What breaks most · 1990 to 2005 model years
Pontiac Bonneville problems by year
Owners have filed 1,902 safety complaints with NHTSA about the Pontiac Bonneville across model years 1990 to 2005. Three years stand out: 1998 for engine and cooling complaints, 1995 for engine and cooling complaints and 2000 for visibility complaints. The quietest years are 1991, 1990 and 2003.
- Years to check closely: 1998, 1995, 2000
- Fewest complaints: 1991, 1990, 2003
- Complaints on file
- 19021990 to 2005, all trims
- Worst year
- 1998277 complaints
- Crashes reported
- 99142 fires · 113 injuries · 0 deaths
- Typical failure mileage
- 79kMedian where owners gave mileage
- Recall campaigns
- 25Across the years shown
Complaints by model year
Raw filings with NHTSA, not adjusted for how many were sold.
| Model year | Complaints | Crashes | Recalls | Most-reported component |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | 4 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (17) | |
| 22 | 3 | 2 | Brakes (hydraulic) (6) | |
| 113 | 13 | 3 | Brakes (hydraulic) (45) | |
| 138 | 13 | 1 | Brakes (hydraulic) (42) | |
| 88 | 11 | 0 | Electrical system (19) | |
| 244 | 12 | 1 | Engine and cooling (55) | |
| 150 | 6 | 3 | Engine and cooling (43) | |
| 147 | 3 | 2 | Engine and cooling (50) | |
| 277 | 9 | 2 | Engine and cooling (194) | |
| 143 | 5 | 4 | Engine and cooling (59) | |
| 214 | 4 | 2 | Visibility (58) | |
| 129 | 6 | 0 | Steering (31) | |
| 89 | 5 | 2 | Steering (19) | |
| 54 | 3 | 2 | Steering (10) | |
| 28 | 0 | 0 | Electrical system (11) | |
| 27 | 2 | 0 | Air bags (12) |
What fails on the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville
| Component | Share of complaints | Filings | Crashes | Parts for this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engine and coolingRadiators, thermostats and cooling | 70% |
194 | 1 | Shop engine and cooling parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| Fuel systemFuel pumps and injectors | 12% |
33 | 1 | Shop fuel system parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| Electrical systemAlternators, starters and ignition | 10% |
28 | 1 | Shop electrical system parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| Powertrain and transmissionTransmission parts | 5% |
13 | 1 | Shop powertrain and transmission parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| VisibilityMirrors and glass | 3% |
8 | 0 | Shop visibility parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| Speed control and throttleThrottle and pedal sensors | 3% |
8 | 2 | Shop speed control and throttle parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
| Unknown or other | 3% |
8 | 1 | — |
| SteeringPower steering pumps, racks and hoses | 3% |
7 | 2 | Shop steering parts for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville |
One complaint can name more than one component, so shares add to more than 100%. "Unknown or other" is NHTSA's uncategorized bucket and is shown but never ranked.
In owners' words
Complaint narratives as filed with NHTSA, trimmed for length.
-
The air intake gasket has failed for 2 reasons. 1 factory tightly put the bolts on to tight. 2 plastic gasket and plastic manifold parts do not meet government safety standards for, failure avoidance, because of materials used to connect the plastic to mettle creating a dangerous situation.
-
While driving vehicle stalled. Consumer was unable to restart vehicle, and had it towed to the dealer for inspection. Mechanic determined that the intake manifold needed to be replaced. *ak
-
Window regulator for right rear window failed spontaneously, causing window to drop. This is the fifth regulator to fail in 85000 miles. The regulators for all four windows have failed once, the right rear regulator has now failed twice. *jb
How to read this page
Every figure comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's public complaint database, which holds every safety-related defect complaint filed by owners since 1995. We refresh it monthly and count each complaint once per component it names. Data through September 6, 2026.
NHTSA only accepts safety-related complaints. Rattles, paint, infotainment bugs and other annoyances are under-reported here, so this page is a map of what fails in ways owners consider dangerous, not a full reliability score.
Counts are raw. Use the year-over-year shape and the component mix, not the absolute numbers. Where a component maps to parts we stock, the row links to that category filtered to the year you are viewing. Air bag and seat belt complaints link to the recall checker instead, because those repairs are almost always covered.
Common questions
Which Pontiac Bonneville years have the most problems?
By NHTSA complaint volume, 1998, 1995, 2000 carry the most filings on the Pontiac Bonneville. The 1998 alone has 277 complaints, led by engine and cooling.
What is the most common Pontiac Bonneville problem?
On the 1998 model year, the most-reported component is engine and cooling with 194 complaints. The table above lists the top components for every year.
At what mileage do Pontiac Bonneville problems start?
The median mileage at failure across all Pontiac Bonneville complaints that include mileage is about 79,000 miles. Older model years skew higher; the per-year figure is in the "at a glance" card.
Are these complaints verified?
No. NHTSA publishes complaints as submitted and does not investigate individual filings. Patterns across hundreds of complaints are meaningful; a single one is not.