1986 Pontiac Fiero Problems: Engine (26 Complaints)

The most-reported problem on the 1986 Pontiac Fiero is Engine (54% of 26 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 26 complaints · 4 recalls

What problems show up on the 1986 Pontiac Fiero?

14 of 26 filings named Engine (54% of the file). That is what owners wrote, not a shop diagnosis of the vehicle in the driveway.

Second is Parking brake (5 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 1985 has 18 reports on file; this year has 26. Older years collect more reports just by being on the road longer. If you need a fairer comparison, use the equal-time view.

What to check before you buy a 1986 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. Parking brake. Hold the truck on a slope with the parking brake and see if it creeps.
  4. Brakes. Have a shop check pads, rotors, fluid and whether the pedal feels firm.
  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 14 complaints · 53.9% of the file
Crashes, fires, injuries and deaths in those filings:
  • Crashes 0
  • Fires 5
  • Injuries 2
  • 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 14 of 26 owner complaints (53.9%) in this vehicle snapshot. Engine (ENGINE): 14 complaints, 53.9% of reports Engine (ENGINE) 4 fire reports 14 · 53.9% Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE): 5 complaints, 19.2% of reports Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE) 5 · 19.2% Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES): 2 complaints, 7.7% of reports Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 2 · 7.7% Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM): 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 fire reports 1 · 3.9% Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN): 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 · 3.9% Seat belts (SEAT BELTS): 1 complaints, 3.9% of reports Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 1 · 3.9% Unclassified NHTSA leftover: 20 complaints, 76.9% of reports Unclassified NHTSA leftover 5 fire reports 20 · 76.9% 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) 14 53.9% 0 crashes · 4 fires
Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE) 5 19.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES) 2 7.7% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Electrical (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 1 fires
Transmission / driveline (POWER TRAIN) 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Seat belts (SEAT BELTS) 1 3.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
Unclassified NHTSA leftover 20 76.9% 0 crashes · 5 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 Apr 1995; the first recall shown was reported in Dec 1989. 1995-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1996-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1997-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 1999-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2000-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2016-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Dec 1986 Jul 2016 Recall campaign 89V232000 ◆ Recall campaign 89V232000 Recall campaign 90V104000 ◆ Recall campaign 90V104000 Recall campaign 91V055000 ◆ Recall campaign 91V055000 Recall campaign 06E043000 ◆ Recall campaign 06E043000 Investigation EA87008 ● Investigation EA87008 Investigation DP88002 ● Investigation DP88002 Investigation EA88036 ● Investigation EA88036 Investigation PE89005 ● Investigation PE89005 Investigation PE89023 ● Investigation PE89023 Investigation EA89022 ● Investigation EA89022 Investigation C90001 ● Investigation C90001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q2 Owner reports 1
1996-Q1 Owner reports 2
1996-Q4 Owner reports 1
1997-Q1 Owner reports 1
1997-Q2 Owner reports 1
1998-Q4 Owner reports 2
1999-Q1 Owner reports 2
1999-Q2 Owner reports 3
1999-Q3 Owner reports 1
2000-Q3 Owner reports 2
2000-Q4 Owner reports 2
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2003-Q4 Owner reports 2
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 1
2004-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2016-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 89V232000
Recall campaign 1 90V104000
Recall campaign 1 91V055000
Recall campaign 1 06E043000
Defect investigation 1 EA87008
Defect investigation 1 DP88002
Defect investigation 1 EA88036
Defect investigation 1 PE89005
Defect investigation 1 PE89023
Defect investigation 1 EA89022
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 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 →

