1998 PONTIAC GRAND AM — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 164 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (29 complaints · 17.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 12
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 11
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1997 →
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 SERVICE BRAKES appears in 29 of 164 owner complaints (17.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 29 complaints, 17.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 29 · 17.7% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 27 complaints, 16.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 · 16.5% · 1 crash reports 5 fire reports ENGINE: 20 complaints, 12.2% of reports ENGINE 20 · 12.2% · 1 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 12 complaints, 7.3% of reports POWER TRAIN 12 · 7.3% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 12 complaints, 7.3% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 · 7.3% · 3 crash reports VISIBILITY: 11 complaints, 6.7% of reports VISIBILITY 11 · 6.7% AIR BAGS: 10 complaints, 6.1% of reports AIR BAGS 10 · 6.1% · 3 crash reports STEERING: 10 complaints, 6.1% of reports STEERING 10 · 6.1% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 10 complaints, 6.1% of reports SUSPENSION 10 · 6.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 124 complaints, 75.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 124 · 75.6% · 7 crash reports 4 fire 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)
SERVICE BRAKES 29 17.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 27 16.5% 1 crashes · 5 fires
ENGINE 20 12.2% 1 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 12 7.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 12 7.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 11 6.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 10 6.1% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 10 6.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 10 6.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 124 75.6% 7 crashes · 4 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 Jul 1997; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2004. 1997-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 1999-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2000-Q3: 10 owner reports 10 2000-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2002-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2002-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 2004-Q1: 10 owner reports 10 2004-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2005-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 1997 Jul 2016 Recall campaign 04V036000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V036000 Recall campaign 07E015000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E015000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Investigation RQ03001 ● Investigation RQ03001
  • Campaign 04V036000 was reported 1,821 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E015000 was reported 3,163 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 3,177 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q3 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 2
1998-Q3 Owner reports 4
1998-Q4 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 11
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 11
1999-Q4 Owner reports 10
2000-Q1 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 3
2000-Q3 Owner reports 10
2000-Q4 Owner reports 6
2001-Q1 Owner reports 6
2001-Q2 Owner reports 4
2001-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q4 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q2 Owner reports 5
2002-Q3 Owner reports 6
2002-Q4 Owner reports 4
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2003-Q2 Owner reports 3
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 7
2004-Q1 Owner reports 10
2004-Q2 Owner reports 5
2004-Q3 Owner reports 6
2004-Q4 Owner reports 4
2005-Q1 Owner reports 5
2005-Q2 Owner reports 2
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q2 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V036000
Recall campaign 1 07E015000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Defect investigation 1 RQ03001
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 04V036000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    IF THE SWITCH IS DAMAGED, A FIRE COULD OCCUR IN THE STEERING COLUMN, EVEN WITH THE ENGINE OFF AND THE KEY REMOVED. THE FIRE COULD SPREAD TO THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR, WHICH COULD INJURE OCCUPANTS OR CAUSE DAMAGE TO ADJOINING STRUCTURES.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RELAY KIT IN THESE VEHICLES TO PREVENT HIGH CURRENT FROM FLOWING THROUGH THE IGNITION SWITCH, AND CHECK THAT YOUR CAR WILL START WITH A PROPERLY CHARGED BATTERY AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION WILL BEGIN ON MARCH 1, 2004. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537. CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CHECK THEIR VEHICLE ONLINE BY GOING TO WWW.MYGMLINK.COM AND ENTERING THE VEHICLE'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E015000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    A STALLED VEHICLE CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH. A FUEL LEAK CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE DEFECTIVE MRAS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON MARCH 20, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 1-877-335-7443.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    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 164 complaints · page 1 of 7

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.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

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