"How reliable is the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"Based on 1317 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am has a median complaint mileage of 70000 miles. The most common issue is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP."

1999 Pontiac Grand Am: Reliability Data

Q: "What are common problems with the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Pontiac Grand Am is SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP, accounting for a significant portion of the 1317 total complaints filed."

Source: NHTSA — 1317 complaints

1317

Total Complaints

70,000mi

Median Mileage

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC: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.

40,600 25th Percentile

70,000 Median Mileage

89,247 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

SUSPENSION:FRONT:SPRINGS:COIL SPRINGS

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

SUSPENSION:FRONT

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"TRAVELING AT 68 MPH IN CRUISE CONTROL, VEHICLE EXPERIENCED TOTAL TRANSMISSION FAILURE WHILE ENGINE REVED 6000 RMP."

"DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE HEAD RESTRAINTS, THE HEADREST IS TOO BIG, PREVENTING THE CONSUMER FROM LOOKING OUT THE BACK SIDE WINDOW WHEN DRIVING. THERE IS A BLIND AREA. ALSO THE OWNERS MANUAL HAS INSTRUCTIONS. WHEN FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS LISTED IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL, PROBLEM STILL OCCURS. *AK OWNER..."

"WHILE TRAVELING AT A SAFE SPEED AND UNDER SAFE DRIVING CONDITIONS THE VEHICLE SWERVED TO THE LEFT AND THEN SPUN 180 DEGREES."

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.

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP 72 complaints

Median: 36,890 mi

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:ROTOR 68 complaints

25th: 17,269 mi Median: 38,000 mi 75th: 62,750 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 54 complaints

25th: 38,800 mi Median: 94,000 mi 75th: 120,000 mi

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS 52 complaints

25th: 53,685 mi Median: 77,000 mi 75th: 90,945 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 102 OH: 100 NY: 86 PA: 82 IL: 80 CA: 67 WI: 58 MO: 57 VA: 44 MA: 43

Who Files Complaints?

41.2%

Original Owners

58.8%

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 AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	3
1991	102	-	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	11
1992	304	88,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	15
1993	290	100,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	11
1994	515	123,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	71
1995	587	101,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	78
1996	672	103,494	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	45
1997	600	90,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	43
1998	236	80,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	16
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