hello fellow grand prix'rs :)

[CarNewbie25f]

First- I have had my grand prix since about 2009, i bought it used. its a 2006 in good physical shape except the bumper is cracked. (at a cost of 900 to repair im in no big hurry!)

lately its been having some overheating issues and luckilly my neighbor used to work at shop. I dont think hes certified but he knows more than I do and as long as its nothing major i let him do the little things.

A few months ago the car was going from cold to hot in less than 5 minutes, yet the engine itself was not actually hot.

YES it was the thermostat, my neighbor took it out completely and as of right now I havent put a new one in, dont worry I plan to in the next couple weeks before FALL hits here in the pacific north west.

Car has been running cooly and perfect ever since, until the other day. I was visiting my mom and before I left her house I added some water to my resevoir since it looked low.

Made it home with the weirdest issues ! the temperature gauge would go from hot to middle, back to hot (and then my engine fan would come on and all of a sudden my heater would be blowing hot air, which would then cause my temp needle to go down)

the heater was blowing cold despite the engine claiming it was hot. I thought, NOT AGAIN!! i thought for sure it was the water pump this time.

To cut this short, today I took off the rad cap (which desperately needs a flush btw) added a bunch of water and let the engine run for about ten-15 minutes.

So it appears to have been air in the coolant system because ever since its been back to running cooly. I found this method of "burping" the system on some other random forum I found while googling.

Usually if anything was ever wrong or not acting right I would take it to my friends dads shop. However since getting laid off I have had to learn how to do the car stuff myself, and I admit, It's fun!!! mechanics will absolutely rip off a female if she knows nothing about cars. I have slowly been learning different things about my car that just makes me love my grand prix that much more.

Still cant change my own oil... not that I havent learned the steps I just havent physically done it.

Up next- I've been told I may need new rotors because when i step on my brakes the whole car is starting to shake. No biggy because rotors arent that expensive anymore, I had the back rotors replaced about 9 months ago and it was 30 each.

I also have a loose connection somewhere in the electrical system which is slowly driving me mad. When i first bought the car, only the trunk light and the front passenger turn signal didnt work.

I've tried having the bulb changed and tried checking all the fuses- all were in good condition except my mirrors fuse was broken so it got replaced.
now ive noticed the "P R D 3 2 1" lights by the shifter are no longer working. Jiggling the wires by my fuses made my trunk light start working again...temporarilly.

The last car i had any electrical work done on was when i had a durango, and it wasnt terribly expensive (160 bucks) but again thats when I was working and the cost didnt really matter.

I'll stop rambling, lol i just love my grand prix and want it to be in perfect health. would like to get the bumper fixed someday as well too..

-Bre'Anna

[Tech II]

Sounds like all your little problems are starting to add up.....

Can't believe your check engine light has not come on without a thermostat in there......you shouldn't be driving it like that.....If you are adding a "bunch of water", you have a leak somewhere, which is causing an air pocket, that causes the wild swings on your gage....again, you shouldn't be driving it, like this.....

Are you still driving without a front passenger signal? Again, you shouldn't be driving it like this?

Yes, it sounds like the front brakes are pulsating......are you planning to do the work yourself? Have you ever done brakes before?


As for your cluster, it sounds like you might need a new one.....