1993 Pontiac Grand AM problems
NHTSA has received 290 complaints about the 1993 Pontiac Grand AM, and 21% of them involve electrical system. After that come brakes (19%) and engine (18%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 290 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Electrical system 21% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 11 and 20
- Injuries and deaths
- 15 and 2
- Typical mileage
- 100,000 miles 15 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 0 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 1 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 0 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 5 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 1 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 3 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 4 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 1 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 15 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 100,000 miles.
Safety-related details: 11 complaints mention a crash; 20 complaints mention a fire; 15 injuries reported; 2 deaths reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 1993 ranks 11th most-complained-about out of 16 model years of the Pontiac Grand AM with enough data (145 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 1 safety recall campaign.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
1993 grand am was involved in accident. The car was hit in the front right passenger side. Then it caught fire from the front of vehicle.
Vehicle was parked and consumer turned the vehicle off. A noise was heard coming from the front. Consumer lifted up the hood, and vehicle caught on fire. Consumer was able to extinguish the fire. Then, drove it to dealer for inspection, mechanic determined that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. A recall issued did not include this vehicle due to VIN.
I was driving apx. 25-30 MPH on slush covered roads. I saw the car ahead of me braking, so I started to apply steady pressure. I was apx 8-10 car lengths behind, but I started to slide. So applied more firm pressure, still nothing. So finally I realized my brakes were not do anything so I pushed them to the floor and slowly turned the wheel to the right, to go in the ditch. I continued to slide. My ABS did not work at all.
1993 grand am engine head crack..according to my mechanic he's seen multiple head cracks on quad 4 engines. Caused anti-freeze fumes in the passenger compartment and puddle of anti-freeze under car.
Tl*the contact owns a 1993 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that the vehicle only starts in neutral, not park. The dealer stated that although the contact was experiencing the same failure as noted in NHTSA campaign id number 93v153000 (electrical system:ignition:switch), his VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle has not been repaired. The contact filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 150,000 and current mileage was 215,000. Updated 02-25-08