Rides great, handles good, comfortable

At 33,320 miles the intake manifold allowed antifreeze to leak into the engine, costing me 822.00 to fix. The car is almost 4 years old but very low miles. My mechanic told me that G.M. was having this problem However according to the dealer there is no problem, of course He didn't have to pay for the fix, After reading of all the problems I am going to sell the car Or trade it for a Ford or Chrysler. I am also going to let my brother know of the problems G.M. is having, since he is in charge of purchasing 170 vehichiles this year for his employer.

This is my first Bonneville, My previous car was a 1987 Olds 98. The car is a delight to drive runs great , looks good.

Similar Products Used:

1990 park ave,no problems. 1987 Lesabre no problems. 1987 olds 98 no problems.

Safety,luxary, great Euro design and not alot has "broken" over the years. All (toy) options still work well ie:Cruise/AutoAntenna/Climate Control/Moonroof/Engine/CD am-fm Exterior and Interior have held up well over the years.

Was disappointed in the "deluxe" sound system in the SSE model.. the sound quality did not compare well to the previous 1992 SSEI I leased.

This is my second Bonneville, After leasing a 1992 SSEI, decided to buy the dealers,showroom SSE, which although has some miles and wear & tear, We Still Love It and are looking to buy a used 2002 SSEI. My wife and I enjoy it's comforts,large trunk,legroom,headroom, looks and feel ultra safe when using it even after 80,000 miles and 6 years!

Nice sporty ride. Great looks.

After waranty expired -- Alternator replaced twice. Both Left and Right front wheelbearing replaced 5,000 apart.

When I first bought this car I was in love with it. It was fast, sporty, and reliable....until the 36,000 mile warranty ran out.

Punchy V-6, very roomy and comfortable. Excellent on looong road trips, even with a 7 year old.

I bought it used, you can't expect perfection. Disappointed the trunk release on door works sometimes.

Love it, sorry I didn't buy Pontiac sooner.

Similar Products Used:

Buick LeSabre

Good V6 power when it's working, smooth tranny when it's working, good cold ac when it's working.

Mentioned above

This vehicle ALONE has convinced me to not buy another GM or any other domestic vehicle again until I have solid proof that American auto manufacturers can keep up with our European and Japanese counterparts. I too have had the manifold/engine problems with my Bonneville- unfortunately even AFTER I took it to the dealership to have it fixed the service dept did not say ANYTHING about the manifold being cracked, they just put a new vacuum hose on and sent me on my way. Sure enough, about 5 minutes later the engine seized up and THIS time it was completely destroyed. They refused to take responsibility for not diagnosing the problem correctly, and Pontiac cust. service was an inexorable waste of time. This was of course after the warranty had expired, costing me $3500 in parts and labor. Before this common problem however, I had ALREADY had to have the transmission replaced, a leaking oil pan replaced, a leaking master brake cylinder replaced, and a faulty ac clutch replaced TWICE. All this with less than 90,000 miles on the car. Not to mention the cheap plastic interior covers that are "held" in place with retainer clips and fall apart or crack at the slightest provocation (a staple of ALL GM vehicles.) You'd think a little more effort would go into the craftsmanship of a $30,000 automobile. Oh well. Quote from the Pontiac "customer service" associate I was on the phone with: "We do value you as a Pontiac customer and hope you choose to continue purchasing our vehicles." WHAT?? At least the Aztec, a truly HIDEOUS joke of a vehicle in both performance AND reliability (not to mention looks), may FINALLY awaken people to what Pontiac has become. I hope the previous reviewer is correct that whoever that new guy in charge is will help right the ship- cause he's got a Titanic on his hands.

Similar Products Used:

Even my 69 Bug went longer than this with no problems. I have now gone over to Honda (as I told the customer service rep I would) and am completely satisfied so far.

Nice looking, quiet, smooth ride.

After reading the reviews, I bet its the plastic upper intake. Wish I would have read these reviews before I bought it. Car is sitting in my driveway, atleast i made it home. But sure I'm going to have to spend big money to fix.

Like the car until it broke down on me, after 3 months..

Similar Products Used:

93 Lumina EuroSport- Great Car- has 178,000 miles on it. Driving it now, Cus 98 doesnt look like a good year for Bonneville!

Good Power, Good Room (I'm 6'4"), nice interior, large trunk. Hard to give strenghs when there are so many weaknesses.

