We found the following complaints for PONTIAC FIREBIRD (1997)
Read complaints for PONTIAC FIREBIRD (1997)
While i was driving on the middle lane on beltway 495 heading to work- i saw a huge tire high in the air & dropping in front of my car. I took my foot off the accelerator. It hit the front grille & went underneath my car causing it to fly over the tire. I landed safely on the middle lane.( at the time i didn't realized that my airbag should have been released on impact.)at another date someone hit my driver's side door at about 10 mph & the airbag didn't work.
Consumer was involved in 55 mph frontal collision. Driver lost control and hit a concrete wall with front of car, and then swung around of the driver's side and hit the same wall. Bothdriver's/ or passenger's air bags did not deploy, causing occupantsto be injured.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision at 20 mph and neither air bag deployed. Manufacturer was notified. Consumer stated that the anti lock brakes failed to stop the vehicle during the accident.
The vehicle was crossing a railroad track and both air bags deployed without any warning. The vehicle was traveling about 15mph when the air bage deployed. .
I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as i looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over i seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe i went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , i went too put my eyes back on the road & the whole front end of the car was on fire .
Car had trouble accelerating. Ses light came on.took car to dealer and was told that spark plug wires had gone bad and also needed new 0-2 sensor.
The ses light came on in the vehicle and upon taking it to town & country the first time, they advised that one of the spark plug wires had gone bad and replaced same.i had to return again on 10/07/99 because the ses light came on again and the vehicle was sputtering.i had to have the vehicle towed this time.i called the manufacturer and advised that i refused to return to town & country and the vehicle was then taken to penn pontiac.i was advised once again that it was a spark plug wire and they replaced same and sent me on my way.on 11/24/99 i had to return to penn pontiac for the same problem for the third time.once again, they advised that it was a spark plug wire and replaced another one again.on 12/10/99, i returned to penn pontiac for the fourth time because the ses light came on again and the vehicle was sputtering and the entire back end was rattling.i was advised this time that this was due to a broken baffle in the muffler and they replaced the muffler.upon picking up my vehicle after said repairs, the vehicles was rattling worse than it ever had before.there is no way physically possible that they could have test driven the vehicle after said repairs and not noticed the horrible noise, because it was rattling as soon as i started the car.i immediately went in and spoke with the manager.he came out and listened to the vehicle and had a mechanic take it back into the shop.after waiting approx. 30 minutes, the manager then advised me that it was the catilytic converter and that i would have to call the following week to make an appointment to go back again and have the catilytic converter replaced.he assured me that it would only take an hour.i called the following week and had to wait an additional week before they could fit me in.on 01/05/00, i returned to the dealership for the 5th time to have the catilytic converter replaced. And now it is 01/21/00 and the alternator has now failed.the vehicle was acting the same way.
Premature burn out of rear tail lights.consumer took the vehicle to t dealership,andmechanic told him that it will will cost $100.00 per light.
Front right turn signal went out.took it to dealer and was told the whole wiring went bad on that light and needed to be replaced.
I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as i looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over i seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe i went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , i went too put my eyes back on the road & the whole front end of the car was on fire .
Engine is overheating because of radiator coolant(dex/cool)breaking down.dealer has been notified.
Vehicle intermittently stalled while driving. When occurred vehicllewould not restartfor anhour or more. Vehicle been todealers shop on four occasions, andproblem still reoccurring. Feel free to provide any further information on this matter.
I have had three serious oil leaks with this vehicle which started when it only had 8,000 miles.in addition, the parking brake failed and the power windows broke.the rear bumper rusts after it rains because of the brake dust.you have to use rubbing compound once a week.overall, the amount of problems have been exhorbinant and not what you would expect from a $28,000 vehicle.
There is gas leaking onto the engine, and the engine is also hesitatingand making noises. Dealer can't find a solution.
Car has been in shop 4 times for massive oil leaks.car does not shift well, will not engage into second and reverse.the component above brake interferes with braking.your foot hits the component above the brake and makes you panic and feel like you cannot find the brake.
Car had trouble accelerating. Ses light came on.took car to dealer and was told that spark plug wires had gone bad and also needed new 0-2 sensor.
The turning signal light sockets on the 1997 firebird (and probably other model years) burn up after a time causing signal failure and marker light failure. The cause is the excessive heat given off by the daytime running lights. Pontiac used the turning signal element of the light assembly as a full on,all the time, visibility light for daytime driving. I love the idea for safety reasons but i feel the signal socket needs to be better able to handle the heat of these lights being on all the time. Visibility is great but having these sockets fail at busy intersections and not being able to signal seems to be a bigger safety issue and an accident waiting to happen. The sockets burn black and haven't caught on fire on my car and i'm not sure of the fire potential of this, but being that the bumper fenders and virtually most of the car is plastic, if they ever did catch fire i'd hate to see how fast the vehicle would burn!. I have had to resort to using a small jumper wire to ground the drl signal out so that i effectively disabled the lights so that i didn't have to continually have to repair the sockets or risk having a fire. The next question asks for a date of incident and i'm not sure how to answer so i'll put today's date in there. The sockets seem to burn out once every few years, even the replacements are prone to failure after a couple years. My sockets have been replaced twice in 134,000 miles and this third set of sockets are scorched after being replace six months ago so i disabled the drl before they got worse.
