2001 Pontiac Bonneville problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Engine And Engine Cooling (11) · Steering (10) · Power Train:automatic Transmission (9)
🧭 Reliability snapshot
Compared against other Pontiac Bonneville model years — complaint volume vs the model's median year, recalls and severity. How we score →
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
91 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (0)
No recalls on record for this model year (campaigns announced since 2010).
Service bulletins (384)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-03-28 · 23-NA-001 · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this service bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on onstar module 2g sunset information.
Unknown Or Other 2025-02-20 · PIP5358D · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. technician should get record a sound clip or take a video of the noise for assessment by engineering. technician will need to
Electrical System 2024-10-25 · PIP4723J · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communicates to the dealer the process for downloading or updating operating software for the tire pressure monitor, active fuel injector tester, multi media tester, pico scope, gr8 starting/charging tester and vehicle data recorder tools, giving website address and ste
Unknown Or Other 2024-09-12 · PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the heater-vent-air conditioning blows warm air. before calling general motors technical assistance center technician will need to have high and low pressures, outside temperature, humidity, and ven
Unknown Or Other 2024-09-12 · PIT5099H · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that the heater-vent-air conditioning blows warm air. before calling general motors technical assistance center technician will need to have high and low pressures, outside temperature, humidity, and ven
Showing the 6 most recent of 384 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2020-08-19 · Fuel/Propulsion System · 191,600 mi · 🔥 fire“my car caught on fire back in january 2020 under the hood on my way to work the fire started behind the vale cover gaskets and now oil is leaking on the manifold gaskets and gas is mixing with the oil and i can't drive my car anymore help me please.…”
2020-08-06 · Power Train · 264,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2001 pontiac bonneville. the contact stated that the vehicle leaked oil out of the valve cover gasket and the spark plug wire retainer causing a misfire. the contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed the vehicle stalled without warning. the vehicle was restarted but failed to properly accelerate while driving.…”
2019-03-21 · Engine · 🔥 fire“tl* the contact owned a 2001 pontiac bonneville. while driving out of the driveway, the engine made an abnormal banging sound and the vehicle caught fire. the engine blew up and produced a thick cloud of smoke. the fire department extinguished the fire. a police report was not filed and there were no injuries. the vehicle was totaled. the dealer an…”
2019-02-09 · Air Bags · 178,000 mi · 💥 crash“my son was in a car accident and his airbags didn't deploy.…”
2017-01-06 · Engine · 94,000 mi“valve cover gaskets leaking oil can get on exhaust manifold causing an engine fire.…”
2016-11-08 · Service Brakes · 131,000 mi“steel brake lines have corroded to the point of failure. vehicle will not stop. brake fluid leaks…”
2015-10-27 · Engine · 100,000 mi · 🔥 fire“tl* the contact owned a 2001 pontiac bonneville. the contact stated that the vehicle caught fire and exploded when the ignition key was inserted. there were no injuries and a police report was not filed. the vehicle was destroyed. the manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. the failure mileage was 100,000. …”
2015-10-01 · Engine · 150,000 mi · 🔥 fire“i had left my lights on and battery went dead. went to jump the vehicle and charge the battery. cables connected correctly. when i went to start the vehicle, i heard a loud explosion noise like a back fire but saw a flame then smoke out of engine. the engine hood was closed since the battery is located under the back seat or this could have been fa…”
2015-08-11 · Unknown Or Other · 100 mi“i just currently bought this vehicle in march when i got no lights or anything was on a couple days later my engine light came on and the brake lights came on saying that my track is off also when i try to go over 50 miles per hour the car shakes really bad i took it back to the dealership and they told me they did not have a mechanic to look at it…”
2015-02-04 · Steering · 114,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2001 pontiac bonneville. while driving 25 mph making a right turn, the steering wheel made an abnormal noise. the failure recurred several times. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. the vehicle was diagnosed, but not repaired. the manufacturer was not notified of the failure. the failure mileage was 114,000. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.