Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||||
| 108150A | 12/01/1996 | 10-81-50 | 50563 | Some vehicles may display a condition at 70 mph where the speedometer reads about 4 mph faster or slower than hud. *tw | 05/27/1997 |
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 010730032B | 11/01/2004 | 010730032A | 628928 | Some owners may comment on a transmission oil leak. *tt updated *eh | 03/25/2002 |
| 877175 | 11/01/1998 | 602979 | Some comments on vehicle surge. *yc | 01/22/1999 | |
| 9774T65E02 | 04/01/1997 | 52553 | Harsh garage shift, reverse to drive, hydra-matic 4t65-e transaxle. *tw | 08/14/1997 | |
| 677164 | 02/01/1997 | 51296 | Intermittent neutral or loss of drive at highway speeds or from fourth gear (replace control valve body assembly). *tw | 06/27/1997 | |
| 577106A | 12/01/1996 | 57-71-06 | 50571 | Cold start rattle noise. *tw | 05/27/1997 |
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 990730030A | 04/01/2001 | 990730030 | 619370 | Owners of some vehicles equipped with hydra-matic 3t40, 4t60, 4t60-e or 4t65-e transaxles may comment on a grinding and / or growling noise that is noticeable when standing in park on a hill or slope with the engine running and the parking | 05/24/2001 |
| 990730030 | 12/01/1999 | 575113 | 6089996 | Some vehicles equipped with hydra-matic 3t40, 4t60 or 4t60-e transxales may comment on a grinding and / or growling noise that is noticeable when in park on incline. *tt | 03/01/2000 |
| 98777155A | 04/01/1998 | 77-71-55 | 601052 | Experiencing a transaxle gear whine noise on coast down or light acceleration between 20 and 40 mph. *yc | 06/24/1998 |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE | |||||
| 9709017160A | 09/01/1997 | 54344 | Vehicles equipped with harsh garage shift reverse to drive. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - DRIVESHAFT | |||||
| 577106A | 02/01/1997 | 57-71-06 | 51497 | Cold start rattle noise (diagnosis/service procedure). *tw | 06/27/1997 |
| POWER TRAIN - DRIVELINE - UNIVERSAL JOINT | |||||
| 970801777155 | 08/01/1997 | 54285 | Experiencing a transaxle gear whine noise on coast down or light acceleration. *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| 970501777160 | 05/01/1997 | 53022 | Experiencing harsh engagement from reverse to drive. *yc | 11/06/1997 | |
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||||
| 000730002B | 07/01/2002 | 000730002A | 634985 | Concerns with slips, harsh upshift or garage shifts, launch shudders, flares, erratic shifts and intermittent concerns, diagnostic trouble code p1811 or p0748 set. *tt | 10/11/2002 |
| 97080177715F | 08/01/1997 | 54421 | Experience a transaxle gear whine noise on coast down or light acceleration. *yc | 04/07/1998 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| POWER TRAIN | |||
| 07/16/1999 | 1 | 07/19/1998 | |
| Speedometer cluster failed causing check gauge light to come on. nlm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION | |||
| 03/19/2007 | 110000 | 2 | |
| Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. while driving at 55 mph the accelerator pedal became stuck and the vehicle sped into full throttle. the contact depressed the brake pedal, but was unable to stop the vehicle. the contact had to shift the gear into reverse in order to stop the vehicle. the failure contained no warning indicators. the vehicle was towed to a repair shop and when the mechanic started the vehicle, it was still at full throttle. the mechanic replaced the transmission. the passenger sustained minor injuries. the current and failure mileage was 110,000. *ak | |||
| 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 | |||
| 04/11/2004 | 128123 | 2 | 09/10/2002 |
| The intake manifold or the plemium whatever you want to call the thing wore out and all of my engine coolant went into the fuel cylinders and locked my motor down i was headed to macon ga from douglas,ga going to the hospital were they had transfered my brother and here i am in perry,ga broke down because pontiac puts a plastic intake manifold on a motor i feel like pontiac should have to pay for this part being replaced. i also have trouble with my car surging between 35 and 55 miles per hour this is the sorriest car i have ever owed and i have owned 2 grand prixs before this car but liked the body style of the bonneville and i rhought that it would be a good car but boy was i wrong i bought the car in august,2002 and have spent enough money on repairs on it that i could probably done paid for another grand prix.after reading all the complaints on this sight i feel they should have a recall on them for the transmissions and the intake manifolds because they all seem to be related to me .people pay a lot of money for there cars and still have to put money in repairs its just not fair .*ak | |||
| 08/04/1997 | 12000 | 576 | |
| Transmission bumps and jerks at speeds over 30 mph. usually when climbing a hill. solution...let off the gas for a second and re apply to stop the bucking temporarily. also happened to my 92 bonneville which had the original transmission that never failed with over 180,000 miles on it, besides the bucking. *nlm | |||