  3. Recall campaign 90V104000

    Engine

    Report date
    Component:
    Engine (ENGINE)
    Consequence:
    AN ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE CAN SPREAD TO THE PASSENGERCOMPARTMENT AND INJURE OCCUPANTS.
    Remedy:
    CORRECT OR INSTALL NEW 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 26 complaints · page 1 of 2
2016-07-03Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10882360
CrashFireInjuryDeath
I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR SINCE NEW AND NEVER RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FROM GM. I SEE IN YOUR DATABASE THAT THERE HAVE BEEN 4 RECALLS ISSUED.
2006-07-01Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10161182
CrashFireInjuryDeath
RECALL TO MY 1986 PONTIAC FIERO (VIN# 1G2PF3795GP23433) WAS NEVER COMPLETED DURING THE LIFETIME OF THE VEHICLE. THIS WAS A SERIOUS RECALL, AS IT INVOLVED A POSSIBILITY OF ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRE. GM RECALL NUMBER 88-C-24A. I RECENTLY PURCHASED THIS VEHICLE ON 6/21/2006, UNAWARE THAT THE RECALL WAS NEVER DONE. I TRIED TO GET PONTIAC TO COVER THIS RECALL BUT THEY REFUSE. FOR MY SAFETY, I'M MOVING FORWARD AND PAYING FOR THE RECALL TO BE DONE FOR MY SAFETY AND MY FAMILY. I WOULD LIKE SOME SORT OF ASSISTANCE FROM PONTIAC. *NM
2004-12-13Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10108839
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD THAT THE PARTS WERE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. THE PARKING BRAKE SYSTEM OF THESE VEHICLE'S MAY CONTAIN A NONFUNCTIONAL PARKING BRAKE ADJUSTER. *BF RECALL CAMPAIGN 91V055000; THE CONSUMER RECEIVED A RECALL LETTER FOR HER VEHICLE. *TC
2004-04-20Parking brake (PARKING BRAKE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 10033772
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE CONSUMER STATED, THE EMERGENCY BRAKE DID NOT WORK. IF THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED ON A HILL, IT WOULD ROLL. THE CONSUMER TOOK THE VEHICLE TO A MECHANIC AND WAS TOLD THAT THERE WAS A RECALL, AND THAT THIS WAS CAUSING VEHICLE NOT TO PASS STATE INSPECTION.*AK *SC *JB
2004-03-22Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10064605
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER RECEIVED RECALL 90V104000 CONCERNING ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING. WHEN THE TRUNK IS OPENED IN THE RAIN WATER DRIPS THROUGH THE TRUNK ONTO THE OXYGEN SENSOR. A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEM WAS ISSUED, BUT THE THIS VEHICLE WAS NOT INCLUDED DUE TO VIN. *AK
2003-11-28Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10048784
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER COMPLAINED ABOUT OIL LEAKING INTO THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND ONTO THE GROUND. *AK
2003-11-28Engine (ENGINE)
NHTSA ODI 10048757
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER STATED THAT VEHICLE DUMPED OIL FROM THE ENGINE UPON STARTING. CONSUMER WAS UNABLE TO GET ANY RECALL INFORMATION FROM EITHER DEALER OR MANUFACTURER. *AK
2001-09-05Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 895792
CrashFireInjuryDeath
CONSUMER RECEIVED MANUFACTURER'S RECALL NOTICE 88C24, MANFACTURER HAS NOT REMEDIED THE PROBLEM BECAUSE HAD NO PARTS. ALSO, HAD BEEN CALLING DEALER, PONTIAC CUSTOMER CARE CENTER FOR ABOUT 120 DAYS, AND NO RESPONSE. RECALLS HAD NOT BEEN PERFORMED ON VEHICLE.*AK
2000-11-29Engine (ENGINE)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 557652
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE REAR ENGINE COMPARTMENT OF THE VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE, INJURYING ONE PERSON. *SLC
2000-10-20Brakes (SERVICE BRAKES)Unclassified NHTSA leftover
NHTSA ODI 734832
CrashFireInjuryDeath
THE REAR BRAKE CALIPERS ARE FROZE SOLID AND NOT WORKING BECAUSE OF THE WAY THE SYSTEM FOR ADJUSTING THEM IS A BAD SYSTEM, AS STATED BY THE BRAKE REPAIR SHOP.

Frequently asked questions

What are the most common problems on the 1986 Pontiac Fiero?

Owners named Engine most often — 14 of 26 reports (54%). That is the NHTSA file, not a diagnosis of every vehicle.

Are there recalls for the 1986 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 1986 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