PONTIAC FIREBIRD · model year

1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD

23 NHTSA complaints, 5 crash reports for this specific cohort.

NHTSA overall rating

Not crash-tested

New Car Assessment Program

The 1989PONTIACFIREBIRD carries 23 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 5 crashes, 1 fire, 2 injuries, and 0 fatalities. No NCAP 5-star crash-test rating is available for this model year in the federal database.

Component-level analysis is where model-year complaints become actionable: the top complaint category for the 1989 FIREBIRD is seat belts:front:buckle assembly with 4 filings, followed by equipment:mechanical:accessory scissor/screw/bottle jack/lift (2) and seat belts (2). Concentration in one or two component groups is the classic signature of a systemic defect; a flat distribution usually reflects normal aging, warranty complaints, or isolated build-plant variability.

NHTSA currently has 17 investigation files overlapping the 1989 FIREBIRD. Owners comparing this cohort against neighboring years should pair the counters above with the complaint-by-year trend on the parent model page — a spike in a single year often tracks to a platform refresh, a new transmission supplier, or an updated ECU calibration. Use the related-complaint feed below to read raw owner narratives before deciding whether any pattern here affects your specific use case.

23
Complaints
5
Crashes
1
Fires
2
Injuries
0
Deaths

Total Complaints

23 filings

Crashes Reported

5 reports

Source

NHTSA ODI

Federal complaints database

Complaints vs. fleet median (215)

At or below the fleet median complaint volume.

Complaints by Component

ComponentCount
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY4
EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT2
SEAT BELTS2
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY1
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:MODULE1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS1
LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH1
STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM1
SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE1
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS1
TIRES1

Recent Complaints

20240313SEAT BELTS

The seatbelts do not click into the buckle properly and the springs have broken.

20050506SEAT BELTS

CONSUMER IS REQUESTING INFORMATION IN REGARDS TO RECALL CONCERNS FOR 1989 FIREBIRD . *MR THE SEAT BELT DOES NOT RETRACT PROPERLY LEAVING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF SLACK. *NM

20050307FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 30 MPH, THE VEHICLE SUDDENLY CAUGHT FIRE. THE CAUSE OF WHY THIS HAPPENED WAS UNDETERMINED.

20040320SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

GM WON'T FIX THE RECALLS FOR MY 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD. THEY SAY THAT THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR MY VEHICLE, BUT THERE ARE. *JB

20040320FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

GM WON'T FIX THE RECALLS FOR MY 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD. THEY SAY THAT THERE ARE NO RECALLS FOR MY VEHICLE, BUT THERE ARE. *JB

20020827STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR

WHILE MAKING A LEFT HAND TURN, STEERING COLUMN BROKE INSIDE HOUSING AND CAUSED STEERING WHEEL TWO LOCK UP, RESULTING IN VEHICLE GOING INTO A COMPLETE CIRCLE ON A BUSY STREET. CONSUMER FELT THERE COULD HAVE BEEN AN ACCIDENT. *AK THE STEERING COLUMN/HOUSING WAS REPLACED, THE 4 BOLTS THAT HOLD THE COLUMN TO THE HOUSING GET FATIGUED AND BREAK AFTER YEARS OF PEOPLE PUSHING AGAINST THE COLUMN TO GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. *SLC

20001017TIRES

2 OUT OF 3 ORIGINAL FIRESTONE TRIATHLON II TIRES ARE CRACKING AROUND THE TIRE ALONG THE RADIAL. NLM

19990919SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

FRONT SEAT BELTS BUCKLE BUT DO NOT PROVIDE ANY RESTRAINT, EVEN WHEN STOPPING AT A HIGH SPEED.

19990217SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS

BRAKES, AIR CONDITIONING, POWER DOOR LOCKS, HORN RELA

19990112ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

ENGINE FAILED.

