Problems · NHTSA complaints
2000 Pontiac Bonneville problems
Owners filed 214 complaints about the 2000 Pontiac Bonneville with NHTSA between Jan 2000 and Dec 2018. The most-cited component is visibility (56).
Complaints
214
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
4
Reported by owners
Fires
21
Reported by owners
Injuries
7
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
Complaints by component
One complaint can cite several components
- Visibility56
- Steering47
- Engine and engine cooling37
- Electrical system31
- Power train17
- Service brakes, hydraulic15
- Suspension10
- Structure9
- Fuel system, gasoline8
- Engine5
- Air bags5
- Equipment5
- Seats5
- Exterior lighting4
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.
Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Nov 10, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
When complaints were filed
Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
12
15
35
21
46
22
18
14
7
4
2
3
2
2
6
2
0
1
2
View as table
| Model year | Complaints filed per calendar year |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 12 |
| 2001 | 15 |
| 2002 | 35 |
| 2003 | 21 |
| 2004 | 46 |
| 2005 | 22 |
| 2006 | 18 |
| 2007 | 14 |
| 2008 | 7 |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 2 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 2 |
| 2013 | 2 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | 2 |
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.
Top problems in owners’ words
Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first
Visibility
56 reports
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE. IN APRIL OF 2005, THE AIR CONDITIONING FAILED IN THE VEHICLE. WHEN THE AIR CONDITIONING WAS REACTIVATED, IT MADE A LOUD NOISE AND HOT AIR WAS DISPENSED. THE CONTACT TOOK THE VEHICLE IN FOR REPAIR AND WAS INFORMED THAT THE MOTOR COULD NOT TAKE PRESSURE FROM THE AIR CONDITIONING BEING ACTIVATED. THE CONTACT PAID FOR THE REPAIR; HOWEVER, THE AIR CONDITIONING STILL DOES NOT WORK. IN ADDITION, THE REAR PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW AND THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE WINDOW FAIL TO ROLL DOWN. THE WINDOW FAILURE HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS. THE VIN AND MILEAGES WERE UNKNOWN.”
Steering
47 reports1 crash
“WHILE DRIVING THE BONNEVILLE THE CAR WILL JUST SHUT DOWN, LOOSES ALL POWER. IT HAS HAPPENED ON THE EXPRESSWAY AND ALSO JUST ON LOCAL CITY DRIVING. YOU CAN BE GOING 30 MPH OR 65 MPH. CAR WILL JUST SHUT DOWN (WHICH IS VERY SCARY GOING 65 MPH) AND SOMEONE ON YOUR BUMPER. LOOSES POWER STEERING SO ITS HARD TO MOVE OVER LANES ON THE EXPRESSWAY, WE HAVE FOUND YOU NEED TO IMMEDIATELY PUT ON EMERGENCY FLASHERS, SHIFT CAR INTO NEUTRAL AND TURN THE KEY. SOMETIMES IT WILL START ON THE FIRST TURN OF THE KEY BUT SOMETIMES IT TAKES MULTIPLE TIMES OF TURNING THE KEY, ALL THIS WHILE COASTING ON THE EXPRESSWAY WITH PEOPLE BUZZING ALL AROUND YOU. THE ONE TIME IT HAPPENED I WAS RIGHT BY THE GARAGE WE HAVE BEEN TAKING IT TO, TOOK IT OVER, THEY RAN A CHECK ON THE COMPUTER SYSTEM AND NOTHING CAME UP. THEY ARE AT A LOSS AS TO WHAT TO DO WITHOUT JUST START RANDOMLY CHANGING PARTS THEY THINK IT MIGHT PERTAIN TO? ANY SUGGESTIONS, THIS ISN'T SAFE TO DRIVE WHEN IT DOES THIS, AND ITS JUST RANDOM WHEN IT DOES DO IT, NO WARNING. *TR”
