1984 Pontiac Fiero Problems: Engine (30 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 1984 Pontiac Fiero is Engine (57% of 30 owner reports). There are 4 safety recalls. Check the VIN and inspect Engine — this is the NHTSA file, not a score.

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-09-07 30 complaints · 4 recalls

What problems show up on the 1984 Pontiac Fiero?

17 of 30 filings named Engine (57% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Electrical (7 reports).

There are 4 official safety recalls on this year. They were filed about Engine and Parking brake. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov — a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific truck.

The previous year is not published here. Use the year list to jump around.

What to check before you buy a 1984 Pontiac Fiero

A useful visit to this page takes five minutes. YearTell does not score years and cannot see the vehicle in front of you.

  1. Look up the VIN for open recalls at nhtsa.gov. This year has 4 campaigns on file below.
  2. Engine. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise.
  3. Electrical. Have a shop scan for stored codes and check battery, charging and any warning lights that stay on.
  4. Parking brake. Hold the truck on a slope with the parking brake and see if it creeps.
  5. Skim a few owner reports below for Engine. Look for the same symptom repeating.
  6. Take that list to a mechanic. Do not turn the complaint total into a score.

What owners reported

System named most often: Engine 17 complaints · 56.7% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 8
  • Injuries 0
  • Deaths 0
All Pontiac Fiero years →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 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.

Which systems owners named

Share of owner complaints filed against each vehicle system. These shares are not adjusted for how many vehicles were sold.

Which systems owners named Engine (ENGINE) appears in 17 of 30 owner complaints (56.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. Engine (ENGINE): 17 complaints, 56.7% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 5 fire reports 17 · 56.7% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 7 complaints, 23.3% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 2 fire reports 7 · 23.3% Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE): 2 complaints, 6.7% of reports Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE) 2 · 6.7% Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM): 1 complaints, 3.3% of reports Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 fire reports 1 · 3.3% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 1 complaints, 3.3% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 · 3.3% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 21 complaints, 70.0% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 6 fire reports 21 · 70.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

“Unclassified NHTSA leftover” is not a car part. It is a filing bucket and always sits last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
Engine (ENGINE) 17 56.7% 0 crashes · 5 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 7 23.3% 0 crashes · 2 fires
Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE) 2 6.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Fuel system (FUEL SYSTEM) 1 3.3% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 1 3.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 21 70.0% 0 crashes · 6 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

When reports and recalls showed up

When owners filed reports, and when recall campaigns showed up.

When reports and recalls showed up Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1987. 1995-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1995-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Dec 1984 Oct 2013 Recall campaign 87V181000 ◆ Recall campaign 87V181000 Recall campaign 89V232000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V232000 Recall campaign 91V055000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V055000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation PE85016 ● Investigation PE85016 Investigation EA86021 ● Investigation EA86021 Investigation EA87008 ● Investigation EA87008 Investigation DP87023 ● Investigation DP87023 Investigation DP88002 ● Investigation DP88002 Investigation PE88033 ● Investigation PE88033 Investigation EA88036 ● Investigation EA88036 Investigation C90001 ● Investigation C90001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 4
1995-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q3 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q3 Owner reports 2
1997-Q4 Owner reports 1
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 1
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q1 Owner reports 2
2000-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 87V181000
Recall campaign 1 89V232000
Recall campaign 1 91V055000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 PE85016
Defect investigation 1 EA86021
Defect investigation 1 EA87008
Defect investigation 1 DP87023
Defect investigation 1 DP88002
Defect investigation 1 PE88033
Defect investigation 1 EA88036
Defect investigation 1 C90001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-09-06 Open source record

Safety Recalls (4)

Official campaigns. Each one says what could go wrong and what the dealer was told to fix.

In short, these campaigns were filed about Engine and Parking brake.

