U.S. public vehicle records

2009 Pontiac G8 problems and owner complaints

Explore the records behind recurring owner reports.

Key facts

144 owner complaints analyzed

4 distinct recall campaigns

50,000 mi median reported failure mileage

Scope: 2009 model year. Data snapshot: 2026-09-12 (September 12, 2026). 126 complaints include usable failure mileage.

Owner-reported patterns

Most common problems

Air Bags is the most frequently named component, appearing in 65 of 144 complaints (45.1%). A complaint can name multiple components.

Recurring terms in complaint narratives
Topic	Matching reports	Share of complaints
Braking behavior	23	16.0%
Steering behavior	12	8.3%
Electrical and battery issues	11	7.6%
Transmission and shifting	7	4.9%
Engine operation	1	0.7%
Fuel system concerns	1	0.7%

Topic matches use published keyword rules. They describe mentions, including negations or comparisons, and do not confirm a diagnosis. Read the matching rules.

Component breakdown

Number of unique complaints naming each component. Top eight shown.

Air Bags

Electrical System

Suspension

Suspension:Front

Electronic Stability Control (Esc)

Service Brakes

Steering

Seats

Air Bags: 65; Electrical System: 18; Suspension: 13; Suspension:Front: 7; Electronic Stability Control (Esc): 6; Service Brakes: 6; Steering: 6; Seats: 5

Reported problems by failure mileage

Complaint counts in mileage bands. These are not failure rates per vehicle or mile.

Under 25,000

25,000 to 49,999

50,000 to 74,999

75,000 to 99,999

100,000 to 149,999

150,000 and above

Under 25,000: 33; 25,000 to 49,999: 29; 50,000 to 74,999: 39; 75,000 to 99,999: 14; 100,000 to 149,999: 8; 150,000 and above: 3

50,000 to 74,999 miles has the most reports with usable mileage (39). 18 complaints have missing, zero or invalid mileage.

Complaints over time

Year the complaint was filed, not the vehicle model year or incident year. The snapshot year is partial.

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2008: 3; 2009: 18; 2010: 7; 2011: 6; 2012: 5; 2013: 11; 2014: 24; 2015: 21; 2016: 16; 2017: 11; 2018: 5; 2019: 4; 2020: 7; 2021: 4; 2022: 1; 2023: 1

Pattern summary

Air Bags leads the component reports. Braking behavior appears in 23 complaint narratives. Steering behavior appears in 12 complaint narratives. Electrical and battery issues appears in 11 complaint narratives. Use these patterns to inspect individual reports and prepare questions for a mechanic.

Calculated from recorded counts. An AI narrative has not been published for this selection.

Complaint evidence

Examples provide context, not a representative sample or a verified diagnosis.

Owner report 10273919 · 2009-06-15 (June 15, 2009)

THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 2009 G8 (6K MILES) IS VERY ROUGH SHIFTING ESPECIALLY WHEN COLD. WHEN TRYING TO STOP, THE TRANSMISSION FREQUENTLY HESITATES TO DOWN SHIFT, REMAINING IN THE HIGHER GEAR. IF THE DRIVER DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION AND APPLY CONSTANT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES, THE CAR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD INTO THE INTERSECTION UNCOMMANDED. IF THE DRIVER LETS OFF THE BRAKE BEFORE THE DOWNSHIFT OCCURS, THE CAR WILL ACCELERATE DANGEROUSLY. THE DEALER APPLIED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS ISSUE BEFORE I TOOK DELIVER, BUT IT HAS NOT RESOLV…

Owner-reported narrative. 6,500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10273919 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10290064 · 2009-10-28 (October 28, 2009)

AFTER ONLY 11,000 MILES MY FRONT RIGHT BALL JOINT WAS BAD AND A WOBBLE WAS NOTICED WHEN BRAKING HARD. DEALER HAD TO REPLACE THE LCA TO FIX IT. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE WITH THE PREMATURE FAILURE AND COULD EVENTUALLY CAUSE INJURIES IF A MORE SOLID FIX ISN'T COMPLETED. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 11,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10290064 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10275000 · 2009-06-25 (June 25, 2009)

ON PONTIAC G8 GT WITH 18" WHEELS AND GOODYEAR RSA TIRES, THE WHEELS AND TIRES VERY OFTEN CANNOT BE BALANCED PROPERLY. THIS LEADS TO SEVERE STEERING WHEEL SHAKING/WOBBLING AND SOMETIMES DEALERS PUT A LOT OF WEIGHTS ON THE WHEELS ATTEMPTING TO BALANCE AN TIRE THAT CANNOT BE BALANCED, EVEN AFTER REPLACING OR REMOUNTING THE TIRE. A WEB THREAD WITH MANY COMPLAINTS: HTTP://WWW.G8BOARD.COM/FORUMS/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?T=12322 MY G8 GT HAS THE PROBLEM EVEN AFTER THE DEALER REPLACED THE TIRES AND REBALANCED THEM. PONTIAC APPARENTLY REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDG…

Owner-reported narrative. 20 miles reported. Look up ODI 10275000 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10283535 · 2009-09-10 (September 10, 2009)

