KnownCarProblems2009 Pontiac G6 Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 713 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Pontiac G6, most often about the steering (42% of complaints, typically around 110,500 miles). It is 4th of 9 G6 model years by number of complaints and has 4 recalls.
Most common 2009 Pontiac G6 problems
Steering
296 complaints · 42%Half of these problems showed up before 110,500 miles. Parts named most often: electric power assist system.
For several week, car has been displaying "power steering" message, at which time the vehicle becomes difficult to steer. At the referenced incident above, the "power steering" message illuminated and the vehicle power steering failed, and did not return to operation, even after turning off and re-starting car. This…
As I was coming around a turn at my house, I lost all electrical it was like my car shut off. I was close to hitting a stop sign and a house on my street. I did go up the curb. I lost power steering so my steering wheel was harder to turn. Once I got the car stopped my vehicle came back on automatically. At 116,000…
Lights
190 complaints · 27%Half of these problems showed up before 75,000 miles. Parts named most often: headlights, brake lights.
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that the headlights were continuously burning out due to the bulb becoming overheated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The technician diagnosed that the connector burned and as a result, the head light assembly needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not…
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that upon starting, the low beam headlights did not illuminate. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic. The mechanic stated that the low beam lamp connector was melted and needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not contacted. The vehicle was not…
Electrical
178 complaints · 25%Half of these problems showed up before 74,000 miles. Parts named most often: horn, 12v/24v/48v battery, wiring, starter assembly.
When traveling above about 10 MPH the brake lights came on and the cruise control no longer worked. When the brake pedal was depressed, the brake lights went out until the car slowed to about 10 MPH at which point the brake lights came back on. Braking was normal at all times. When pulling away from the stop, the…
Head light harness burns out and have replaced 2 times and can not get it to stop buring out so I have no head lights with this car please help im not the only one with this issue on this car. Replaced h11 h 9 wire harness h11 bulb h9 socket h9 socket.
Brakes
76 complaints · 11%Half of these problems showed up before 73,000 miles. Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock.
My brakes lights do not operate correctly. They either stay on completely or don't come on at all. I have had this fixed already, and it is still a problem. While the brake lights are not working, my cruise control will also stop working. My traction control is also starting to come on now, at the same time as the…
Brake lights come on intermittently causing cruise control to shut off. At the time, the only way to make the brake lights shut off was to step on the brake. Within the last week the brake lights are coming on more frequently and not shutting off at all. This can be a serious risk for accidents as anyone behind the…
Transmission
46 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 78,000 miles.
G6 began to shift gears on its own in the middle of the highway leading to near accidents due to sudden stops or slow downs. Cars transmission locked in park and won't reverse. Car begins to reverse on its own in park but ends up catching itself back in park. Transmission seems to be set on park and won't change to go…
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G6. While driving at 40 MPH, the transmission failed to engage in third gear or reverse. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to accelerate. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the wave plate fractured and the transmission needed to be…
Fuel system
46 complaints · 7%Half of these problems showed up before 84,000 miles.
The gas tank on this 2009 Pontiac G6 gt is leaking fuel. Car was taken to dealer, dealer said that the fuel pump located in the gas tank needed to be replaced as it is leaking. Further investigation using non gm auto repair shops, I found this problem was not only on the G6 but many of the gm vehicles from 2005 to…
My 2009 Pontiac G6 gt has strong smell of gas while sitting in the garage. Pontiac has had many complaints for same problem, different years. Customers have found plastic hose on top of gas tank cracked and leaking gas on top of tank. Very dangerous! This should be addressed as recall repair!
Air bags
40 complaints · 6%Half of these problems showed up before 86,500 miles.
The contact owned a 2009 Pontiac G6. While driving 40 MPH down a steep hill, the contact crashed the vehicle into a tree. The air bags failed to deploy. The contact stated that the failure may be related to NHTSA campaign number: 14v252000(electrical system, electronic stability control, exterior lighting, service…
The air bag light and the tire light both come on (not necessarily at the same time) for no apparent reason when car is started, the car is not moving at this time. There is also a "service air bag" and service tire monitor" warning on the radio display. This does not happen every time the car is started. Also, if the…
Speed control
35 complaints · 5%Half of these problems showed up before 84,000 miles. Parts named most often: cruise control.
