Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||||
| 638315 | 01/01/1997 | 51237 | Check gages lamp illuminates with gage reading 1/4 tank of fuel left (replace ipc cluster). *tw | 06/27/1997 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | |||
| 02/10/2012 | 107000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. while driving approximately 35 mph, the vehicle stalled. the failure recurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. the mechanic replaced the battery and check oil sensors. the failure continued after the repair. the vehicle was not further repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 107,000. kmj | |||
| 02/10/2012 | 107000 | ||
| Tl- the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. while driving at approximately 35 mph the vehicle suddenly stalled. the failure occurred intermittently. the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostic. the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. the mechanic replaced the battery and check oil sensors. the failure continued after the repair. the vehicle was not repaired. the approximate failure mileage was 107,000. ds | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR | |||
| 01/07/2003 | 1 | ||
| Nar 1/29/2003. the vehicle was delivered to the consumer with a bent water pump and a bent wheel. the alternator, power steering pump, transmission and egr valve were replaced. *jb | |||
| 06/29/2000 | 5 | ||
| When driving or idling vehicle will suddenly die ,and will not restart until after 10-15 minutes later . dealer has replaced alternator, but defect has reocurred, dealer claimed they could not determine cause without duplicating defect. *ak after multiple attempt to repair the vehicle, the dealer idenfified the problem to be a failed fuel pump and was replaced. the consumer wants reimbersment for the cost of replacing the alternator that was not the cause. *yh | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY | |||
| 80000 | 1 | ||
| Vehicle failed to start. upon opening hood consumer noticed that the battery terminal post came off, and acid was leaking out.*ak | |||
| 07/21/2001 | 1 | 01/01/2097 | |
| Vehicle parked in driveway with fluid dripping in front of passenger side front tire. found positive battery post (side) separated from battery case with battery acid leaking out. battery terminal was very difficult to remove from cables and there was slight corrosion damage to battery tray area.*ak | |||
| 03/27/2002 | 05/01/2000 | ||
| My car wouldn't start and there were no electrical components functioning. i called the car dealership where i purchased the warranty and was told to make sure i didn't have a dead battery because that was not covered under the warranty. i called the towing company and they attempted to charge the battery. battery would not charge; the car went puff and caught on fire. when the wrecker driver attempte to start the car, he heard a loud pop and smoke was rolling out from under the hood. he opened the hood, battery was intact, however the engine was on fire. after fire was extinquished, he found the plenum(?sp) blown off the top f the engine and the oil filtler tube was blown out of he top of te manifold. warranty company would not cover due to the fact the car caught on fire. they said my car ins should cover it. however, i believe the fire was the result of a previously existing defect. i was told the foam used to extinguish the fire could possibly have caused more problems in the engine. was i supposed to let the car completey burn up? i don't think so!*ak | |||
| 11/04/2001 | 1 | 05/01/2000 | |
| While my wife was driving home with our children the vehicle suddenly shut off. my wife was able to safely pull off the highway and contacted me. when i arrived i found the positive battery terminal fell off the delco battery, causing acid to leak into the battery tray and front frame section. i replaced battery and had to repair the cable end because the end was seized.*ak | |||
| 05/01/2000 | 1 | 07/01/1997 | |
| This appears to be a common problem with this make/model or similarly configured battery cable system. the post breaks off inside the battery as a result of vibrations and the weight of the cable. the consumer must buy a new battery as a result. furthermore, the battery bolt freezes inside the cable requiring it to be cut out due to the excessive heat generated aththe connection. this is a common problem with this vehicle according to the technician i spoke with at bentley pontiac at the time i took it in. i had to have the vehicle towed to get it repaired. when i picked my vehicle up, i noticed another bonneville getting it's battery replaced for the exact same problem - the positive terminal post had broken off and the bolt was frozen to the positive cable connection. i believe there should be a fix to this problem and that gm should reimburse owner's for any cost associated with this design flaw. it presents a danger to vehicles driving down the highway because it could potentially result in sudden power loss and could be catastrophic. i was lucky my incident occurred in my garage. i shoulod have reported this earlier. however, while cleaning up my computer files, i recalled that i had not reported this incident. i have owned a number of vehicles for many years and have never heard of this type problem with the battery/battey cable on any of them. have other such incidents been reported or does gm have knowledge of this problem from maintenance actions at their dealers? | |||
| 1 | |||
| Batteries leak acid.et. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - BATTERY - CABLES | |||
| 08/05/2003 | 39000 | 7 | 09/12/1997 |
| Consumer stated while driving vehicle at 25 mph suddenly all electrical components died. no brakes/ no power steering. took vehicle to dealer, dealer popped hood, and noticed battery acid all over the engine compartment, and battery cables were loose. dealer replaced cables, and put jelly around them. five days later, cables were loose again. cause unknown. the cable has loosen again and vehicle stalled and lost all power. consumer was left stranded. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS | |||
| 01/25/1999 | 7 | ||
| Headlights are working intermittently, and the fuse keeps blowing out. consumer had the vehicle into the shop 6 times, and dealer can't determine the cause of the problem. dealer keeps replacing different parts, and the vehicle is about to go back into the shop for the 7th time. *ak | |||
| 09/19/1997 | |||
| The fuse for the brake lights has blown out, leaving consumer with no brake lights. dealer has been contacted. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGNITION | |||
| 11/14/2001 | 1 | 05/01/2000 | |
| Vehicle hesitating between 35 and 55 mph. engine check light would not go off. turned out to be 1 failed ignition coil and ignition wires bad. *ak | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - STARTER ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/16/1999 | 1 | 07/19/1998 | |
| Starter term loose causing vehicle to stall. nlm | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - FRONT UNDERHOOD | |||
| 03/27/2002 | 05/01/2000 | ||
| My car wouldn't start and there were no electrical components functioning. i called the car dealership where i purchased the warranty and was told to make sure i didn't have a dead battery because that was not covered under the warranty. i called the towing company and they attempted to charge the battery. battery would not charge; the car went puff and caught on fire. when the wrecker driver attempte to start the car, he heard a loud pop and smoke was rolling out from under the hood. he opened the hood, battery was intact, however the engine was on fire. after fire was extinquished, he found the plenum(?sp) blown off the top f the engine and the oil filtler tube was blown out of he top of te manifold. warranty company would not cover due to the fact the car caught on fire. they said my car ins should cover it. however, i believe the fire was the result of a previously existing defect. i was told the foam used to extinguish the fire could possibly have caused more problems in the engine. was i supposed to let the car completey burn up? i don't think so!*ak | |||
| 11/16/2000 | 1 | 09/01/1999 | |
| I was driving home from when work when my car caught on fire. my brakes stopped working and i was unable to stop the car. the car was engulfed in flames in the matter of a few minutes. *ak | |||
| 09/20/1999 | 1 | 04/01/1997 | |
| On date mentioned the cars firewall and engine compartment caught fire which cause the lose of the use of the brakes and power steering. i was decending a steep hill at the time . i was lucky to keep control of the vehicle and managed to get the fire out before the fire department got there. this could have been a fatal accident if i had not keep my head. we also had to replace the alternator in this vehicle which should have not worn out as the car only had 3500 mile on it at that time. the police report stated that it was a manufacturer defect that caused the fire. i have called the place of purchase to inform them of this and they gave me a phone number of the pontiac co. to call and the number will not go threw. i have searched the web to see if there was a place in their web site to send them an email about the fire and no luck there either. if this had not happened when it did it would have been my wife driving with our grandson in the car, as i had gone to get gas for the car for her first. i feel it should be checked out as to wether there has been any other problems of this type . i know for a fact that my wife would not have been able to have handled the car and would have had an accident with our grandson in the car. this has me very upset. | |||
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - WIRING - INTERIOR/UNDER DASH | |||
| 11/30/2000 | 06/01/1997 | ||
| Under dash electrical fire that destroyed the cars interior - car junked. *ak | |||
| 12/08/1996 | |||
| While drivng vehicle filled up with smoke and a fire started in the dash behind the radio. mechanic stated that there was a loose wire in the dash. car was towed to a body shop. still not fixed. *ak | |||