1987 PONTIAC GRAND AM — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 26 complaints · 3 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: SEAT BELTS (6 complaints · 23.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 4
  • Deaths 0
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SEAT BELTS appears in 6 of 26 owner complaints (23.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. SEAT BELTS: 6 complaints, 23.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 6 · 23.1% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 19.2% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 · 19.2% · 1 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 5 complaints, 19.2% of reports ENGINE 5 · 19.2% STEERING: 4 complaints, 15.4% of reports STEERING 4 · 15.4% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 2 complaints, 7.7% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 · 7.7% · 1 crash reports PARKING BRAKE: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports PARKING BRAKE 1 · 3.9% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 1 · 3.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 18 complaints, 69.2% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 · 69.2% · 3 crash reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SEAT BELTS 6 23.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 5 19.2% 1 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 5 19.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 4 15.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 2 7.7% 1 crashes · 0 fires
PARKING BRAKE 1 3.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 18 69.2% 3 crashes · 0 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1987. 1995-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1995-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1995-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Dec 1987 May 2006 Recall campaign 87V184000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V184000 Recall campaign 88V032000 ◆ Recall campaign 88V032000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation EA89010 ● Investigation EA89010 Investigation EA90041 ● Investigation EA90041 Investigation EA91045 ● Investigation EA91045
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 3
1995-Q2 Owner reports 3
1995-Q3 Owner reports 1
1995-Q4 Owner reports 3
1996-Q1 Owner reports 1
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V184000
Recall campaign 1 88V032000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 EA89010
Defect investigation 1 EA90041
Defect investigation 1 EA91045
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 87V184000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    THIS COULD RESULT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE, WITHOUT PRIORWARNING, AND CAUSE INJURY TO OCCUPANTS.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE BOTH FUEL FEED AND RETURN HOSE/PIPE ASSEMBLIES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 88V032000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    IN TIME A HOLE COULD BE RUBBED THROUGH THE HOSE AND FUELLEAK INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT. THIS COULD REUSLT IN AN UNDERHOOD FIRE.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE THE FUEL FEED AND RETURN HOSE/PIPE ASSEMBLIES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 26 complaints · page 1 of 2

No complaints match the current filters.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

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Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources