"How reliable is the 1997 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"Based on 600 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Pontiac Grand Am has a median complaint mileage of 90000 miles. The most common issue is Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Pontiac Grand Am is Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip, accounting for a significant portion of the 600 total complaints filed."

1997 Pontiac Grand Am: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 600 complaints

600

Total Complaints

90,000mi

Median Mileage

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

56,000 25th Percentile

90,000 Median Mileage

120,250 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Switch

Frontal

Gasoline

Vehicle Speed Control

Ignition

Power Window Devices And Controls

Automatic Transmission

Alternator/Generator/Regulator

Engine

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"REAR SEAT BACK HAS NO LATCH PROVISION."

"NO LOCKING MECHANISM ON SPLIT REAR FOLDING SEATS. OWNER WILL NOT PUT CHILD IN BACK SEAT AND IS CAUTIOUS OF PUTTING ANYTHING IN THE TRUNK FOR FEAR OF IT BEING THROWN INTO PASSENGER COMPARTMENT IN THE EVENT OF A COLLISION."

"WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE AND FOR NO APPARENT REASON VEHICLE WOULD STALL; TAKEN TO DEALER SEVERAL TIMES; ATTRIBUTES STALLING TO ANOTHER PROBLEM, 2ND TIME TO A DIFFERENT PROBLEM AND THIRD TIME REPLACED FUEL PUMP INJECTOR, PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip 37 complaints

Median: 52,124 mi

Switch 32 complaints

25th: 60,257 mi Median: 73,873 mi 75th: 104,250 mi

Frontal 28 complaints

25th: 78,000 mi Median: 111,876 mi 75th: 136,188 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

CA: 73 OH: 53 MI: 41 NC: 39 NY: 27 TX: 25 PA: 24 MN: 22 TN: 20 WV: 19

Who Files Complaints?

36%

Original Owners

64%

Second+ Owners

Pontiac Grand Am — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	61	-	Engine	3
1991	102	-	Engine	11
1992	304	88,000	Engine	15
1993	290	100,000	Engine	11
1994	515	123,000	Engine	71
1995	587	101,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	78
1996	672	103,494	Frontal	45
1998	236	80,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	16
1999	1317	70,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	99
2000	938	65,000	Electrical System	68
2001	759	70,000	Electrical System	30
2002	549	70,000	Electrical System	33
2003	436	68,000	Electrical System	40
2004	402	81,000	Electrical System	34
2005	143	85,627	Electrical System	21

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28