  1. Recall campaign 06E043000

    Safety recall 06E043000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    THIS CONDITION MAY CAUSE AN INADEQUATE SEAL AT THE CONNECTION, POTENTIALLY LEADING TO A FUEL LEAK. IN THE PRESENCE OF AN IGNITION SOURCE, A FIRE COULD OCCUR.
    Remedy:
    HONEYWELL WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE FUEL FILTERS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT FRAM CUSTOMER SERVICE AT 1-800-890-2075 (OPTION 1).
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. Recall campaign 87V181000

    Engine

    Report date
    Component:
    Engine (ENGINE)
    Consequence:
    AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE CAN SPREAD TO THE PASSENGERCOMPARTMENT AND INJURE OCCUPANTS.
    Remedy:
    CORRECT OR INSTALL NEW ENGINE COMPONENTS TO PREVENT UNREASONABLE FIRE RISK.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  3. Recall campaign 89V232000

    Engine

    Report date
    Component:
    Engine (ENGINE)
    Consequence:
    AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE CAN SPREAD TO THE PASSENGERCOMPARTMENT AND INJURE OCCUPANTS.
    Remedy:
    CORRECT OR INSTALL NEW ENGINE COMPONENTS TO PREVENT UNREASONABLE FIRE RISK.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  4. Recall campaign 91V055000

    Parking brake

    Report date
    Component:
    Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE)
    Consequence:
    PARKING BRAKES WILL NOT COMPLETELY HOLD A PARKED VEHICLEWHEN PARKED ON A SLOPE, CAUSING UNINTENDED VEHICLE ROLLAWAY WHICH COULD RESULTIN A VEHICLE ACCIDENT.
    Remedy:
    REPLACE NONFUNCTIONING PARKING BRAKE ADJUSTERS.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

What owners actually wrote

Short excerpts from the public NHTSA file. Look for the same symptom repeating.

