NHTSA complaint: 1998 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FRONT UNDERHOOD
I WENT TO THE STORE, DROVE ABOUT 40 FEET AND GOT STUCK IN SNOW. REALIZED I WAS BOTTOMED OUT IN SNOW WHEN I OPENED MY DOOR. I DIDN'T TRY TO GET UNSTUCK. I SHUT OFF ENGINE AND WENT INTO HOUSE. SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, I HEARD A NOISE AND LOOKED OUT AND SAW FLAMES SHOOTING FROM UNDER HOOD. I IMMEDIATELY CALLED 911 AND FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS THERE WITHIN 5 MINUTES AND TRUCK WAS THERE WITHIN 10. THEY IMMEDIATELY ASKED ME IF THE CAR WAS LEFT RUNNING AT THE TIME THE FIRE STARTED. I SAID,"NO, I WAS INSIDE AT LEAST 20 MINUTES BEFORE I HEARD THIS NOISE AND LOOKED OUT." THE ENGINE AND FRONT END OF CAR IS A COMPLETE LOSS. CRACKED WINDSHIELD, MELTED LOWER LEFT HAND CORNER OF WINDSHIELD AND FRONT OF INSTRUMENT PANEL. THEIR WERE NO FLAMES THAT REACHED THE INSIDE THRU THE FIREWALL. UNFORTUNATELY I AM NOT INSURED AND WIFE AND I ARE DISABLED, THE CAR BEING OUR ONLY SOURCE OF TRANSPORTATION. THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITES I RESEARCHED, I SAW SEVERAL DOZEN PEOPLE WITH THE SAME CIRCUMSTANCES AS I HAD WITH THEIR GRAND PRIX GTP'S. FIREMAN SAID CAUSE WAS UNKNOWN, BUT LOOKS LIKE IT MAY HAVE BEEN ELECTRICAL OR MAYBE FUEL RELATED. *JB
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Office of Defects Investigation