"How reliable is the 2005 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"Based on 37 NHTSA complaints, the 2005 Pontiac Bonneville has a median complaint mileage of 130000 miles. The most common issue is AIR BAGS."

"What are common problems with the 2005 Pontiac Bonneville?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 2005 Pontiac Bonneville is AIR BAGS, accounting for a significant portion of the 37 total complaints filed."

2005 Pontiac Bonneville: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 37 complaints

Total Complaints

130,000mi

Median Mileage

AIR BAGS

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

68,408 25th Percentile

130,000 Median Mileage

137,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

AIR BAGS

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

ENGINE

STEERING

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

SUSPENSION

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"MAGNASTEER ISSUE: EXTREMELY DIFFICULT STEERING AT LOW SPEEDS (BELOW 15 MPH) WHEN VEHICLE IS AT OPERATING TEMPERATURE. SUMMER TIME CONDITIONS ENHANCE THIS PROBLEM. WHEN THE STEERING FLUID HEATS UP, THE STEERING BECOMES MORE DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE. THE MAGNASTEER RACK HAS BEEN REPLACED 1 TIME. THIS ..."

"INTERMEDIATE SHAFT WAS REPLACED BY THE DEALER AT APPROXIMATELY 32000 MILES AND NOW I HAVE THE SAME SYMPTOMS AGAIN, CLUNK IN THE FRONT OF THE VEHICLE WHEN TURNING. THERE IS APPROXIMATELY 40000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE NOW. UNFORTUNATELY THERE IS NO WARRANTY LEFT SO I REALLY CAN'T DRIVE THE CAR FOR FEAR ..."

"WHEN THE RIGHT FRONT WHEEL PASSES THROUGH STANDING WATER MOISTURE IS DEFLECTED ONTO THE SERPENTINE BELT. THE SERPENTINE BELT SLIPS CAUSING A LOSS OF POWER STEERING WHICH RENDERS THE VEHICLE NOT ABLE STEER UNTIL THE SERPENTINE BELT STOPS SLIPPING. MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES. *TR"

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.

AIR BAGS 12 complaints

25th: 112,500 mi Median: 136,000 mi 75th: 137,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 8 complaints

25th: 67,250 mi Median: 116,000 mi 75th: 139,308 mi

ENGINE 4 complaints

25th: 135,250 mi Median: 149,117 mi 75th: 162,425 mi

STEERING 4 complaints

25th: 35,750 mi Median: 44,500 mi 75th: 77,500 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

MS: 5 IL: 4 MO: 4 IA: 3 FL: 3 SC: 3 MI: 2 PA: 2 MD: 2 ID: 2

Pontiac Bonneville — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1990	45	-	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	4
1991	26	-	POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION	4
1992	139	153,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	17
1993	183	147,000	SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP	17
1994	123	127,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	14
1995	330	115,500	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	18
1996	181	110,000	AIR BAGS:FRONTAL	6
1997	188	98,774	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	3
1998	359	70,226	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	12
1999	176	70,096	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	9
2000	301	65,000	VISIBILITY: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
2004	38	43,000	STEERING	0

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