RoadVitals

1989 Pontiac Firebird 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.
20
Latest Mar 13, 2024
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.
5
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 5, 1995

What this page shows

Our database holds 20 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 1989 Pontiac Firebird. 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 1–20 of 20

Seat belts
Filed Mar 13, 2024

The seatbelts do not click into the buckle properly and the springs have broken.

NHTSA ID
11577040
Incident
Mar 12, 2024
Seat belts
Filed Apr 29, 2005

CONSUMER IS REQUESTING INFORMATION IN REGARDS TO RECALL CONCERNS FOR 1989 FIREBIRD . *MR THE SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT PROPERLY LEAVING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SLACK. *NM

NHTSA ID
10120394
Incident
Jan 1, 1901
Engine
Filed Mar 7, 2005
Fire reported

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY CAUGHT FIRE. THE CAUSE OF WHY THIS HAPPENED WAS UNDETERMINED.

NHTSA ID
10113605
Incident
Feb 2, 2005
Fuel systemSeat belts
Filed Mar 20, 2004

GM WON'T FIX THE RECALLS FOR MY 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD. THEY SAY THAT THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR MY VEHICLE, BUT THERE ARE. *JB

NHTSA ID
10062719
Incident
Mar 18, 2004
Steering
Filed Aug 27, 2002

WHILE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN, STEERING COLUMN BROKE INSIDE HOUSING AND CAUSED STEERING WHEEL TWO LOCK UP, RESULTING IN VEHICLE GOING INTO A COMPLETE CIRCLE ON A BUSY STREET. CONSUMER FELT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. *AK THE STEERING COLUMN/HOUSING WAS REPLACED, THE 4 BOLTS THAT HOLD THE COLUMN TO THE HOUSING GET FATIGUED AND BREAK AFTER YEARS OF PEOPLE PUSHING AGAINST THE COLUMN TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. *SLC

NHTSA ID
8017282
Incident
Aug 1, 2002
Tires & wheels
Filed Sep 25, 2000

2 OUT OF 3 ORIGINAL FIRESTONE TRIATHLON II TIRES ARE CRACKING AROUND THE TIRE ALONG THE RADIAL. NLM

NHTSA ID
555174
Seat belts
Filed Sep 19, 1999

FRONT SEAT BELTS BUCKLE BUT DO NOT PROVIDE ANY RESTRAINT, EVEN WHEN STOPPING AT A HIGH SPEED.

NHTSA ID
711608
Incident
Dec 25, 1998
Seat belts
Filed Jan 11, 1999

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 90V105000 MY CAR WAS INSPECTED AT THE FIRST DEALER SERVICE AND FOUND THAT THE BUCKLES WERE OK. THE NATURE OF THIS DEFECT IS THAT THE CAR AND INTERIOR NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUN LIGHT AND ELEVATED INTERIOR TEMPERATURES, THIS CAR HAS LITTLE SUN EXPOSURE (ABOUT 12 DAYS A YEAR) UNTILL 2 YEARS AGO, NOW IT IS STORED OUT SIDE AND NOW THIS DEFECT HAS OCCURRED. A LOCAL DEALERSHIP SAID IT IS NO LONGER COVERED BY THIS RECALL. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS ON GETTING THIS REPAIRED?? THANKS

NHTSA ID
702138
Incident
Feb 15, 1997
Brakes
Filed Nov 12, 1998
Crash reported

WHEN SON APPLIED THE BRAKES TO STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION THE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. DRIVER HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKES TO STOP THE VEHICLE. DRIVER WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH BECAUSE OF THIS. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP, WHERE THE BRAKE BOOSTER ROD CLIP WAS FOUND BROKEN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. *AK

NHTSA ID
830673
Incident
Oct 23, 1998
Brakes
Filed Jun 30, 1998

BRAKES, AIR CONDITIONING, POWER DOOR LOCKS, HORN RELA

NHTSA ID
537642
Driver assistance
Filed Nov 7, 1997
Crash reported

WHILE DRIVER WAS BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY, THE ENGINE SURGED LIKE THE DRIVER WAS STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN THE DRIVER'S FOOT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND VEHICLE ZOOMED RIGHT OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY INTO A NEIGHBOR'S YARD, BACK END FIRST HITTING A TREE. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP TO BE CHECK FOR TROUBLE. A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAPPENED LIKE THIS IN JULY OF 1993 AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE SYSTEM WILL JUST KICK BACK IN. *AK

NHTSA ID
818585
Incident
Nov 1, 1997
Engine
Filed Oct 14, 1997

ENGINE FAILED.

NHTSA ID
604321
Incident
Mar 1, 1996
Seat belts
Filed May 27, 1997
Crash reported1 injury reported

WHILE DRIVING STOPPED SHORT TO AVOID COLLISION, WAS REAR ENDED AT APPROX. 25MPH; UPON IMPACT, SHOULDER/LAP BELT FAILED TO RETRACT ENOUGH. ALSO, FEMALE PORTION (PLASTIC COVER) BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CRACKED IN HALF, DRIVER SUSTAINED HEAD INJURY AS RESULT.

NHTSA ID
812531
Steering
Filed Mar 11, 1996
Crash reported

WHILE DRIVING, SUDDENLY LOST STEERING CAPABILITY WHEN STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, COULDN'T TURN RIGHT OR LEFT, UPON BRAKING VEHICLE SPINNED OUT, THEN ROLLED OVER.*AK

NHTSA ID
980625
Other / unspecified
Filed Jan 8, 1996

THE JACK BENT AFTER RAISING VEHICLE OFF GROUND TO REMOVE FLAT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO FALL OFF OF JACK. *DSH

NHTSA ID
500565
Incident
Dec 24, 1995
Interior & seats
Filed Sep 11, 1995

HOOD LATCH FAILURE, LATCH HAS BROKEN TWICE. TT

NHTSA ID
971856
Incident
Aug 31, 1995
Brakes
Filed Apr 4, 1995

PARK BRAKE CABLE RUBS AGAINST HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINE, REPLACED FLEXIBLE RUBBER HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINE. TT

NHTSA ID
963024
Incident
Mar 4, 1995
Electrical
Filed Mar 22, 1995

VEHICLE STALLS INTERMITTENTLY DUE TO ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE FAILURE AND STILL IT HAS NOT REMEDIED THE PROBLEM. TT

NHTSA ID
962380
Incident
Mar 22, 1991
Fuel system
Filed Mar 1, 1995

ASK FOR MR HOPKINSON. FUEL LEAKING FROM FUEL TANK WHEN FULL. TT

NHTSA ID
960848
Incident
Aug 1, 1989
Seat belts
Filed Jan 5, 1995

DRIVERS SIDE COMBINATION LAP/SHOULDER BELT. BUCKLE WILL NOT REMAIN/WON'T LATCH. PLEASE DESCRIBE DETAILS. TT

NHTSA ID
958274
Incident
Dec 20, 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 .