NHTSA Complaint #10252354 — 2006 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX

TWICE, MY 2006 GRAND PRIX GXP HAS WORN OUT BOTH FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS. THE FIRST INCIDENT SOCKED ME TO THE TUNE OF ALMOST $700! THE FIRST OCCURRENCE WAS WITH FEWER THAN 13KMILES ON THE CAR. THIS TIME, I AM AT JUST OVER 30KMILES AND HAVE NOT YET APPROACHED MY DEALERSHIP ABOUT THE PROBLEM! NEITHER TIME WAS THERE EVER A BRAKE-WEAR SENSOR INDICATOR NOISE; BY THE TIME ANY NOISE WAS HEARD, THE ROTORS WERE DESTROYED! I HAVE READ OTHER GRAND PRIX GXP OWNERS SAYING THE EXACT, SAME THING ON MANY AUTOMOTIVE-RELATED WEBSITES/BLOGS. PONTIAC DIVISION OF GENERAL MOTORS HAS BEEN ABSOLUTELY NO HELP WITH THIS UNACCEPTABLY POOR PERFORMANCE!!! I FEEL THAT THIS IS LESS OF A BRAKE SYSTEM PROBLEM AND MORE OF A FRONT SUSPENSION DEFECT; TAKING PARTICULAR NOTE THIS TIME, THE ONLY NOISE IS MADE WHEN I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL EVEN SLIGHTLY AND I GET THAT AWFUL, SICKENING METAL-TO-METAL GRINDING NOISE!!!!!!! *TR UPDATED 2-3-09: WEB USER COMMENTS: PLEASE NOTE THAT SINCE I FILED MY COMPLAINT WITH YOU ON THE ROTORS AND PADS ON MY GRAND PRIX GXP, I HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO THE PONTIAC DEALERSHIP WHERE I LEASED THE CAR. THIS TIME, THERE WAS BARELY ENOUGH THICKNESS LEFT ON THE ROTORS FOR THEM TO BE TURNED, BUT I HAD TO HAVE THE ROTORS AT ALL 4 CORNERS DONE AND HAD TO REPLACE THE ASSOCIATED BRAKE PADS! FURTHERMORE, THE REPAIR TECH NOTED ON THE RO THAT MY GXP WAS MISSING 3 HUB BOLTS ON THE FRONT SUSPENSION! THIS IS NOT GOOD! I COMPLAINED, ONCE AGAIN, TO THE SERVICE WRITER AND, THIS TIME, TO THE SERVICE MANAGER. THE SERVICE MANAGER SAID HE'D CONTACT PONTIAC MOTOR DIVISION TO SEE IF THEY WOULD COVER THE COST OF THIS DANGEROUS, REPEATING PROBLEM. ALAS, PONTIAC REFUSED! I PLAN TO CONTACT PMD MYSELF, AS I DID IN OCTOBER 2007, AND OPEN UP ANOTHER FILE ON MY CAR. IF I DON'T GET ANY HELP THIS TIME, I'LL HAVE MY ATTORNEY DRAFT A LETTER AND GO FROM THERE.