2006 Pontiac Solstice problems
NHTSA has received 289 complaints about the 2006 Pontiac Solstice, and 62% of them involve air bags. Next are drivetrain & axles (10%) and electrical system (10%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 289 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 62% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 12 and 3
- Injuries and deaths
- 12 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 35,000 miles 208 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 | 48 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 77 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 37 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 24 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 12 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 7 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 1 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 0 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 1 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 0 |
What the data shows
Of the 208 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 35,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 39,000 miles (127 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 12 complaints mention a crash; 3 complaints mention a fire; 12 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2006 ranks 3rd most-complained-about out of 4 model years of the Pontiac Solstice with enough data (70 complaints in that window). 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.
My wife suggested to me that the accident may have been caused by a malfunction to the car. I didn't really consider that a possibility. However, she has never been able to explain the accident beyond saying "all of a sudden I lost control of the car". While I was looking for the car title, which I've still not found by the way, I discovered a recall notice from early 2008. I reviewed the document and discovered the 3rd condition which may occur sounds like a possible cause of this accident.
Daughters in 2006 solstice. Drunk driver ran red light going 50 MPH and hit our daughters making a left turn. Severe impact on an angle (front/left side) with 2 foot intrusion into occupant compartment. Airbags did not deploy. Required prolonged extrication; serious injury with bayflight to hospital. 2006 solstice is a GM recall vehicle for defective ignition switch.
Passenger presence airbag sensor failed in the passenger seat. It is a thin sensor mat and the break in the copper is very clear to see.
The issue is that the passenger seat belt light is on . Just one day we got message service air bag. I have seen recalls on 2009 and other complaints 2006 but have not seen recall on my year. There was no one in the passenger seat when this happened.