2003 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 54 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ENGINE (11 complaints · 20.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 2
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
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 11 of 54 owner complaints (20.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ENGINE: 11 complaints, 20.4% of reports ENGINE 11 · 20.4% · 2 fire reports STEERING: 9 complaints, 16.7% of reports STEERING 9 · 16.7% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 8 complaints, 14.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 · 14.8% · 1 fire reports POWER TRAIN: 6 complaints, 11.1% of reports POWER TRAIN 6 · 11.1% AIR BAGS: 3 complaints, 5.6% of reports AIR BAGS 3 · 5.6% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 3 complaints, 5.6% of reports VISIBILITY 3 · 5.6% · 1 fire reports FUEL SYSTEM: 2 complaints, 3.7% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 2 · 3.7% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 3.7% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 3.7% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 1 complaints, 1.9% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 · 1.9% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 25 complaints, 46.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 · 46.3% · 2 crash reports 2 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 11 20.4% 0 crashes · 2 fires
STEERING 9 16.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 14.8% 0 crashes · 1 fires
POWER TRAIN 6 11.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 3 5.6% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 3 5.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 2 3.7% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 3.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 1 1.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 25 46.3% 2 crashes · 2 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 Jul 2002; the first recall shown was reported in Aug 2002. 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2015-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2015-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2016-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2026-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jul 2002 Jul 2026 Recall campaign 02V222000 ◆ Recall campaign 02V222000 Recall campaign 03V238000 ◆ Recall campaign 03V238000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 4
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 4
2009-Q3 Owner reports 3
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2011-Q3 Owner reports 2
2012-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 3
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 4
2015-Q3 Owner reports 2
2015-Q4 Owner reports 2
2016-Q1 Owner reports 2
2016-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2026-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 02V222000
Recall campaign 1 03V238000
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 02V222000

    Report date
    Component:
    AIR BAGS
    Consequence:
    PIECES OF THE INFLATOR COULD STRIKE AND INJURE VEHICLE OCCUPANTS AND THE AIR BAG CUSHION WOULD NOT INFLATE FULLY, REDUCING THE CAPABILITY OF THE BAG TO PROTECT THE DRIVER.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSPECT, AND REPLACE, IF NECESSARY, THE AIR BAG MODULE ASSEMBLY ON THE DRIVER'S SIDE. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 15, 2002. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-800-521-7300, CADILLAC AT 1-800-458-8006, CHEVROLET AT 1-800-222-1020, GMC AT 1-800-462-8782, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-442-6537, OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-762-2737.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 03V238000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
    Consequence:
    FUEL SYSTEM COMPONENTS CAN BE DAMAGED AND FUEL CAN LEAK FROM THE VEHICLE WHEN IT IS REFUELED. FUEL LEAKAGE IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE CAN RESULT IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE FUEL TANK PRESSURE SENSOR. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN ON OCTOBER 17, 2003. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CADILLAC AT 1-866-982-2339; OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537; OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
    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 54 complaints · page 1 of 3

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