Headlights keeps going on and off intermittently .daytime running modulereplaced twice and headlamp dimmer switch once , but defect keeps occurring.
While driving vehicle on highway, began to smell gas inside the vehicle, had to pull over and looked underneath the hood and gas was flooding over the engine,the next time it happened gas was leaking from underneath the vehicle on the driver's side.
Lack of power, hesitation, backfiring through fuel injection system.cannot maintain 40 mph on interstate highways, going uphill.
Fuel leakage ; leakage occurred infuel line that is attached tofuel injector. Consumer noticed problem when coming outside tovehicle, and smelling the gasoline. Contacted dealership, and problem is not fixed yet.
Owner filled the vehicle and forgot to replace the cap.within one mile of driving, the gas tank was on fire.the fire department stated that the most likely cause was gas spilling out of the tank and running down the side of the vehicle onto the exhaust.
The gas gauge reads 3/4 full when the tank is actually 1/2 full.the gauge reads 1/2 full when actually 1/4 full.gauge reads 1/4 full when empty.pontiac is aware of the problem but will not correct it, of remedy it for customers.pontiac should remove gas gauge from dash board since the system is this faulty.
I have had three serious oil leaks with this vehicle which started when it only had 8,000 miles.in addition, the parking brake failed and the power windows broke.the rear bumper rusts after it rains because of the brake dust.you have to use rubbing compound once a week.overall, the amount of problems have been exhorbinant and not what you would expect from a $28,000 vehicle.
Transmission failed. Mjs
There has been whining in rear-end and a roaring in front end. I have had car in shop 9 different times for rear end problems,the driveshaft has had to be replaced,power window failures,headlight failure
Vehicle experiencing premature front wheel bearing wearing out at 39,000 miles. Dealer notified, and will not repair unless repair charges go to consumer.
Rear differential makes noise, unable to fix properly.
Car has been in shop 4 times for massive oil leaks.car does not shift well, will not engage into second and reverse.the component above brake interferes with braking.your foot hits the component above the brake and makes you panic and feel like you cannot find the brake.
Front seat floor track failure.
Both seats slide foward and backward with no warning.
Headrest, designed to adjust at angles, no longer locks at desired angle.
Consumer tried ajusting head rest and found that when ajusting to up-down position,the head rest allows approx. 3 inches of space before it locks. The only locking position is averticle position whereas when ajusting the hea drest would move almost off the seat then it will lock only to secure the head rest from falling off. Consumer has spoken to the head rest manufacturer for pontiac in canada.canada's manufacturer admitted to problem, and also sent consumer some part to see if it made a difference, the parts did not make a difference. The head rest when up, it will fall downwhen ever vehicle is in operation.shimmering of these vehicle will make head rest fall down.
The head restraints on the rirebird trans am and firebird formula models with optional "uplevel seats will not stay adjusted. Since headrest posts are not notched, the head restraints slip back down to the tops of the seatbacks while driving.
The vehicle pulled to the left when the brakes were applied.the dealer has been contacted.*nlm
Consumer is experiencing brake failure when brakes are wet. Vehicle doesnot stop properly.it takesa lot longer for vehicle to stop when brakes are wet. Dealer notified, but condition still occurs and unable to correct problem at this time.
Was traveling 30mph & applied the brakes to slow down for a stop, vehicle failed to stop.vehicle sped up when brakes were applied. Owner experienced brake problems everyday. Problem is not intermittent. Had vehicle towed to dealer. Was informed by mechanic the computer module had broken for abs brakes. It needed to be replaced.
Abs failed while applying brakes in an emergency / sudden stop, which led to a vehicle crash. Manufacturer was notified. *jlg
Brakes slip and do not catch when it is raining outside,have to really nail the brakes to the floor and pray.
Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision at 20 mph and neither air bag deployed. Manufacturer was notified. Consumer stated that the anti lock brakes failed to stop the vehicle during the accident.
Upon picking up my vehicle from penn pontiac after having to have the right front rotor prematurely replaced and having the brake pads replaced, i traveled approximately 1/2 mile from the dealership on wet roads due to rain when having to stop for a red traffic control device.at the time of hitting the brakes, i was traveling approximately 20 miles per hour.when applying the brakes, the brakes locked up and the anti-lock braking system did not go into effect for at least 5 seconds.i had to return to the dealership to advise them of this.they advised me to call after the thanksgiving holiday and make an appointment to have the brakes checked out in addition to the rattling noises that i had been complaining about for severals prior visits.i then had to take the vehicle back in the following week and was advised that a module had to be replaced in the anti-lock braking system and that a baffle was broken on the muffler and they had to replace the muffler and was assured that the muffler was the cause of the rattling.this did correct the brake problem; however, it did not correct the rattling noise.as a matter of fact, when i picked up the vehicle after service, the vehicle was rattling worse then when dropped off, despite the dealership's assurances that the muffler was the cause of the problem and that they had corrected this problem for the 4th time.i will submit a different report as will be outlined in the next report.
