AI Damage1978 Pontiac Bonneville: common problems
Owners of the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville filed 3 complaints with NHTSA, most often about tires and powertrain. Details by component below, with sources.
Key figures
- Owner complaints
- 3
What fails most often
- 1 Tires 67% of all complaints
- 2 Powertrain 33% of all complaints
- 3 Vehicle speed control 33% of all complaints
- Tires: 2 complaints (67% of all).
- Powertrain: 1 complaints (33% of all).
- Vehicle speed control: 1 complaints (33% of all).
Components owners complain about
| Component | Owner complaints | involving a crash | Technical service bulletins (TSB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tires | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Powertrain | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Vehicle speed control | 1 | 0 | 0 |
What owners report
Short excerpts of NHTSA complaints in the original wording. These are owner statements not verified by NHTSA; personal data removed.
The firestone fr721 p215/75r15 ms tires on the vehicle experienced over nine occasions of tire defects, most of which were tread separations, all failures occurred between the mileages of 42,000 to 94,638 miles.
When owners complained
NHTSA complaints by filing year. The peak shows at what age the problems show up most.
Comparison
By complaint count this model year ranks 17,150 of 36,656 model years in the NHTSA data (top 47% most complained about).
On average one model year of the Bonneville has 71 complaints (28 years in the data). This year has 3, below average.
What to check before buying
- Tires. Tire age by DOT code, bulges, wear pattern.
- Powertrain. Shift quality under load, harsh shifts, transmission codes, CV joints.
- Vehicle speed control. Accelerator pedal, cruise control, throttle codes.
Other years of this model
- Bonneville 19863 sources
- Bonneville 198719 sources
- Bonneville 198817 sources
- Bonneville 198928 sources
- Bonneville 199039 sources
- Bonneville 199122 sources
- Bonneville 1992113 sources
- Bonneville 1993138 sources
- Bonneville 199488 sources
- Bonneville 1995244 sources
- Bonneville 1996150 sources
- Bonneville 1997147 sources
- Bonneville 1998277 sources
- Bonneville 1999143 sources
- Bonneville 2000214 sources
- Bonneville 2001129 sources
- Bonneville 200289 sources
- Bonneville 200354 sources
- Bonneville 200428 sources
- Bonneville 200527 sources
Questions and answers
What are the most common problems with the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville?
Owner complaints to NHTSA most often mention: tires, powertrain, vehicle speed control. Total complaints: 3. The most frequent symptoms in complaint texts: tires: bulges, blowouts (33%).
How many service bulletins (TSB) were issued for the 1978 Pontiac Bonneville?
NHTSA lists 0 manufacturer service bulletins for this year. A bulletin tells dealers how to diagnose or fix a known issue; it is not a recall.
Should I buy a 1978 Pontiac Bonneville from a US auction?
Owner complaints describe defects, not crash damage. Before bidding, check the components listed above and review the lot photos: VinWind builds a report of visible and hidden damage by VIN.
Other 1978 models
Read also
Sources: public NHTSA data (USA): service bulletins and owner complaints; YouTube: links to videos credited to their authors. Complaints are owner statements not verified by NHTSA, and describe defects rather than crash damage. Data updated 2026-11-05.