1999 Grand Am powertrain with the transaxle keeps failing.

- Providence, UT, USA

I own a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am GT, began with a slow transmission leak that progressed to a larger one. Car was taken to transmission shop and found to have a cracked transmission. The transmission was cracked completely around and fell out in two pieces when taken out. The crack was at the differential, that caused a part to grind the inside wall of the transmission to the point where it cracked completely around. Every mechanic I spoke to never heard of this without hitting anything. I have seen this happen to mine and read a site where another Grand Am had this happen and his pictures are identical to mine. So going from never hearing of this from professional mechanics to happening to two seperate 1999 Pontiac Grand Am appears to have a pattern. I required to have the transmission to be replaced at a cost of 1116.50

- Heidelberg, PA, USA

I have owned this car for 3 years after buying it used.it had 32,000 miles on it and ran well. Now for the last year the transmission has continued to give me problems and is getting worse.I have had it serviced, computer diagnosed twice and had it serviced again. All of this has been out of pocket and cost me down time of use of my vehicle.it shifts hard (randomly), has hard vibration at idle, acts as if it wants to stall and is slow going into reverse. All of these problems seem to come and go.my local dealer states that are no known problems but I have spoken to two different owners that describe similar problems.

- Columbia, SC, USA

Transmission shifts improperly, rpms go up but vehicle does not accelerate like it normally should.

- Frankfort, IL, USA

1999 Pontiac Grand Am 2.4 L auto severe brake failure---replacement of pads 8 times, rotors 3 times and calipers 2 times in 80,000 miles. Brakes occasionally lock up and make loud grinding and squealing noises steering shudders and vehicle pulls to left.. participating Pontiac dealer failed to fix this problem since purchase at 11,000 miles. Under warranty replacement it has had 6 door panels due to peeling leather on top of panel, 5 gear shifters due to dealers improper installation, 2 factory cd/radio failures, 1 rack and pinion unit, 2 front strut assemblies due to knocking noise from front of car (went bad after 10,000 miles use), problem with hesitation at idle-cold start(unsuccessfully diagnosed by dealer) carpet loose in trunk around latch assembly(too short for trunk and was hot glued to back wall of car by dealer instead of replacement). Turn signals still occasionally fail to work(dealer said they worked just fine) battery connection in factory battery broke loose spilling corrosive battery acid all over around battery tray area. All four wheel covers have been replaced because of "pie pan" noise when you hit a bump (new ones did not fix problem). After warranty was up Pontiac' care hotline or the dealer could "care " less that after dozens of trips for repairs the dealer still didn't fix the car while it was still under warranty. Since then, besides the unrepaired items on my car, the alternator went bad at 60,000 miles ($120), glass in interior rear view mirror broke while adjusting, both outside rear view mirrors have broke off in two different automatic car washes (held into door by a stud mounted into 1/4 inch of plastic in the mirror). And the ignition switch failed at 75,000 miles($300). Fog lights and backup lights have water condensation in them shorting out bulbs. Surprisingly, this car is "babied",but by in my description you sure couldn't tell it.

- Foster, KY, USA

I have had to have the following repaired: The fan replaced 2 times, the brakes repaired 4 times, the radio replaced once, the water pump replaced once and the battery replaced twice. I am also having problems with the transmission it has been slipping. The intake gasket needs to replaced because antifreeze is leaking out and one of the lifters is knocking. Most of these problems started at about 30,000 miles and gradually there was just one problem after another. I took it in to the dealership for the tranmission at about 32,000 miles and since the dealership couldn't get it to slip they wouldn't do anything about it. The brakes started having problems at 40,000 miles. I called GM to complain about the car and GM told me there was nothing they could do because it was out of warranty. If it was still under warranty they would replaced the rotors because the rotors were to thin when the car was manufactured. I wonder why no recall was sent out on this. The brakes are an important part of a car. The battery, radio and fan were replaced at about 30,000 also. Then the fan was replaced again at about 70,000. The intake started giving me problems that about 90,000. The second battery was installed at about 95,000. The lifter started having problems at about 110,000. The transmission has slipped ever since I got the car.

- Nephi, UT, USA

Medal shavings in transmissions had problem under warretey and was fix, we think, should not have to pay for this problem when we believe the problem was never fix right the first time. We'll never ever will own a pontic again and will be getting rid of it if we can and will not talk very well of any Pontiac.

- Chesapeake, VA, USA

Transmission has been slipping since I bought car. A service dept. Worker taking me back to work pointed it out. When you put it in reverse it takes a few seconds for it to go into gear. In the winter it is very hard to get out of park. The dealership told me this was normal, but I had never had this happen in any other car I owned. When driving it sometimes does not always shift when it is suppose to and then when it does it slams into the next gear. When backing out of my drive and then putting it into drive to go down the drive it won't go into to gear (drive) for quite awhile. I have reported this to dealership they told me it was a computer problem and they reprogramed it. When I called Pontiac the dealership told them that they could not duplicate the problem. But told me it was the computer. So if I keep this car what happens now that there is not warranty when the transmission falls out.

- Quincy, IL, USA

When turning steering wheel back and forth, noise was heard, more noticeable when turning to the right. Consumer returned to dealership in July 2000 because noise was still present when dealership originally said there was nothing wrong with steering. A private mechanic stated that "thump" could be emitted from rack and pinion steering system. Please provide any additional information/attachments. There is a 3 to 6 second deoay in the transmission when engaging from reverse to drive, sometimes slippage occurs momentarily after the car engages into drive, battery leaks console latch failed. Nlm

- White Plains, NY, USA

While in ownership of my Grand Am I have experienced problems with the transmission, which has already been replaced once and I am still having the same problem plus now experiencing smoke from exhaust while driving, bottom line too many problems for a car thats not even two years old yet.

- Columbus, OH, USA

This is the third transmission failure on a '99 Pontiac that I am aware of. Manufacture/dealer contacted and offered no help.

- Bluefield, WV, USA

Consumer has had the steering pump replaced 4 times. Rack was leaking, and another leak was found. Dealer said nothing was wrong with vehicle. Vehicle was being repaired under warranty. Also, transmission was slipping, and there was a transmission leak about 4 months ago. Dealer was suppose to have repaired the problems, but the problems keep reoccurring. The horn malfunctions after being repaired twice. The fog lights are holding moisture. Speaker on passenger side failed. Radio sisplay is scrambled due to internal short. Right rear power window was inoperative due to switch failure. Trunk release inoperative due to chaffed wire. Transmission oil was leaking due to axle seal failure.

- Garfield Heights, OH, USA

While driving at highway speed, transmission lost gears upper gears. After towing it in, dealer said that gears 3 and 4 were completely gone. Explained that sometimes leakage occurs from inadequate seal from factory, causing this problem. Another Grand Am owner also had this problem, only at 37,000 miles, just out of warranty.

- Hattiesburg, MS, USA

Traveling at 68 mph in cruise control, vehicle experienced total transmission failure while engine reved 6000 rmp.

- Bowdon, GA, USA