The 1997 Pontiac Firebird has 1 NHTSA recall campaign affecting an estimated 1,573 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 59 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.
Recall campaigns
SEAT BELTS96V2190001996-11-041,573 affected
Defect
THESE VEHICLES WERE MANUFACTURED WITH SEAT BELT RETRACTORS OUT OF DESIGN POSITION WHICH CAN CAUSE THE RETRACTOR TO LOCK-UP ON SLOPES LESS SEVERE THAN THE FMVSS REQUIREMENT. THIS DOES NOT COMPLY WITH FMVSS NO. 209, "SEAT BELT ASSEMBLIES."
Consequence
IN THE EVENT OF A VEHICLE COLLISION, UNBELTED OCCUPANTS ARE MORE AT RISK OF INJURY THAN THOSE USING SEAT BELTS.
Remedy
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE SEAT BELTS FOR PROPER FRONT SEAT BELT RETRACTOR POSITION. RETRACTORS FOUND TO BE IMPROPERLY POSITIONED WILL BE REINSTALLED CORRECTLY.
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
9
2crashes
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE
4
AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
3
2crashes2injuries
SEATS:FRONT ASSEMBLY:HEAD RESTRAINT
3
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL:ACCELERATOR PEDAL
3
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE
2
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:WIRING:FUSES AND CIRCUIT BREAKERS
2
SEATS
2
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
2
AIR BAGS
1
1crashes
Total complaints59
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Hi my pontiac firebird got impounded properly parked for 3 hrs on private property on the same property where i’m a tenant at [xxx] las vegas it was towed illegally and was in pound yard where I was charged $474.64 by tow guys 3823 losse rd 89030 they did not put sticker they illegally towed no…”
“I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as I looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over I seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe I went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , I went too put my eyes back on the…”
“I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as I looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over I seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe I went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , I went too put my eyes back on the…”
“I was driving my car making an exit off the freeway & as I looked over my shoulder too make sure it was safe to merge over I seen there was smoke coming out of the tailpipe I went to turn back around & smoke was also coming from the sides of the steering wheel , I went too put my eyes back on the…”
“The turning signal light sockets on the 1997 firebird (and probably other model years) burn up after a time causing signal failure and marker light failure. The cause is the excessive heat given off by the daytime running lights. Pontiac used the turning signal element of the light assembly as a…”
“At 118,000 miles I had my front brakes changed for the third time. I asked the person changing the brakes to check the rear brakes since they have never been changed. I had asked previous people to look at them when inspecting brakes and I was always told they were fine. This time the person…”
“Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision at 20 mph and neither air bag deployed. Manufacturer was notified. *ak consumer stated that the anti lock brakes failed to stop the vehicle during the accident. *yh”
“Vehicle was involved in a frontal collision at 20 mph and neither air bag deployed. Manufacturer was notified. *ak consumer stated that the anti lock brakes failed to stop the vehicle during the accident. *yh”
Defect investigations
InvestigationEA97024 Opened 1997-11-13 · closed 1998-09-29
FUEL TUBE RETAINING CLIP FAILURE
MOST OF THE REPORTS REVIEWED IN THIS INVESTIGATION ARE FIRE INCIDENTS IN WHICH FUEL LEAKAGE HAS BEEN ALLEGED AS THE CAUSE OR THE AREA OF ORIGIN IS CONSISTENT WITH THE ALLEGED DEFECT.THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THE SUBJECT CLIP WAS A FACTOR IN ANY OF THESE FIRE INCIDENTS AND NHTSA TESTING INDICATES THATBROKEN OR…
InvestigationPE97036 Opened 1997-07-24 · closed 1997-11-13
FUEL TUB RETAINING CLIP FAILURE
OWNERS HAVE REPORTED FAILURES OF THE FUEL TUBE RETENTION CLIP THAT ATTACHES TO THE PLASTIC THROTTLE LINKAGE COVER.ACCORDING TO GM, THE SUBJECT RETENTION CLIP (P/N 12048089) WAS IMPLEMENTED IN PRODUCTION ON OCTOBER 12, 1993, TO ADDRESS A CONCERN WITH INCORRECT ASSEMBLY PLANT FUEL LINE ROUTING.MIS-ROUTED FUEL TUBES MAY…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1997 Pontiac Firebird as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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