Owners have filed 467 complaints on the Pontiac Trans Sport, covering 1995–1999. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (84 reports). Worst years by volume: 1997, 1998, 1995; cleanest: 1999, 1996, 1995. 28 reports describe a crash, 5 a fire, 3 a death. On average the car was 4.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Trans Sport
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 467 Trans Sport complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 84 Read
Transmission failure caused by antifreeze in transmission. Corrosion of radiator causing antifreeze to mix with transmission fluid. Now is overheating caused by intake manifold gasket leaking allowing antifreeze to get into crankcase. Potentially fatal for engine
Intake manifold gaskets (upper & lower) need to be replaced because it is leaking engine coolant. Also need to replace thermostat and gasket. Cost $900
Engine dies while braking & coming to a stop. It has also died when stopping for a car making a turn. Dealer hasn't found problem yet. This has happened 6 times over the last six weeks
Steering 69 Read
While making a turn steering wheel locked, causing a collision which totalled the vehicle
While turning left, front wheel would not turn, steering was popping. Vehicle had to be towed. Defect in gear was the cause per dealership.*akconsumer had to run into the curb to avoid traffic
The rack and pinion failed, prior to the recall being performed. Recall # 02 v 286 000
Structure 43 Read
The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, it was hit on the driver side behind the door. The vehicle sustained body damage, there were no injuries, and a police report was not filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent repair shop for repairs. The mechanic determined there was no safety side bar on the…
While exiting a parking lot, the rear sliding door opened, the dealer found that a bent bracket in the door mounting was the apparent cause of the door failing to latch properly. Nlm
Intermittently the door will reopen on its own after it shuts
Exterior Lighting 42 Read
Moisture accumulated in head lamp
The lens (headlight) cover fell off! Dealer stated the lens cover is not a separate piece. Entire assembly needs to be replaced. I was told by the dealer that this was not covered by the extended warranty we had purchased. No one could tell me why this since the lens cover fell off! It was not hit, not involved in an…
03/01 left headlight lens fell off 12/24/01 right lens fell off while vehicle was stopped. Glue appears to have dried up. Pontiac customer service said that they have not received enough complaint to do anything about it. They also state that because it is a used car and & milage is higher then waranty allows there is…
Service Brakes 35 Read
While driving the van about 25 mph and applying the brakes the pedal went down to the floor and the vehicle continued to move at the same speed until we hit the car in front of us. I had complete brake failure!!!
Recall 98V072000; the stopping distance hasn't gotten any better since the recall work has been performed, and when turning on the windshield wipers the radio failed. There had been an crash before and after the recall work had been performed because of stopping distances of the brakes
While driving at 45 mph, the defective braking system malfunctioned, causing the braking pedal to go to the floor and extended stopping distance which caused an accident 2 times. The vehicle was serviced prior to the first accident. Dealer cannot determine problem
Visibility 32 Read
Concerned about the rear glass "exploding." van was parked in driveway when glass "exploded." would have caused an accident had the vehicle been moving, in addition glass showered the entire inside of the van. Very alarming!
Windshield wiper fluid does not hit the windshield when the windshield wipers are turned on. Dealer contacted and stated a design flaw. Manufacturer contacted and stated they will file the information. Vision is not clear when this happens
Drivers side window stuck in the down position
Power Train 23 Read
Consumer was traveling 35mph on highway and vehicle shifted by itself into park. Prior to this incident, mechanic told her that dirt got into transmission axle, and a bearing broke which cause turbine shaft to lock up,resulting in vehicle locking up. She couldn't go forward or backwards
Tranmission will not hold at idle. When stopped on a grade, you must use both feet - one on the brake, to keep from rolling backward, and one on the accelerator. Dealer/manufacturer claims this is normal, and that it isn't designed to lock up until 2200 RPM. I've never driven an automatic transmission vehicle in my…
Consumer pulled a car fax report on september 11,2001 the odometer reading on the vehicle was 30586 on september 1, 2000 as verified by california dmv, on nov 14,2000 the odometer reading was 30582 as veiified by the ca inspection station, the dealer advertised the vehicle on their website as having 33558 miles on it,…
Seat Belts 20 Read
The contact stated while traveling 40 mph, the vehicle went off the road and struck a tree. When this occurred, the front driver side seatbelt shoulder strap did not lock. The driver hit the steering wheel causing minor chest injuries, then the airbag deployed. Also, the middle row driver side seatbelt came unlocked.…
The seatbelt adjuster came off in an accident in which the shoulder belt bruised the neck of the restrained child. Please provide further information
I received a serious concussion in a rear end/front end collision due to the fact seat belt failed to hold me in place. I hit the sunvisor and then hit the back head rest so hard I broke the seat
Trans Sport years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Child Seat | 1 | — | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 12 | 2 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 1996 | Electrical System | 2 | — | |
| 1995 | Electrical System | 7 | 2 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 136 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.4 |
| Worst single series | 16 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.7 years |
A model average of 3.4 hides a worst series at 16. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,105,462 of them, covering 2,004 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Trans Sport?
By complaint volume, 1997, 1998, 1995 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Trans Sport years are the cleanest?
1999, 1996, 1995 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac Trans Sport have?
467 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–1999. Of those, 28 describe a crash and 5 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.