RoadVitals

1988 Pontiac Bonneville Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
17
Latest Jul 18, 2003
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
4
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Jan 13, 1995

What this page shows

Our database holds 17 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1988 Pontiac Bonneville. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–17 of 17

Seat belts
Filed Jul 18, 2003

WHILE TRAVELING ON THE HIGHWAY AND WITHOUT PRIOR WARNING. ALL OF THE SEAT BELTS WILL NOT CLICK IN OR HOLD THROUGH THE RETRACTOR. *AK

NHTSA ID
10029667
Incident
Jul 18, 2003
Electrical
Filed Jul 15, 2001

THE ALTERNATOR ON MY 1988 BONNEVILLE SSE HAS FAILED FIVE TIMES SINCE NEW, THE LAST TIME AFTER ONLY LESS THAN 18K MILES AND LESS THAN 2 YEARS, EACH TIME STRANDING ME. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT ALL BONNEVILLES FROM 1987 THROUGH MID-1992 MODEL YEAR HAVE VERY HIGH FAILURE RATES ON ALTNERNATORS, PERHAPS BECAUSE THE ALTERNATORS WERE TOO SMALL FOR THE ELECTRICAL LOAD ON THE BONNEVILLE. THIS REPRESENTS A SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD FOR THE OWNERS OF THESE BONNEVILLES, INCLUDING ME, BECAUSE WHEN THE ALTERNATOR FAILS, IT STRANDS THE OWNER. A RECALL IS CLEARLY INDICATED, SINCE THERE ARE MILLIONS OF THESE CARS STILL ON THE ROAD.*AK

NHTSA ID
748501
Incident
Jul 12, 2001
Electrical
Filed Jul 14, 2001

PRIOR ALTERNATOR LASTED LEST THAN 15K MILES. I GET STRANDED EVERY TIME THE ALTERNATOR FAILS (NOW FOR THE FIFTH TIME). THIS IS DANGEROUS AND COULD LEAD TO MY INJURY OR EVEN DEATH, DEPENDING ON WHERE I AM THE NEXT TIME THE ALTERNATOR FAILS, INCLUDING ON THE HIGHWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.

NHTSA ID
748439
Incident
Jul 11, 2001
Brakes
Filed Jul 6, 2001
Crash reported

THIS WAS MY FIRST BONNEVILLE THE BRAKES WENT OUT SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING ON BOTH CARS. THIS 1988 BONNEVILLE WAS A TOTAL LOSS BECAUSE DAMAGES ADDED UP TO MORE THAN THE CAR WAS WORTH. *AK

NHTSA ID
747975
Incident
Apr 3, 2000
Filed May 21, 2000

NO SUMMARY LISTED FOR ABOV EVEHICLE. *AK

NHTSA ID
722974
Incident
Nov 25, 1999
Heating & air conditioning
Filed Aug 15, 1998

AIR CONDITIONING ELECTRONIC TEMPERATURE CONTROL.

NHTSA ID
539918
Incident
May 7, 1996
Body & structure
Filed Mar 23, 1998

A-FRAME THAT MOUNTED TO VEHICLE HAD RUSTED, CAUSING ENGINE TO FALL OUT BACKWARDS SUDDENDLY. ALSO CAUSING LOSS OF STEERING. NO WARNING. *AK

NHTSA ID
822057
Seat belts
Filed Nov 10, 1997
Crash reported

AUTOMATIC SEAT BELT; DURING IMPACT AT 30 MPH, THE DRIVER'S SIDE SHOULDER BELT DID NOT LOCK. CAUSE UNKNOWN. *AK

NHTSA ID
818629
Incident
Aug 6, 1995
Transmission
Filed Oct 29, 1996

TRANSMISSION PUMP SHAFT SHEARED OFF DUE TO LONG TERM DETERIORATION. *AK

NHTSA ID
510667
Incident
Oct 16, 1996
Visibility
Filed May 29, 1996

PLASTIC DEFROSTER GRILLE ON DASHBOARD HARDENS WITH AGE WHEN EXPOSED TO UV RAYS, CAUSING GRILLE TO DEFORM/ POOR DEFROSTING/POOR VISIBILITY. *SD

NHTSA ID
505032
Incident
May 29, 1996
Suspension
Filed May 13, 1996
Crash reportedFire reported1 injury reported

DRIVING VEHICLE, SWERVED VEHICLE TO MISS ANIMAL IN STREET, LANDED IN REVINE, VEHICLE STUCK BETWEN 2 TREES, DRIVER PINNED/TRAPPED, VEHICLE CAUGHT ON FIRE. *AK

NHTSA ID
984314
Incident
Apr 19, 1996
Steering
Filed Oct 3, 1995

WHEN MAKING A TURN SLOPPY STEERING. DUE TO RACK DESIGN. TT

NHTSA ID
972840
Incident
Jul 3, 1995
Electrical
Filed Sep 6, 1995

THE CARS COMPUTER SHUT THE CAR DOWN WHILE DRIVING AND LOST ALL THE POWER. PLEASE DESCRIBE. TT

NHTSA ID
971635
Incident
Aug 5, 1995
Fuel system
Filed Aug 17, 1995

PURCHASE CAR USED HAD TO REPLACE THE FUEL PUMP FIVE TIMES HAD CAR FOR THREE YEARS. TT

NHTSA ID
970737
ElectricalFuel system
Filed May 10, 1995

FUEL PUMP FAILED, CAUSING VEHICLE TO STALL. *AK

NHTSA ID
486054
Incident
Mar 8, 1995
Electrical
Filed Feb 6, 1995

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM ALTERNATOR; BEEN REPLACE ABOUT THREE AND CAR WOULDN'T START. TT

NHTSA ID
959601
Incident
Feb 6, 1995
Body & structure
Filed Jan 13, 1995

UNABLE TO OPEN LEFT REAR DOOR, DEALER CLAIMS THAT THERE IS NO PART IN THE U.S. OR CANADA TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. TT

NHTSA ID
958701
Incident
Oct 15, 1994

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .