8.4
pretty bad- Typical Repair Cost:
- $270
- Average Mileage:
- 83,400 miles
- Total Complaints:
- 5 complaints
Most Common Solutions:
- change the ignition switch (1 reports)
- no solution, unhooked battery (1 reports)
- not sure (1 reports)
- replaced ignition switch (1 reports)
- replaced the ignition switch/harness assembly for $300 (1 reports)
electrical problem
Helpful websites
- No one has added a helpful site for this 2002 Grand Prix problem yet. Be the first!
A D V E R T I S E M E N T S
It started with the driver info center.. flashing off and on. Then I saw that by moving the a/c from 1 thru 5 would cause it to come back on. Also restarting the car it would come on. Once it was on and I was driving, it stayed on. The a/c switch stopped working on 2. Then 3... then 4... then 1 went out. Now, The a/c will only work on 5. Automatic headlights work only when they want to. The DIC is completely gone now although occasionally you might see a flicker of red light in the dark. The car is still running good as far as tranny and engine go, but these little inconsistencies are such a pain in the ass!!
I'm a single mom on a budget and this POS is my only means of transportation to work! I'm worried!!
Update from Dec 20, 2011: Thankfully I was able to find out that all the problems, even the ones that didn't seem to be related to one another, were all caused by a faulty ignition switch. It wasn't a repair that I was able to do myself or my boyfriend, but I bought the part at Autozone for around $95 and a local body shop put it in for another $75. An inexpensive fix, yes! Difficult to diagnose, yes! All auto repair people wanted to do a LOT more than was really needed. I am very thankful that I found information online that helped me diagnose this problem. I'm sure not ALL mechanic shops would try to take a person with no experience in auto mechanics for granted... but the ones I went to did. Maybe they just didn't know for sure what was causing so many different problems.... I'm glad I studied and I'm grateful for websites like this one where we can all work together and get an accurate solution! Although, I still have the issue where the key gets stuck in the ignition. The repair shop said that there is a tiny plastic bar that is supposed to be in the ignition which will release the key all the way when parked. This apparently fell out and was long lost before I ever knew it. This is completely unrelated to the ignition switch wiring harness and all of the other problems, and is the only problem of the many that the part did not fix. I can live with that since I found that there is a key "release" button on the bottom of the steering column. I just had to pop out a small plastic plug and now keep a small screwdriver or even a toothpick worked for a while! When the key gets stuck, no more restarting, backing up and pulling up... etc... just pop the screwdriver in there and turn the key. I'm getting really fast at that! Thanks again and I hope this review might help someone else if you experience this problem.
- Wendy A., HEMPHILL, TX, US