CHEVROLET BOLT EV vs PONTIAC BONNEVILLE

The CHEVROLET BOLT EV (2017–2023, 7 model years) carries 1,267 NHTSA consumer complaints and 38 safety recalls, while the PONTIAC BONNEVILLE (1977–2005, 27 model years) carries 2,576 complaints and 6 recalls. Severity indicators for the pair split as follows: 54 vs 134 crashes, 31 vs 180 fires, and 0 vs 0 reported fatalities.

Raw complaint counts favor whichever nameplate has fewer vehicles on the road, so the cleaner lens is components: which specific part families concentrate each model's filings? For the CHEVROLET BOLT EV, the leading complaint category is electrical system (364 filings), followed by steering and fuel/propulsion system. For the PONTIAC BONNEVILLE, it is engine and engine cooling:engine:gasoline (154), ahead of engine and engine cooling and service brakes, hydraulic:antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip. When the two vehicles cluster around the same component, the problem is likely a shared supplier or a shared federal standard under stress; when they diverge, each nameplate has its own defect signature independent of the other.

Average NCAP crash-test scores are not uniformly available for both nameplates in this dataset, which typically means one or both pre-date the 2011 rating methodology refresh. Use the side-by-side table below as your scorecard, but do not treat it as a verdict. Recall counts tell you how many defects the manufacturer has already been compelled to remedy; complaint counts tell you what owners are still flagging today; and safety ratings tell you how the vehicle performs in standardized barrier tests — three different lenses on the same underlying question. The "also compare" links at the bottom of this page let you triangulate against neighboring nameplates in each model's competitive set.