First Failure (#1 spark Plug wire $70.00 at 38K) Second Failure: Intake Manifold (600-$700.00 at 60K) Rear Main Leaking Oil Pan Leaking I believe the water pump has started to leak out of the weep hole Noisy Engine Right Passenger Window does not close completely when operating at Highway Speeds (open up other window to relieve pressure in cabin to get closed).

Currently 75,000 Miles. We were looking for a full size car with decent power, lots of room and good quality. Two out of three is not bad, right. Write me up as one of those that had to replace the Intake Manifold. My mouth about dropped when the dealer told me the problem. I said, how does an intake manifold fail, I've torn down several small block chevys and it really puzzled me. Then I looked at the one from my wife car. I'm very surprised that there are not more failures experienced by the user base. This is one of the most widely used drivetrains from GM. I'm selling for a Honda Odyssey. If your car starts to stutter and then looses all power watch out. If you then try to restart and the engine does not turn over, you have just experienced an Intake Manifold failure. Once it goes, coolant drains into the cylinders and prevents the motor from turning over (i.e. Water does not compress). Lets hope that is all that happens. Good Luck 3800 Series Two Owners.

Strong 3800V6, Not much in the way of oil burning. Never put oil in between oil changes. Large good driving car, great for those extended drives. Well laid out dash along with the pontiac style.

The only weekness is the composite plastic upper intake, which is used on the 3800II Engine. I had mine crack while driving, car was low on coolant and had to be towed to the pontiac dealership for repair. For all of you people with this engine 1995 & up Code K, 8th didget of the VIN# you all will have this problem sooner or latter. Always keep a close eye on the coolant. A tip that might help the plastic intake last a little longer, change the thermostat out from the factory 195 to a 180, keep it a little cooler. If you have had the intake replace more than once than it might be cause by over tourquing of the bolts and or poor design. Also a note Any Bonneville with a Code L 3800 Tunned Port Injection engine you might have a plastic or alluminum upper intake, either way both of these are better than current design. Code L Ran from 1991-1995 in many gm cars and minivans.

The Bonneville overall has been a great car with a few wear and tear items. It has 113,000 miles on it and still runs easy, and good on fuel. Plenty of power from the 3800 II engine, step on it and it does nothing but pull for a large sedan. This is why I bought the car. Also roomy and quiet on a long drive, with the stiff sport handling.

Similar Products Used:

1991 Pontiac Bonneville, still have it and love this car. It has more quality than any Gm car you can buy today. I will never get rid of this car.It will be taken care of and driven till the day it di

Looks good Runs good Dash looks cool at night Sound sytems is above average

Electrical problems - radio & A/C INTAKE PLENUM FAILURE $$$$

The suspension is a little stiff but handles well. The performance is above average and has good accelleration at all speeds. Seating is comfortable in the front and is fair in the back seat. You will need to move the front seats forward for comfortable legroom for the rear passengers. The instrument panel is mostly visible and easy to read. The rear, black painted, applique on both front door windows start to peel and gets worse. Both the Traction Control and the Anti-Lock brakes are annoying and during winter driving, it can be hazardous. This is my second Bonneville. The first was an 88 with 140k miles and didn't have any major problems with it so I traded it in on a 98 SLE. A BIG MISTAKE Problems started when I bought it and still continues with 69k miles. When it was under warranty, the dealership never fixed the problems correctly and Pontiac Customer Service is no help what so ever. The coolant level and oil must always be closely inspected for build up or sludge. These are signs that the plenum is cracked and is costly to repair. I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER PONTIAC AGAIN AND WILL DISCOURAGE FRIENDS NOT TO BUY PONTIACS

Similar Products Used:

1988 Bonneville

lots of gadgets; ie. heads up display.

Plastic intake manifold; rough ride; constant repairs

I''m giving my Bonneville a rating of 1 because there isn''t a lower rating. The plastic intake manifold has cracked for the second time, allowing coolant into the engine. The first time at 65,000 miles and now at 101,000 miles. I''m out over $2,000 beacause of this poor engineering design. GM is fully aware of the problem and continues to profit each time this happens. From the results of searching the internet, it appears this happens often. I''m not going to go into all the other problems, but I would advise not to purchase a Pontiac Bonneville.

Similar Products Used:

1992 Bonneville SSE