Branden Farthing
Editor-NewAgeGTO.com

A rumor has been started on the internet, that automatic equipped GTO’s were having some sort of computer issue that was causing acceleration problems. I spoke with Pontiac today about these concerns, and got to what I feel is the bottom of the issue, so here is the scoop. All GTO’s that have shown up thus far in magazine tests and such were part of the pilot run of about 25 GTO’s. In other words, they are not actual production cars that people will ever buy, instead they are test vehicles which are built for the purpose of showing the media and working out any problems before real production. Due to the all the powertrain and exhaust changes that GM made in converting the Monaro to the GTO, an issue arose concerning the relocation of a wiring harness that among other things was integral to the traction control system. Basically the new location was causing the wiring harness was becoming pinched or damaged in some way, which caused the traction control system to act erratically under hard acceleration. The common malfunction from the wiring issue was that it caused throttle relaxer portion of the three-stage TCS system to kick in too early when the car was floored. This obviously caused the computer to cut power to the engine and hurt acceleration numbers. This problem only affected automatic PILOT GTO’s and has been corrected for all production GTO’s, including the ones already on US soil. To our knowledge, the only magazine that tested a car with the wiring problem according to Pontiac was Pontiac Enthusiast. Again, please remember this does not affect production GTO’s and that it is common to have issues with pilot cars, that is why they make them.

Also on another note, the second shipment of GTO’s has arrived in San Diego, which leaves the total in the states now at over 900!

Thanks for the info Branden!

good i hope the traction controll works just like the f body ls1 so i can turn it off

The traction control button to deactivate the system is just to the right of the shifter on the automatic and below the window control buttons on the center consol for the Manual.

:laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce:

Finally got around to that source huh Branden.... :P I told you I was leading down the path to righteousness :afro:

Originally posted by LT1Brutus@Dec 2 2003, 10:15 PM
Finally got around to that source huh Branden.... :P I told you I was leading down the path to righteousness :afro:
Never doubted you.....just wanted to be 100% sure:)

Also the person I needed to confirm it wa sout the office all week last week :huh:

Someone else was saying it was just a calibration issue
in the comnputer and could be solved with LS1edit.

Thanks for the info.

Originally we, and a lot of others involved, thought that the problem was w/ the torque management...which is easily eliminated w/ ls1edit. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that we found out that in fact it was a wiring issue.....it to the GM guys a while after we reported the bad performance to them before they came back with the results...

Just as a note, I have a manual trans GTO on order, and it has been since about August.

Just got a call from my dealer that the production date (moved back to December from an original November date) has been moved back again to January.

He then says it takes up to 60 days to get the car here, so that makes it a March delivery.

Actually this is OK by me.

Living in the upper midwest, I would just as soon not get a new car in the dead of winter. Still I was hoping to be shifting that six-speed before Christmas!

Don Mallinson
Silver Frost with Black/Red interior 6-speed.

DD,
When in August did you order? Was it one of the dealers alotted preorders or not. I ask because I ordered on August 25 and haven't heard anything yet.

:laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce: :laughbounce:

I'd just like to add a little more information here if I may, this problem only affected the automatic cars of the first 8 pilot line cars. Cars manufactured after the first 8 brought over were corrected. The problem was very easily circumvented by simply pulling two fuses, unfortunately the people doing the whining about this problem were not intelligent enough to figure this out. This lead to many rants about the pilots being detuned when in actuality they were not. Hope this eases some minds, as well as sheds some light on some magazine "testing".

Tails,

I am guessing about the order date. Yes, it was one of the cars that the dealer had already ordered, but he let me choose the colors/options, as the car had not been specified yet.

I also have talked with another Pontiac dealer in my area, and they have at least two cars coming in that are not spoken for, but they are not here yet. Haven 't seen any come in yet in my part of Illinois.

Anybody need to get on a list, contact me off-line (I don't get to the forums that often) and I can put you in touch with the local dealer that has cars for sale.

Don

:blink:

Well, I am a GTO owner - bought it in January.

I have had nothing but problems with the ABS system
ever since I took delivery - beginning with the second day.
(It is a 6-speed manual, by the way.)

It is at the dealer right now and they, quite frankly,
don't know how to deal with the problem. They have
already tried several things, including running redundant
wiring. The ABS light comes on frequently and turns
off the traction control.

If this continues I am doing "the lemon law" and
giving it back. :flush: I don't want a powerful, fast car that
I can't count on to brake when I need it to brake. :(

Correct me if I'm wrong but if they lemon-law the car, don't they have to crush it? A sad day it is...but no one can blame you.....even though I'd gladly take one w/out ABS or TC for about 5k off sticker

:D Hey...they designed a new wiring harness for my goat! :D

I don't want to "lemon-law" my beautiful blue car!
I just hope it works this time.

Most likely, I would try to sell before returning it.

:) I am happy right now with my goat back in my driveway.

I just keep praying that this took care of the problem. :) :) :) :)

I'd just like to add a little more information here if I may, this problem only affected the automatic cars of the first 8 pilot line cars. Cars manufactured after the first 8 brought over were corrected. The problem was very easily circumvented by simply pulling two fuses, unfortunately the people doing the whining about this problem were not intelligent enough to figure this out. This lead to many rants about the pilots being detuned when in actuality they were not. Hope this eases some minds, as well as sheds some light on some magazine "testing".
is there any way trace wich numbered cars they where. because im having the same problem with mine. i have a 2006 , if i take the traction off and try to power brake the car bogs down as if i still have the traction on

is there any way trace wich numbered cars they where. because im having the same problem with mine. i have a 2006 , if i take the traction off and try to power brake the car bogs down as if i still have the traction on

Doesn't the '06s(A4s) have a torque managment switch/sensor on the brake pedal? (I believe it's the top one) So as to control the amount of torque off the line and make it so you can't torque brake it? I've heard people with '06s have to start in 1st and manually shift to counter the problem.

is there any way trace wich numbered cars they where. because im having the same problem with mine. i have a 2006 , if i take the traction off and try to power brake the car bogs down as if i still have the traction on

Id say it safe to say ur car isnt 1 of the 8 considering the thread started over 3 years ago.

is there any way trace wich numbered cars they where. because im having the same problem with mine. i have a 2006 , if i take the traction off and try to power brake the car bogs down as if i still have the traction on

When you turn your traction control off how do you tell it's off? I've heard of issues where the switch isn't connected, and pushing the switch does nothing.

When you turn your traction control off how do you tell it's off? I've heard of issues where the switch isn't connected, and pushing the switch does nothing.
the dash tells me traction off and it show you the picture of the car fish tailing

its funny, but not. i went to the dealer with a couple of things. like idle surge, car shuts off after 1 or 2 hrs of driving and i have to start it a second time, a whining noise in front that sound like the power steering, my abs light went on last week and they found nothing. they did a pcm upgrade. paper work said: j6354. so, i took it took a loanly road and i almost threw up. same sh*t. took the traction off and i couldnt light up the tires. I KNOW I CAN LIGHT UP THE TIRES! EVERYONE CAN! can someone please help? i tried an experiment and tryed to do a burn out with the e- brakes on and it reacts the same, the rear drops and goes bla. almost if im riding with the brakes on. call if need be. 917 225 4583 i'll pay if someone knows. thanks ralph

Did you take your A4 and manually shift it in 1st and torque brake it?

i could take it in any gear and hell would break loose. with the trac lock off. is there a differance between 2005 and 2006?

i could take it in any gear and hell would break loose. with the trac lock off. is there a differance between 2005 and 2006?
sory, im just a little pissed. yes, i tried it in 1st and it boged down.