/2005 | 43173 | 2 | 06/29/1999 |
| On may 24, 2005, my care (1999 pontiac grand prix) had a hard time starting. it seemed as if the car didn't have enough power. i immediately suspected the battery. i drove the car around to see if it would recharge itself. after driving the car, i let it sit for about an hour and tried it again. the car was completely dead. i decided to pull the battery and have it tested. i disconnected the (-) terminal and noticed the the (+) terminal was very corroded and there was a lot of corrosion down the side of the battery as well. when i pulled the cap off the (+) terminal the entire terminal pulled off the battery and battery acid spilled out onto the belts, hoses, and cables in that part of the car. i quickly pulled the battery out of the car and put baking soda on the acid to neutralize it as best as possible. i have purchased a new battery but now have to replace the (+) battery cable as it is so corroded, i cannot get the terminal off. i have a huge battery acid stain on my garage floor were the acid spilled out. at this time i do not know if the other belts, hoses or cables need to be replaced as well. i had to dispose of the battery, but i still have the cable. my car has never been involved in an accident nor has it be driven over rough roads. i spoke with a friend who has the same car and he had the same thing happen to him a year ago. after find this out, i went back to look at where the battery sits and noticed that there is nothing there to really hold the battery down except for the cables. the pressure of holding the battery in place is resting on cables and terminals which were not made for that purpose. | |||
| 1 | 03/01/1999 | ||
| No summary listed for abov evehicle. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 12/20/1999 | 06/01/1999 | ||
| Car will die. sometimes when pulling out in intersection, at about 10mph. you don't know when this is going to happen . it has done it 11 times in about 5mo. this is very dangerous , because you don't know if this is going to happen . you are in the middle of the road with no power. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION - SWITCH | |||
| 01/08/2001 | |||
| Vehicle became full of smoke while being started in garage. also locking consumer within vehicle, and unable to get ou.; neighbor was able to get consumer out of car before local fire department arrived on location. feel free to provide any further details on this matter. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 10/10/2003 | 49982 | 7 | 09/07/2002 |
| On several occasions over the last 6 weeks the car has stopped/turned off/stalled. sometimes it restarts easily and sometimes it won't restart. car has been to the dealer 3 times and they can't duplicate/diagnose the problem. happened 3 times one night when it was raining. *la | |||
| 05/27/2002 | |||
| While driving under 30mph engine check light came on as vehicle started to accelerate. engine started to sputter and misfire, causing consumer to take vehicle back home. vehicle would not restart due to engine locking up, and causing starter to completely fail. dealer determined that intake manifold cracked. please provide more information.*ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING | |||
| 04/24/2007 | 162000 | 1 | 08/09/2002 |
| Automobile caught on fire at work. nothing was wrong with it. totaled vehicle along with damage to two others sitting next to it. *jb | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 02/25/2008 | 97988 | 1 | 06/19/2006 |
| Our 1999 pontiac grand prix gtp has run fine since our purchase in june of 2006. it was in extremely good condition, 1 owner car. my son drove it to work on 2/25/08 and 15 minutes later it was engulfed with flames in the engine compartmentalize no red light indication or no smell or order. just parked it at work then 15 minutes later it was on fire. *tr | |||
| 01/23/2008 | 135000 | 1 | 08/01/2007 |
| I had been home for approximately 5 minutes after about a 45 minute drive when i heard a loud pop outside followed by a loud boom. i looked out window a saw that my car was on fire. the fire department was called to put out the fire. i bought this car in august of 2007 from friends and i have not had any problems with it since. it appears that the fire started under the hood. the hood was melted to and fire personal had to pry it open to put out the fire. battery is still intact. my car is destroyed and i am now carless. i need to know what caused this. please help. *tr | |||
| 05/25/2007 | 104000 | 02/12/2005 | |
| I was heading home and while i was driving my 1999 pontiac grand prix gt caught fire. when i pulled over, and shut the car off, none of the locks unlocked and none of the windows rolled down, by the time i found the locks on the door, there was so much smoke inside the car i could not see the steering wheel. | |||
| 11/01/2006 | 134000 | 1 | 04/15/2004 |
| My 1999 pontiac grand prix gtp had been parked on my mother's carport approx. 10 minutes when i looked out to see smoke. rushing outside the entire hood area of the car was engulfed in flames. had the local volunteer fire department not have responded within 10 minutes, her home would have been destroyed. damage to the car was a total loss, damage to my elderly mother's home in excess of $6,000. the fire department was unable to determine exact cause, but said it appeared to be faulty wiring. no previous problems with anything on the car to indicate a fire was about to occur. *jb | |||
| 12/04/2006 | 82500 | 1 | 01/15/2002 |
| Tl*- the contact stated that after driving the 1999 88 oldsmobile gtp at 15 mph the contact went into the store for not more that 5 minutes when she noticed smoke coming from under the hood. the fire department came, opened the hood, and the front of the vehicle became engulfed in flames. the fire was extinguished, and the vehicle was towed to art moran pontiac collision shop. the cause of fire was not determined. *ak | |||
| 02/09/2003 | 65000 | 1 | 10/01/1998 |
| The event leading up the failure was i drove it. there is something wrong here. when 25+ cars burn down for no reason. what does it take for pontiac / gm / government agencies to acknowledge a problem and reimburse people for their loss? death? there have been too many pontiac - grand prix -gm 3800 series engine fires. all i did was park my car after driving and within 5 minutes of parking my car in feb of 2003 it burned to the ground. there were no malfunction indications, not over heated and ignited while i walked away. fire marshal and independent investigator said the fire originated in the engine compartment, near the drivers head lamp area. it had a bumper to bumper gm policy in effect as well as full insurance. pontiac laughed when i called. the gm insurance underwriter called me an idiot and hung-up. then my insurance company tried to have me accused of arson. even though their investigator could not find anything....why? take the publics money and at the first sign of trouble hide billion dollar companies behind politicians and the laws and agencies designed to protect us? *nm | |||
| 10/26/2001 | |||
| Had just parked vehicle and walked away, and another individual informed owner vehicle was on fire. passenger had popped hood and hosed down inside, and put flames out. fire department was called. no indication of cause. vehicle towed to dealership. mechanic indicated wiring harness was likely cause.*ak | |||
| 04/11/2000 | 12/01/1998 | ||
| No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 08/16/2006 | 133000 | 1 | 11/21/2005 |
| Electrical fire in the dash of a 1999 pontiac grand prix. it appears to be caused by an overheated sensor indicator. *jb | |||