About a week prior to incident, I got a whiff of a burning smell, 2 days in a row, short quick scent. Next 4 days, smelled nothing (even drove car 80 miles one way and back). Day of incident, I was traveling about 10 MPH when white smoke came from the heater vent. I increased speed to about 30 MPH to get to a safe spot, and black smoke billowed out of heat vent on top of dashboard, and front of dashboard. Turned corner to get out of traffic, came to a stop and flames shot out of cigarette lighter, and air vent in front of dash. Heater was off, radio was off, and cigarette lighter was not being used. Car fully engulfed in approximately 2-3 minutes. Car totaled.
1998 Pontiac Bonneville: fire, smoke or burning smell
18 of the 277 complaints about the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville describe fire, smoke or burning smell.
- owner complaints
- 18
- of this car's complaints
- 6%
- typical mileage
- 118,500
- recalls
- 0
Is there a fix? 8 service bulletins cover this area of the car. See below
Fire, smoke or burning smell by model year
What owners say
While driving 30 MPH, the center of the dashboard caught on fire. The driver pulled over and fought the flames with an extinguisher. The cause has yet to be determined. *ak the manufacturer denied that the fire was due to their vehicles components and that the source of the fire was from external sources. An electrical expert believes that the lead from the cigarette light caught on fire. The fuse was blown but that could have happened after the fire. The consumer's cell phone was charging in the cigarette lighter at the time of the fire. *jb
Vehicle was parked, consumer proceeded to start it, and it caught fire. The fire was extinguished by the fire department. Consumer later found a recall for the intake manifold, however, his vehicle was not included.
While driving 25 MPH dashboard caught on fire. Consumer pulled over , put the fire out, and the vehicle was towed. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
'recall campaign' concerning 19998 pontiac bonneville fuel pressure regulator. *bf the consumer had the fuel pressure regulator replaced prior to the recall being issued because the engine caught on fire. The consumer submitted the request for reimbursement, however he has not received anything from the manufacturer stating what the decision was. The consumer has since donated the vehicle.
While driving 55 MPH vehicle overheated. White smoke came from the tail pipe. Vehicle was taken to a dealer, who informed consumer that the problem was a crack around the egr located on the intake manifold.
I pushed the rear defroster button and about 5 seconds later there was this small pop noise and smoke started coming out of the dash. I pulled the car over and looked into the vent and saw a fire about 3 inches high. I got my children and myself out of the car ran to the nearest house and called the fire dept and by the time they got there (7 min later) the car was totally engulfed in flames. It was a total loss.
Consumer heard a loud bang while driving on the highway. He proceeded off the highway, opened the hood of the vehicle, and fire started in the engine compartment, which engulfed into flames. Within seconds consumer called the fire department, who indicated that the fire started near the engine block. The fire occurred due to the defect described in the fuel pressure regulator, recall 04v090000. But after the factory representative inspected the vehicle he claimed that the fire was not caused by the defect. A fire report was filed.
Consumer started the vehicle, went into the house to let the vehicle warm, upon returning the vehicle was on fire. Recently a recall 04v090000 was received indicating a possible fire.
While driving at 25 MPH consumer smelled something burning, like electrical wires. Stopped and pulled off road. Lifted hood and burning wires smelled stronger near alternator. Touched area, and it was hot. Took vehicle to independent repair shop, and was informed that alternator failed due to bearings burning out. Front bearings caused the alternator to burn. Had to replace old alternator with a new alternator that had larger/bigger bearings, and would not wear out as fast.
When the vehicle was started, it caught on fire. *jb
While vehicle was parked, the engine caught on fire. Dealer has been notified. Ph
Service bulletins that may apply
- Electrical system
- This informational bulletin provides information for dealers/technicians on Procedures to Unlock Delco...
- Electrical system
- Upcoming product safety recall fuel pressure regulator
- Wire harness may be stretched, or the pcs may not be oriented in the same position, after installing a...
- Subject on on-board diagnostic (OBD) system improvements
- Information on spark plug tip erosion calibration PCM reflash
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville fire or smoke
Is fire, smoke or burning smell a common problem on the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville?
18 of 277 owner complaints about the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville (6%) mention fire, smoke or burning smell. The model year with the most reports is 1998.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville?
There are 0 recalls and 8 service bulletins for the same area of the car. Check them below with your VIN.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Pontiac Bonneville
Stalling 37Engine failure 30Overheating 25Check engine light 17Won't start 13Power steering loss 9Knocking 6Loss of power 6Fuel leak 5Headlights 5Hesitation 5
VIN decoder
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