19990111SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE

NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 90V105000 MY CAR WAS INSPECTED AT THE FIRST DEALER SERVICE AND FOUND THAT THE BUCKLES WERE OK. THE NATURE OF THIS DEFECT IS THAT THE CAR AND INTERIOR NEED TO BE EXPOSED TO DIRECT SUN LIGHT AND ELEVATED INTERIOR TEMPERATURES, THIS CAR HAS LITTLE SUN EXPOSURE (ABOUT 12 DAYS A YEAR) UNTILL 2 YEARS AGO, NOW IT IS STORED OUT SIDE AND NOW THIS DEFECT HAS OCCURRED. A LOCAL DEALERSHIP SAID IT IS NO LONGER COVERED BY THIS RECALL. WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS ON GETTING THIS REPAIRED?? THANKS

19981112CrashSERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM

WHEN SON APPLIED THE BRAKES TO STOP IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION THE PEDAL WENT TO FLOOR AND THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT STOP. DRIVER HAD TO USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKES TO STOP THE VEHICLE. DRIVER WAS INVOLVED IN A CRASH BECAUSE OF THIS. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP, WHERE THE BRAKE BOOSTER ROD CLIP WAS FOUND BROKEN. THE VEHICLE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. *AK

19971107CrashVEHICLE SPEED CONTROL

WHILE DRIVER WAS BACKING OUT OF DRIVEWAY, THE ENGINE SURGED LIKE THE DRIVER WAS STEPPING ON THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. WHEN THE DRIVER'S FOOT WAS ACTUALLY ON THE BRAKE PEDAL AND VEHICLE ZOOMED RIGHT OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY INTO A NEIGHBOR'S YARD, BACK END FIRST HITTING A TREE. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO A BODY SHOP TO BE CHECK FOR TROUBLE. A SIMILAR INCIDENT HAPPENED LIKE THIS IN JULY OF 1993 AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, THE SYSTEM WILL JUST KICK BACK IN. *AK

19970527CrashSEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR

WHILE DRIVING STOPPED SHORT TO AVOID COLLISION, WAS REAR ENDED AT APPROX. 25MPH; UPON IMPACT, SHOULDER/LAP BELT FAILED TO RETRACT ENOUGH. ALSO, FEMALE PORTION (PLASTIC COVER) BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CRACKED IN HALF, DRIVER SUSTAINED HEAD INJURY AS RESULT.

19970527CrashSEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY

WHILE DRIVING STOPPED SHORT TO AVOID COLLISION, WAS REAR ENDED AT APPROX. 25MPH; UPON IMPACT, SHOULDER/LAP BELT FAILED TO RETRACT ENOUGH. ALSO, FEMALE PORTION (PLASTIC COVER) BUCKLE ASSEMBLY CRACKED IN HALF, DRIVER SUSTAINED HEAD INJURY AS RESULT.

19960311CrashSTEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM

WHILE DRIVING, SUDDENLY LOST STEERING CAPABILITY WHEN STEERING WHEEL LOCKED, COULDN'T TURN RIGHT OR LEFT, UPON BRAKING VEHICLE SPINNED OUT, THEN ROLLED OVER.*AK

19960222EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT

THE JACK BENT AFTER RAISING VEHICLE OFF GROUND TO REMOVE FLAT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO FALL OFF OF JACK. *DSH

19960222EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT

THE JACK BENT AFTER RAISING VEHICLE OFF GROUND TO REMOVE FLAT, CAUSING VEHICLE TO FALL OFF OF JACK. *DSH

19950911LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:HOOD:LATCH

HOOD LATCH FAILURE, LATCH HAS BROKEN TWICE. TT

19950404SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:HOSES, LINES/PIPING, AND FITTINGS

PARK BRAKE CABLE RUBS AGAINST HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINE, REPLACED FLEXIBLE RUBBER HYDRAULIC BRAKE LINE. TT

Compare 1989PONTIACFIREBIRD to Similar Vehicles

NHTSA Investigations

View all investigations

Frequently Asked Questions

How many complaints does the 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD have?
The 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD has 23 NHTSA complaints, 5 crashes, 1 fires, 2 injuries, and 0 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD?
The most-complained component for the 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD is SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY with 4 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include EQUIPMENT:MECHANICAL:ACCESSORY SCISSOR/SCREW/BOTTLE JACK/LIFT and SEAT BELTS.
Is the 1989 PONTIAC FIREBIRD safe to buy?
Review the complaint history, crash and fire reports, safety ratings, and recall status on this page to make an informed decision. No NHTSA crash test rating is available for this model year. Compare with other model years using the links above.
Where does this data come from?
All complaint, recall, and safety rating data is sourced from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Complaints are filed by vehicle owners through NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation.

Vehicle Safety Guides

Data as of 2025. Sources: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) complaints database, NHTSA recall campaign API, NHTSA NCAP crash-test ratings, and NHTSA FARS for fatality cross-reference.