10.0
really awful- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 34
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 97,759 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
The NHTSA is the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints can be spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem. See the Back button — blue bar at the very top of the page — to explore more.
« Read the previous 20 complaints
I've had the car for about a year and within a year I've had numerous problems with a such as power steering the keys and the shifter locking up right now unless I hit the safety thing for the shifter it won't go into gear in my key is stuck in the ignition in the position I cannot take it out the person I bought it off of having problems I didn't really think anything of the problems now I just want to know what to do it's never went for any recalls.
- Hammond, IN, USA
Car was parked in driveway after driving to town and back. About 20 minutes later my boyfriend heard a pop sound from inside the house. When he looked outside the car was on fire under the hood. Fire department was called to help put out the fire. Car was completely burned under the hood, tires/front part of car were also burned. Damage was a total loss, engine was burning so hot it was white. Nearly caused a house fire and luckily no one was injured. Car had some oil leakage in engine/manifold area but recall was fixed about 5 years ago for this issue. Car was in good condition and no serious problems before this fire occurred.
- Polson, MT, USA
My daughter was driving the vehicle when it quit properly accelerating. She brake and pulled to the side of the road and turned the car off. When she called to tell me she had broken down, she noticed flames coming from the good. She exited the vehicle and called 911. The entire engine was engulfed in flames. The car is a total loss. Fire department informed of a recall we were not aware of. GM denies that the car is part of a recall.
- Conover , NC, USA
A faulty crankshaft position sensor caused the loss of steering and braking on numerous occasions until the problem was diagnosed. The same conditions as a faulty ignition switch. Yet the crankshaft sensor is common on all autos. Thus all autos that use a crankshaft sensor are unsafe.[xxx] information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).
- Lockport, IL, USA
Received notice on recall for my make and model car.
- Woodbridge, VA, USA
The car was parked in a parking lot. It caught fire 30 min after it was parked and burned the entire engine compartment. The fore department stopped the fire before it spread to the rest of the car. It was a good car previous to this instance. We maintained the car well and had it looked over by a mechanic monthly. We will never own a Pontiac again.
- Dannebrog, NE, USA
Just got done driving the car. Parked the car in the driveway. Within 10 minutes of the car being parked the engine caught fire leading to a total loss. The fire department was called to put out the fire. This all happened after recall #09047 performed. This recall was supposed to prevent this fire from happening. I believe this happens more than people know. This is the fourth incident alone that we know of in muskegon. One of the other incidents also had the recall performed. We contacted GM about our safety concerns however they seemed to be to worried about a monetary claim against them, rather than our safety concerns.
- Muskegon, MI, USA
The neighbor knocked on our door and told my husband the car was on fire. The fire appeared to start under the hood. The whole front of the car, including the winshield was burned.
- Wichita, KS, USA
After owning this vehicle for a very short time, it had some minor body work done and completely repainted. I had new headlights and taillights installed due to the poor condition of the existing lights. The second day I drove the car to work, I returned home, parked it in the attached garage and went inside. In less than 5 minutes, there was a loud "pop", and upon investigation the car was found to be smoking from under the hood. We tried using a fire extinguisher, but the engine was flaming by then, so it was useless. Luckily, a passerby stopped and was able to pull the burning car from the garage, but not before there was some substantial damage to the interior. The entire front end of the vehicle is completely burned and melted. It is a complete loss which is unfortunate since I only carried liability insurance on it until it was completely finished in the body shop. Since this fire, I have been checking on recalls concerning any related problems with this model. I have found several that are similar to this situation. I personally know of three other fire related incidences of 1999 Pontiac.
- Blakesburg, IA, USA
- Tomball, TX, USA