1989 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 139 complaints · 0 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: SERVICE BRAKES (57 complaints · 41.0%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 6
  • Fires 0
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 1
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 57 of 139 owner complaints (41.0%) in this vehicle snapshot. SERVICE BRAKES: 57 complaints, 41.0% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 57 · 41.0% · 3 crash reports STRUCTURE: 16 complaints, 11.5% of reports STRUCTURE 16 · 11.5% · 1 crash reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 12 complaints, 8.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 · 8.6% STEERING: 10 complaints, 7.2% of reports STEERING 10 · 7.2% ENGINE: 9 complaints, 6.5% of reports ENGINE 9 · 6.5% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 7 complaints, 5.0% of reports SEAT BELTS 7 · 5.0% · 1 crash reports SUSPENSION: 6 complaints, 4.3% of reports SUSPENSION 6 · 4.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 5 complaints, 3.6% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 · 3.6% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 2.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 2.2% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 112 complaints, 80.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 112 · 80.6% · 4 crash 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 57 41.0% 3 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 16 11.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 12 8.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 10 7.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 9 6.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 7 5.0% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SUSPENSION 6 4.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 5 3.6% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 2.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 112 80.6% 4 crashes · 0 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. 1995-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 1995-Q2: 16 owner reports 16 1995-Q3: 12 owner reports 12 1995-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 1996-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 1996-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 1996-Q4: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q3: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 1998-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 1998-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 1998-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1998-Q4: 5 owner reports 5 1999-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 1999-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 1999-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2000-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2000-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2000-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 2001-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2002-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2002-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jun 1990 Oct 2015 Investigation PE90088 ● Investigation PE90088 Investigation PE91072 ● Investigation PE91072 Investigation PE91133 ● Investigation PE91133 Investigation EA91051 ● Investigation EA91051 Investigation EA92024 ● Investigation EA92024 Investigation PE94063 ● Investigation PE94063 Investigation RQ97017 ● Investigation RQ97017 Investigation EA00011 ● Investigation EA00011 Investigation RP01001 ● Investigation RP01001
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1995-Q1 Owner reports 29
1995-Q2 Owner reports 16
1995-Q3 Owner reports 12
1995-Q4 Owner reports 4
1996-Q1 Owner reports 4
1996-Q2 Owner reports 2
1996-Q3 Owner reports 3
1996-Q4 Owner reports 8
1997-Q1 Owner reports 2
1997-Q3 Owner reports 8
1997-Q4 Owner reports 3
1998-Q1 Owner reports 1
1998-Q2 Owner reports 4
1998-Q3 Owner reports 2
1998-Q4 Owner reports 5
1999-Q2 Owner reports 1
1999-Q3 Owner reports 2
1999-Q4 Owner reports 2
2000-Q2 Owner reports 6
2000-Q3 Owner reports 5
2000-Q4 Owner reports 6
2001-Q1 Owner reports 1
2001-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q1 Owner reports 1
2002-Q2 Owner reports 1
2002-Q3 Owner reports 3
2002-Q4 Owner reports 1
2003-Q1 Owner reports 1
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 PE90088
Defect investigation 1 PE91072
Defect investigation 1 PE91133
Defect investigation 1 EA91051
Defect investigation 1 EA92024
Defect investigation 1 PE94063
Defect investigation 1 RQ97017
Defect investigation 1 EA00011
Defect investigation 1 RP01001
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (0)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

Zero safety recalls recorded for this model year in official NHTSA 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.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot Aug 21, 2026
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 139 complaints · page 1 of 6

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 Aug 21, 2026
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.

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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