"How reliable is the 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport?"

"Based on 307 NHTSA complaints, the 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport has a median complaint mileage of 90000 miles. The most common issue is STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR."

"What are common problems with the 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1997 Pontiac Trans Sport is STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR, accounting for a significant portion of the 307 total complaints filed."

1997 Pontiac Trans Sport: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 307 complaints

307

Total Complaints

90,000mi

Median Mileage

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

64,995 25th Percentile

90,000 Median Mileage

113,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

STEERING:RACK AND PINION

STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

VISIBILITY:POWER WINDOW DEVICES AND CONTROLS

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FIRE STARTED ON DRIVER'S SIDE OF VEHICLE IN THE FUEL FILLER AREA. *AK"

"THE VEHICLE ELECTRICAL SLIDING SIDE DOOR WON'T SHUT PROPERLY, CAUSING THE DOOR TO INTERMITTENTLY BE OPENED, COULD CAUSE AN OCCUPANT TO FALL OUT OF THE VEHICLE. THE ONLY WAY TO CLOSE THE DOOR IS TO CLOSE IT MANUALLY. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. *AK"

"OWNER HAS ABS BRAKES, WHILE DRIVING AT 20 MPH AND APPLYING THE BRAKES, PEDAL WENT TO THE FLOOR. OWNER NOTES THAT BRAKE LINE WAS CUT ON THE RIGHT FRONT BRAKE WHICH CONNECTS TO ABS SYSTEM. DEALERS HAVE CORRECTED PROBLEM, BUT OWNER STILL HAS CONCERNS. *AK"

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR 33 complaints

Median: 121,860 mi

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS 28 complaints

Median: 92,846 mi

STEERING:RACK AND PINION 16 complaints

Median: 86,014 mi

LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH 14 complaints

Median: 81,640 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 23 CA: 22 TX: 18 PA: 18 FL: 18 NY: 17 GA: 16 KY: 15 IL: 14 IN: 12

Who Files Complaints?

43%

Original Owners

57%

Second+ Owners

Pontiac Trans Sport — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	64	-	STRUCTURE:FRAME AND MEMBERS	0
1991	46	-	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR	2
1992	96	120,000	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR	3
1993	77	-	SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR	6
1994	128	90,000	STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR	7
1995	150	80,000	STRUCTURE:BODY:DOOR	18
1996	74	95,028	VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER	6
1998	287	80,000	EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS	17

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28