1992 PONTIAC Grand Prix

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I would have to research all the dates needed for above info. My 1992 Pontiac Grand Prix SE is a hazard to my health and everyone else on the road. I have smoke from steering wheel and loss of power at any given moment, and much much more.

Anti lock brakes experience brake fading continually.

Starter malfunctioned. *ak

Head gasket failure. *ak

Abs brakes failed in the on position, causing left rear wheels to lock up. *ak

Head gasket failed. *ak

Vehicle continually stalls while driving.

Transmission fails to shift into gear during cold weather; no problem during warm weather. *ak

Engine locked up due to valve seating being off.

While driving a vehicle turned in front of the vehicle, brakes hard, could not stop while traveling 40mph, result in hitting the other car and seat belts did not catch and steering wheel broked after pushing on it.

Brake problems.

Transmission slips when put in reverse.

Vehicle continued to roll backwards after being shifted into drive gear, resulting in two accidents. *sd

Brakes occasionally have to be pumped in order to work. *dsh

Instrument cluster module failure. *dsh

Rear caliper slides failed, causing rotors to rust out. *skd

Loose contacts on ignition switch, causing stalling/smoking. *ak

Transmission jumps into reverse gear on hills/inclines.

Rear brake bushings froze, also brake pads too hard/rotors warped, pump too small, causing excessive braking effort. *skd

Front end misaligned, causing vehicle to pull, also balanced wheels. *ak

Defective temperature gauge, also check engine light comes on.

Power steering pump failed, causing steering to bind.

Replaced worn front brakes/resurfaced rotors. *ak

Transfer case (4wd) failed.

Resealed steering gear.

Replaced steering rack.

Replaced servo cover.

Engine gasket failed.

Tl* - the contact called to report recall 91v214000 concerning power train: automatic transmission on 1992 pontiac grand prix. the contact called a dealer), and was told that there was no recall on this vehicle. the contact stated that he was not the original owner of the vehicle, but that the vehicle had been in his family since it was purchased new. the contact stated that the transmission failed ,and the vehicle will not go in reverse, the failure began in early november. the contact stated that neither weather nor speed were contributing factors. also he stated that the transmission has been getting worse for more than a year, slipping when he tries to switch the gears. the contact would like to have his car repaired as stated in the safety repair. the contact stated there were numerous failures with switching the gears. *ak

The steering column on my 92 pontiac had started to smoke three times since i've owned it. the first time was in 1994. the second was around 1996. the last time was last month. the last time was the worst. each time i shut off the key and it would stop smoking. *jb

I had bought a car from a used dealership and there is a lot of things wrong with it that i feel that it shouldn't have even been sold. i feel that it falls under the lemon law act. it has been to the repair shop lots of times and they still haven't fixed it and now they are telling me that they wont fix it and one of the things is that the odometer does not work and i told them that and they won't do nothing to fix the problems with the car. so please get in touch with me so i can find out what to do. the car is still under warranty with the dealership. thank you, jamie hochstetler. *jb

Dt: the contact owns a 1992 pontiac grand prix. while driving passenger side front wheel cracked all the way around the lugs: nuts causing the wheel to fall off. vehicle is still in the repair shop. this did not cause a crash, but had the vehicle towed.*ak

Vehicles runs rough and hesitates due to an ignition module failure. consumer has replaced the ignition module once before, and a couple of months later problem recurred. *ak

I would have to research all the dates needed for above info. my 1992 pontiac grand prix se is a hazard to my health and everyone else on the road. i have smoke from steering wheel and loss of power at any given moment, and much much more.

Consumer stated vehicle overheated due to the intake manifold failure and coolant leaking inside the engine. *ak

Heard large bang under hood while driving on freeway. took car to dealer since it sounded like engine trouble. dealer identified problem as spark plug blew out of engine. plug and cables appeared to be original (approx 150000 miles). dealer thought this might be related to currents in aluminum engine wearing down spark plug threads due to elecrolysis. he explained that all spark plugs are in a state where they could blow out and so advised that head needed replacement at $1800. since parts appeared to be original and problem appeared to be design flaw i called pontiac and asked that they foot the bill. pontiac said that i was supposed to change plugs every 30000 and refused.*jb

1992 grand prix - engine cradle to body bushings. i was drive at 60 mph when the washers for the body bushings gave way and caused my car to lose steering. i was lucky and didn't cross the center line or involve any cars but did end up in the ditch with damage to my car due to loss of steering secondary to engine cradle body bushings giving away. this exact part was recalled on similar vehicals up to 1990 models. this is a serious issue and next time the consumer may not be as lucky as myself. i feel gm should have increased the models of their recall. *ak

