Grand Am turn signals not working SOLUTION

I have a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am.  In September 2007, the turn signals/flashers would intermittently stop working.  We figured out that if you hit the hazards button, the turn signals would work again.  In June 2008, the “hazards button” method would not always work, thus creating a “hazardous” situation for the driver and other cars.  My mechanic and I were having difficulty figuring out where the flasher relay was, so I went online to try to get some advice.  I turns out that many, many Grand Am owners from 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 had this exact problem.  GM even offered to fix the problem for free for SOME owners:

2000-2001 Grand Am, Oldsmobile Alero, Chevrolet Malibu

1999-2000 Grand Am, Oldsmobile Alero, Chevrolet Malibu

The problem is that many owners have found that in those years, their car “isn’t in the VIN range,” even though it has the same problem.

BOTTOM LINE: GM knows about this dangerous situation and is not doing anything about it.  They know that those models have a problem and talk to any dealer — they fix it all the time.  GM is culpable for all accidents that occur because of this problem.  They decided they would fix as little cars as possible.

If you have this problem, call these numbers and report it (have your VIN ready)!

CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537 to see if your car will be fixed for free — if not, complain to them.

NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-DASH-2-DOT (1-888-327-4236).

(Thanks Grand Am Owners Forum)

As a benefit to all owners of these cars, I have posted below instructions on how to fix this problem, since I couldn’t find any help anywhere.  I’m sure there are easier ways to do things; I had to figure it out.  Please comment below with tips and I’ll modify my instructions if appropriate.

These instructions are for turn signals not working intermittently.  There is another common problems where turn signals don’t turn off right away — that’s a different problem, but may be worth trying this because it is cheap!

TOOLS: flat head screwdriver, 7 MM socket

1. Visit your local GM dealer (doesn’t have to be Pontiac) and ask for a Hazard Switch for your car (this is the button you press to turn on your hazards).  They will probably know all about your problem.  Don’t be afraid to ask for the part at cost since this should have been a recall.  I got mine for $19:

2. I started with popping out the ignition ring. (Tip from George T in the comments: Don’t use a screw driver to remove the ring around the ignition switch, just pull the bezel with even force and it will remove it without damage.)

Sorry, my picture is bad, but I think you need to gently get pressure with a flat screwdriver to pry it out.  If you don’t do this first, you’ll see what happens — it gets broken:

3.  Next you need to pry off the bezel over the whole center console area.  I put my screwdriver to the right of the radio.  Once I could fit my fingers under the right side of the cover, I firmed pulled and the cover comes off:

4. Once I pulled the cover off, I put in the key, turned the ignition to on, put the car in Neutral and was able to pull out the console cover better:

5. Obviously, behind where the hazard button is located, is what we need to remove.  Start by unclipping the wire.  You need to push in the clip on the left and right side — enough to push the whole part back through the front, but we’ll do that after we remove in inner cover.

6. To take the whole cover off, remove the wires from the ETS button and cigarette lighter.

7. Now get yourself a 7 MM socket to remove the inner cover.  There are three screws holding it in (only 2 shown):

8. Your next job is to push in the two nubs holding the flasher in place, while pushing the whole part back through the front:

9. I had a difficult time doing this.  Many of you will think it’s easy, but I just could not get it to come out.  The black plastic is fragile — avoid breaking it.  The green plastic is fine to break, so maybe a tool to push both sides in at the same time would be best.  (Tip from Jim K in the comments: In order to squeeze the side tabs of the hazard switch to slide it out of the bracket, I taped a ¼” nut on each jaw of my channel locks, and squeezed directly behind the tabs because I couldn’t get a good grip on the tabs themself. Please read on as to why I didn’t want to break it out.) Here’s what things looks like when I finally got it:

10. You should be able to handle the rest yourself, just go backwards of the above steps.

Now a much happier car!

If your turn signal still isn’t working properly, the other big problem I read about is the multi-function switch in the steering column (attached to the turn signal stalk).  That’s much more expensive and I haven’t done it…yet!  The primary symptom of the other problem is that the flasher noise continues even after the turn signal turns off.  This website has some instructions and pictures.

