The 1986 Pontiac Parisienne has 3 NHTSA recall campaigns affecting an estimated 1,955,325 vehicles. Recall repairs are always free at any authorized dealer. Owners have filed 14 complaints with NHTSA, most often about the service brakes, hydraulic. Last updated July 5, 2026.
A SMALL NYLON BUSHING IN THE CRUISE CONTROL SERVO BAIL MAY SLIP OUT OF PLACE, CAUSING INTERMITTENT AND UNEXPECTED INCREASES IN ENGINE SPEED OR DIESELING (ENGINE RUN ON WITH IGNITION OFF).
Consequence
SERVO ROD ASSEMBLY COULD CATCH ON ENGINE COMPONENTS ANDRESULT IN A STUCK THROTTLE WITH POTENTIAL FOR A VEHICLE CRASH.
Remedy
INSTALL A NEW BUSHING IN CRUISE CONTROL SERVO BAIL.
THE PUSH PULL HEADLIGHT SWITCH MAY HAVE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS WHICH ALLOW AN INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT CIRCUIT CAUSING HEADLIGHT TO FLICKER OR SUDDENLY GO OUT. CONSEQUENCE OF…
THE PUSH-PULL HEADLIGHT SWITCH MAY HAVE ELECTRICAL CONTACTS WHICH ALLOW AN INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT CIRCUIT CAUSING HEADLIGHT TO FLICKER OR SUDDENLY GO OUT. CONSEQUENCE OF…
Remedy
REPLACE HEADLIGHT SWITCH AS NECESSARY.
Complaints by component
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS
3
1crashes
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST
2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:POWER ASSIST:VACUUM
2
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP
1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:MASTER CYLINDER
1
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:PEDALS AND LINKAGES
1
STEERING: STEERING WHEEL/HANDLE BAR
1
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
1
1crashes
VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD
1
WHEELS
1
Total complaints14
What owners report
Verbatim reports filed with NHTSA, lightly edited for readability and with personal
information removed.
“Vehicle has been in the shop four times for brake problems since purchase in 3/00. In one incident, brakes failed completely at highway speed; by sheer luck I was able to avoid causing an accident. This brake system has been recalled, but gm refuses to work on my car because the vin number is not…”
“Steering wheel locked up while attempting to make a turn, brakes applied; very low speed. *ak upon acceleration vehicle does not pick up speed there is a horrible smell of prestone in the vehicle, the windows fog up and it has pre ignition, the power steering fluid and oil disappears as quickly as…”
“Steering wheel locked up while attempting to make a turn, brakes applied; very low speed. *ak upon acceleration vehicle does not pick up speed there is a horrible smell of prestone in the vehicle, the windows fog up and it has pre ignition, the power steering fluid and oil disappears as quickly as…”
“Steering wheel locked up while attempting to make a turn, brakes applied; very low speed. *ak upon acceleration vehicle does not pick up speed there is a horrible smell of prestone in the vehicle, the windows fog up and it has pre ignition, the power steering fluid and oil disappears as quickly as…”
“Hard brake pedal after recall repairs..”
“The accelerator stuck and went to full throttle and the brakes could not stop the car. Please describe. *ak”
“Brake failure resulted in accident. *dh”
“Continue intermittently brake light come, applied brake loss of brake pressure (abs). Tt”
Defect investigations
InvestigationC89001 Opened 1989-03-06 · closed 1990-01-16
THROTTLE NON-RETURN
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationEA88019 Opened 1988-01-28 · closed 1990-10-31
HYDRO BOOST
There is no summary currently available
InvestigationPE87038 Opened 1987-07-09 · closed 1988-01-28
HYDROBOOST FAILURE
SUBJECT VEHICLES:CAPRICE, CAPRICE CLASSIC, CUSTOM CRUISER, DEVILLE,ELECTRA, ESTATE WAGON, FLEETWOOD, LESABRE, NINETY-EIGHT, PARISIENNE,PARK AVENUE.(ALL 1984-86 GM VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH HYDROBOOST II SYSTEMS)ANALYSIS:CONSUMER COMPLAINTS ALLEGE SEVERAL PROBLEMS INVOLVING THE POWERSTEERING AND POWER BRAKE SYSTEMS OF…
Recall, complaint, and investigation records from official NHTSA datasets (FLAT_RCL,
FLAT_CMPL, FLAT_INV), synced weekly. Counts reflect NHTSA records for the 1986 Pontiac Parisienne as of
July 5, 2026. Complaint narratives are consumer-submitted and unverified. This page
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