Engine and engine cooling
37 reports1 crash12 fires
“THIS 2000 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE 3.8L WITH APPROXIMATELY 195K MILES WAS OPERATING NORMALLY OVER THE LAST 72 HOURS. IT HAD BEEN DRIVEN APPROXIMATELY 300 MILES BETWEEN 12/16 AND 12/18 @ 12:50 PM THE DATE OF THE FIRE.THAT COLD MORNING (8 DEGREES F) IT WAS DRIVEN 10 MILES RT @ 9AM, 20 MILES RT BETWEEN 10:30 AND NOON, AND THEN SAT FOR APPROXIMATELY 1/2 HOUR BEFORE IT WAS DRIVEN 5 MILES TO A LOCAL STORE BY MY SON. WHEN HE ARRIVED AT THE STORE/GAS STATION HE PARKED NEAR THE PUMPS AND WHEN HE SHUT OFF ENGINE TO GO INTO STORE, SMELLED BURNING SMOKE FROM THE FRONT OF THE CAR. HE OPENED THE HOOD AND WAS GREETED BY ACTIVE FLAMES COMING FROM THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE. THE FIRE WAS SUBSEQUENTLY EXTINGUISHED AND THE BURNED PART OF THE ENGINE WAS THE TOP AND FRONT LEFT QUARTER (FACING THE VEHICLE). THE ANTI-FREEZE RESERVOIR WAS MELTED THROUGH. *TR”
Electrical system
31 reports7 fires
“I HAVE OWNED THIS CAR FOR A YEAR AND AFTER I GOT IT THE SECURITY SYSTEM LOCKED ME DOWN SO THE CAR WILL NOT START. THE FIRST INCIDENT I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND MY SECURITY LIGHT STARTED FLASHING THEN THE CAR QUIT. I PULLED OVER AS FAST AS I COULD AND PLAYED WITH THE GEAR LEVER AND KEY AND GOT THE CAR RESTARTED. SO AFTER THAT I HAD TO GET A NEW KEY AND HAVE IT PROGRAMED TO THE CAR AND WAS TOLD THAT WILL FIX IT. WELL IT HAPPENED 4 MORE TIMES AFTER THAT BUT AFTER PLAYING WITH THE KEY IT STARTED UP. THEN THE LAST TIME I WAS AT WORK AND AFTER 4 HOURS CAME OUT TO GO HOME IT WOULD NOT START AGAIN. HAD TO HAVE THE CAR TOWED HOME AND NOW IT IS AT THE GM DEALERSHIP BEING REPAIRED. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY CAR THAT HAS DONE THIS FROM WHAT I AM READING THIS IS A COMMON ISSUE WITH ALL GM'S WITH THIS SECURITY SYSTEM. IT LOCKS OUT THE INJECTORS AND STARTER. GUESS WHAT THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN FIX THIS ISSUE BECAUSE THEIR COMPUTERS CAN READ THE COMPUTER. THIS IS A BIG RIP-OFF FOR PRIVATE PEOPLE WHO CANT AFFORD TO HAVE THEIR CAR FIXED AT THE DEALER.”
Power train
17 reports
“TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2000 PONTIAC BONNEVILLE. WHILE DRIVING OVER A POTHOLE AT APPROXIMATELY 35 MPH, THE VEHICLE BEGAN VIBRATING UNCONTROLLABLY. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO A LOCAL REPAIR SHOP AND THE MECHANIC STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION WAS DEFECTIVE AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE DEALER AND THE MANUFACTURER WERE NOT NOTIFIED AND THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNKNOWN. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 126,000.”
Service brakes, hydraulic
15 reports1 related recall
“2000 BONNEVILLE BRAKE PEDAL WHEN PRESSED GOES TO THE FLOOR AFTER THE GEAR HAS BEEN PLACED IN REVERSE. *TS THE CONSUMER BELIEVED THE PROBLEM HE EXPERIENCED WAS RELATED TO RECALL 00V114000, HOWEVER THE MANUFACTURER REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE REPAIRS. *JB”
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Nov 10, 2026
Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.