30th Sep 2002, 05:08

I've had a 1994 Bonneville and it's given me very few problems. It's been in the family for 8 years and with 140,000 miles it shows no sign of giving up any time soon. The only issues that car has had is the fuel system. Everything except the fuel tank has been replaced and the GM certified fuel pump had to be replace twice in 10 months. All in all I think that Pontiac is (or at least was) an excellant line and you shouldn't give up so easily.

11th Oct 2002, 11:51

I own a 94 Bonneville SSE and have had no problems, also the warranty is the only way to go, Just lowered the car 4" by adding new racing rims and high performance tires. got thit stealthy look and awesome ride. Good luck.

4th Nov 2002, 00:30

I have 2 Bonneville's (98 and a 92) and they are the most reliable car I've ever owned. My 92 has 129k miles and is going strong, my 98 has 78k miles and runs and looks new. A friend of mine has a 93 with 280k+ miles on it and it still runs strong. If you're having problems with this car you may be doing something wrong.

Someones comment on the fuel pump has me concerned. If your running your car (ANY CAR) below a quarter of a tank of gas STOP IT. Any time that a electric fuel pump draws air it cuts its life span greatly. It will burn it up if its not pulling fuel.

My 92 has had no air shock problems. The air only bleeds down when its not running for a long while so alignment isn't an issue then. The air ride system should hold a psi level for a given amount of time. If yours doesn't then you have a leak that needs traced.

And to the the kid that lowered his Bonneville. Oh forget it. You labeled yourself and your car. I just rather you did that to an import and not to the type of cars I like. : (

18th Nov 2002, 23:15

I own a 1997 Bonneville ssei and I'm having steering problems just like the cars in GMs new recall, but the 97 Bonneville is not listed, but my problems are the same as the recall I wonder if there is any others having this problem too.

27th May 2003, 20:52

I'm looking at a 1996 SSEI with 94.000 km on it. It appears to be very clean and I need to know is it imperative to use premium gasoline all the time? Premium gas is a bit dear here in Ontario, Canada.

30th May 2003, 09:56

This car is the bomb with Driving Impressions

There's been a long-running argument whether it's better to have two valves or four, push rods or overhead cams. The Bonneville's 3800 Series II V-6 convincingly argues for the simpler, push-rod design. This engine delivers lots of power and responsiveness, surprisingly good mileage and environmentally friendly emissions numbers. Normally aspirated, the Series II delivers a comforting 205 hp and 230 lbs.-ft. of torque. Opting for the supercharger increases the pony count to 240 and torque jumps to 280 lbs.-ft.

3rd Jun 2003, 20:03

Premium fuel is a must in the supercharged engines because of high compression ratio that requires very little knocking (what happens with the cheaper gas that causes a misfire) to avoid damage. I own a 94 Bonneville SE and it runs like a dream. I would recommend getting a N/A (naturally aspirated..i.e. no supercharge) if you need to run less than 91 octane. The N/A 3800's have plenty of power and if you need more theres always a few mods that can be done...

5th Jul 2003, 10:17

I got a 92 SSE with 180,000, and it's still running strong and smooth. It's going to the body shop to be cleaned up and painted. I love this car.

14th Jul 2003, 07:56

Hi, I have a 1996 SSEI and its been good to me so far. Just recently though I'm getting a clunk from my front suspension, mostly when backing up. My mechanic looked at it briefly and said everything was tight and if it persisted bring it back. I noticed my touring ride and performance ride console buttons were both on and the manual says you've got a problem. I'm wondering if anyone else has had this problem or any ideas what it may be. Also what is the air inflator button in the trunk used for???

14th Jul 2003, 18:01

Has anyone had their Bonneville just stop dead while driving? On my way home from work the car just died. I had no power and had trouble steering and stopping. I was lucky I wasn't driving very fast because it happened during rush hour traffic. mferguson81@yahoo.com.

25th Mar 2004, 19:59

Just bought a 97 Bonneville 40th Anniversary SSEI Supercharged with 69,000. I took it out on the test drive and was floored. From a dead start to the end of the on-ramp I was at 100 and climbing in what seemed like seconds. The heads-up digital display is a neat feature too. So is it time to change the oil in the supercharger now?

5th Jul 2004, 20:07

I purchased a used 1997 Bonneville SSEi 2 years ago. I have had no problems at all and the only thing that was not new was the battery... which was just because the owner saw a good deal on a new battery. And about the supercharger noise on the '96... your suppose to use octane 97 fuel and supercharger oil every certain amount of miles.

16th Jul 2004, 12:14

I have owned my 98 SSEi for 3 and a half years now. One of the best cars I have ever owned. Recently took it in for an alignment and to have new tires put on. The service guy told me my front strut was out. I was unable to replace the CCR struts. So they put on passive struts instead. What a difference in ride quality.

22nd Sep 2004, 13:48

I am the proud owner of a few American and import cars. My daily driver is a 1989 BMW 750 IL, with the long wheel base and the smooth powered v12. 498hp with a few upgrades.

My sister in-law owns a 1998 Pontiac Bonneville Se. I test drove the car for them before they bought it, and the car drove nice, and the ride was great. And being a mechanic for the last 10 years I went threw everything on the car. All checked out fine.

A week ago they informed me of the car running poorly, stalling, no power. They also got a letter informing them of a recall on the fuel regulator valve in this car. They scheduled this work to be done with the local dealership for repair. But before this could be done the car went from being poor running to worse. The upper (plastic) intake manifold blew up, yes blew up into like 20 pieces. I am positive that is is due to the air fuel mixture, but the mechanics there at the Pontiac dealership deny the fact that theres any way this could cause this problem. So the repair is all on them, then General Motors will fix just the valve. The car is a awesome car, so the fix is well worth having this nice riding car back on the road for another 80,000 miles. Just wish all car manufactures stood behind their products better.

(side note) Pontiac has a great motor in these cars, the 3800 v6 is a simple smooth running motor, and over 200 hp Ta boot.