| 08/29/2001 | 1 | 01/01/2097 | |
| At freeway speed (2200 rpm) vehicle would surge repeatedly as if driver was quickly pressing and releasing gas pedal. occasionally transmission would go into neutral and engine would rev to 4000 rpm. letting the car coast for 10-15 seconds seemed to get the transmission back into operation. dealer reported found fluid black (burned very bad) recommend to replace with srta. replaced trans with srta. so far no more problems after dealer replaced transmission.*ak | |||
| 07/01/1999 | |||
| Since purchase of vehicle transmission would buck at 30-40 mph. dealer could not find a problem. on july 22, 2002 dealer stated that valve body had to be replaced to remedy the problem.*ak | |||
| 04/15/2002 | 2 | 01/01/2098 | |
| Control valve body assembly failing for second time. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 9000 | 10/01/1999 | |
| I would like nitsa to conduct an investigation into bulletin #87-71-75. in accordance with pursuant to 49usc' 30162 and 49cfr part 522. my dealer and pontiac motor division of genernal mortors would not change the control valve body assembly that is failing in my bonneville, because their excuse is that i did not purchase this car new even though this car is only nine months out of warranty and only had 34,150 miles on it. even though they know they manufactured a defective part and do not want to repair it. i do not feel that i should have to pay for a defective part that they installed at the factory. thank you for your time. john g. hammel. *ak | |||
| 06/01/2000 | 1 | 06/01/2000 | |
| I purchased this car used from a retailer who offered me 60 bumper to bumper warranty. during the first road trip, the car began surging at various speeds from 35-65 mph. the surging appeared to occur more often at a rpm of 2000 - 2500. i brought the car in to gary pontiac with an explanation of the problem. when i picked up the vehicle at the end of the day, the diagnosis was to replace the wires, filters, perform a transmission tune-up for a total of around $300.00. i decided to save money and to have the work done elsewhere. after having this work performed, the car continued to exhibit the same surging. i attempted to return the vehicle to gary pontiac before the warranty expired, but due to health reasons with the service manager/transmission expert, my return to gary was postponed until after the expiration of my 60 day warranty. during this whole process, i had made repeated reports to gmcares to document this process. i believe that i had made around 6 calls to gmcares during this time. most recently (9/25/2000), i brought the car in to gary with the prior understanding that this problem was most likely due to a faulty transmission valve body. this problem appears to be prevalent in these types of cars/transmissions, since i personnelly know three people experiencing this problem. the dealer confirmed that indead the valve body would have to be replaced . the deal that was offered to me was for me to pay the part cost with gm to absorb the cost of service. i believe this is a noble attempt at customer satisfaction, but since this problem is inherent in these vehicles, i think gm should pickup the total cost of this repair. the fact that i had a warranty on the car that would have covered this defect had gary pontiac diagnosed it the first time properly, is enough reason for this repair to be paid by gmc. *ak | |||
| 01/01/1998 | |||
| Problem appears to be prevalent with this yr., make, model, dealer will not warranty part. no safety defect indicated within summary. *ak | |||
| While traveling 40mph vehicle would not go to 2nd gear. dealer has been contacted. please provide futher informat. please provide further information. *ak | |||
| 08/15/1999 | 1 | 01/01/1997 | |
| No summary | |||
| 04/30/1998 | 3 | 11/01/1996 | |
| Orginial transmission rebuilt at 20,000 miles. partial rebuild at 27,000. owner reported continued transmission problems at 31,000 miles, 35,000 miles and 37,000 miles. dealer reported | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION - GEAR POSITION INDICATION (PRNDL) | |||
| 12/28/1998 | 1 | 07/19/1998 | |
| Gears on lever stripped causing emergncy brake to not hold when depressed. nlm | |||
| POWER TRAIN - AXLE ASSEMBLY | |||
| 08/12/1998 | |||
| While driving vehicle came to an abrupt stop. the trans axle locked up. vehicle has been at the dealership for 5 weeks. *ak | |||
| POWER TRAIN - MANUAL TRANSMISSION | |||
| 08/17/2001 | 2 | 08/30/2000 | |
| Consumer stating that the transmission would not go in to gear, dealer removed transmission assembly and disassembled it and found internal damage exceeded a rebuilt replacement, also transaxle does not go into reverse smoothly and will bang, dealer flushed transmission fluid and changed filter, consumer still not satisfied with the situation. *yd | |||