Air conditioning failure on the 2001 Pontiac Aztek
When air conditioning failure gets reported
Owners of the 2001 Pontiac Aztek report air conditioning failure at a median of 50,000 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles, from 12 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 85,000 miles. It is the 2nd most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 40,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 90,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 50,335 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
A window that narrow is the signature of a part that fails on its own schedule rather than on how the car is driven — which is usually a design or supplier problem rather than wear and tear.
8% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38,965 miles | 43,750 miles | 50,000 miles | 68,750 miles | 89,300 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Putting it right typically runs $400–$2,800 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure, every year of the Pontiac Aztek
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Twice within 52000 the A/C condenser had to be replaced due to a hole in the condenser letting out the freon. I believe this is a defective part by the manufacturer. July 1 2001 and then may 15, 2003. *nlm
The vehicle has 100,000 miles on it and on top of replacing many "minor" parts as well as the air conditioner condenser, the transmission and computer board, we have now replaced the wheel bearings 3 times. And, while replacing the bearings we found that the half-shaft is bad and has to be replaced. The bearings were on indefinite backorder, with no dealer in the state having any. This once again cost us the use of the vehicle for a couple of weeks. This car is awesome except for it's complete lack of reliability. I hope they've fixed these problems on later models. Gm has taken no blame for any part even the ones that should have been under warranty. The dealer won't replace the rear latch problem without charging for it. How long will it take before gm figures out that saving money at the cost of customer satisfaction does not pay in the long run?
Took my 2001 pontiac aztek in last week 10 mar 04 with a A/C problem. They told me it was low on freon and serviced it back up and sent me on my way. 5 days later turned on the A/C and again no cold air. Took my aztek back in today and they called and told me that I have a crack in my condenser on the right side on the bottom. Look up on NHTSA web site and find a technical service bulletin and call pontiac but they don't have it on their system so they will not offer any assistance for me. The technical service bulletin on this website says exactly the problem I have and even gives new installation instructions for the new condenser. Why have new installation procedures? Obviously there is a problem if you have to install it a new way but pontiac won't offer any help. It's obviously a manufacturer deficiency and they are not willing to correct it without wanting to charge me $1000. The way I'm being treated I don't think I will ever own another gm product.
Also reported on the 2001 Pontiac Aztek
Fuel gauge or level sensor failure
Other electrical problem
Fuel tank, filler or EVAP failure
Radiator or coolant leak
Control module (ECM/PCM/BCM) failure
Other body or interior problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 18 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does air conditioning failure happen on the 2001 Pontiac Aztek?
Across 12 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 50,000 miles. A quarter were filed before 45,000 miles and a quarter after 70,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is air conditioning failure on the 2001 Pontiac Aztek?
18 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed