2001 Pontiac Bonneville

Typical pattern

3% of complaints about the 2001 Pontiac Bonneville came in the first year, which is unremarkable for a 2001 vehicle — around the middle of the 216 model-years on record. The median complaint arrives at 4.9 yr in service. The most-reported system is steering (34 complaints), typically at 3.2 yr or about 27,920 miles.

Complaints: 168
Median age at failure: 4.9 yr
Median mileage: 65,000 n=125
Crash / fire / tow: 20.8% of reports
Safety recalls: 0

In owners’ own words

Electrical system mileage not reported 11 mo in service

AN ELECTRICAL SHORT BLEWOUT TAIL LIGHTS WHICH HAD BEEN REPLACED FOUR TIMES BY DEALER, AND DEFECT COULD NOT BE FOUND. PLEASE PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION.*AK

Electrical system mileage not reported 1.8 yr in service crash / fire / tow

ALTERNATOR FAILED - COULD NOT OPEN DOORS OR ROLL WINDOWS DOWN-TRAPPED IN CAR!*AK

Electrical system 85,700 mi 5.0 yr in service

DT: VEHICLE HAD A BATTERY LEAKAGE PROBLEM . IT WAS LEAKING FOR SOMETIME. THE BATTERY IS LOCATED UNDER THE BACK SEAT AROUND THE POSITIVE POST. THE BATTERY ACID LEAKED AND ATE THROUGH THE FLOOR PAN. THE EXHAUST IS RIGHT UNDER THE BATTERY. NOTICED THIS ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2005. WENT OUT TO START THE VEHICLE AND THAT HOW NOTICED IT. *AK THE CONSUMER EXPLAINED THAT THE BATTERY IN THIS CAR SITS DIRECTLY ON THE FLOOR PAN NOT ON A BATTERY TRAY. *NM

Steering mileage not reported 1.8 yr in service crash / fire / tow

VEHICLE WAS INVOLVED IN A FRONTAL COLLISION OF 25 MPH, CRASHING INTO A LIGHT POLE. INTEGRITY OF STRUCTURE BODY DAMAGE HAS EXCEEDED OVER $3600.00 COMPARED TO FOUR STAR CRASH TEST RATING GIVEN BY NHTSA. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

Other Bonneville model years

How to read this

This is what owners reported, not a reliability rating. People file with NHTSA about alarming failures, not routine ones, and complaint volume tracks how many cars were sold.
Failure ages come from the incident date on each complaint, populated on about 83% of records. Mileage is shown where reported — NHTSA’s 2021 system change cut mileage capture to roughly 15%, so it thins out sharply after MY2020.
Every rank compares this vehicle only against others of the same model year. A 2025 car has not had time to accumulate five-year failures, so comparing early-failure share across years is meaningless.
Fourteen make-months distorted by media storms and mass recalls — Toyota in February 2010 ran 11× normal volume across 33 models — are excluded.
Recalls are manufacturer actions and authoritative; complaints are not. A recall listed here may already have been performed on any individual car. Check a specific VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.

2001 Pontiac Bonneville

When each system is reported — middle 50% of complaints

In owners’ own words

Other Bonneville model years

How to read this