# Ignition Coil 2003 Pontiac Grand Am 2.2

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/ignition-coil-2003-pontiac-grand-am-2-2/69260>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** pontiac, grandam\
**Created:** [November 6, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ignition-coil-2003-pontiac-grand-am-2-2/69260 "2011-11-06T18:52:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Brett10144](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@Brett10144](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Brett10144)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ignition-coil-2003-pontiac-grand-am-2-2/69260/1 "2011-11-06T18:52:32Z")

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My grand am began shaking (shuddering) consistently yesterday morning and I ran a diagnostic reading on the car. It told me that there was a misfire. I replaced the spark plugs and still no change. This car has been a nightmare to do maintenance work on since everything is either within a case or impossible to access on a regular car jack- so I wanted to know if anyone had any other ideas as to what could be causing this reaction in the car? Is it definitely the ignition coil? I would just hate to attempt to replace that (not to mention the fact that it’s $100+ for the part) if I didn’t survey other options. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 7:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/ignition-coil-2003-pontiac-grand-am-2-2/69260/2 "2011-11-06T19:05:28Z")

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A misfire doesn’t refer to spark, in particular. The PCM doesn’t actually know anything directly about spark.

There are 4 things that the engine needs to “fire”: fuel + air + compression + spark. A misfire can be caused by an issue with any one of these things.

Attention to spark plugs & wires is a typical first step, however.

What was/were the specific error code/s that you pulled? How old are those spark plug wires? Did you at least inspect the coil packs to look for obvious issues? (Corrosion, cracks, etc.)