Indicator lights on instrument panel light up erratically. read that this was somewhat common in this model. started with "check gauges" light, then the "low gas" indicator light and now the "service engine soon" light. car was tested and no mechanical issues found - issue is electrical or other - not fixed due to cost .*ak

1992 pontiac grand prix has had turn signal issues for well over a year now. they would not work very well most of the time. i saw smoke coming out of the column a couple of times recently. they recently stopped working altogether. dealer said they had heard of it often and a replacement part costs in excess of $150.00 not including labor. this is definitely a safety issue.*ak

Head gasket failed - was advised not to attempt repair (estimates started at $1000 assuming no additional damage was found after the job was started) if nhtsa wants the corpse for an autopsy, will be happy to donate. *ak

The paint on my hood, doors, and between my rear side windows and rear window is peeling off.

Consumer states the windshield wiper arms do not "park" at correct location. when disengaged, arms stop directly vertical on windshield obstructing consumer's view while driving. related recall 99v348000 v.i.n. not included.

While driving 20-25 mph right front steel rim separated within middle of rim. dealer and the manufacturer have not been notified at this time. feel free to provide any further information.*ak

While backing out onto the street, the cradle bolt broke, this resulted in engine dropping onto frame/ separation of steering column, and failure immediately of direction control. *ak the dealer stated that the rusted washers caused the cradle bolt to break and installed spacers, insulator and retainers. *yh

Turned on ignition smoke came out of steering column behind the wheel. smelled electircal. *ak

The rear brake wasn't working and almost caught on fire, please describe . *ak

While driving,smoke come from under dash, all wiring burned/melted, no flames, caused by accelerator rigid rod pivot bolt interference. *ak

When applying the brakes, the rear brakes locked up, front brakes slowed car down. please describe. *ak

Rear and front disc brakes are corroded, purchased car new. please describe . *ak

The ignition switch caused the car to catch fire. tt *slc

Power steering system has failed, total loss of power steering. tt

Wheel and tire separated from vehicle while driving the vehicle. tt

The emergency brakes lock-up the rear system which causes smoke while driving. tt

Replaced rear brake caliper, also replaced right rear brake pad/hose and emergency brake cables. *ak

The trunk on the vehicle caught fire. tt

The vehicle has had excessive wearing of the brakes, and vehicle does not stop properly. tt

The front disc brake corroded/was replaced. tt

Consumer put into reverse and it accelerated. tt

Automatic transmission failure, gears slips and sudden acceleration of the vehicle. tt

Upon using emergency brake as suggested, front brakes are still wearing excessively w/numerous replacement. please describe details. tt

The car would not go into reverse due to a defective transmission. tt

The car keeps accelerating and has been in three accidents because of this last one totaled the car. please describe. tt

Steering column smoke, electrical short, when turn directional light on, console light comes on. tt

Four wheel disc brake; fail brake; when driving on the road sometime has to stop unexpected brake don't work there is a service bulletin on the brake . tt

Lights comes on instrument panel showing temperature is up and low in fuel; happens intermittently; causes insecure feeling. tt

Had to have the brake pads/rotors/ calipers replaced, were clicking and worn. tt

Rust separated lining from shoe, resulting in rotor wear. tt

Reaer rotors locked up due to rust; were replaced. *ak

Abs: rust on brake shoes. tt

Front brakes pads wear out prematurely. tt

While placing vehicle in gear indicator light does not always work. same as recall 91v214000/ automatic transmission, the orange marker behind the windows in the gear indicator came loose from the lnkage. *ak *slc

While driving in a low speed on parking lot or in slow traffic engine will shut down without prior warning, but never on highway at high speed. dealer could not find out what could be causing the problem.*ak the customer is concerned about safety since the vehicle could not be fixed and the problem continues.

