1998 Pontiac Pontiac

Fatalities reported

Owners filed 7 complaints about this vehicle with federal regulators, most often about the seats. No safety recall has been issued.

What fails
ComponentReportsCrashesFiresInjuries
Unknown or Other1
000
Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist System1
100
Seats1
103
Fuel System, Other › Storage › Tank Assembly › Pressure Relief Devices1
010
Exterior Lighting1
000
Equipment › Electrical › Radio/Tape Deck/Cd Etc.1
000
Electrical System1
010

What owners reported

Newest filings
Electrical SystemFire
Filed Jun 6, 2007999,935 milesOH

CAR WAS DRIVEN TO A FRIENDS HOUSE. AFTER BEING IN THE HOUSE FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MIN. WE WERE NOTIFIED THAT OUR CAR'S ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ON FIRE. EVERYTHING IN THE COMPARTMENT WAS MELTED OR DISTORTED. INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED THE CAR.

Fuel System, Other › Storage › Tank Assembly › Pressure Relief DevicesFire
Filed Mar 22, 2007104,495 milesNY

I OWN A 98 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX,BLACK,FOUR DOOR AUTOMATIC.I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR THIS CAR FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS.I WENT TO START MY CAR AND IT WAS DEAD SO WE HOOKED IT UP TO A POWER SAVE JUMPER CABLE BOX(THE ONE THAT DOESNT NEED ANOTHER CAR TO CHARGE THE BATTERY) IT STILL WOULDNT START SO MY STEP FATHER (WHO IS A MECHANIC) CAME OVER TO HELP, WE HOOKED IT BACK UP TO THE JUMPER CABLES AND HE TRYED TO TURN IT OVER, NOTHING.... I LEANED IN TO TRY AND TURN IT OVER AND MY FUEL INJECTOR MANIFOLD EXPLODED. THE PLASTIC CASING BLEW ABOUT 20 FT DOWN THE ROAD AND THE WHOLE TOP OF MY ENGINE WAS ON FIRE.THE FIRE BLEW MY MANIFOLD APART,MY FUEL INJECTOR IS COMPLETELY MISSING THE WHOLE PART WHERE MY SPARK PLUGS ARE IS BURNED AND SO ON THERE IS ALOT OF DAMAGE!!!I HEARD FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY THAT THERE IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION INTO THE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX.I HAVE TRYED TO RECEIVE ANY INFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE CONTACTED GM PERSONALLY AND AM HAVING IT LOOKED AT BY A GM SPECIALIST(SUPPOSEDLY).IM JUST VERY THANKFUL THAT MINE NOR MY STEPFATHERS FACE WAS UNDER THAT HOOD OR ONE OF US WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY BADLY INJURED.

Exterior Lighting
Filed May 6, 200582,000 milesOH

HEADLIGHT LENS POPPED OUT.

Steering › Hydraulic Power Assist SystemCrash2 killed
Filed Jan 25, 2004PA

POWER STEERING WAS RECALLED BEFORE I PURCHASED THE CAR AND WAS NEVER FIXED, CAUSED AN AUTO WRECK. *LA

Unknown or Other
Filed Jan 15, 200467,000 milesIN

NOTICED ENGINE WAS OVERHEATING. OWNERS MANUAL SAID CHECK COOLANT TANK AND IF EMPTY SERVICE AND SEE IF THAT FIXES THE PROBLEM. SERVICED COOLANT TANK AND WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AFTER ABOUT THREE MINUTES RUNNING THE THERMOSTAT OPENED UP AND THE CAR STARTED TO SPUTTER AND RUN ROUGH. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IT FOR THE MECHANIC IT HYDRO-LOCKED AND BROKE THE STARTER WHICH ALSO HAD TO BE REPLACED. COOLANT HAD ENTERED THE ENGINE CYLINDERS. MECHANIC FOUND INTAKE PLENUM WARPED. HE SAID THEY CHANGE THESE ALL THE TIME.

Equipment › Electrical › Radio/Tape Deck/Cd Etc.
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA

CD CHANGER MALFUNCTIONING. *YC

SeatsCrash3 injured
Filed Sep 1, 1998MI

BACK SEAT FAILED DURING COLLISION CAUSING INJURY.

7 of 7 complaints, reproduced as filed.

Across model years

Worst on record: 2000
YearComplaintsRecallsFiresDeathsAssessment
200313010Routine
20029000Routine
200111000Routine
200016030Routine
19999000Routine
1998 — this page7022Fatalities reported
199711010Routine
19954000Routine
19941000Routine
19933010Routine
19922000Routine
19911000Routine

Compare every Pontiac year →

Reading this record

2 deaths reported in complaints filed with NHTSA.

Complaint counts track how many cars were sold and how long they have been on the road as much as they track quality. A common model from 2013 has had a decade to accumulate reports; a rare one from last year has not. The signal worth weighing is in the severity columns, in whether the same component keeps appearing, and in whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Most recent recall on file: none. Source: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation.