1997 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 798 complaints · 0 recalls
Most-reported system: STEERING (189 complaints · 23.7%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 33
  • Fires 108
  • Injuries 31
  • Deaths 2
Compare with 1996 →
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 STEERING appears in 189 of 798 owner complaints (23.7%) in this vehicle snapshot. STEERING: 189 complaints, 23.7% of reports STEERING 189 · 23.7% · 14 crash reports 1 fire reports ENGINE: 148 complaints, 18.6% of reports ENGINE 148 · 18.6% · 77 fire reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 133 complaints, 16.7% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 133 · 16.7% · 2 fire reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 62 complaints, 7.8% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 62 · 7.8% · 20 fire reports VISIBILITY: 60 complaints, 7.5% of reports VISIBILITY 60 · 7.5% · 1 crash reports AIR BAGS: 48 complaints, 6.0% of reports AIR BAGS 48 · 6.0% · 13 crash reports SERVICE BRAKES: 34 complaints, 4.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 34 · 4.3% · 3 crash reports POWER TRAIN: 24 complaints, 3.0% of reports POWER TRAIN 24 · 3.0% · 1 fire reports SUSPENSION: 19 complaints, 2.4% of reports SUSPENSION 19 · 2.4% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 529 complaints, 66.3% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 529 · 66.3% · 23 crash reports 23 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)
STEERING 189 23.7% 14 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 148 18.6% 0 crashes · 77 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 133 16.7% 0 crashes · 2 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 62 7.8% 0 crashes · 20 fires
VISIBILITY 60 7.5% 1 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 48 6.0% 13 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 34 4.3% 3 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 24 3.0% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SUSPENSION 19 2.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 529 66.3% 23 crashes · 23 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 1996. 1996-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 1997-Q1: 8 owner reports 8 1997-Q2: 5 owner reports 5 1997-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 1997-Q4: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 1998-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 1998-Q3: 17 owner reports 17 1998-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 1999-Q1: 17 owner reports 17 1999-Q2: 13 owner reports 13 1999-Q3: 13 owner reports 13 1999-Q4: 13 owner reports 13 2000-Q1: 21 owner reports 21 2000-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2000-Q3: 25 owner reports 25 2000-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2001-Q1: 38 owner reports 38 2001-Q2: 22 owner reports 22 2001-Q3: 18 owner reports 18 2001-Q4: 21 owner reports 21 2002-Q1: 68 owner reports 68 2002-Q2: 35 owner reports 35 2002-Q3: 20 owner reports 20 2002-Q4: 26 owner reports 26 2003-Q1: 34 owner reports 34 2003-Q2: 38 owner reports 38 2003-Q3: 16 owner reports 16 2003-Q4: 12 owner reports 12 2004-Q1: 29 owner reports 29 2004-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q3: 11 owner reports 11 2004-Q4: 10 owner reports 10 2005-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2005-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2006-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2006-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2007-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 11 owner reports 11 2008-Q2: 8 owner reports 8 2008-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 18 owner reports 18 2009-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2011-Q3: 4 owner reports 4 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2012-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q4: 9 owner reports 9 2016-Q1: 14 owner reports 14 2016-Q2: 10 owner reports 10 2016-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2016-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2017-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2018-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2019-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2021-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 1996 Jan 2021 Investigation RQ98013 ● Investigation RQ98013 Investigation PE99028 ● Investigation PE99028 Investigation EA99024 ● Investigation EA99024 Investigation PE01038 ● Investigation PE01038 Investigation EA02003 ● Investigation EA02003 Investigation PE02050 ● Investigation PE02050 Investigation EA02030 ● Investigation EA02030
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
1996-Q4 Owner reports 2
1997-Q1 Owner reports 8
1997-Q2 Owner reports 5
1997-Q3 Owner reports 11
1997-Q4 Owner reports 6
1998-Q1 Owner reports 17
1998-Q2 Owner reports 6
1998-Q3 Owner reports 17
1998-Q4 Owner reports 9
1999-Q1 Owner reports 17
1999-Q2 Owner reports 13
1999-Q3 Owner reports 13
1999-Q4 Owner reports 13
2000-Q1 Owner reports 21
2000-Q2 Owner reports 22
2000-Q3 Owner reports 25
2000-Q4 Owner reports 21
2001-Q1 Owner reports 38
2001-Q2 Owner reports 22
2001-Q3 Owner reports 18
2001-Q4 Owner reports 21
2002-Q1 Owner reports 68
2002-Q2 Owner reports 35
2002-Q3 Owner reports 20
2002-Q4 Owner reports 26
2003-Q1 Owner reports 34
2003-Q2 Owner reports 38
2003-Q3 Owner reports 16
2003-Q4 Owner reports 12
2004-Q1 Owner reports 29
2004-Q2 Owner reports 6
2004-Q3 Owner reports 11
2004-Q4 Owner reports 10
2005-Q1 Owner reports 4
2005-Q2 Owner reports 6
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 3
2006-Q1 Owner reports 3
2006-Q3 Owner reports 4
2006-Q4 Owner reports 4
2007-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q2 Owner reports 3
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 11
2008-Q2 Owner reports 8
2008-Q3 Owner reports 3
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 18
2009-Q3 Owner reports 6
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 2
2010-Q4 Owner reports 4
2011-Q1 Owner reports 2
2011-Q2 Owner reports 2
2011-Q3 Owner reports 4
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q1 Owner reports 2
2012-Q2 Owner reports 3
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 2
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 2
2014-Q4 Owner reports 1
2015-Q1 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2015-Q4 Owner reports 9
2016-Q1 Owner reports 14
2016-Q2 Owner reports 10
2016-Q3 Owner reports 3
2016-Q4 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 2
2017-Q4 Owner reports 1
2018-Q1 Owner reports 1
2018-Q3 Owner reports 1
2019-Q1 Owner reports 1
2020-Q2 Owner reports 1
2020-Q4 Owner reports 1
2021-Q1 Owner reports 1
Defect investigation 1 RQ98013
Defect investigation 1 PE99028
Defect investigation 1 EA99024
Defect investigation 1 PE01038
Defect investigation 1 EA02003
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 (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 798 complaints · page 1 of 32

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.

 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