1997 Pontiac Bonneville engine problems

Filed Apr 1, 2014 · Engine, Steering · 118,515 miles · MI

The car lost all power while driving on several occasions. It would just quit and I would have no brakes or steering and all gauges would shut down. Sometimes it would lose power and then it would come back on while I was still driving cutting in and out repeatedly. It happened a lot when I was idling at a corner and then would start through the intersection. It would quit going through the intersection. Sometimes it wouldn't start after driving it a short distance. After it sat for a few minutes, a few hours or sometimes overnight it would just start like there wasn't any problem with it. It didn't sputter or act like it wasn't getting gas or anything, it just wouldn't do anything and had a total loss of all power. We took it in for repair several times and they could never replicate the problem and diagnostics didn't show any problems that would cause this issue. I asked a couple of times if there were any recalls and the service garage said no. I finally quit driving the car because I was tired of being stranded and with taking my chances with it loosing power driving down the highway or through intersections in heavy traffic. It sounds like the same issue that they are currently recalling some gm models for because of an ignition switch spring but bonneville aren't on the recall list.

Filed Mar 2, 2012 · Engine · 107,000 miles · AZ

Tl* the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the vehicle stalled. The failure recurred intermittently. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic for diagnostics where the mechanic was unable to diagnose the failure. The mechanic replaced the battery and check oil sensors. The failure continued after the repair. The vehicle was not further repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 107,000.

Filed Nov 14, 2009 · Engine · 160,000 miles · MI · fire

I had a 1997 pontiac bonneville. While I was driving down a highway in michigan, the engine compartment suddenly caught on fire. I was not speeding, and my car was perfectly serviced and maintained. By the time the fire service got there, the whole car burnt down. It took less than 20 minutes for the whole car to get burnt beyond recognition.

Filed Aug 31, 2009 · Engine · 83,000 miles · CO

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. The vehicle was leaking radiator fluid. The dealer repaired the leak. A year after the repair, the fan connected to the heater and air conditioner stopped working. There was a popping noise intermittently under the hood near the defrost and suddenly, the front window cracked. The dealer has not diagnosed the failure; however, a manufacturers defect does exist. The heater fan also failed to operate intermittently. The failure mileage was 83,000 and the current mileage was 93,000. Updated 11/10/09 *bf updated 11/13/09.

Filed Feb 26, 2009 · Engine · KY

Tl*the contact owns a 1997 pontiac bonneville. The contact stated that the vehicle has plastic intake parts, which include the upper and lower intake manifold. While the vehicle was undergoing a routine tune-up, she noticed antifreeze on the intake manifold. The vehicle made a loud booming noise similar to a backfire when the engine was started. The contact could smell fuel in the passenger compartment after placing fuel into the vehicle. There were no recalls for the failures described on this year, make, and model vehicle. The VIN and failure mileage were unknown. The current mileage was 134,000.

Filed Oct 10, 2006 · Engine · 130,000 miles · WI · fire

Car completely shuts down while decelerating at anywhere from 30-55 MPH. Sometimes can restart, sometimes not for a half hour or so. The car's engine coolant has leaked out onto engine. Car shut down, no power, no steering, no brakes, then the coolant spilled out everywhere, engine started smoking and now the engine has stopped working even after replacing head gasket. Car had been into dealers numerous times to no avail. No one could identify the problem. Now have a car that had to be towed and is no longer functioning. Numerous fuel injectors were replaced in hopes of stopping the stalling out and shutdowns, but nothing has worked. Waiting for a couple of quotes on what it will take to try and fix the engine or most likely need replaced. This has been happening since the car was fairly new.

Filed Aug 1, 2005 · Engine · 100,458 miles · CA

Dt: caller said the plastic intake manifold broke . This happened without warning. Caller's wife had to get help to push the car off the road, and car was towed to a dealer. Caller said there was a recall # 04v090000. Manufacturer said this vehicle was not covered under the recall and would not offer any assistance. *ak

Filed Apr 28, 2005 · Engine · 82,000 miles · PA

The intake manifold gasket on my 1997 pontiac bonneville 3800 series engine failed causing coolant to gain access to internal engine parts. This caused the engine to seize and become totally inoperable requiring the engine to be replaced at a cost of $2200.00. This failure also happend in a pontiac grand prix, that I also owned, with the same series of engine. The cost of the repair to the grand prix was approx. $650.00. The engine in the grand prix did not have to be replaced. Looking at and reading the various gm message boards on the internet, this problem seems to be fairly prevalent with the 3800 series of engine. Gm continues to ignore this with no regard to the consumer.

Filed Feb 8, 2005 · Engine · 109,800 miles · CA

The plastic intake manifold on my 1997 bonneville warped causing coolant to leak into the engine which then seized the engine. Replaced intake manifold and rebuilt both engine heads. Total cost was $1,525. My mechanic told me this is a common problem on the gm 3800 series engines because the upper intake manifold is plastic. About 2 weeks later, a rod bearing failed. I was told it failed prematurely because coolant had entered the engine. I do not have a repair estimate yet. I believe all of these problems are related to the defective upper intake manifold.

Filed Jan 31, 2005 · Engine · 70,000 miles · IL

G.m. 3800 seriesii v-6 engine plastic upper intake manifold plenum & gaskets. Failure of inferior parts in conjuction with dex cool (g.m. Anti-freeze/coolant). Causing deterioration and failure of plenum forcing coolant into engine. Engine immediately seizes,trying to restart will cause damage to starter,flywheel,batt.,and engine. Remedy? Tow to g.m. Service center replace upper intake manifold plenum,manifold gskts,spark plugs & wires,starter,pwr-flush eng.& cooling sys.,replace all fluids. G.m. Is aware of problem they should be held accountable. Service mngr. Told me damages to veh.was not due lack of maintenance but use of plastic parts and coolant by g.m. This a major defect & problem. Cost of repairs? $1,300.00.