"How reliable is the 2003 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"Based on 436 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Pontiac Grand Am has a median complaint mileage of 68000 miles. The most common issue is Electrical System."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Pontiac Grand Am?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Pontiac Grand Am is Electrical System, accounting for a significant portion of the 436 total complaints filed."

2003 Pontiac Grand Am: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 436 complaints

436

Total Complaints

68,000mi

Median Mileage

Electrical System

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

39,000 25th Percentile

68,000 Median Mileage

101,050 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Electrical System

Exterior Lighting

Vehicle Speed Control

Air Bags

Engine

Control Module

Switch

Engine And Engine Cooling

Steering

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"I RENTED A 2003 PONTIAC GRAND AM ON FEB. 04, 2003. IT WAS VERY COLD, AT NIGHT, AND SNOWING HEAVILY. I TURNED ON THE REAR DEFOGGER. IT FAILED TO CLEAR THE REAR WINDOW, AND I TURNED IT ON AGAIN AFTER NOTICING THAT IT HAD TURNED OFF. ABOUT 30 SECONDS LATER THE REAR WINDOW EXPLODED; THERE WAS NO PROJ..."

"MY CAR DIES OUT WHILE DRIVING. *JB"

"CUT HAND/FINGER ON DOOR SHEET METAL. THE METAL FROM THE OUTSIDE OF THE DOOR WRAPS AROUND THE BACK EDGE OF THE DOOR AND HAS A VERY SHARP EDGE. WHEN CLOSING OR OPENING THE DOOR AND GRABBING IN THIS REGION OF THE DOOR, IT IS VERY EASY TO GET CUT BY THE SHEET METAL. ONE INCIDENT OF CUTTING FINGER."

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.

Electrical System 98 complaints

25th: 60,000 mi Median: 85,500 mi 75th: 115,285 mi

Exterior Lighting 30 complaints

25th: 72,000 mi Median: 96,000 mi 75th: 118,500 mi

Vehicle Speed Control 24 complaints

25th: 33,000 mi Median: 55,345 mi 75th: 85,337 mi

Air Bags 17 complaints

25th: 29,114 mi Median: 57,247 mi 75th: 90,250 mi

Engine 17 complaints

25th: 84,750 mi Median: 136,000 mi 75th: 159,412 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 46 PA: 33 OH: 31 IL: 24 CA: 22 FL: 21 NY: 17 GA: 16 NC: 14 IN: 13

Who Files Complaints?

18.6%

Original Owners

81.4%

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
1997	600	90,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	43
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
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