2005 Grand Prix Driveability Issues

3800 Series III V6 Stock w/o supercharger

All the problems below began about 2 months after I bought my GP

1) The car is hard to start in the mornings. The engine will roll a few times, catch, misfire, then start ok. Car also seems to lack power in the lower RPM's. At 3000 and above, there's lots of power.

2) When I notice the lack of power and accelerate quickly, there's a strange smell coming from the car; almost like hair dye but not as potent.

3) The engine also ticks lightly when it has been idly for 3-5 minutes. I think that these problems are related.

Any ideas??? Thanks in advance!

Are you under warranty?

JESSEP28:

The car is still under warranty, but the dealer gives me the usual run-around every time I bring it in. They say because the car is not issuing an error code and it's fine when warm, there's nothing wrong.

I've had a GM mechanic test drive it and they say there's nothing wrong even though the car has almost no kick until 3000RPM. The only solution they offered is to leave the car there overnight and let them test it in the morning with with the misfiring problem. I don't think I trust them enough for that; they'll probably just say it's fine to get out of doing work under warranty. And it's a major inconvenience and cost to go that route.

It seems like a fuel delivery problem to me, but that's just a hunch.

Thanks for the reply....anything come to mind?

As you can tell, this forum is centered heavily on the 97-03' models.

Do you keep taking it to the same dealer? I haven't driven an 04+ Grand Prix since the one I drove back in 2004 before I bought my current one, so I can't say if what you are experiencing (the 3000rpm kick in) is normal.

If you don't have to drive too far away, try another GM dealer. Maybe they can find the issue.

I will try another GM dealer if the issue persists when I take the car out of storage. Thanks for the help!

Anyone else notice similar problems with the 04+ GP?

I have an 04 Comp G, so I can't comment on your engine, but if I didn't have the supercharger, I can see my car having the same "lag" issues. Even with the S/C I feel a little slow below 3000, although if I stand on it, I feel like I'm glued to the seat.

I don't have any smells that you are experiencing though. When I have the A/C or heat off, I still get warm air pushed through the vents, but that's common with the re-circulate off.

In my experience with dealers and warranty work, I become a dealers nightmare if they try to give me the run around. If they are courteous, I reciprocate and usually everythings ok. But the only time I had problems, I had to call every hour, or it seemed like it, to get answers. Then they still screwed up the work and I had to go back.

I try not to be a pain in the arse because I realize that they will delay my car on purpose, but sometimes, well enough said.