Intermittently when the vehicle is turned on there is smoke coming from steering column. dealer has been notified. turn signals no longer work. was originally told by dealer that it was grease inside column. appt scheduled with new dealer. *ak *ml

Ea94041, steel on rear brakes corroded, causing rear brakes to freeze. resulted in extended stopping distance which may have caused a crash. gm has offered to pay a small amount for the repairs required to fix their faulty brake system. owner has not yet fixed their vehicle because of the cost. *ak *ml

Shift indicator get locked in one position and will not disengage. also, recall nuber 91v214000 involves same type of problem,dealer refused to correct the problem. please provide any further details. *ak

Information request due to a defective alternator which caused the vehicle to stall unexpectly while driving which may have resulted in an collision. dealer replaced alternator twice. *yc

Rear brakes have no stopping power. calipers seize to the point where they do not work at all. new calipers were put on, and within 8 months they also seized. every eight to twelve months calipers need changing. mechanics states that this is a common problem. please provide any further details. *ak

Engine was on but vehicle was in park position with key in the ignition, heard a noise and smoke coming from steering column, but it did not start a fire. noise sounded like that of an ignition staying engaged. after repairs, vehicle was driven approximately one and a half miles and parked for three and one half hours. when cranked vehicle made same noise. repair shop refused to tow and said consumer should tow it themselves. key was put in the ignition so that steering wheel could be move the vehicle caught fire. *ak

The front struts that held by four rivets broke off, causing an accident. cause unknown. please provide details. *ak

Upper dome light fell down, causing bulb to fall out, burning a child in the rear seat. cause of problem unknown. *ak

While driving smoke came from the steering column because of a defect turn signal switch, which was replaced by pep boys. when contacting the dealer, dealer recognized problem right away. *ak *slc

Compression of abs braking system while driving. responded to resume position once, resulting in brake lockup. *ak

Consumer states that he has had four set of brakes put on the vehicle in 40k miles. manf won't replace brakes free of cost

Anti-lock brakes: after starting vehicle and putting it into drive, within a few moments, feels like engine is fightiing brakes. after the anti-lock brake warning light comes on the left rear tire locks up. turn vehicle off for 5 minutes, brakes reset themselves. *ak

Consumer stated that upon turning the ingition noticed smoke coming from the steering column. consumer contacted the dealer who indicated that it was due to the turn signal which shorted out, causing a fire in the steering column. turn signal was replaced. *ak

When applying the abs brakes on dry pavement the abs system will not engage in emergency stopping, causing extended stopping distance. dealer states that this is a normal condition. *ak

One of engine head bolts broke, caused water to leak into the engine. *ak

Anti-lock brakes: left rear brakes stick and hang up, brakes have an odor like something is burning and smoke is coming from the left rear wheel.the dealer can't find anything wrong with the vehicle. *ak

Turned car on valve seat ring blew apart, tore up piston and cylinder, causing engine to fail. *ak

When applying the brakes, the vehicle pulls to the right. please describe. *ak

The front passenger's side seat belt locks up and driver cannot get the belt to open when trying to use the belt. *ak

When using the right turn signal there is smoke coming from the steerling column.*ak

While driving vehicle and making turns or braking, the vehcile just dies. it just stops. *ak

When attempting to start vehicle, smoke was coming from steering column.*ak

Direction switch failure. heavy smoke comes from behind the steering wheel.

Smoke and burning smell came from steering column. this was the second occurrence of this condition in last three years.*ak

Since i bought the car, smoke has occasionally come from the around the steering column. i test drove another grand prix once and it did it during the test drive. my turn signals quit working properly, and only work if i pull the lever up or down and toward me and hold it there while i turn.

Smoke was discharged on 2 occasions from steering column. contacted pontiac customer information and dealer about problem and they had not heard of the problem. no injury, just panic. *ak

Both rear bolts securing the sub-frame broke causing it to fall. when that happened the subframe falling caused the steering column to come completely out of joint. when the steering column disconnected the steering went out completely causing the car to be uncontrolable. luckily i was in traffic and had just begun to move again otherwise myself and others would have probably been seriously injured.*ak

1) upon starting the car, smoke emitted from the hazard light switch. 2) as i was accelerating from a stoplight i heard a loud thud and the car jumped, thinking someone had hit me, i kept driving to pull over and noticed that i had no steering. by the time i had stopped i was in oncoming traffic and narrowly missed several cars. the motor had separated rom the a frame. the mechanic said it looked like the manufacturer had forgotten a bolt and the other one got stressed. 3) the brakes fail or are slow at stopping quite often even when pads are replaced. 4) car suddenly accelerates. this has caused many near misses. this happens at any speed and also happens while using cruise control. this happens almost daily.*ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

This was the scariest thing i have ever experienced and i later found out that the same thing that happend with my car also happend to someone else that i know. no safety defect.

I have also had problem with signal light not working and the smoke coming from the steering column. *ak

Car has failed to start quite often. *ak

My rear brakes....rotors/ calipers and pads are destroyed. dealership inspected brakes 6 months ago, and said they were fine. *ak

Brake failure replaced clprs, frt brakes rotors and rear brakes clprs rotors and pads

There has been puffs of smoke coming from steering column intermittently for months, when suddenly the right turn signal failed (just lights once). mechanic has received numerous complaints. no replacements available! (therefore, no cost entered.) mechanic stated that most likely the other turn signal will fail soon, and eventually neither will work even at the current, limited ability. possibility of losing all power to steering column.

