NHTSA Complaint #736496 — 1997 PONTIAC GRAND AM

THIS FAILURE IS PARTICULARLY BAD BECAUSE BOTH TIMES THE ABS LIGHT CAME ON ABOUT 10 MILES BEFORE THE OCCURRENCE (WHICH IN HINDSIGHT) I SEE WAS THE ONLY WARNING OF DANGER AND BOTH TIMES WERE PITCH DARK OUTSIDE, FIRST THE CAR SEEMED TO BE IN NEUTRAL IN THE DRIVE POSITION, IN THAT THE ENGINE REVVED, BUT HAD LITTLE REAL POWER AND WHILE IN ANTICIPATION (FEAR) THAT THE CAR WOULD LUNGE WHEN THE TRANSMISSION FINALLY TOOK HOLD DIDN'T COME TO FRUITION, WHAT OCCURRED COULD HAVE BEEN AS BAD. THE DASH LIGHT INDICATORS STARTED FLASHING BUT THE MAIN DASH LIGHTS SEEN FREGUENTLY (SPEEDOMETER) DISAPPEARED AND THEN I NOTICED THAT I WAS ONLY BEING GUIDED BY STREET LAMPS (SECOND OCCURENCE, I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THAT) AND THE CAR DIED AT THE SAME TIME, MAKING ME LOSE POWER STEERING AND BRAKES AND HAVE TO GET THIS THING OFF THE ROAD. THIS CAR HAS NEVER MISSED A BEAT BEFORE THAT, BUT WHEN THIS HAPPENED THE FIRST TIME, A BUNCH OF CITY WORKERS OUT TRYING TO FIX A BURST PIPE IN THE STREET AT 5:30 A.M. WERE WATCHING THIS HAPPEN AND CAME RUNNING OVER AND SAID THAT THE WAY THIS CAR FAILED SHOULD BE REPORTED BECAUSE IT COULD HAVE BEEN BAD FOR ANY DRIVER TO LOSE CAR MANUEVERABILITY AT THE SAME TIME AS EXTERIOR LIGHTS. THE SECOND TIME, WHEN I SAW THE ABS LIGHT COME ON, I WAS PREPARED. I CALLED MY HUBBY ON THE CELL PHONE AND HE CAME AND FOLLOWED ME FROM THERE AND I HAD ABOUT 10 MILES OF DRIVETIME BEFORE MY CAR BECAME POSSESSED AGAIN. IT IS SITTING BY THE ROAD ON AN ISOLATED SECTION IN INDIANA AND I'M FEELING PRETTY DARN LUCKY.*AK