Total Complaints
11 filings
PONTIAC PONTIAC · model year
1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC
11 NHTSA complaints, 3 crash reports for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1998PONTIACPONTIAC carries 11 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 3 crashes, 4 fires, 6 injuries, and 2 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 1998 PONTIAC is seats with 1 filings, followed by air bags:frontal (1) and equipment:electrical:radio/tape deck/cd etc. (1). 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 8 investigation files overlapping the 1998 PONTIAC. 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.
11
Complaints
3
Crashes
4
Fires
6
Injuries
2
Deaths
Crashes Reported
3 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
Complaints vs. fleet median (215)
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
Complaints by Component
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SEATS | 1 |
| AIR BAGS:FRONTAL | 1 |
| EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC. | 1 |
| STEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | 1 |
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:PRESSURE RELIEF DEVICES | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | 1 |
| ELECTRICAL SYSTEM | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER | 1 |
Recent Complaints
20070606FireELECTRICAL SYSTEM
CAR WAS DRIVEN TO A FRIENDS HOUSE. AFTER BEING IN THE HOUSE FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MIN. WE WERE NOTIFIED THAT OUR CAR'S ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ON FIRE. EVERYTHING IN THE COMPARTMENT WAS MELTED OR DISTORTED. INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED THE CAR.
Mileage: 999,935
20070606FireFUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
CAR WAS DRIVEN TO A FRIENDS HOUSE. AFTER BEING IN THE HOUSE FOR APPROXIMATELY 15 MIN. WE WERE NOTIFIED THAT OUR CAR'S ENGINE COMPARTMENT WAS ON FIRE. EVERYTHING IN THE COMPARTMENT WAS MELTED OR DISTORTED. INSURANCE COMPANY TOTALED THE CAR.
Mileage: 999,935
20070322FireFUEL SYSTEM, OTHER:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY:PRESSURE RELIEF DEVICES
I OWN A 98 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX,BLACK,FOUR DOOR AUTOMATIC.I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR THIS CAR FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS.I WENT TO START MY CAR AND IT WAS DEAD SO WE HOOKED IT UP TO A POWER SAVE JUMPER CABLE BOX(THE ONE THAT DOESNT NEED ANOTHER CAR TO CHARGE THE BATTERY) IT STILL WOULDNT START SO MY STEP FATHER (WHO IS A MECHANIC) CAME OVER TO HELP, WE HOOKED IT BACK UP TO THE JUMPER CABLES AND HE TRYED TO TURN IT OVER, NOTHING.... I LEANED IN TO TRY AND TURN IT OVER AND MY FUEL INJECTOR MANIFOLD EXPLODED. THE PLASTIC CASING BLEW ABOUT 20 FT DOWN THE ROAD AND THE WHOLE TOP OF MY ENGINE WAS ON FIRE.THE FIRE BLEW MY MANIFOLD APART,MY FUEL INJECTOR IS COMPLETELY MISSING THE WHOLE PART WHERE MY SPARK PLUGS ARE IS BURNED AND SO ON THERE IS ALOT OF DAMAGE!!!I HEARD FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY THAT THERE IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION INTO THE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX.I HAVE TRYED TO RECEIVE ANY INFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE CONTACTED GM PERSONALLY AND AM HAVING IT LOOKED AT BY
Mileage: 104,495
20070322FireENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:EXHAUST SYSTEM:MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE
I OWN A 98 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX,BLACK,FOUR DOOR AUTOMATIC.I HAVE BEEN PAYING FOR THIS CAR FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS.I WENT TO START MY CAR AND IT WAS DEAD SO WE HOOKED IT UP TO A POWER SAVE JUMPER CABLE BOX(THE ONE THAT DOESNT NEED ANOTHER CAR TO CHARGE THE BATTERY) IT STILL WOULDNT START SO MY STEP FATHER (WHO IS A MECHANIC) CAME OVER TO HELP, WE HOOKED IT BACK UP TO THE JUMPER CABLES AND HE TRYED TO TURN IT OVER, NOTHING.... I LEANED IN TO TRY AND TURN IT OVER AND MY FUEL INJECTOR MANIFOLD EXPLODED. THE PLASTIC CASING BLEW ABOUT 20 FT DOWN THE ROAD AND THE WHOLE TOP OF MY ENGINE WAS ON FIRE.THE FIRE BLEW MY MANIFOLD APART,MY FUEL INJECTOR IS COMPLETELY MISSING THE WHOLE PART WHERE MY SPARK PLUGS ARE IS BURNED AND SO ON THERE IS ALOT OF DAMAGE!!!I HEARD FROM MY INSURANCE COMPANY THAT THERE IS AN ONGOING INVESTIGATION INTO THE PONTIAC GRAND PRIX.I HAVE TRYED TO RECEIVE ANY INFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY THIS HAPPENED. I HAVE CONTACTED GM PERSONALLY AND AM HAVING IT LOOKED AT BY
Mileage: 104,495
20050506EXTERIOR LIGHTING
HEADLIGHT LENS POPPED OUT.
