Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
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.
Tl* the contact owned a 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix. While driving 50 MPH, the contact noticed smoke coming from the vehicle. The vehicle was pulled over to the side of the road where it caught fire. The contact exited the vehicle and the fire department arrived to extinguish the fire. A police report was filed and there were no injuries. The vehicle was destroyed and towed. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 160,000. Updated 04/13/16 consumer stated she has been without a car since the incident. Dealership did not fix recall parts on the car. Updated 06/05/18
The event leading up the failure was I drove it. There is something wrong here. When 25+ cars burn down for no reason. What does it take for Pontiac / GM / government agencies to acknowledge a problem and reimburse people for their loss? Death? There have been too many Pontiac - Grand Prix -GM 3800 series engine fires. All I did was park my car after driving and within 5 minutes of parking my car in feb of 2003 it burned to the ground. There were no malfunction indications, not over heated and ignited while I walked away. Fire marshal and independent investigator said the fire originated in the engine compartment, near the drivers head lamp area. It had a bumper to bumper GM policy in effect as well as full insurance. Pontiac laughed when I called. The GM insurance underwriter called me an idiot and hung-up. Then my insurance company tried to have me accused of arson. …
Car was driven less than 2 miles. Parked and when returned 15 minutes later troy ny fire dept had hood up and put out a small fire under engine cover. They said it appeared to be electrical in nature. This car had a recall issued and work completed to correct a engine fire issue on 9/24/2010 at 172,221 miles. I contacted Pontiac and they gave me a case # and said they would take a look at the car. A couple of weeks later they sent me out a denial letter stating that nys only requires a 4 year from in service date warranty and that I was well past that timeframe. My concern is that their recall did not remedy the situation and that the work was completed before I even put three thousand miles on the car.
Early Monday morning got into car as normal to go to work, turned the key to start and immediatly there was a loud thump then smoke started pouring out of hood area, I opened the hood and the engine was engulfed in flames, the noise was so loud it woke my family in which they called the fire department by then I had already ran to my boat to retrieve my fire extinguisher to put the fire out, luckily I had the extinguisher and was able to cancel fire department call and put the fire out by myself, now I am awaiting estimate from mechanic to see if engine can be salvaged or if it is a total loss
My 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix gtp had been parked on my mother's carport approx. 10 minutes when I looked out to see smoke. Rushing outside the entire hood area of the car was engulfed in flames. Had the local volunteer fire department not have responded within 10 minutes, her home would have been destroyed. Damage to the car was a total loss, damage to my elderly mother's home in excess of $6,000. The fire department was unable to determine exact cause, but said it appeared to be faulty wiring. No previous problems with anything on the car to indicate a fire was about to occur.
I had been home for approximately 5 minutes after about a 45 minute drive when I heard a loud pop outside followed by a loud boom. I looked out window a saw that my car was on fire. The fire department was called to put out the fire. I bought this car in August of 2007 from friends and I have not had any problems with it since. It appears that the fire started under the hood. The hood was melted to and fire personal had to pry it open to put out the fire. Battery is still intact. My car is destroyed and I am now carless. I need to know what caused this. Please help.
The cars headlights will randomly shut off or only high beams will work, the 3800 motor has many issues with parts malfunctioning over and over no matter what manufacturer that's used to supply the parts OEM or aftermarket, I've replaced many maf, tps, iac, cps sensors over the brief amount of time owning pretty much any vehicle equipped with the 3800 series ii v6, gauge clusters randomly stop working but that a known GM issue for multiple vehicles for several years, coolant corossian and internal rust from dex cool coolant
Tl* the contact owns a 1999 Grand Prix gt. The contact parked the vehicle and after 10 minutes, the vehicle caught on fire in the parking lot. The failure mileage was 132,000. Prior to the fire there were no indications of any engine problems. The fire was present underneath the hood of the vehicle. The fire department extinguished the fire, and stated that the cause was an electrical failure. The contact has pictures and the fire department report.
Electrical complaints in other Grand Prix years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix?
NHTSA has 47 complaints about the electrical system of the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, 11% of the model year's 412 complaints. The component named most often is wiring › front underhood (8 mentions).
Is there a recall for 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix, though it has 4 recalls for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 104,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 25 fires and 0 injuries and 2 deaths to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
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.