Pontiac Grand Prix

[chperplt]

I bought a 2000 Grand Prix GTP with 40,000 miles on it.

Any Grand Prix owners here with complaints, things to watch out for, or anything of interest???

 

[Tripower455]

Make sure that you check/change the supercharger oil.

My old man has a '99 with a tad over 100k on it. No problems at all.

Nice car, but only has 3/4 of an engine and it's sideways, the wrong wheels drive the car, and it can't be had with a manual..........

 

[chperplt]

Thanks for the info.. With 240 horses, the car moves!!!

 

[Tripower455]

They do go pretty good....... I've seen them run in the 13's with bolt ons!

I still prefer rwd, v-8s, and manual transmissions....... My airport car is a 6 speed '01 Formula .

 

[ALASKAN AVIATOR]

Anything made by Pontiac sux and will break. Same with chevys.

 

[Tripower455]

Anything made by Pontiac sux and will break. Same with chevys

Uhhhhh.......OK.....

 

[Flying Illini]

I had a '99 Grand Am and loved it. I put 70K on it and never had a problem with it. Man was it fun to drive!! Traded it in and got a Jeep Grand Cherokee last year...which is fun to drive for different reasons!

 

[Midwest]

Paging Crizz........
(GTP owner)

 

[Flywrite]

I had a '92 that was a great car until about 110K miles, then things went downhill fast. It was in the shop three times in a month. First a mixture control computer went out, costing about $400, then the water pump (around $500 I think), then the ignition switch went bad, which was a whopping $800 to fix.

The ignition switch problem was the final straw and I traded the car. I had the same problem with an '86 Honda CRX before I bought the GP. I went to the Honda dealer and got a switch for about $15 and changed it out in the parking lot at work with a screwdriver and a couple of sockets. To change the same switch in the Pontiac requires the removal of the whole steering column and the switch cost over $400!

I drive a Honda again.

Up to 110,000 miles I loved that Grand Prix though....

 

[bart]

Alaskan Aviatior:

you need help with your spelling...
you did mean Republican Ball Licker, right?

 

[Timebuilder]

First a mixture control computer went out, costing about $400, then the water pump (around $500 I think), then the ignition switch went bad, which was a whopping $800 to fix.

My friend, I think you're paying too much for auto repair. PM me if you like, but most GM computers, even the hermetically sealed, fender mounted units in the W-body family cost less than that to replace. I can't even begin to imagine the wp and switch prices you mentioned.

Ch, I never worked on a 2000 GP becuase they were still in warranty when I got out of the shop environment. Hopefully, the old problems with front and read disc brakes (which they may have abandoned for drums by 2000) have been fixed. There were a few issuse of PM crank sensor replacement and the unususal strut catridge arrangement, but the car is comfy and has some room. What engine do you have?

 

[I.P. Freley]

Now just one second here... Why on earth would they "abandon" rear discs for drums on a performance-oriented car? I would expect the opposite! Rear discs are an upgrade one expects to see on the "hot-rodded" model of a car that has rear drums in the standard car.

Case in point... My '92 Taurus SHO had 4-wheel discs when the "regular" Taurus had drums in the rear.

 

[chperplt]

What engine do you have?

It has the supercharged 3.8 V6.

Front and rear disc brakes were standard on the 2000 GTP.

I picked up the bumper to bumper extended warranty that covers me to 90,000 miles just in case.

 

[Timebuilder]

Now just one second here... Why on earth would they "abandon" rear discs for drums on a performance-oriented car? I would expect the opposite! Rear discs are an upgrade one expects to see on the "hot-rodded" model of a car that has rear drums in the standard car.

The setup on the SHO is "made for the job." No complaints there.

Now granted, I am not familiar with the brake setup on the 2000 GP. In fact, my only contact with the supercharged 3.8 V6 was in its roll-out vehicle, the Bonneville. I imagine it is a real honker in the lighter W-body Grand Prix. But, back to the rear brakes. On most W-body cars the rear discs use a small, solid rotor, and a small caliper that tends to freeze up on its mounting pins. It uses a mechanical lever-and-screw assembly for the parking brake, which was not free of trouble, itself. This brake setup was the number one weakness of the design.

