2009 Pontiac G8 problems
The 2009 Pontiac G8 has 185 complaints on file with NHTSA. The largest share (38%) concerns air bags. After that come suspension (12%) and electrical system (11%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 185 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 38% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 8 and 1
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 42,000 miles 160 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 41 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 24 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 44 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 31 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 2 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 0 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Among the 160 complaints that report mileage, the typical (median) problem appeared at about 42,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 56,000 miles (63 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 8 complaints mention a crash; 1 complaint mentions a fire; 12 injuries reported.
It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
While driving around a curve, a deer ran out in front of the car and we swerved to miss it and ran off the road down into a deep ditch and hitting a drain tile. The entire front nose of the car is destroyed, the hood, and driver side front fender and door. None of the air bags deployed, causing my husband to hit the steering wheel and bust the windshield with his head. I had my seatbelt on but was injured also. Had my airbags deployed the way they are supposed to, these injuries may not have occurred at all.
Tl* the contact owned a 2009 pontiac g8. The contact stated that while driving 25 MPH in the rain, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a ditch. The driver's side air bags did not deploy. The contact stated that he was in a coma for four days and suffered permanent brain damage to his frontal lobe. There were no other injuries and a police report was available if needed. The insurance company was not notified. The manufacturer was notified by e-mail and had not responded to his inquiries.
Tl*the contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. The contact stated that when you start the engine the dashboard lights and the engine shuts down. The contact has experienced the problem multiple times. The contact has spoke with both the manufacturer and the dealer. Both stated that they can not resolve the problem until the problem can be duplicated. The dealer did inspect the vehicle and they did not find anything wrong with the vehicle's computer.
When I got into the car to go to work, the SRS airbag warning light came on, flashing and did not go off. I took it to the dealer a few days later and was given the codes u0170 and b0081, which apparently point to a defective passenger presence module. The purpose of this module is to sense if there is a passenger or not. Apparently, since this module is bad, it threw the above codes and disables all airbags. In the event of an accident, no bags will deploy until this is fixed.
Other model years of the G8
- 2009
- 2008