"How reliable is the 2003 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"Based on 64 NHTSA complaints, the 2003 Pontiac Bonneville has a median complaint mileage of 80500 miles. The most common issue is Engine."

"What are common problems with the 2003 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2003 Pontiac Bonneville is Engine, accounting for a significant portion of the 64 total complaints filed."

2003 Pontiac Bonneville: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 64 complaints

Total Complaints

80,500mi

Median Mileage

Engine

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

42,725 25th Percentile

80,500 Median Mileage

102,807 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Engine

Steering

Electrical System

Unknown Or Other

Power Train

Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip

Frontal

Fuel/Propulsion System

Engine And Engine Cooling

Fuel System, Gasoline

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"DASH GUAGES ARE HARD TO READ IN SUNLIGHT DUE TO THEIR BACKLIGHT DESIGN AND LACK OF CONTRAST WITH THE GUAGE BACKGROUND. IN SUNLIGHT WITH SUNGLASSES ON THE BECOME NEARLY IMPOSIBLE TO READ. ALSO, THE SENSOR THAT TURNS ON THE HEADLIGHTS AND IN THE PROCESS DIMS THE LIGHTS FURTHER (MAKING THE DASH APPEA..."

"WHEN THE SHIFTER WAS IN THE PARK POSITION AND THE KEY WAS TURNED TO THE ACC POSITION, THE SHIFTER COULD BE MOVED OUT OF PARK ALTHOUGH THE DRIVERS FOOT WAS NOT PRESSING THE BRAKE PEDAL. THE CONSUMER WAS INFORMED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS DESIGNED THIS WAY.*AK *SCC *NLM"

"THE CONSUMER DISCOVERED HE WAS ABLE TO SHIFT THE GEAR FROM PARK TO NEUTRAL OR DRIVE WITHOUT HIS FOOT BEING APPLIED TO THE BRAKE. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED. *AK WHEN THE KEY POSITION WAS IN THE ACCELERATOR POSITION WITHOUT THE CONSUMERS FOOT ON THE BRAKE, THE VEHICLE ROLLED OUT OF THE PARKING SP..."

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.

Engine 8 complaints

25th: 90,500 mi Median: 110,000 mi 75th: 121,800 mi

Steering 7 complaints

25th: 37,500 mi Median: 51,000 mi 75th: 74,250 mi

Electrical System 6 complaints

25th: 44,890 mi Median: 69,210 mi 75th: 85,000 mi

Unknown Or Other 5 complaints

25th: 24,125 mi Median: 55,500 mi 75th: 86,000 mi

Power Train 5 complaints

Median: 182,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MI: 9 NY: 5 WI: 5 GA: 5 AZ: 4 MN: 4 WV: 3 OH: 3 IL: 3 NV: 2

Who Files Complaints?

9.4%

Original Owners

90.6%

Second+ Owners

Pontiac Bonneville — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	45	-	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	4
1991	26	-	Automatic Transmission	4
1992	139	153,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	17
1993	183	147,000	Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip	17
1994	123	127,000	Frontal	14
1995	330	115,500	Gasoline	18
1996	181	110,000	Frontal	6
1997	188	98,774	Gasoline	3
1998	359	70,226	Gasoline	12
1999	176	70,096	Gasoline	9
2000	301	65,000	Power Window Devices And Controls	4
2001	179	65,000	Engine And Engine Cooling	6
2002	112	48,927	Steering	4
2004	38	43,000	Steering	0
2005	37	130,000	Air Bags	5

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