Mileage: 82,000
20040422UNKNOWN OR OTHER
NOTICED ENGINE WAS OVERHEATING. OWNERS MANUAL SAID CHECK COOLANT TANK AND IF EMPTY SERVICE AND SEE IF THAT FIXES THE PROBLEM. SERVICED COOLANT TANK AND WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AFTER ABOUT THREE MINUTES RUNNING THE THERMOSTAT OPENED UP AND THE CAR STARTED TO SPUTTER AND RUN ROUGH. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IT FOR THE MECHANIC IT HYDRO-LOCKED AND BROKE THE STARTER WHICH ALSO HAD TO BE REPLACED. COOLANT HAD ENTERED THE ENGINE CYLINDERS. MECHANIC FOUND INTAKE PLENUM WARPED. HE SAID THEY CHANGE THESE ALL THE TIME.
Mileage: 67,000
20040422ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
NOTICED ENGINE WAS OVERHEATING. OWNERS MANUAL SAID CHECK COOLANT TANK AND IF EMPTY SERVICE AND SEE IF THAT FIXES THE PROBLEM. SERVICED COOLANT TANK AND WHEN I STARTED THE CAR AFTER ABOUT THREE MINUTES RUNNING THE THERMOSTAT OPENED UP AND THE CAR STARTED TO SPUTTER AND RUN ROUGH. I SHUT OFF THE CAR AND WHEN I TRIED TO RESTART IT FOR THE MECHANIC IT HYDRO-LOCKED AND BROKE THE STARTER WHICH ALSO HAD TO BE REPLACED. COOLANT HAD ENTERED THE ENGINE CYLINDERS. MECHANIC FOUND INTAKE PLENUM WARPED. HE SAID THEY CHANGE THESE ALL THE TIME.
Mileage: 67,000
20040125CrashFatalSTEERING:HYDRAULIC POWER ASSIST SYSTEM
POWER STEERING WAS RECALLED BEFORE I PURCHASED THE CAR AND WAS NEVER FIXED, CAUSED AN AUTO WRECK. *LA
19990730EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC.
CD CHANGER MALFUNCTIONING. *YC
19981005CrashSEATS
BACK SEAT FAILED DURING COLLISION CAUSING INJURY.
19981005CrashAIR BAGS:FRONTAL
NO DEPLOYMENT OF AIR BAG DURING COLLISION CAUSING INJURY.
Compare 1998PONTIACPONTIAC to Similar Vehicles
NHTSA Investigations
Frequently Asked Questions
How many complaints does the 1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC have?▼
The 1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC has 11 NHTSA complaints, 3 crashes, 4 fires, 6 injuries, and 2 deaths reported.
What are the most common problems with the 1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC?▼
The most-complained component for the 1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC is SEATS with 1 complaints. Other frequently reported areas include AIR BAGS:FRONTAL and EQUIPMENT:ELECTRICAL:RADIO/TAPE DECK/CD ETC..
Is the 1998 PONTIAC PONTIAC 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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.