Total Complaints
10 filings
PONTIAC TRANS AM · model year
10 NHTSA complaints, 1 crash report for this specific cohort.
NHTSA overall rating
Not crash-tested
New Car Assessment Program
The 1986PONTIACTRANS AM carries 10 consumer safety complaints in NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation database for this specific model-year cohort. Within that volume, owners reported 1 crash, 1 fire, 3 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 1986 TRANS AM is seat belts with 2 filings, followed by latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch (1) and unknown or other (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 17 investigation files overlapping the 1986 TRANS AM. 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.
Total Complaints
10 filings
Crashes Reported
1 reports
Source
NHTSA ODI
Federal complaints database
At or below the fleet median complaint volume.
| Component | Count |
|---|---|
| SEAT BELTS | 2 |
| LATCHES/LOCKS/LINKAGES:DOORS:LATCH | 1 |
| UNKNOWN OR OTHER | 1 |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE | 1 |
| FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:STORAGE:TANK ASSEMBLY | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT:ANCHORAGE | 1 |
| POWER TRAIN | 1 |
| SEAT BELTS:FRONT | 1 |
| TIRES | 1 |
MAKE: PONTIAC MODEL: FIREBIRD MODEL YEAR: 1986 MANUFACTURER: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. MFR'S REPORT DATE: MAY 04, 1990 NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER: 90V105000 EA90001 NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: EA90001 COMPONENT: SEAT BELTS:FRONT:BUCKLE ASSEMBLY POTENTIAL NUMBER OF UNITS AFFECTED: 1500000 SUMMARY: PLASTIC COMPONENTS OF SEAT BELT BUCKLE ASSEMBLIES DO NOT CONTAIN AN ULTRA VIOLET STABILIZER, AND EXPOSURE TO DIRECT SUNLIGHT AND ELEVATED INTERIOR TEMPERATURES COULD WEAKEN THE PLASTIC COMPONENTS. CONSEQUENCE: THIS COULD RESULT IN BREAKAGE OF PLASTIC COMPONENTS WHICHCOULD PREVENT BUCKLE FROM LATCHING AND PROTECTING OCCUPANT IN A SUDDEN STOP ORACCIDENT. REMEDY: REPLACE OR REPAIR SEAT BELT BUCKLE. NOTES: SYSTEM: SEAT BELT BUCKLE.VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER CARS. *TR
KELLY SPRINGFIELD TIRES 245/5016R HUGGER GT-D. INNER TREADWALL HAS SEPARATED APPROX 1/2 ABOVE RIM, COMPLETELY AROUND TIRE. TIRE IS STILL INFLATED, BUT HAD A FAILURE OF FRONT RIGHT TIRE IN 1/2007. DID NOT SEE TIRE PRIOR TO REPLACEMENT OF TIRE BY FAMILY MEMBER. LEFT REAR TIRE HAS SAME SEPARATION BUT NOT YET AS SEVERE AS FRONT LEFT. CAR IS UTILIZED MOSTLY ON WEEKENDS AND HAS AMPLE TREAD REMAINING ON TIRE SURFACE. PICTURES AVAILABLE. HAVE NOT YET REPLACE TIRE AS I WILL TRANSIT TO STORE PURCHASE LOCATION 9/30/08 FOR ASSESSMENT. *TR
Mileage: 217,000
I TRIED TO BRING IN MY 86 PONTIAC TRANS AM TO THE LOCAL GM DEALERSHIP (MIKE SMITH AUOTPLAZA) AND THEY REFUSED TO FIX A RECALL THAT WAS PUT OUT FOR DEFECTIVE SEATBELTS ON MY CAR. THEY SAID TIME HAD RAN OUT FOR ME TO GET THE WORK DOWN AND MY CAR WAS TOO OLD FOR THE RECALL. *AK
THE TRANSMISSION LOCKED UP WHICH CAUSED THE REAR TIRES TO LOCK UP, WHICH MADE THE VEHICLE DIFFICULT TO CONTROL.*JB
SEEKING ASSISTANCE IN MAKING PONTIAC DIVISION ACKNOWLEDGE ITS RESPONSIBILITY IN TAKING CORRECTIVE ACTION ON AN OPEN RECALL NUMBER 90-C-03. THIS RECALL WAS COMPLETED BY DON SISK PONTIAC IN INDIANAPOLIS ON APRIL 1995. THE UNIT SUBSEQUENTLY FAILED IN NOV. 1999 AND WAS TAKEN TO THREE PONTIAC DEALERS IN SEARCH OF A REPAIR, FIELDS PONTIAC IN LAKE WALES, FL, DON SISK IN INDIANAPOLIS, AND COGGIN STARLING, 4425 W. VINE ST., KISSIMMEE, FL 34746, 407/847-8122 WHERE THE LAST REFUSAL TO HONOR THE DEFECTIVE RECALL WAS RECEIVED. THE PONTIAC ZONE MANAGER, DENNIS FERGUSON, WHO TAKES A NEGATIVE POSITION IN HONORING THIS PLEDGE MADE IN THE LETTER TO ME WHICH ACCOMPANIED THE RECALL, "IF YOU EVER HAVE ANY OF THE CONDITIONS OF THE RECALL OCCUR IN THE FUTURE - NO MATTER WHEN - CONTACT YOUR PONTIAC DEALER FOR THE SAFETY BELT BUCKLE REPAIR. PLEASE KEEP THIS LETTER IN YOUR PONTIAC, ALONG WITH YOUR OWNERS MANUAL, SO THAT ANY FUTURE OWNER WILL ALSO KNOW OF THIS SITUATION." I HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH PONTIAC
WHILE DRIVING SMELLED GAS FUMES. TOOK VEHICLE TO MECHANIC. NOTICED TOP OF TANK WAS SOFT & WAS BECOMING RUSTY DUE TO WATER ACCUMULATION. FUEL TANK NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. *AK
DRIVER SIDE AND PASSENGER SIDE SHOULDER BELT ANCHORS DO NOT WORK PROPERLY, CONSUMER CAN'T PULL THE SEAT BELTS OUT. *AK
ENGINE FIRE.(OHIO STATE POLICE REPORT).
NOT SPECIFIED.
RIGHT FRONT DOOR LATCH/STRIKER FAILURE. *AK
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.