I can't imagine the Pontiac design team not insisting on a setup more like the SHO or other performance sedans for such a powerful car as the souped 3.8 GP. I also saw that later members of the W family (Olds Cutlass, Chevy Lumina, Buick Regal) were leaving this warranty-intensive headache of rear discs behind for some reliable drum brakes.

I recall that the engine compartment was a little crowded with the optional 3.4 V6 with the rectangular valve covers and the out-of-sight alternator. I'll bet the 3.8 dominates the smaller GP engine area.

Sounds like a fun machine to drive, chperplt!!

 

[I.P. Freley]

...now if only they'd offer it with a manual, then I'd consider it.

 

[Crizz]

I love my '98 GTP.

I have owned it for almost 3 years and bought it with 35k miles. Shortly after purchasing it I bolted on about 60-80 hp. I am just shy of 100k miles now and havent had a single problem with the vehicle. I cant say I drive it like a grandma either. I have since demodded a little bit.

I know the 3800 was rated as one of the top 10 engines ever built of all time. I get 30+ MPG on the freeway and turn 300+ HP.

PM me if you want any other details. Also check out http://www.clubgp.com/forum for an incredible wealth of knowledge about these cars. I dont frequent that forum much since I found this one.


Heres some eye candy before I sold my Rims to pay for my MEI. BTW the liscense plate is photoshop... Im not that big of a dork

 

[Wankel7]

How much boost does the car run stock? What does it weigh?

Wankel

 

[Crizz]

Stock boost is around 6-7 lbs. Optimal is 10-12 with the Eaton roots-type blower that is stock equipment on this car. Different size overdrive pulleys are used to adjust the boost level for varying levels of other supporting modifications.


I think the car weighs around 3400-3500 lbs from the factory.

 

[PA28/C172 Flyer]

ChprrPlt,
I bought a 2000 GT new. I'm not at all a car mechanic. I loved it in the beginning, but now I'm not sure I'd buy another pontiac. I now have 51k miles. Here's a list of some of the problems I've had or am having:

Coolant line had a crack after only 8k miles.

Air conditioning drainage clogged, causing passenger side floorboard carpet to become SOAKED! Around 25k miles.

On one occasion had rain water leak into cabin through overhead lamp switches, I have a sunroof (it was closed).

My spoiler ALWAYS collects water, and doesn't drain properly. I can hear it swooshing around inside when I open the trunk.

I have the electronic rear-view-mirrow dimmer, and it didn't work for a while, but corrected itself. Around 20k miles.

HUD sometimes goes dim shortly after starting my car and doesn't brighten up again until after a while. Not a dimmer switch problem.

My passenger side dual-heating always blows much warmer air than my driver side at a given temp., even when the dual-zone-heating is deactivated. I have to leave my passenger side temperature lower than my driver side.

My outside air temp. gauge stops working on occasion.

There was no cabin air filter installed when I bought my car. Not sure if this was a dealer or factory mistake.

Right rear factory speaker went out. 40k miles.

My factory Delco battery finally died around 45k miles.

Now, I am having transmission problems. After I have driven about 1/2 hour, if I come to a stop which drops me down to 1st gear, when I accelerate, my transmission goes to the 2nd and 3rd gear to soon and to suddenly, with a violent jolt. I took it to the dealer but they couldn't find anything, wrong. They serviced the transmission, but I still have the same problem. Now I'm past warranty, and feel screwed.

Anyone have any thoughts about to the transmission problem?

 

[Crizz]

Curious if your build date is a friday

All joking aside it sounds like you got a lemon. I know ALOT of people with Grand Prixs and the overwhelming majority of them have very little problems.

Transmission sounds like it is having some sort of valve body or control solenoid problem. I had an Olds Cutlass that had the same sort of symptoms. That car had a completely different transmission than the Prix, but it ended up being bad transmission control solenoids.