1995 Pontiac Grand AM problems & reliability
409 owner complaints filed with NHTSA for the 1995 Pontiac Grand AM, alongside 1 safety recall campaign. Last verified Aug 7, 2026. Complaints are unverified reports submitted by owners to the federal Office of Defects Investigation.
Each complaint is counted once (by NHTSA case number), even when it names several vehicles.
46 complaints report injuries (63 injured, 9 deaths reported).
Most reported problems
| Component | Complaints | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Electrical System | 120 | 29% |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 75 | 18% |
| Engine and Engine Cooling | 60 | 15% |
| Air Bags | 46 | 11% |
| Power Train | 33 | 8% |
| Exterior Lighting | 31 | 8% |
| Visibility | 27 | 7% |
| Structure | 18 | 4% |
| Equipment | 14 | 3% |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 14 | 3% |
Component groups as classified by NHTSA. A complaint can name more than one component, so shares may sum to more than 100%.
Common symptoms owners describe
Keyword analysis of complaint narratives; one complaint can describe several symptoms.
Mileage when problems occurred
Half of the failures with a reported odometer reading occurred by 110,000 miles (middle 50% between 95,247 and 136,500 miles), based on 31 complaints that included mileage.
Complaints by incident year
What owners report
“Tl* the contact owns a 1995 pontiac grand am. While driving over a bump at approximately 65 mph, the key suddenly released from the ignition switch. The vehicle continued operating as normal during the failure. The contact pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and re-inserted the key into the ignition. The…”
Electrical System · filed Aug 5, 2014
“I was in the parking lot of a fast food place we came out after we ate and got in the car attempted to start it but it did not start at first then I turned off the ignition and then tried again it started and after a short time it seamed like it tried to start itself again and it started smoking from below the…”
Electrical System · filed Feb 7, 2009
“While driving down highway 4 my steering column caught on fire making me pull the car over and jump out along with 2 other persons , after that we called the tow truck to have it towed home to see what we were going to do about the problem and who to contact in the mean time the dealership had my car for 4 months and…”
Electrical System · filed Jan 16, 2009
Verbatim excerpts from complaints filed with NHTSA. Reports are not independently verified.
Federal defect investigations
- STEERING COLUMN FIRES
Engineering Analysis EA00007 · opened Mar 3, 2000 · closed Feb 7, 2001 · led to recall 00V287000
- STEERING COLUMN FIRE
Preliminary Evaluation PE99063 · opened Oct 7, 1999 · closed Mar 3, 2000
Technical service bulletins
62 manufacturer communications (TSBs, service campaigns, warranty extensions) are on file with NHTSA for the 1995 Pontiac Grand AM. The 10 most recent:
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723F · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 14, 2022
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Jan 31, 2020
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696E · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Nov 22, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 18, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco TheftLock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 5, 2019
This warranty administration bulletin provides information regarding the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17NA073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 15, 2019
This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician on how to unlock radios that are Delco Theft Lock. Technician will use the radio to get the scrambled code. Technician will need to…
PIC4696C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued May 31, 2018
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Sep 20, 2017
This warranty administration bulletin provides policy information with the field action courtesy transportation policy.
17-NA-073 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Mar 15, 2017
This Preliminary Information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the Tire Pressure Monitor, Active Fuel Injector tester, multi media tester, PICO Scope, GR8…
PIP4723B · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions · issued Feb 22, 2017
TSBs are repair guidance manufacturers send to dealers — they are not recalls and repairs are not automatically free. Full documents are available on NHTSA’s site.
Safety recalls
The 1995 Pontiac Grand AM has 1 NHTSA recall campaign — recall repairs are free at franchised dealers regardless of the vehicle’s age.
Check whether your specific vehicle is affected
Recall campaigns often cover only certain VIN ranges. Enter your VIN on the official NHTSA site to confirm whether your vehicle is included and whether the repair is still open.
Check VIN on NHTSA →Buying a used 1995 Pontiac Grand AM?
- · Decode the seller’s VIN with our free VIN decoder to confirm the exact year, engine and trim.
- · Check for unrepaired recalls by VIN on NHTSA’s official lookup — recall repairs are free.
- · Owners most often reported problems around 110,000 miles — budget accordingly if the car is approaching that mileage.