1998 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 274 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (181 complaints · 66.1%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 9
  • Fires 28
  • Injuries 7
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 1997 →
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 ENGINE appears in 181 of 274 owner complaints (66.1%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 181 complaints, 66.1% of reports ENGINE 181 · 66.1% · 1 crash reports 17 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 28 complaints, 10.2% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 28 · 10.2% · 1 crash reports 4 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 19 complaints, 6.9% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 · 6.9% · 6 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 8 complaints, 2.9% of reports POWER TRAIN 8 · 2.9% VISIBILITY: 6 complaints, 2.2% of reports VISIBILITY 6 · 2.2% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 5 complaints, 1.8% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 5 · 1.8% STEERING: 5 complaints, 1.8% of reports STEERING 5 · 1.8% · 2 crash reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 5 complaints, 1.8% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 · 1.8% · 2 crash reports AIR BAGS: 3 complaints, 1.1% of reports AIR BAGS 3 · 1.1% · 2 crash reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 187 complaints, 68.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 187 · 68.3% · 6 crash reports 20 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)
ENGINE 181 66.1% 1 crashes · 17 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 28 10.2% 1 crashes · 4 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 19 6.9% 0 crashes · 6 fires
POWER TRAIN 8 2.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 6 2.2% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 5 1.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 5 1.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 5 1.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 3 1.1% 2 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 187 68.3% 6 crashes · 20 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 Oct 1997; the first recall shown was reported in Feb 2004. 1997-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 1999-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2001-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2001-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2002-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2002-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2002-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2003-Q1: 22 owner reports 22 2003-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2003-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2003-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2004-Q1: 24 owner reports 24 2004-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 2004-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 2004-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 2005-Q1: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1997 Jul 2015 Recall campaign 04V090000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V090000 Recall campaign 09E012000 ◆ Recall campaign 09E012000 Investigation PE02050 ● Investigation PE02050 Investigation EA02030 ● Investigation EA02030
  • Campaign 04V090000 was reported 1,476 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1997-Q4 Owner reports 2
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 3
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 3
1999-Q1 Owner reports 6
1999-Q2 Owner reports 4
1999-Q3 Owner reports 4
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q1 Owner reports 6
2000-Q2 Owner reports 4
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q4 Owner reports 4
2001-Q1 Owner reports 5
2001-Q2 Owner reports 8
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 3
2002-Q1 Owner reports 14
2002-Q2 Owner reports 8
2002-Q3 Owner reports 11
2002-Q4 Owner reports 12
2003-Q1 Owner reports 22
2003-Q2 Owner reports 18
2003-Q3 Owner reports 16
2003-Q4 Owner reports 8
2004-Q1 Owner reports 24
2004-Q2 Owner reports 13
2004-Q3 Owner reports 17
2004-Q4 Owner reports 8
2005-Q1 Owner reports 6
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 5
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q2 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q1 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2011-Q2 Owner reports 1
2011-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V090000
Recall campaign 1 09E012000
Defect investigation 1 PE02050
Defect investigation 1 EA02030
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V090000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    THE BACKFIRE CAN RUPTURE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE RUPTURE OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD CAN DISPLACE A FUEL LINE, PULLING AN INJECTOR OUT OF PLACE, AND CAUSING A FUEL LEAK AND POSSIBLE FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL NEW FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH IMPROVED DIAPHRAGMS. THE RECALL WILL BE CONDUCTED IN PHASED MAILINGS. PHASE 1 BEGAN ON JUNE 30, 2004, AND PHASE 2 BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537, OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 09E012000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    DECREASED LIGHTING VISIBILITY MAY RESULT IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    SABERSPORT WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND OFFER A FULL REFUND FOR THE NONCOMPLIANT COMBINATION LAMPS. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON MAY 11, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT SABERSPORT AT 1-909-598-7589.
    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 274 complaints · page 1 of 11

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