"How reliable is the 2004 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"Based on 38 NHTSA complaints, the 2004 Pontiac Bonneville has a median complaint mileage of 43000 miles. The most common issue is Steering."

"What are common problems with the 2004 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2004 Pontiac Bonneville is Steering, accounting for a significant portion of the 38 total complaints filed."

2004 Pontiac Bonneville: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 38 complaints

Total Complaints

43,000mi

Median Mileage

Steering

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

33,200 25th Percentile

43,000 Median Mileage

70,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

Steering

Electrical System

Instrument Cluster/Panel

Air Bags

12V/24V/48V Battery

Suspension

Engine And Engine Cooling

Emission Control

Hood

Fuel Gauge System

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"THE 3.3L ENGINE STALLED WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEED. IT ALSO HAPPENED WHILE THE VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AT 35 MPH. THE VEHICLE AS BEEN TO THE DEALER ON 4 SEPARATE OCCASION, BUT THEY WERE UNABLE TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. *JB"

"I PURCHASED MY CAR FROM SHARRETT PONTIAC BUICK GMC ON 10 NOVEMBER 2004. WHEN I TOOK THE CAR FOR A TEST RIDE ON 30 DEC I NOTICED A VERY OBVIOUS VIBRATION IN THE CAR. THE SALES MAN SAID THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO FIX IT. I PURCHASED IT ON 10 NOVEMBER AND WAS NOT ABLE TO DRIVE IT HOME TILL FRIDAY THE 12 OF ..."

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.

Steering 7 complaints

25th: 34,390 mi Median: 41,331 mi 75th: 42,750 mi

Electrical System 6 complaints

25th: 36,925 mi Median: 68,500 mi 75th: 125,500 mi

Instrument Cluster/Panel 3 complaints

Median: 43,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

TX: 7 MD: 4 FL: 4 OH: 4 IL: 3 NY: 2 PA: 2 PR: 2 MO: 1 KY: 1

Who Files Complaints?

21.1%

Original Owners

78.9%

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
2003	64	80,500	Engine	4
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