Jim Kjendalen emailed me with these helpful thoughts on why this is happening:

I looked at the data sheet for the IC in the flasher. It looks like the only way for the “flasher” to activate & click, is to see a low impedance or ground on pin 8 of the IC. Crud on the steering column [multi-function switch] as described earlier, can definitely cause this.

I would “hazard” a guess, 🙂 that what’s burning up the flasher module is the extra blinking that is occurring. Each time you hear a click, the relay contacts are opening & closing. Mechanical relays like these have a fixed life span of so many open/close cycles after which they just wear out. Driving around with the relay clicking for hours/hours is shortening the life dramatically.

In short, I don’t think the crud itself is destroying the IC, but the excess clicking is likely wearing out the mechanical relay in the module prematurely. If you fix the steering column crud as soon as you start to hear the unwanted clicking, you probably won’t need to replace the relay.

link to the 8 pin IC http://www.atmel.com/Images/doc4726.pdf

 

[UPDATE 7/10] My car has been getting worse and worse with the turn signal clicking continuing, even with not having the turn signal on.  It is usually in the morning, and it goes away after a few minutes.  However, today it kept doing it for about 45 minutes straight!  I’m wondering whether this multi-function switch problem is actually the reason why the flasher goes bad…

[UPDATE 9/11] My turn signal is making a clicking noise again at random times… I’m going to have to mess with that multi-function switch soon it seems. With 22,000+ visits to this post since June 2008, this is no small problem..

[UPDATE 4/12] Bye bye, Grand Am. Who knows, maybe the next owner will end up reading this very page!

 

158 replies
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  1. Keith Charvat says:

    Thanks Brian for your information. I just left my Chevy dealer after speaking to them about the turn signal/4 way failure in my daughter’s 2002 Grand Am. I advised them of the Pontiac code 04098a last week, they ordered the switch, set my appt. up for today and in an hour had the car back with the problem fixed…no charge and no hassle. GM part number was 10359039. Interesting side note, once the failure began several weeks ago, my daughter’s aftermarket keyless remote start from Best Buy began to give her trouble, after the replacement switch was done, remote worked every time…

  2. Keith Charvat says:

    By the way, I had my mechanic replace that hazard switch 9 months ago, he probably bought an aftermarket one since he’s known for getting the best priced parts, and it failed in that short of time. The problem was that either in turn signal mode or hazard mode, the light would come on steady, never flash. This switch contains the flashers for both signals and hazards, there are no seperate flasher units in the fuse block for these cars. This time, thanks to your website, I went to my Chevy dealer to get it done. Thanks again!

  3. trisha says:

    i just bought my 2003 pontiac grand am a couple months ago and when I test drove it the blinkers worked great. Since buying it they randomly stop working when I’m driving. I’ve been so frustrated! I’m definitely going to give this info to my mechanic.

  4. Camille says:

    I have a 1999 Grand Am with the intermittent blinker problem. Also one time when it was real hot out the blinker went on and even when I turned the signal arm off the blinker kept going. This lasted for several hours. I am past the 10 year window to repair under the “recall” but way under the 150,000 miles. Does anyone know or has anyone been able to get them to still fix it under these circumstances?

  5. denise says:

    i wanted to say THANK YOU VERY MUCH…this was the most helpful information i had been trying for weeks to fix my problem went through 16 bulbs which were probably all good..and everyone wanted to charge me 125 for a relay swith they said was behind the steering wheel they were wrong it was the hazard switch just want to say thank you again..

  6. Pam says:

    I have a 2001 Pontiac Grand AM and have been going crazy with my blinkers. First the blinkers stopped working; I tried to replace the recalled part and was told that it had already been replaced by the previous owner. I found a column switch at the junk yard and replaced it, but it did nothing. I replaced a bunch of fuses and relays and put the old column switch back in and the blinkers worked again for a while. Before they stopped working there was a weird sound when the left blinkers was on for a long period of time. It has been months since they stopped working and it has been driving me crazy. I live in Washington and it has been raining a lot and having to stick my hand out the window isn’t any fun. I have never had any problems with the hazard lights not working as I have always checked that figuring that it if they worked that the lights worked that it had to be something else. I will try to replace the hazard switch if you think that could still be the problem. What do you think?

