1992 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 111 complaints · 3 recalls
Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (43 complaints · 38.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 13
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 12
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1991 →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution SERVICE BRAKES appears in 43 of 111 owner complaints (38.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 43 complaints, 38.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 43 · 38.7% · 6 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 14 complaints, 12.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 · 12.6% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 9 complaints, 8.1% of reports ENGINE 9 · 8.1% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 7.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 7.2% · 2 fire reports WHEELS: 7 complaints, 6.3% of reports WHEELS 7 · 6.3% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 5.4% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 5.4% · 4 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 4.5% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 4.5% · 1 fire reports SEAT BELTS: 5 complaints, 4.5% of reports SEAT BELTS 5 · 4.5% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 2.7% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 2.7% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 94 complaints, 84.7% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 94 · 84.7% · 12 crash reports 5 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
SERVICE BRAKES 43 38.7% 6 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 14 12.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 9 8.1% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 7.2% 0 crashes · 2 fires
WHEELS 7 6.3% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 5.4% 4 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 4.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SEAT BELTS 5 4.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 2.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 94 84.7% 12 crashes · 5 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 1991. 1995-Q1: 13 owner reports 13 1995-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1995-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 1995-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 1996-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q4: 7 owner reports 7 1997-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1997-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2002-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Aug 1991 Oct 2016 Recall campaign 91V131000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V131000 Recall campaign 91V167000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V167000 Recall campaign 96V015000 ◆ Recall campaign 96V015000 Investigation PE92010 ● Investigation PE92010 Investigation EA93011 ● Investigation EA93011
  • Campaign 96V015000 was reported 340 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 13
1995-Q2 Owner reports 6
1995-Q3 Owner reports 5
1995-Q4 Owner reports 10
1996-Q1 Owner reports 6
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 3
1996-Q4 Owner reports 7
1997-Q1 Owner reports 5
1997-Q2 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 4
1997-Q4 Owner reports 4
1998-Q1 Owner reports 6
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 6
1998-Q4 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 2
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2001-Q1 Owner reports 2
2002-Q1 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 91V131000
Recall campaign 1 91V167000
Recall campaign 1 96V015000
Defect investigation 1 PE92010
Defect investigation 1 EA93011
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 91V131000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    THE DISENGAGED CABLE COULD FALSELY INDICATE TRANSMISSIONGEAR POSITION, AND THE VEHICLE MIGHT BE LEFT IN REVERSE OR DRIVE WHEN THE DRIVERMOVED THE GEAR SELECTOR TO PARK OR THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. A VEHICLE LEFT ON ANINCLINE WITHOUT PARKING BRAKES WHEN THE GEAR SELECTOR IS PLACED IN PARK COULDMOVE. EITHER CASE RESULTS IN UNEXPECTED VEHICLE MOVEMENT WITHOUT PRIOR WARNINGAND COULD CAUSE A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    INSTALL A TRANSAXLE SHIFT CONTROL CABLE RETAINING CLIP ON THE SHIFT CONTROL CABLE BRACKET ON TOP OF TRANSAXLE.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 91V167000

    Report date
    Component:
    PARKING BRAKE
    Consequence:
    DEPENDING ON THE EXTENT OF THE LEVER RELEASE AND ROADLEVEL. THE PARKING BRAKE MAY NOT HOLD THE VEHICLE, ALLOWING IT TO ROLL, WHICHCOULD RESULT IN AN ACCIDENT. VEHICLE DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS 105.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE PARKING BRAKE LEVER ASSEMBLY.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 96V015000

    Report date
    Component:
    POWER TRAIN
    Consequence:
    VEHICLE FIRES CAN OCCUR DUE TO THE SPILLAGE OF TRANSMISSION FLUID.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE TRANSMISSION OIL COOLER LINES.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 111 complaints · page 1 of 5

No complaints match the current filters.
EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

 Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources