Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 8 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
Shown in the owner’s own words, exactly as filed
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TURN SIGNALS WOULD FAIL INTERMITTENTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE WHO DID NOT OFFER ANY ASSISTANCE SINCE THE VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALLS. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 84,000.
PLASTIC LENSES THAT PROTECT THE HEAD LIGHT BULBS HAVE BECOME LESS TRANSLUCENT WITH AGE. THIS REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT TRANSMISSION MAKING IT MORE DIFFICULT TO READ ROAD SIGNS WHICH IS A DISTRACTION TO 'SAFE DRIVING'. I HAVE AN OLDER CHRYSLER AND IT DOES NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM. A MAXIMUM OPACITY LEVEL FOR HEAD LIGHT BULB 'PROTECTIVE COVERS' SHOULD BE MANDATED. *TR
THE FRONT HEADLIGHT LENS, AFTER 5 YEARS, HAS BECOME EXTREMELY CLOUDY AND LETS LESS THAN 50% LIGHT THRU IT, CAUSING THE ROAD TO BARELY BE LIT UP AT NIGHT. I HAVE TALKED TO A PONTIAC DEALER AND A CAR REPAIR COMPANY AND BOTH SAY THAT THIS IS NOW COMMON SINCE CHANGING FROM GLASS TO PLASTIC. THIS IS A MAJOR SAFETY HAZARD AND NO ONE SEEMS TO BE ACKNOWLEDGING THE PROBLEM WITH A RECALL. WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ALL OLDER VEHICLES SUFFERING OVER 50% LOSS OF HEADLIGHT LIGHT?*AK
I HAVE A VERY HARD TIME SEEING AT NIGHT DUE TO THE CONDENSATION BUILD UP INSIDE BOTH OF MY HEADLIGHTS. WHEN ASKING THE DEALER TO HAVE THEM REPLACED, I WAS INFORMED THAT THIS WOULD NOT BE COVERED UNDER MY WARRANTY AND THAT IT WOULD COST NEARLY $300 DOLLARS PER LIGHT. THEY ALSO SAID THAT REPLACING THEM WOULD MOST LIKELY RESULT IN THE CONDENSATION OCCURRING AGAIN, BECAUSE IT IS A KNOWN PROBLEM WITH THESE HEAD LIGHTS. *JB
I AM A TECHNICIAN AT A PONTIAC DEALER IN THE BOSTON MASS. AREA. OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS I HAVE PERSONALLY REPLACED THE RIGHTHAND HEADLAMP ASSEMBLY ON MULTIPLE 1997-2000 MODEL YEAR PONTIAC GRAND PRIXS. IN ALL INSTANCES THE CLEAR LENS HAS SEPARATED FROM THE HEADLAMP BODY RESULTING IN A LAMP FAILURE. ALSO, I CAN IMAGINE THE SAFETY THREAT THIS POSES IF IT SHOULD OCCURE AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS, AS SEVERAL VEHICLE OWNERS HAVE STATED THAT THIS IS INDEED THE CASE. I HAVE REPLACED SEVERAL LEFT HAND HEADLAMP ASSEMBLIES FOR THE SAME CONDITION BUT MOST INSTANCES HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT HAND LAMP.*AK
BOTH FRONT HEADLIGHTS HAVE BECOME SCRATCHED/CLOUDY. LIGHT OUTPUT IS REDUCED. I BELIEVE THAT THESE HEADLIGHT LENSES ARE EASILT SCRATCHED WHEN CLEANING DEBRIS AND DIRT. THIS HAS NOT HAPPENED ON CARS THAT I HAVE OWNED THAT WERE EQUIPPED WITH GLASS HEADLIGHT LENSES. IN ADDITION, I BELIEVE THAT LIGHT OUTPUT ON LOW-BEAM IS INSUFFICIENT EVEN WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS NEW.OTHER GRAND PRIXS I HAVE CHECKED HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM WITH THEIR HEADLIGHTS. THIRDLY, THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLIES ARE LOOSLY FITTED TO THE VEHICLE, CAUSING THE HEADLIGHT PATTERN TO SHIMMER WHEN DRIVWEN OVER ROUGH ROADS.
HEADLIGHTS DISPLAY "MPH" READOUT TUMBLES DOWN THEN RECOVERS (SCRAMBLES) WITH VERY LIGHT ROAD VIBRATION. 4 ATTEMPTS TO REPAIR AND NOT FIXED. *AK
ON JULY 30, 1999, I EXPERIENCED TOTAL FAILURE OF HEADLIGHTS (HIGH AND LOW BEAM AS WELL AS "DRIVING LIGHTS" MODE). CAR WAS TAKEN TO GALAXAY DEALERSHIP THE SAME DAY. SERVICE DETERMINED THE PROBLEM WAS FAILURE OF THE "LIGHT MODULE". A COMPONENT WAS TAKEN OFF OF ANOTHER NEW VEHICLE ON THE LOT AND PLACED ON MY VEHICLE. ALL SEEMED TO WORK WELL UNTIL WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1999. I WENT TO LEAVE WORK FOR THE DAY AND UPON STARING THE CAR, WAS AWARE THAT THERE WERE NO DASH DASH LIGHTS OR HEADLIGHTS (DRIVING LIGHTS) AGAIN. HAD TO DRIVE ABOUT 30 MILES IN HEAVY RAIN TO GET THE CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP AGAIN, WHERE IT CURRENTLY IS. FORTUNATELY, IT WAS NOT YET DARK, HOWEVER, VISIBILITY WAS VERY POOR. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN (BESIDES THE OBVIOUS) WHEN DRIVING AT 65 MILES PER HOUR, 11:00 AT NIGHT ON AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY, AND ALL LIGHTS DECIDE TO GO OUT. BESIDES THE INCONVENIENCE, THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL OF BEING A DEADLY SAFETY/EQUIPMENT DEFECT THAT NEED IMMEDIATE ATTENTION. THE DEALERSHIP SERVICE MANAGER ADVISED THAT THE SAME THING HAS HAPPENED TO4 OTHER 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIXS THROUGH THE DEAERSHIP THIS PAST MONTH.
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .