Owners have filed 3,551 complaints on the Pontiac Grand Prix, covering 1995–2008. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (632 reports). Worst years by volume: 1997, 1998, 2000; cleanest: 1996, 2003, 2008. 192 reports describe a crash, 703 a fire, 15 a death. On average the car was 6.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Grand Prix
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 3,551 Grand Prix complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 632 Read
Engine compartment caught on fire
The contact stated the vehicle burst into flames after being parked for 30 mins. The fire department was contacted, and extinguished the fire which occurred in the engine compartment. The vehicle had problems starting, and stalled intermittently prior to the incident. The vehicle was restarted and stalled again. It…
On july 7 2009 I was driving my 2004 pontiac grand prix gtp. Through out the day the car seem fine, I even washed it. I took my friend home and came directly right back home. A little while after flames were coming from under my hood. I immediately call 91 and about 10 minutes later they came and put it out
Steering 499 Read
- the contact stated that while driving the 2003 pontiac grand prix on a sunny day at 35 mph a deer ran out in front of the vehicle he swerved in order not to hit the deer and ran into a tree. The air bag deployed, the car caught on fire and was consumed by the fire. He had a hard time getting out the driver's side…
Steering pulled to the right causing vehicle to leave road, crash into tree, and burst into flames
Have had 2 motor accident and the air big never deployment
Electrical System 476 Read
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated that the fuse box began to catch fire. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who stated that the fuse box and the wiring harness needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated that the vehicle's speed reduced and smoke appeared under the front passenger side hood. The contact also stated that the gauges fluctuated and all the warning lights and the interior lights flickered. The vehicle was towed to a dealer who diagnosed that…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac grand prix. While driving approximately 45 mph, the contact noticed smoke appearing from the hood. The contact coasted the vehicle to an emergency lane, opened the hood, and noticed that the fuse box ignited into flames. The contact placed a towel on the fuse box, which extinguished the…
Engine 381 Read
The contact owns a 1999 pontiac grand prix. While driving 35 mph, the vehicle caught fire. The contact lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a pole. The contact was able to extinguish the fire. Neither a fire nor a police report were filed. There were no injuries. The vehicle was towed to the contact's…
The contact owns a 2003 pontiac grand prix. While the vehicle was parked, it caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department, but they were unable to determine what caused the fire. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacture was…
Vehicle was stationary, had been parked approximately 10 minutes. The vehicle caught fire and was a total loss. The cause is unknown, but we believe it has something to due with the recall about grand prix's catching fire
Exterior Lighting 330 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac grand prix. The contact stated while driving 70 mph, she applied the brakes and a vehicle traveling behind her continued to approach rapidly before steering the vehicle into a ditch to avoid a crash. The failure recurred numerous times. The contact was alerted by a police officer that…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac grand prix. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V519000 (exterior lighting); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. While driving approximately 45…
The ignition switch was hard to crank had to wiggle it a few times but they fix the recall and my brakes system is not right every time I switch brake pads out it still doesnt do any good and do to the brakes I had a fender bender but I fix it out of pocket brakes still go to floor and my lights went out like it a…
Power Train 235 Read
While driving my car on street I was struck on the passenger side in a intersection when a chevy maxi van struct me when running a red light. My airbag did not deploy and my vehicle was totalled. I sustained body injuries such as back and neck and financial hardship. I have never recovered from these injuries
The contact owned a 2005 pontiac grand prix. When the consumer exited the vehicle, it rolled backwards and crashed into another vehicle. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing but the technicians were unable to diagnose the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 5,000. Updated 02/14/12
The car recently had an engine fire about 15 minutes after turning it off. The entire vehicle was completely totaled. It was stationary and in a parking lot when the issue occurred, and the vehicle was not running
Service Brakes 215 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac grand prix. While driving 30 mph, the vehicle stalled and the brakes failed. The contact drove over a curb. The vehicle was towed to a local dealer and they replaced the PCM, fuse block, and the ignition switch. The vehicle was retrieved from the dealer on july 11, 2008 and then…
I had originally entered this complaint under 2005 pontiac grand am but the car is actually a 2005 pontiac grand prix. See original complaint and please relist it correctly under steering complaints. Thank you for your time and attention to this matter component: vehicle speed control 10051575 details: dt: the…
The contact owns a 2005 pontiac grand prix. While merging onto an exit ramp, the brakes failed and caused the vehicle to hydroplane, spin around, and crash into a pole. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 179,000
Air Bags 142 Read
On sept 25 2015 I was involved in a auto accident. I had to brake hard. My car was not damage that bad but my car caught on fire later that day and totally burned. A total lost. Once I received the recall notice I realized that is why my car possibly caught on fire due to hard braking. I was approaching an stop light…
My father-in-law was driving my grand prix and my mother-in-law was in the passenger seat. My father-in-law lost consciousness at the wheel and they went left of center and ran another vehicle off the road. My mother-in-law grabbed the wheel to avoid a collision and they went off the road to the right and went…
A vehicle turned in front of me causing a subsequent crash resulting in front damage to my car. Airbags did not deploy although bumper was torn off and hood bent. Additionally aside from the crash, my car has started losing power while driving. I was driving on the highway when it lost power. I was able to maneuver…
Grand Prix years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 12 | 15 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 14 | 18 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 8 | 3 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 37 | 48 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 3 | 36 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 15 | 83 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 12 | 96 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 8 | 140 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 13 | 108 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 12 | 55 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 28 | 93 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 18 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 803 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.4 |
| Worst single series | 22 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.9 years |
A model average of 4.4 hides a worst series at 22. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Grand Prix?
By complaint volume, 1997, 1998, 2000 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Grand Prix years are the cleanest?
1996, 2003, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac Grand Prix have?
3,551 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2008. Of those, 192 describe a crash and 703 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.