The 1998 Pontiac Bonneville has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 910,873 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 359 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the engine and engine cooling. Last updated July 5, 2026.
ON CERTAIN PASSENGER VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH 3800 V6 (L36) ENGINES AND CERTAIN DELPHI FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS, THE REGULATORS HAVE A MUCH HIGHER THAN USUAL RATE OF FUEL LEAKS. A LEAK CAN ALLOW FUEL TO ENTER THE INTAKE MANIFOLD THROUGH A VACUUM LINE. IF THE ENGINE DOES NOT START WHEN CRANKED, THE FUEL FROM THE…
Consequence
THE BACKFIRE CAN RUPTURE THE INTAKE MANIFOLD. THE RUPTURE OF THE INTAKE MANIFOLD CAN DISPLACE A FUEL LINE, PULLING AN INJECTOR OUT OF PLACE, AND CAUSING A FUEL LEAK AND POSSIBLE FIRE.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSTALL NEW FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS WITH IMPROVED DIAPHRAGMS. THE RECALL WILL BE CONDUCTED IN PHASED MAILINGS. PHASE 1 BEGAN ON JUNE 30, 2004, AND PHASE 2 BEGAN ON SEPTEMBER 30, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537, OR PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Complaints by component
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
52
20fires2injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
47
3fires
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
45
1injuries
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE
34
2fires
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:COOLING SYSTEM
25
1crashes1fires
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY
16
1crashes3fires2injuries
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:CARBURETOR SYSTEM
11
2fires
POWER TRAIN:AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
8
1crashes
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
8
1crashes1injuries
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:ALTERNATOR/GENERATOR/REGULATOR
6
1fires
Total complaints359
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“The back two cradle mounts on both sides rusted out and mounts pulled through the cradle causing the steering to become loose filling and causing steering to be out of alignment and when hit brakes front would dart one way or the other and lots of noise coming from under vehicle from cradle…”
“The back two cradle mounts on both sides rusted out and mounts pulled through the cradle causing the steering to become loose filling and causing steering to be out of alignment and when hit brakes front would dart one way or the other and lots of noise coming from under vehicle from cradle…”
“The back two cradle mounts on both sides rusted out and mounts pulled through the cradle causing the steering to become loose filling and causing steering to be out of alignment and when hit brakes front would dart one way or the other and lots of noise coming from under vehicle from cradle…”
“The back two cradle mounts on both sides rusted out and mounts pulled through the cradle causing the steering to become loose filling and causing steering to be out of alignment and when hit brakes front would dart one way or the other and lots of noise coming from under vehicle from cradle…”
“The back two cradle mounts on both sides rusted out and mounts pulled through the cradle causing the steering to become loose filling and causing steering to be out of alignment and when hit brakes front would dart one way or the other and lots of noise coming from under vehicle from cradle…”
“Engine compartment fire approximately 30 mins after shutdown. Incident 2015-00001363”
“My car has been stolen from sioux falls residents home july 10 th but have a police report [xxx] been spotted in mitchell off interstate 90 first parking lot right after exit 90 into mitchell tanish color trunk has bunngie cord on trunk silver small spot on passenger side pontiac 1998. Information…”
“My car has been stolen from sioux falls residents home july 10 th but have a police report [xxx] been spotted in mitchell off interstate 90 first parking lot right after exit 90 into mitchell tanish color trunk has bunngie cord on trunk silver small spot on passenger side pontiac 1998. Information…”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA02030 Opened 2002-10-22 · closed 2004-03-09
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME…
InvestigationEA02030 Opened 2002-10-22 · closed 2004-03-09
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME…
InvestigationEA02030 Opened 2002-10-22 · closed 2004-03-09
ENGINE COMPARTMENT FIRES
EA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GMEA02-030 IS CLOSED WITH GM?S ACTIONS IN 03V-473 AND 04V-090 RECALLING APPROXIMATELY 529,000 MY 1998-99 C- AND H-BODY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH DEFECTIVE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATORS.THESE VEHICLES WERE EQUIPPED WITH PLASTIC INTAKE MANIFOLDS THAT ARE UNABLE TO CONTAIN PRESSURES THAT OCCUR IN SOME…
InvestigationPE02050 Opened 2002-06-13 · closed 2002-10-22
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.