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-09-07
Safety incident filters
Showing 10 of 30 complaints · page 1 of 2
2013-12-11Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10555740
CrashFireInjuryDeath
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1984 PONTIAC FIERO (N/A). THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEAD BOLT WOULD BECOME SEPARATED FROM THE ENGINE WHENEVER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED. THE FAILURE CAUSED OIL TO LEAK ONTO THE MANIFOLD AND ENGINE BLOCK. IN ADDITION, THE OIL WARNING LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 51,000.
2013-08-01Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10533104
CrashFireInjuryDeath
A FRIEND WAS DRIVING MY 1984 PONTIAC FIERO WHEN THE ENGINE SUDDENLY CAUGHT FIRE. AFTER AN INVESTIGATION BY THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT, THEY DETERMINED AN OIL LIKE SUBSTANCE WAS SPRAYED ON THE MANIFOLD. MY FRIEND WAS ARRESTED FOR ARSON & I WAS ARRESTED FOR CRIMINAL SOLICITATION. AFTER GOING THROUGH THE COURT PROCEDURES AND BEING CONVICTED OF A FELONY I RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER FROM PONTIAC RECALLING MY CAR FOR POSSIBLE ENGINE FIRE. THE CAR WAS ALREADY GONE THOUGH & I NEVER RECEIVED ANY COMPENSATION AND HAVE HAD A FELONY RECORD FOLLOWING ME FOR ALL OF THESE YEARS! I WANT SOMETHING DONE TO HELP IN THIS SITUATION. *TR
2003-08-18Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10033074
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I PURCHASED A 1984 PONTIAC FIERO ON APRIL, 4 2003. I HAVE READ ABOUT THE SAFETY RECALL ON THIS AUTO. FROM THE INFORMATION I HAVE GATHERED, NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER : 89V232000 CONCERNING ENGINE FIRE APPLIES TO THIS AUTOMOBILE. I HAVE RESEARCHED THIS SAFETY RECALL AND DETERMINED THE REQUIRED WORK HAS NOT BEEN PERFORMED ON MY AUTO. I CONTACTED GM CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE ABOUT THIS SITUATION. THEY INFORMED ME THAT THIS RECALL EITHER HAD ALREADY BEEN DONE, OR THAT IT DID NOT APPLY TO MY AUTO. BY THE INFORMATION I HAVE FOUND ALL 1984 FIERO'S WERE INCLUDED IN THIS RECALL. THE VIN NUMBER OF MY AUTO IS [XXX]. I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE TO DETERMINE IF THE ABOVE RECALL DOES OR DOES NOT APPLY TO MY AUTO. IF IT DOES, IT APPEARS THAT I NEED YOUR ASSISTANCE IN GETTING PONTIAC TO PERFORM THE SPECIFIED SERVICE TO THIS AUTOMOBILE. *AK INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
2002-09-13Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 8018604
CrashFireInjuryDeath
RECALL 89 V 232 000 ENGINE. CONSUNER STATES THAT THE DEALER ( TOM WOOD PPONTIAC INDIANOPOLIS, IN [redacted]) IS REFUSING TO INSPECT THE VEHICLE FOR THE RECALL. NLM
2001-07-31Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 562258
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER STATES HE WAS DRIVING ON THE INTERSTATE, WHEN SMOKE STARTED COMING INTO THE VEHICLE, CONSUMER PULLED OFF THE ROADWAY AND EXITED THE VEHICLE, FIRE STARTED IN THE ENGINE COMPARTMENTDUE TO POSSIBLE ENGINE FAILURE. (OHIO TRAFFIC CRASH REPORT #10-89-165)*JB
2000-08-23Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 728851
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE VEHICLE HAS A LOUD KNOCKING/RATTLING NOISE COMING FROM THE BLOCK IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CONNECTING ROD IS ABOUT TO COME APART , I WENT TO THE LOCAL DEALERSHIP AFTER I FOUND A CAMPAIGN ON THE PONTAIC FIERO ENGINES. AND THE CANT TELL ME IF THE ENGINE HAD BEEN REPLACED OR NOT THEY JUST TOLD ME THERE IS NO OPEN CAMPAIGN ON THE VEHICLE AND I ALSO CALLED PONTIAC CUSTOMER SERVICE AND THEY ALSO TOLD ME THAT THERE IS NO OPEN CAMPAIGNS ON THE CAR. THE VECHICLE IS EXHIBITING THE SAME NOISE AS THE CAMPAIGN STATES.
2000-03-13Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 720033
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF THE ENGINE IN THIS FIERO WAS ONE OF THOSE RECALLED. NO SAFETY DEFECT, REQUESTS RECALL INFORMATION. *AK
2000-01-12Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 783839
CrashFireInjuryDeath
WIRING HARNESS UNDER THE DASH BEGAN TO SMOKE AND CAUSING THE IGNITION SYSTEM NOT TO WORK. NLM
1999-09-17Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 711511
CrashFireInjuryDeath
PONTIAC (800 PM-CARES) TOLD ME I HAD TWO RECALLS ON MY VEHICLE IN NOVEMBER OF 1998. WHEN CALLED IN FEBRUARY OF 1999, THEY TOLD ME THE RECALL WORK HAD BEEN DONE (NOTHING HAD BEEN DONE YET). WHEN CALLED IN MARCH OF 1998, THEY SAID THEY HAD NO VIN RECORDS FOR ANY 1980S CARS. LOCAL DEALER SAID THEY COULD NOT DO RECALL WITHOUT PONTIAC AUTHORIZATION. MORE THAN 25 OTHER PONTIAC FIERO OWNERS HAVE REPORTED SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES WITH ATTEMPTING TO HAVE RECALL WORK DONE IN THE LAST SIX MONTHS.
1999-04-09Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 705468
CrashFireInjuryDeath
NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR THIS VEHICLE. *AK

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 1984 Pontiac Fiero?

Owners named Engine most often — 17 of 30 reports (57%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 1984 Pontiac Fiero?

NHTSA lists 4 safety recall campaigns. They were filed about Engine and Parking brake. Check the VIN at nhtsa.gov; a campaign on this page can still be open on a specific vehicle.

What should I inspect before buying a 1984 Pontiac Fiero?

Look up the VIN for open recalls. Have a shop check for oil consumption, coolant leaks, rough idle and unusual engine noise. Then skim owner filings for the same symptom and take that list to a mechanic.

Does a high complaint count mean I should skip this year?

No. Counts are reports people chose to file and they are not adjusted for sales volume. YearTell does not publish scores or a list of years to skip. Inspect the vehicle.

EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record

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 2026-09-07 Open source record

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

Source: NHTSA ODI / recalls, snapshot 2026-09-07. YearTell is not a government agency.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources