Most common 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix problems
Share of the 412 complaints; one complaint can involve more than one system. "~" is the median mileage when the problem started.
Pontiac Grand Prix complaints by model year
Best Grand Prix years: 2003, 1996, 2005. Years to avoid: 1997, 1998, 2000, 1999, 2004. Compare all years →
1999 Pontiac Grand Prix recalls (4)
Engine and engine cooling › Exhaust system › Manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 1998-1999 Chevrolet Lumina and Oldsmobile Intrigue, 1997-2004 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix, 2000-2004 Chevrolet Impala, and 1998-2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo vehicles.
Remedy: The remedy applied under recalls 08V-118, 09V-116, and 15V-201 did not adequately remove the safety risk. Under the improved remedy, dealers will replace the engine's front valve cover and gasket.
Engine and engine cooling
General motors is recalling 1,497,516 my 1997-2003 Buick regal, my 1998-2003 Chevrolet lumina, monte carlo and impala, my 1998-1999 Oldsmobile intrigue, my 1997-2003 Pontiac grand prix vehicles equipped with a 3.8l v6 naturally aspirated engine.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine's front valve cover and front-valve-cover gasket with new parts of an improved design and remove the engine's plastic cover and plastic oil-fill-tube extension, free of charge.
Engine and engine cooling
GM is recalling 207,542 my 1997-2003 Buick regal and Pontiac grand prix vehicles equipped with a 3.8l supercharged v-6 engine. These vehicles have higher front rocker cover gasket temperatures, creating the potential for earlier degradation of the front rocker cover gasket and eventual oil seepage.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the engine's front valve cover and front-valve-cover gasket with new parts of an improved design and remove the engine's plastic cover and plastic oil-fill-tube extension, along with the 1-3-5 spark…
Air bags › Frontal
On certain passenger vehicles and Mini vans, the driver's air bag inflator modules could produce excessive internal pressure. In the event of a crash that would trigger a driver's air bag deployment, the increased internal pressure can cause the inflator module to explode.
Remedy: Dealers will replace the driver air bag module. Owner notification began February 1, 2002. Owners who take their vehicles to an authorized dealer on an agreed upon service date and do not receive the free remedy within…
NHTSA defect investigations
Federal safety investigators have looked into 6 possible defects involving the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix:
Engine compartment fire
On January 29, 2007, the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation to investigate alleged non-crash fires originating in the engine compartment in certain model year (my) 1999-2002 Pontiac grand prix gtp vehicles equipped with the ?l67? Supercharged version of the general motors (GM) 3800 series ii v6 engine.to date, odi is aware of 121 non-duplicative complaints on the subject vehicles…
Engine compartment fires
Driver air bag malfunction
Odi is aware of one reported incident of a driver-side air bag inflator separation in a model year 1999 Pontiac grand prix.an investigation of the incident revealed that a two-inch, disk-shaped fragment of the aluminum inflator assembly ruptured the air bag, broke off portions of the air gab cover flaps, and struck the driver.also, evidence showed hot combustion gases/particulate escaped into the passenger…
Engine compartment fire
By letter dated March 12, 2008, general motors corp. (GM) has notified the agency that it will conduct a safety recall (identified by NHTSA recall number 08v-118) to address a defect in approximately 207,542 model year (my) 1997-2003 Buick regal gs and Pontiac grand prix gtp vehicles equipped with the l67 supercharged version of GM's 3800 series ii v6 engine.the recalled regal gs vehicles were built from August 1996…
Engine compartment fires
Ea02-030 is closed with gmea02-030 is closed with GM?s actions in 03v-473 and 04v-090 recalling approximately 529,000 my 1998-99 c- and h-body vehicles equipped with defective fuel pressure regulators.these vehicles were equipped with plastic intake manifolds that are unable to contain pressures that occur in some backfire events and defective fuel pressure regulators with leaking diaphragms that can provide a…
Air bag inflator
What 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix owners say
Engine & cooling all 201 →
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. While driving at various speeds, the contact heard an abnormal noise coming from the vehicle. The contact pulled the vehicle over and noticed the temperature gauge rose abnormally. The contact also observed smoke and flames from the front end and evacuated the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a salvage yard. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V701000 (engine and engine cooling); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The fire department was alerted and extinguished the fire. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was not notified. The failure mileage was 125,000. Updated 06/21/17 contact stated her brother who happened to be the owner of the car was handicapped and became ill and passed away on May 21,2017. …
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. Thirty minutes after driving back to his house, the contact noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment. There was no warning indicator illuminated. The contact opened the hood and the front end of the vehicle burst into flames. With the help of his son, the contact extinguished the fire. There was no police or fire report. Two days later, the contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V701000 (engine and engine cooling). The contact notified a local dealer who came to the contact's home and towed the vehicle to the shop for investigation. The manufacturer notified the contact that the investigation showed that there was no evidence the fire was caused by malfunctioning of the vehicle. The failure mileage was 130,000.
Steering all 58 →
For several weeks, the steering in my 99 Pontiac Grand Prix has been failling while turning left at low speeds. Suprise, suprise!! Today, 7/13/03 I hit another vehicle while pulling into a car wash when I lost left turn power steering and could not avoid his car. I was turning off of a busy street and was almost rear ended as well. I am very angry, as this is the 5th time I was almost killed in my 1999 Grand Prix. The first 4 times were on the highway, when my car lost total engine power with no warning. After 6 weeks of having it in and out of a certified GM repair shop, and having a complete fuel system overhaul, the GM mechanic tore down everything under the hood to find that the fuel system sensor had never been attatched. Please advise on any legal action against GM that May me of benefit to me, as well as how to demand a recall on the 99 Pontiac Grand Prix.
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that the steering wheel seized and required excessive force when attempting to make a left turn. The contact noticed that the alignment of the front passenger tire was off. The contact then discovered that the rack and pinion housing was detached from of the vehicle. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 197,000.
Electrical system all 47 →
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. While the vehicle was parked, it caught fire. The witness stated that the fire started underneath the hood of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire and a fire report was filed. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. The contact stated that there was no police or injury report. The vehicle was completely destroyed and was towed to a tow yard. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 09V116000 (engine and engine cooling) after the failure occurred. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000. Updated 01/06/17
Car was parked in driveway after driving to town and back. About 20 minutes later my boyfriend heard a pop sound from inside the house. When he looked outside the car was on fire under the hood. Fire department was called to help put out the fire. Car was completely burned under the hood, tires/front part of car were also burned. Damage was a total loss, engine was burning so hot it was white. Nearly caused a house fire and luckily no one was injured. Car had some oil leakage in engine/manifold area but recall was fixed about 5 years ago for this issue. Car was in good condition and no serious problems before this fire occurred.
1999 Pontiac Grand Prix engines & fuel economy
| Engine | Transmission | Drive | MPG city / hwy / combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 17 / 26 / 21 |
| 3.8L 6-cyl | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 17 / 27 / 21 |
| 3.8L 6-cyl supercharged | 4-speed automatic | FWD | 16 / 25 / 19 |
EPA ratings. Class: Midsize car.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix a good car?
Based on 412 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, the 1999 Grand Prix rates use caution: 1.6× as many complaints as a typical year of the Grand Prix at the same age. It is one of the Grand Prix years we suggest avoiding. Complaint counts don't account for sales volume or individual maintenance, so have any used car inspected before buying.
What is the most common problem with the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix?
The engine & cooling — 201 complaints, 49% of all complaints for this model year, most often about engine. Next are the steering (58) and electrical system (47).
How many recalls does the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix have?
There are 4 recalls for the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, the most recent from October 26, 2015 (manifold/header/muffler/tail pipe). Recall repairs are free at any authorized dealer — check whether yours has been done with the VIN recall check.
What are the best and worst years of the Pontiac Grand Prix?
The best years by complaints, compared at the same age, are 2003, 1996 and 2005. Years to avoid or approach with caution: 1997, 1998, 2000, 1999 and 2004. See the full Pontiac Grand Prix years comparison.
At what mileage do 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix problems happen?
The median mileage reported in complaints is about 95,000 miles; 17% of problems with a recorded mileage started before 50,000 miles.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.