Electrcial problems off and on for years. could not find source. my son barely made "it out in time" on july 20th; the car burned up on interstate 25. *ak

No summary listed for above vehicle. *ak

I've had numerous problems with this model (3.4 dual overhead cam engine). most recently was a serious oil leak which resulted in an engine rebuild. the leaks started again and was repaired by a gm dealer. the engine locked and had to be replaced at an estimated cost of $3,500. i'm the original owner of the vehicle. a dealer tried to repair the hood alignment problem on 3 different occasions but never succeded. i've replaced the starter 3 times, the drivers side power window motor twice (2); water pump twice (2) turn signal switch four times (4) and still get smoke from steering wheel; etc. etc

Exterior paint on vehicle is very poor. paint has been fading and cracking since 1994. this does not look like normal paint problems. this is a black car and it looks like the manufacturer used a sub-par paint. *ak

2 tires replaced will not hold alignment. *ak

Discovered seized cylinders while proceeding to change both rear brake pads, as they had begun to squeal, indicating time to change. as a result, could neither put old,nor new pads back on car, therefore have no brakes, and car is not driveable until work is performed. "unsafe to operate car"

I purchased my 92' grand prix from the origanal owner. since this time ( 4/97 ) i have had nothing but major problems with this vehicle. the fisrt that went wrong a month after it was bought a gasket had to be replaced under the air plenum manifold ( cost $475 ) the car was running on only 5 of 6 cylinders. the next problem i had was the engine. i was on the freeway at normal speed when the car just shut off. there was no power. the engine had blown. what happend here was the idler pulley that keeps tension on the surpentine belt broke off. actually the bolt holding the pulley in place snapped. this caused the piston valves to come out of time and smack together. the engine had to be replaced. being the dealers were charging in excess of $5000 to replace it i had to find others means. a used engine was to replace the original. ( cost $1720 ). two months later the alternator burned up while the car was parked and running at an idle ,cost $550. in november of 1998, the transmission started slipping. i had the fluid and filter changed twice to make sure it was clean. reverse in the transmission was wiped out and had somehow ruptured 2nd gear as well. the transmission was rebuilt, but failed again before i even got the car back. the original transmission was replaced with another ansd was rebuilt. i uderstand that vehicles with higher mileage are subject to malfuction, but i feel this was a bit much.between the cost of the initial repair and the intrest form the loans taken to get the repairs done, i have spent over $6000 in the last 18 months just to keep the vehicle on the road. and now i have another problem with the engine. i am not sure what it is yet because it just started running terribly on 1-23-99. i have not driven it since. i feel that the transmission should be paid for by general motor corporation due to lack of workmanship stated by the recall set in 91. please let me know asap if i can get help my situation.thankyou. *ak

The electrical system is faulty causing continual failures of the alternators, batteries and ignition modules which cause the vehicle to stall without warning, the consumer believes this is a design flaw. nlm

Rear brakes are faulty, consumer received a brake repair litigation from general motors, however it's not enough money to repair the problem. *slc

Seat belts are designed to engage only during panic stopping instances, consumer was rear ended on two occasions and seat belts did not engage causing injuries from hitting head on roof of the vehicle and sliding under the dashboard on another occasion. mjs

Multi functional (turn signal/hazard switch) failed resulting in smoking from the steering column.

Timing belt broke on two occasions causing damage to other components on second incident.

Power steering pump and pressure hose failed causing leak.

Power steering gear shorted out resulting in failure.

High beam switch failed. (column mounted).(mjs).

Power window switch failed (left).

Passenger seat belt broke. (mjs)

Ecm controller failed.

Brakes failed.

A/c condensor downsized by manufacturer, causing excess moisture in ducts which caused a mold odor to come from vents.

Replaced burnt signal light switch. also instrument cluster malfunctioned.

Rear brake pads and calipers failure.

Alternator failed five times in five years.

Calipers fail resulting in damage to other brake components and tire wear.

Abs system failed causing front brakes to fail .

Premature wear of front brake rotors/pads. *ak

Abs brake failure; also, abs light came on/off. *ak

The speed sensor in the anti lock brakes failed.

The rear rotors failed due to rusting.

Abs brakes activate on own, causing left real wheel to lock up. *ak

There is no summary currently available