2009 PONTIAC G8. AUTO VEERS TO THE RIGHT, NEED TO KEEP PULL ING DOWN ON LEFT SIDE OF STEERING WHEEL TO GO STRAIGHT. GM REP CLAIMS G8 WAS MADE TO PULL TO THE RIGHT IF DRIVER FELL ASLEEP PREVENTING HEAD ON COLLISIONS. THREE DEALERS UNABLE TO CORRECT PROBLEM. GM REP STATES THAT THE G8 WAS INTENTIONALLY DESIGNED TO VEER TO THE RIGHT IF DRIVER FELL ASLEEP, WHICH COULD CAUSE CAR TO GO ON SIDEWALK, ETC. AND INJURE PEOPLE. GM REFUSES TO REPURCHASE VEHICLE. THEY OFFERED TO GIVE US 4 NEW TIRES AND EXTENDED WARRANTY 60,000 ADD. MILES, FOR A CAR THAT THEY…

Owner-reported narrative. 722 miles reported. Look up ODI 10283535 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10424818 · 2011-09-06 (September 6, 2011)

PURCHASED VEHICLE NEW ON 2/28/2009 FROM LOCAL GM DEALER. MULTIPLE FAILURES OF GM PART #92207874. OTHER FAILURES OCCURRED ON 8/11/10 (23,629); 10/27/10 (26,082); AND, 7/22/11 (35,300). COMMUNICATED MY CONCERNS ABOUT MULTIPLE FAILURES, OTHER CAUSES, AND POSSIBLE LATENT DEFECT IN DESIGN TO GM CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM AS EARLY AS OCTOBER 2010 (GM CASE #71-884084012) AND AGAIN IN AUGUST 2011 (GM CASE #71-979563998). FAILURE OF PART PRECLUDES OPERATOR ADJUSTMENT OF SEAT WHILE CAR DOOR IS CLOSED AND IF LEFT UNADDRESSED WILL LIKELY CAUSE CHAFFING OF T…

Owner-reported narrative. 7,678 miles reported. Look up ODI 10424818 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10447993 · 2012-02-14 (February 14, 2012)

I AM THE 2ND OWNER OF THIS VEHICLE I BOUGHT IT WITH 20,000 MILES AND NOW IT HAS 41,000. THE CAR HAS HAD 5 RECALLS SINCE I HAVE OWNED IT WHICH I UNDERSTAND IS NOT A BAD THING CAUSE THEY ARE FIXING THE PROBLEMS,BUT WHEN THE PROBLEM KEEPS EXISTING AND GM SAYS "ILL GIVE YOU A YEAR FREE MAINTENANCE FOR THE TROUBLE" COME ON, I HAVE 3 KIDS THAT RIDE IN THE CAR,AND PARTS THAT DON'T BELONG ON THE CAR BECAUSE THEY DON'T MAKE THEM ANYMORE, (WIRING HARNESS) THE ENGINE LIGHT KEEPS COMING ON AND NOW I HAVE NO HIGH BEAMS , GM RESPONSE TO THAT WAS "WE W…

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10447993 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10242125 · 2008-09-14 (September 14, 2008)

TRANSMISSION FAILS TO DOWNSHIFT IMMEDIATELY AFTER ACCELERATING, LEAVING DRIVER IN VULNERABLE POSITION OF BEING SLOW TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC AS ANTICIPATED. THIS ACTION IS A DAILY OCCURRENCE SINCE CAR PURCHASED. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 500 miles reported. Look up ODI 10242125 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10248208 · 2008-11-09 (November 9, 2008)

AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILS TO IMMEDIATELY DOWNSHIFT WHEN ACCELERATING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC, LEAVING CAR AND DRIVER IN PRECARIOUS PREDICAMENT WITH TODAY'S HIGHWAY SPEEDS. TRANSMISSION ALSO CAUSES A VIBRATION WHEN SPEED DECREASES AND CAUSES DOD TO BE IMPLEMENTED. DEALER HAS NO SOLUTION. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. Look up ODI 10248208 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10553778 · 2013-11-25 (November 25, 2013)

PONTIAC G8 GT ABS/SES/TRACTION CONTROL OFF INDICATORS/MESSAGES AND OR LOSS OF POWER WITH THE RADIO TURNED UP. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 41,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10553778 at NHTSA ↗

Owner report 10277700 · 2009-07-22 (July 22, 2009)

2/23/2009: LEAVING STOP LIGHT, CAR QUITE RUNNING AND I PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD. COULD NOT RESTART THE CAR. CAR WAS TOWED TO DEALERSHIP. FOUND OUT CAR WAS OUT OF GAS, BUT GAUGE SHOWED A LITTLE OVER A 1/4 TANK. DEALERSHIP SAID GAUGE CLUSTER WAS DEFECTIVE AND CHANGED THE CLUSTER. 7/12/2009: AT 25 MPH CAR QUITE RUNNING AND I PULLED TO SIDE OF ROAD. CAR WOULD NOT RESTART AND I KNEW I WAS OUT OF GAS AGAIN. THE GAS GAUGE SHOWED JUST UNDER 1/4 TANK. I GOT SOME GAS AND WENT TO THE GAS STATION. THE GAS TANK HOLDS 19 GALLONS, BUT I ONLY ABLE TO P…

Owner-reported narrative. 2,829 miles reported. Look up ODI 10277700 at NHTSA ↗