99 GA SE problems abundant

I have a 99 GA SE V6 and don't get me wrong, I love the car, but I don't know how much more I can take. Here are a list of my woes - if anyone can offer ANY help Please e-mail me!

1-ABS and Brake lights are on and have been on since the battery went dead on - had it scanned and tech tells me there is no communication with EBCM, says it may not be communicating because I have an aftermarket stereo - I think that is BS! Still no ABS

2-ETS not working - clueless on that one!

3-Tranny probs - after idling for a few minutes (worse in warmer weather) when I shift into reverse which is smooth and then go into Drive it takes a few seconds for the car to actually make the transition into Drive, almost as if it gets hung up in neutral on the way down. It has also slipped out of gear just briefly while driving along after it has sat and idled for a few minutes (usually 10 minutes or so). Changed fluid and filter - what a pain - no improvement.

4-Power Steering Pump - will probably end up taking it to garage and paying way too much because the engine will apparently have to be jacked up to remove pulleys and such to replace pump. Fairly inexpensive part but no doubt much $$$ for labor.

5-Too much noise - having a lot of what appears to be road noise and a slight shake in the front end. Tires are balanced and in good shape, about ready to buy new ones just to satisfy my mind. Wheel bearings are good too. Gonna have rims checked for "warpage" - is that a word?

6-Trunk Leaks - I swear it's as if its leaking from the bottom up. Just in the center of the trunk over and in the spare tire compartment.

7-Mysterious antifreeze leak - CANNOT figure this one out - don't know what is leaking here. Antifreeze is on most of the hoses at some point but there is never any in my driveway or in parking lots - evidently a slow leak. I have to add water/coolant every 3-4 weeks and in the winter while the car was warming up I could smell the coolant inside the car - heater "thingy" is OK. no moisture in the floorboard.

Used to be a super smooth ride, now it seems it's falling apart :banghead: :banghead:

here are some to add to your list. I also have mystery coolant problem(i have a 4 cyl) i've heard it could be corrosion related to dexcool. I had to change my front right wheel bearing ,i now have a clunking noise that my mech. says is the rack. Changed my heater control resister pack twice. Changed the water pump. Stereo replaced and i have those plastic wheel covers that rattle so loud it sounds like the car is falling apart.Luckily the a/c and stereo still work so i dont have to listen to it. But i still like the car and don't want to get rid of it. It now has 120000 km.

hey glenno and anyone else with the rattling wheelcovers - here's how I conquered that problem: I went to the lawn and garden center at wal mart and bought some of the round, not flat water hose gaskets and popped off 3 of the plastic lug nuts on each wheel cover and put the gasket on it and reattached them - quiet as a mouse now. I've had them on there for 2 years now and they are just starting to dry rot, so I gotta change em in the next few days or so - super easy job and very inexpensive and affective. Also, make sure that the gasket is between the plastic nut and the wheel cover and not on the metal lug and remember to tell your mech to be careful not to lose em if you have to have your wheels taken off.

I have a 99 Grand Am SE and I can top those issues.

Three days after i drove it off the lot, Water Pump went out. No warranty was purchased. My bad. $650.00.
Five Months into ownership, AC was not working. Bought the car in January so it felt like it was working at the time. $600.00.
six months later, third gear gasket broke, lost third gear and up. I can't drive 30MPH, $1700.00.
Sporatic ticking from the turn signal/Flasher relay. Goes off when it wants to. Tested the connections on it and found that it is letting power escape through but tried a used one from junk yard, no cure. Will try a different one to see if junk yard was a bad one as well. New ones will cost about $60.
ABS and Trac Off warning lights come on daily now shortly after take off. Changed spark plugs, and am going to flush out radiator next. I too had an aftermarket cd player installed and have read on several occasions that this could interupt the electronic computer. Lovely! Not sure about the cost on that one. All i want to do is get it fixed and sell the darn thing! I fixed my plastic wheel covers using faucet washers from Home Depot, same method.
I had my coolant light come on once and I added some water to get me by for the moment. Bought some coolant and read that you shouldn't use just any coolant. The dex cool is suppose to keep your radiator from eroding as quick as the green classic. Then I also read in the manual that using the proper coolant can also help your warning lights work properly. SAY WHAT?! So here I am trying to find out more on that.

I have a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE with the 3.4 V6. At 52,000 miles I had to replace the tranny. At 61,000 I had to replace the motor. I've had ongoing problems with almost every system on this car since I purchased it. I bought the car when it was 2 years old and had 31,000 miles on it. Since then, I've accumulated $8500 in expenses. Now my car has 88,000 miles on it and the dealer tells me the tranny is shot again. I drive this car like a baby, because I have to. Still, it's not enough. I've owned almost every make of car imaginable and the Grand Am is by far the most unreliable car I've ever owned. It's riddled with mechanical problems. I'm paying $500 every other month in 'minor' repairs and every 6 months or so I'm forking over $1500. Now I'm looking at another $3000 transmission. I had considered listing everything I've had to replace, but since the list is 37 items long, I'll spare you all.

Needless to say, I'm not fixing it, I'm going to drive it until it drops or blows up, and that shouldn't be long. Do yourself a favor, if you even THINK about buying a Grand Am, take a cold shower and buy ANYTHING ELSE!

okay, heres an easy fix for the coolant, go in and check the cap, look on the cap to see if the O ring is missing on it, it tends to be a common problem. If it has no O ring then there is your problem, will get back to you later on more info on some of your problems. Also the noise in the front can be some dirt in a barring that is inside your A/C(typical w/ grand ams). Sorry for all the horrible spelling today sry brains all wack.

so, ok I got my ps pump replaced and they found that my h2o pump was shot also and went ahead and put another serpentine belt on it since they had the motor unmounted anyway. Needless to say they put a big dent in my pocket. Now, my issue at hand is how in the hell do you replace a headlight and side/marker lights??

Yes, I have this problem in my 2001 Pontiac Grand Am SE 67,000 miles on car 45,000 on motor, it came back on after 6+ months. you can hear the flasher clicking very fast and annoying, stops when turn signal fuse pulled. just had a alpine deck put in about 2 weeks ago, SERVICE VEHICLE SOON light coming on. car runs great and fast, service light only comes on during the day and goes out at night. anyone have a fix for a fellow mechanic. also having that noise in ac compressor. also the front passenger window regulator (track&motor that moves window up & down) went out the same day I got the car back from the stereo shop who installed new front door speakers. not sure if they did it or not but it was an easy fix and $85.00 part on ebay.PLEASE HELP
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On my 99 Grand Am I had to replace the water pump, it was shooting into my alternator this was @ 65,000 miles they said my alternator could go out @ any time now going on 100,000 hasn't gone out. I have replaced my brakes 3 times. And now my ignition has locked up, if any one knows anything about that please let me know. My check engine light will come on for about a week shut off for a day or two then go back on, haven't checked it out yet. And my coolent light will come on, go off some times will be low on coolent, but I have no visable leak. Where does the anti freeze go? Answer's for that. Other than that I love my car.