  7. brmorris says:

    I think the root cause is the multi-function switch in the steering column (that has the turn signal arm, etc.), which causes the hazard button to go bad. That’s why some folks have success for a while with replacing the hazard switch — until it fails again. If you’ve changed out the multi-function switch, you should change out the hazard button, too, although your multi-function switch from the junkyard is probably bad, too.

  8. Marlys says:

    I have had the annoying clicking for a few years now, but only in cold weather! It bugs me from November through March and then goes away for the warm months (weird). Anyway, my turn signals just stopped working today at lunch for the first time ever…the arrows came on but didn’t blink or make any noise. I’m hoping when I get back in the car after work, they’ll be “on” again, and my husband can do the fixes described above. This is so scary, and I certainly hope it’s not too expensive for the multi-function switch, as my husband’s been out of work for 3 years (he’s a carpenter, so who knows when the building market will finally look better!). Unfortunately, I have over 182 thousand miles on my car, so I doubt the recall will be covered.

    I drive 100 miles a day to get to and from work, and there is no way I can afford a new car when we are barely affording the basic bills. Sure hope this helps!

  9. Stephanie says:

    You are my new hero! Been trying to figure out the signal problem on husband’s car (I never drive it so forget) and it is one within the recall vin! Thank you! He has never been told by mechanics this is the problem and the used car lot didn’t tell him when he got it years ago.

  10. Michael says:

    @ brmorris

    I own a Pontiac Grand Am 2.4L Coupe for over 7 years now and have had constant issues with this my turn signals. I’ve even replaced this piece as described above.

    What I’ve found is that it isn’t the Hazard Switch thats causing the problem, as brmorris said, it’s the multi-function switch on the steering column that causes the Hazard Switch to go bad.

    A lot of you notice that this comes and goes with extreme weather changes. I believe this is due to the grease being contaminated. I live in WA State and I believe that the weather has been causing the grease to freeze and de-thaw, which is screwing with the connectors. They need to be cleaned and wiped down.

    Fortunately, most people can fix this if you take some time to dismantle the steering mantle and the bezel on your dash. It sounds difficult, but it’s really not bad at all. If you know how to play with legos, you could do most of this yourself.

  11. brmorris says:

    I totally agree! In the last two paragraphs of the post I discuss that. On the flip side, it’s probably worth trying the hazard switch once — it’s kept it under control for a few years now for me.

  12. Gina says:

    @ brmorris.
    I apologize if you have already answered this question but, I have problems with my turn signals intermittently working – for years! ONLY THE TURN SIGNALS. Nothing else is wrong with my car (knock on wood). I’ve read here that it could be a bad turn signal flasher, or a bad turn signal switch, or just clean out the multifunction switch. You, or someone, had commented on replacing the hazard switch, but I don’t think that applies to me since I ONLY HAVE PROBLEMS WITH MY TURN SIGNALS SOMETIMES WORKING, THEN SOMETIMES NOT WORKING. Which solution do you think I should try first?- Replace the turn signal flasher, replace the turn signal switch, or clean the multifunction switch and connectors? I’m not a mechanic, so which do you advise on me trying? Thanks!

    Gina

  13. brmorris says:

    I would do Hazard switch first (relatively cheap and easy), then multi-function switch if that doesn’t band-aid the issue.

  14. OhioAlero says:

    Thanks brmorris! I went the cheap route, no new parts. 30 minutes of removing, cleaning and reinstalling the multifunction switch. Turn signals work fine.

  15. Amy says:

    Have same issue with turn signals not working. Called the 800# you listed for Pontiac and got nowhere. Of course mine is one of many not included in their small recall. Seems to be a huge issue. Have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA and BBB today. Getting info. together to send GM. Was wondering if any class action suits been put into works? Had this issue with a fuel pump that the class action resulted in reimbursement of having fuel pump replaced. Obviously we as consumers and customers need to ban together on this.

