Vehicle Data Hub

2002 Pontiac Grand Prix engine problems

Owners reported engine problems in 145 complaints for the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix, 35% of the complaints on file. It is the most reported problem area for this model year.

At a glance

Complaints
145 35% of this year's complaints
Typical mileage
122,000 miles 104 complaints with mileage
Crashes and fires
1 and 82
Injuries and deaths
2 and 0

Source: NHTSA owner complaints

When engine problems show up

Engine complaints by mileage, 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix Complaints by odometer reading in 20,000-mile steps. The median is about 122,000 miles. 0k to 20k miles: 2 complaints 20k to 40k miles: 3 complaints 40k to 60k miles: 3 complaints 60k to 80k miles: 10 complaints 80k to 100k miles: 17 complaints 100k to 120k miles: 15 complaints 120k to 140k miles: 10 complaints 140k to 160k miles: 16 complaints 160k to 180k miles: 13 complaints 180k to 200k miles: 7 complaints 200k+ miles: 8 complaints 040k80k120k160k200k miles Typical: 122,000 miles
Based on 104 complaints that include mileage. 8% were reported before 60,000 miles. The amber marker shows the median: half of these complaints happened before that mileage.
View the numbers
MileageComplaints
0k to 20k miles2
20k to 40k miles3
40k to 60k miles3
60k to 80k miles10
80k to 100k miles17
100k to 120k miles15
120k to 140k miles10
140k to 160k miles16
160k to 180k miles13
180k to 200k miles7
200k+ miles8

What the data shows

Of the 104 engine complaints that report mileage, the median is about 122,000 miles, and 8% were reported before 60,000 miles.

These complaints mention 1 crash, 82 fires, 2 injuries.

What owners wrote

While driving at 55 MPH consumer heard a loud noise. Vehicle suddenly veered to the left near the shoulder. Then, vehicle stopped, causing the consumer to sustain mouth injuries. Consumer discovered that the cradle for the motor only had one bolt holding it in place. The motor and all of the engine parts had simply fallen to the ground.

Reported at 65,000 miles, May 2004 CrashInjury

My 2002 pontiac grand prix with a 3.8 liter engine caught fire while I was out of state in detroit doing training for work. I parked at the hotel I was staying at after a short trip to dinner and back I park my car and 15 min. Later I heard two load pops (noise was front tires blew out because the fire got to hot) and looked outside my hotel room and my car was on fire and a co-workers car parked next to my car caught on fire there was hotel damage. Plus two cars totaled and no way home. It sucks!

Reported at 190,000 miles, January 2019 Fire

Other problems reported for the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix

Engine problems in other years

Engine problems across all Pontiac models