The 1980 Pontiac Firebird has 2 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 85,341 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 2 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the steering. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
STEERING80V1080001980-08-1985,325 affected
Defect
ON CERTAIN VEHICLES, THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BALL JOINT TO STEERING KNUCKLE ATTACHING NUT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN TORQUED TO SPECIFICATIONS. THIS CONDITION COULD CAUSE THE NUT TO BACK OFF, RESULTING IN JOINT SEPARATION.
Remedy
THE DEALER WILL PERFORM A TORQUE CHECK OF THE ATTACHING NUT, AND, IF NECESSARY, TIGHTEN IT. IN SOME CASES AN INADEQUATE TORQUE LEVEL MAY HAVE CAUSED BALL STUD OR STEERING KNUCKLE DAMAGE; IF SO, THE AFFECTED COMPONENTS WILL BE REPLACED AT NO CHARGE TO OWNER.
EQUIPMENT80V0490001980-04-2816 affected
Defect
VEHICLES MAY FAIL TO CONFORM TO FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 110, "TIRE SELECTION AND RIMS". PLACARD ON REAR EDGE OF LEFT DOOR MAY SHOW AN INCORRECT VEHICLE CAPACITY WEIGHT INSTEAD OF THE CORRECT FIGURE OF 800 LBS.
Remedy
DEALER WILL INSTALL THE CORRECT LABEL FREE OF CHARGE TO OWNER.
Complaints by component
STEERING
1
SUSPENSION
1
Total complaints2
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Recently received nhtsa campaign id number: 80v108000, which I assume was issued in october 1980, I would just like to verify that if my car was included in recall that it was addressed, it has approximately 38k original miles, and I do not wish to have a recall which went unfixed. Thank you”
“Recently received nhtsa campaign id number: 80v108000, which I assume was issued in october 1980, I would just like to verify that if my car was included in recall that it was addressed, it has approximately 38k original miles, and I do not wish to have a recall which went unfixed. Thank you”
Defect investigations
InvestigationDP85025 Opened 1985-06-14 · closed 1985-11-27
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1980 Pontiac Firebird as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
contains ads and affiliate links. Full methodology.