  16. Adriana says:

    I have the same issue, I have a pontiac grand am 2000 and my vin is between the number annoucued, but they still said that my wasnt not qualified. I called gm and went to the dearship. Who do I call to compalin now?

  17. brmorris says:

    I’d recommend you follow my recommendation in the post to call the NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE.

  18. Nikke says:

    Thank you for posting this information! I own a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am GT and have the same issue. Just started a couple of months ago. I am the second owner of the car. I hope this doesn’t matter. I will be giving GM a call and if that fails, I will be giving traffic safety a call. Once again, thank you! I will keep you updated.

  19. Amy says:

    Follow up… After sending a letter to Pontiac/GM (sent so they had to sign for it) I was contacted and told I had to take my car in for a diagnosis first. Keep in mind it had already been taken in. I was told I had to pay for that. Upon picking my car up from the diagnosis only they lost my keys. Making for trip 2 the next day to have locks changed. Then was contacted again by Pontiac/GM and told they still weren’t gonna have it fixed. Tried calling NHTSA but got busy signals. Will keep trying. Also asked to be contacted by supervisor from Pontiac/GM along with the CEO info. Waiting on that return call now…though I found the whole board of directors on their site. My advice to everybody….keep flooding them with complaints and everything so maybe they will get the picture that all vin#’s should be included in recall.

  20. katie says:

    This is the best information ever, I have been watching the recall list and found the information about pressing the hazard light button to get the signals to work. This has worked until just recently, now the hazard lights won’t come on.. Thank you so much for all of the great information you provided. Now I just need to get my brother to do the work! LOL!

  21. brmorris says:

    I don’t know! I only changed the hazard switch and haven’t tried the messing with the steering column.

  22. Stephanie says:

    I just got my hazard switch n turn signals switch fixed to solve my problem of continuous clicking n turn signals intermittantly working. Pontiac should be ashamed because I took mine to the dealer n they wanted 800$ to fix! Economy is bad but companies like Pontiac make u not want to buy American and support because they are so janky!

  23. Shawn says:

    I just got off the phone with Leondre at Pontiac. I hav a 2003 Grand Am, and my VIN is not covered. I am having the exact same issue with the blinkers working intermittently. I am going to get this fixed along with the open recall regarding the accelerator pedal sticking, and will be sending them the bill for reimbursement. Not sure if they will pay it, but I’m not.

  24. Ben says:

    Thank you so much for the info. I just replaced the hazard switch on my 2003 grand am. For 18 bucks and 20 minutes of my time, I no longer have to cross my fingers and hope the turn signals work!

  25. karen says:

    I got my letter today it was signed by Marsha Kid no return on the envelope the number was 1/866/234/3457
    came straight to the computer stupid people

  26. Ron says:

    I just bought a 2003 Grand Am and have the same problem. I called Pontiac and they told me my vin is not in the recall and told me there is nothing they can do but make a case and note it. They did tell me if anyone else is having the problem to call them so they could possibly get a recall out there. Guess if you want to wait and take the chance hoping something does not happen then we can wait but call Pontiac and at least complain, why let dealers run over people with older cars. Theyjust want you to spend money or buy a new one.

  27. Amy says:

    I’m still fighting this. Down to complaining to consumer affairs at this point. Congressmen & state reps will be next. I’m still to this day waiting for the service department manager to return my voicemail. Ridiculous! And no they shouldn’t run over people which is why I’m very head strong about them taking responsibility for something they know is a major issue. This isn’t a busted speaker or something cosmetic….this is something that could cause a major wreck.

  28. Tara says:

    I have the same problems with my turning signals…….it is soooooo annoying!!!!! I hate my car!!!!!