Upon taking vehicle in for routine maintenance brake job, due to town & country pontiac advising that brakes needed to be maintained, i was advised (not by the dealership, by another mechanic's shop) that the right front rotar was worn and had to be replaced as required by md. Law.upon learning this, i then took vehicle to penn pontiac, as town & country looked at my brakes and did not inform me of the unsafe conditions, and penn pontiac confirmed that only the right side rotar had been chewed up.they further advised me that the brake pads were not worn unevenly and that there was no way possible that this occurred from normal wear.they further advised that the right front rotar had to have been machined at some point because the braking system was working properly and the brake pads were normal.when the vehicle was taken in to have the maintenance performed, the brakes had never been repaired or maintained, as the sensor had just began making noise which indicated that it was just then time for the normal maintenance.therefore, there had to have been a defect in the braking system or town & county pontiac had to have machined that rotar prior to the purchase of said vehicle.this vehicle was purchased with 3000 miles, as it was a demo.town & country never disclosed any information of prior repairs required prior to my purchase of same.i don't believe it is fair to expect a buyer to assume that repairs would have been performed on a new vehicle with only 3000 miles.
No summary listed for above vehicle.
Abs system failed.
When brakes get wet they become hard, causing, the brakes to gradually stop, resulting in extended stopping distance.
Upon picking up my vehicle from penn pontiac after having to have the right front rotor prematurely replaced and having the brake pads replaced, i traveled approximately 1/2 mile from the dealership on wet roads due to rain when having to stop for a red traffic control device.at the time of hitting the brakes, i was traveling approximately 20 miles per hour.when applying the brakes, the brakes locked up and the anti-lock braking system did not go into effect for at least 5 seconds.i had to return to the dealership to advise them of this.they advised me to call after the thanksgiving holiday and make an appointment to have the brakes checked out in addition to the rattling noises that i had been complaining about for severals prior visits.i then had to take the vehicle back in the following week and was advised that a module had to be replaced in the anti-lock braking system and that a baffle was broken on the muffler and they had to replace the muffler and was assured that the muffler was the cause of the rattling.this did correct the brake problem; however, it did not correct the rattling noise.as a matter of fact, when i picked up the vehicle after service, the vehicle was rattling worse then when dropped off, despite the dealership's assurances that the muffler was the cause of the problem and that they had corrected this problem for the 4th time.i will submit a different report as will be outlined in the next report.
At 118,000 miles i had my front brakes changed for the third time.i asked the person changing the brakes to check the rear brakes since they have never been changed.i had asked previous people to look at them when inspecting brakes and i was always told they were fine.this time the person really looked at them and informed me that the brakes had never touched the drums (ever).my rear brakes were showroom new and so were the rear drums.i had had an sccident a few years ago and had those brakes been working i guarantee i would have gotten stopped in time to have prevented the accident and my injuries.the dat of inciden will be the date of this discovery.
Gas pedal and brake pedalare poorly placed. When driver moves foot from gas pedal to brake pedal, the top part of the foot hits the steering column.
Consumer states that driver's side door has cracks developing, and dealerindicates thatpanels are separating.
Consumer states that driver's side door has cracks developing, and dealerindicates thatpanels are separating.
I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as i looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over i seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe i went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , i went too put my eyes back on the road & the whole front end of the car was on fire .
While driving the vehicle will accelerate and the braking system will not work. Had to put the vehicle in neutral in order to stop the vehicle.took to dlr 3 times. Dealer cannot determine problem.
The car when slowing down lurches, like a tire has a bubble in it, or the rear-end is slipping, or transmission is slipping; you can actually 'feel' each revolution of the tires--rer-rer-rer-rer.....no mechanical cuases/problems noted from auto shop visits.
Gas pedal and brake pedalare poorly placed. When driver moves foot from gas pedal to brake pedal, the top part of the foot hits the steering column.
The gas and brake pedals are poorly placed. Upon moving foot from gas pedal to brake pedal (or vice versa), the top of foot hits steering column. Only way to get from one pedal to other requires a lot of foot/leg movement.
Cannot move foot from gas pedal to brake pedal without hitting steering columnconcern about emergency braking.
Rough idle after engine is hot.car would not re-start for 24 hours.
I have had three serious oil leaks with this vehicle which started when it only had 8,000 miles.in addition, the parking brake failed and the power windows broke.the rear bumper rusts after it rains because of the brake dust.you have to use rubbing compound once a week.overall, the amount of problems have been exhorbinant and not what you would expect from a $28,000 vehicle.
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