2009 Pontiac G8: complaints, problems and recalls

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 ↗

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 ↗

I PURCHASED A 2009 PONTIAC G8 GT IN SEPTEMBER. I LIVE IN SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN. ACCORDING THE PONTIAC WEBSITE HTTP://WWW.PONTIAC.COM/G8-2009/SPECS-FEATURES MY VEHICLE WAS EQUIPPED (STANDARD EQUIPMENT) WITH ALL-SEASON TIRES. MY PARTICULAR VEHICLE HAS SUMMER ONLY TIRES, MAKING IT UNSAFE TO DRIVE IN THE WINTER MONTHS. THERE IS NO MENTION OF THIS DANGEROUS RESTRICTION ON MY VEHICLE OR WINDOW STICKER OR DEALER PAPERWORK. LUCKILY I REALIZED THIS BEFORE DRIVING IN WINTER CONDITIONS WHICH EASILY COULD HAVE LEAD TO A SERIOUS CRASH. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 3,100 miles reported. Look up ODI 10252195 at NHTSA ↗

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 PONTIAC G8 GT. WHILE DRIVING VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE CONTACT FELT A VERY ROUGH VIBRATION IN THE VEHICLE. THE GM MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WERE AWARE OF THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO TO ASSIST AT THAT TIME. THE DEALER STATED THAT THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE VEHICLE AND IT WAS NORMAL FOR A 6.0 LITER ENGINE. THE CONTACT WAS CONCERNED WITH DRIVING THE VEHICLE IN THE SNOW DUE TO THE VIBRATIONS. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 11 AND CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 11,500. UPDATED 01-26-09 *BF THE VEHICLE…

Owner-reported narrative. 11 miles reported. Look up ODI 10253606 at NHTSA ↗

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 ↗

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 ↗

THE 2009 PONTIAC G8 HAS A POTENTIAL PROBLEM WITH FAILURE OF THE BALL JOINTS ON THE FRONT END. AT 16000KM THE BALL JOINTS WERE FALLING OUT ON MY PONTIAC G8. THIS COULD HAVE LEAD TO A CONTROL FAILURE OF THE CAR AND A MAJOR ACCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY. THIS IS NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT AS THE DEALER HAS STATED THERE HAVE BEEN SEVERAL OTHER CARS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM. I CONSIDER THIS CAR TO BE UNSAFE, AND FEEL IT SHOULD HAVE A RECALL ON IT. *TR

Owner-reported narrative. 10,000 miles reported. Look up ODI 10276710 at NHTSA ↗

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 ↗

Reported: 2009-05-21 (May 21, 2009)

GM IS RECALLING 35,038 MY 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT" AND FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLES SAFETY STANDARD NO. 138, "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS". THE BRAKE PEDAL POSITION SWITCH MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED. WITH THIS CONDITION, THE BRAKE LAMPS MAY BE CONTINUALLY ILLUMINATED AND FAIL TO WARN A FOLLOWING DRIVER WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BRAKING. ALSO CERTAIN VEHICLES MAY HAVE INCORRECT VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT ILLUMINATE THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE TELLTALE UNTIL TIRE PRESSURE FALLS BELOW VALUES REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.

Consequence: INAPPROPRIATE, NON-STANDARD LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR DRIVING ON A SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-INFLATED TIRE CAUSES THE TIRE TO OVERHEAT AND CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE.

Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE BRAKE POSITION SENSOR AND THE REMOTE CONTROL DOOR LOCK RECEIVER WITH THE CORRECT VALUES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 5, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.

Reported: 2011-11-04 (November 4, 2011)

GENERAL MOTORS (GM) IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM NOVEMBER 2, 2007 THROUGH JANUARY 22, 2009. A 5TH PERCENTILE FEMALE ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DEVICE (ATD) IN A 30 MPH FRONTAL BARRIER TEST EXCEEDED THE HEAD INJURY CRITERIA (HIC) REQUIREMENTS OF THE STANDARD. WITH THE FRONT PASSENGER SEAT POSITIONED FULL FORWARD, THE SEAT POSITION SENSOR WILL CAUSE A 30 MILLISECONDS DEPLOYMENT DELAY BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND STAGES OF THE DUAL-STAGE FRONTAL PASSENGER AIR BAG.

Consequence: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THIS DELAY MAY RESULT IN INCREASED HEAD INJURY TO CERTAIN FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS.

Remedy: GM DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE SENSING AND DIAGNOSTIC MODULE FREE OF CHARGE. THE SAFETY RECALL BEGAN ON NOVEMBER 30, 2011. OWNERS MAY CONTACT PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.

Reported: 2014-09-09 (September 9, 2014)

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to December 6, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the driver may accidentally hit the ignition key with their knee, unintentionally knocking the key out of the run position, turning off the engine.

Consequence: If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position could cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the key blade from the original flip key/RKE transmitter assemblies, and cut and fit a revised key blade and housing assembly, in which the blade has been indexed by 90 degrees, to the original RKE transmitter assembly. GM issued an interim notification to owners on December 31, 2014. The recall began on February 4, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14445. Note: Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that drivers adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.

Reported: 2015-06-23 (June 23, 2015)

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to October 22, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking.

Consequence: If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat belt tensioner assembly which includes the steel cable, free of charge. These replacement parts reposition the tensioner cable out of the path of entry into the vehicle and uses a more flexible cable, set at a more upright angle. The recall began on July 5, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 15206.