  29. Diana says:

    THANK YOU!!! My husband and I (totally not mechanically inclined) just replaced my hazard switch in about 15-20 minutes, and fixed my problem! I am so excited! I have 180,000 miles on my 03 Grand Am, so no warranty. Part cost me $20 at O’Reilly Auto Parts. The guys in the store laughed at me, and told me what a big job it was. I was totally feeling stupid. I want to go back now, and go “It was super easy!!!” Thank you so much for this website. You just saved me a TON of money!!

  30. Bruce says:

    Fantastic, thank you…it took me 9 minutes after aquiring the part at O’Riley’s for $20 bucks. They work!!!!!!:)

  31. Ron Batho says:

    I was just quoted $400 to replace the multi-function on my 05 Grand Am. Not happy to say the least! This car is the worst pile of junk I have ever owned and I would not touch a GM product ever again. Last year $1,000 to replace front struts and the beat goes on! All this with less than 75,000 miles! YUK!

  32. India says:

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. I own a 2002 Pontiac Gram AM GT (Black Beauty) and she hasn’t had blinkers in years; I found this site after searching for solutions for other things going on with her. I was a bit hesitant at first because I was told years ago that it was most likely my Multi-funtion but this was the solution. $19.00 at Advance Auto parts and a total of 10 minutes of my time 🙂

  33. Riley says:

    Great Article, I have a 2002 Grand Am that this very same problem happened. I called my dealership and reported the vin # and it was actually a recall. The only requirements was the car must be under 150k miles and less than 10 years old. I qualified, got it fixed in about an hour and walked out owing nothing.
    Thanks for all your comments.

  34. DeepC says:

    Great Article Brian. I also have had this problem with my 2004 grand am that has only 46,000 miles. It first started with the annoying clicking sound & then the turn signal malfunction. I’ve replaced both the hazard switch & the multi-function switch 8 months ago then about 2 months ago they stopped working. Then had multi-function switch replace about 2-3 weeks ago they stop working this past weekend while on the highway 🙁 The work was done by Tires Plus that guarantees it. But i need a more perm fix. I found your site yesterday & called the Pontiac # they said no recall for my vin#.
    So, I guess i’ll try calling NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION’S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE. thanks for all your information here ^.^

  35. DeepC says:

    Grand Am Models from 99-05 use the same ac delco part for the Hazard switch & it also uses the same multi-function switch *_*

  36. brmorris says:

    DeepC,

    That’s very interesting — I haven’t heard of a case where replacing both the multi-function switch and hazard switch didn’t fix it.

  37. DanaFL says:

    Mr. Morris..THANK YOU! This also worked for me, unfortunately GM refused to cover my ’04 Pontiac Grand Am so I filed a complaint with the NHTSA. Something I recommend every GM owner do until these jerks realize this problem won’t go quietly away. Funny thing is there are TWO GM vehicles (Malibu) in my household with the same damn problem at the same time. Very annoying!

  38. Steve says:

    I Googled the problem and it brought me here. My son said his turn signals quit working on his 2004 Grand Am. I found the emergency flashers weren’t working either. After reading up on this site I was able to find the part on Amazon.com for less than $14. At this point I’m waiting for the part to arrive. Not real happy. This is probably our LAST car I will buy from “The Big Three”. This Grand Am has less than 65,000 miles on it. My daughter’s 2000 Camry has 220,000 miles on it and it’s easy going strong.

    Another point of interest, I found that Amazon is an awesome place to buy replacement parts CHEAP. I bought a replacement mirror for my daughter’s Camry for $25 (and it’s the type with the power adjustment). Then she hit a deer and I bought the turn signal assembly for $11 and it came with a new bulb!!

    Thanks for the help. Hopefully the new switch will solve the problem.

  39. Dan says:

    Hi, everyone. I just inherited a 2000 grand am gt. It has the same problem only I’ve called Autozone, Oreilly’s and Advance auto parts. No one carries this relay. Is this a dealer only part? And can I still get free or at cost have a dealer fix it? (It’s Saturday at 4:45pm so no dealer’s open now)

    Dan

  40. Timothy says:

    Just another vote for ‘this works!’ less than $20 from amazon and about 5 mins work. Thank you!!!

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