1996 Pontiac Grand AM electrical system problems

144 complaints about electrical system have been filed for the 1996 Pontiac Grand AM, which is 21% of all its NHTSA complaints. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

Complaints: 144 21% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage: 106,000 miles 20 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires: 1 and 12
Injuries and deaths: 4 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When electrical system problems show up

Based on 20 complaints that include mileage. 20% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.

View the numbers

Mileage	Complaints
0k to 20k miles	2
20k to 40k miles	2
40k to 60k miles	0
60k to 80k miles	1
80k to 100k miles	2
100k to 120k miles	4
120k to 140k miles	2
140k to 160k miles	2
160k to 180k miles	4
180k to 200k miles	1
200k+ miles	0

What the data shows

Of the 20 electrical system complaints that report mileage, the median is about 106,000 miles, and 20% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 12 fires, 4 injuries.

What owners wrote

Water getting into vehicle somewhere behind firewall. Started approximately 1yr. Ago. Caused all lights on dash to light up, now vehicle will not start, could not afford to have pontiac fix, although they did issue a warning regarding issue, but will not help with remedy.

Reported at 98,000 miles, September 2008 CrashInjury

Tl*the contact owns a 1996 pontiac grand am. The contact stated that the vehicle was difficult to start due to the theft system. Once the vehicle was started, it stalled at 40 MPH due to the theft system. The vehicle was taken to a mechanic, who stated that the ignition cylinder may have caused the failure. According to the owner's manual, the contact must wait ten minutes before restarting the vehicle after the failure occurs.

Reported at 181,271 miles, March 2009

Electrical system problems in other years

Electrical system problems across all Pontiac models