Tail lights continue to stay on. The traction control says it needs to be serviced. The cruise control does not work. Same as earlier model G6's. Same as #08-05-22-009a.
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that the cruise control disengaged while it was set at 62 MPH. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for inspection, however the dealer was unable to duplicate the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The contact also…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2009 Pontiac G6 recalls
Stability control: electronic stability control (esc)
Risk: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the bas and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an interim letter to customers on july 14, 2014. The recall began on august 18, 2014. Owners may contact general motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (saturn). Gm's number for this recall is 13036.
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 chevrolet malibu vehicles manufactured may 16, 2003, through october 11, 2012, 2004-2007 malibu maxx vehicles manufactured june 25, 2003, through april 5, 2007, 2005-2010 pontiac g6 vehicles manufactured may 26, 2004, through january 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 saturn aura vehicles manufactured april 24, 2006, through may 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the body control module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the brake apply sensor (bas) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'park' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash
Steering: electric power assist system
Risk: If power steering assist is lost, greater driver effort would be required to steer the vehicle at low speeds, increasing the risk of a crash.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will perform one of four bulletins. Parts are not currently available. Gm expects to send an interim notification around may 28, 2014. When parts are available, owners will be mailed a second letter to come in to have the applicable bulletin applied. Bulletin 14115 covers model year 2004-2007 saturn ion, 2009-2010 chevrolet hhr and 2010 chevrolet cobalts. Dealers will replace the eps motor. Bulletin 14116 covers model year 2004-2006 chevrolet malibu and malibu maxx, 2005-2006 pontiac g6 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, pontiac g6 and saturn aura built from mar
Full defect summary
General motors llc (gm) is recalling certain model year 2004-2006 and 2008-2009 chevrolet malibu, 2004-2006 malibu maxx, 2009-2010 hhr (non-turbo), 2010 cobalt, 2008-2009 saturn aura and 2004-2007 ion, and 2005-2009 pontiac g6. In the affected vehicles, there may be a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist that could occur at any time while driving.
Transmission: gear position indication (prndl)
Risk: If the tabs were to fracture and separate, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. The driver would be able to move the shifter to 'park' and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in 'park.' the vehicle may not be able to be restarted and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
Fix: Gm will notify owners, and dealers will install a retainer over the cable end or replace the shift cable as necessary. This service will be performed free of charge. Notification to owners began on on november 9, 2012. Owners were instructed to not bring their vehicles for repair until january 2013. Owners may contact general motors at 1-800-521-7300.
Full defect summary
General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2007-2010 saturn aura and model year 2008-2010 chevrolet malibu and pontiac g6 vehicles, equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission. On these vehicles, the tabs on the transmission shift cable end may fracture and separate.
Transmission: column shift
Risk: The driver may not be able to restart the vehicle and the vehicle could roll away after the driver has exited the vehicle, resulting in a possible crash without prior warning.
Fix: Dealers will inspect and ensure that the shift cable adjustment clip is fully engaged. In the event that the clip does not engage, the shift cable will be replaced free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before march 24, 2009. Owners may contact buick at 1-866-608-8080, chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438, gmc at 1-866-996-9463, pontiac at 1-800-620-7668 and saturn at 1-800-972-8876 or at www.gmownercenter.com.
Full defect summary
General motors is recalling 276,729 my 2009 buick enclave, chevrolet cobalt, hhr, malibu, traverse, gmc acadia, pontiac g5, g6 and saturn aura and outlook passenger vehicles. These vehicles fail to comply with federal motor vehicles safety standard 102, "transmission shift position sequence, starter interlock, and transmission braking effect", and fmvss 114, "theft protection and rollaway prevention". On some of these vehicles, the transmission shift cable adjustment clip may not be fully engaged. If the clip is not fully engaged, the shift lever and the actual position of the transmission gear may not match. With this condition, the drive could move the shifter to "park" and remove the ignition key, but the transmission gear may not be in "park".
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Fleet vehicle recall completion audit
Summary
On november 18, 2010, NHTSA's recall management division (rmd) opened an audit query (aq10-001) to investigate recall remedy completion by rental car companies on safety recall campaigns.it was expected to provide the agency an indication of how completely and how quickly rental car fleets perform necessary recall-related remedies on the vehicles owned and then rented/leased for use on the roadways.rmd queried three (3) major motor vehicle manufacturers (ford, chrysler, and general motors) and requested data regarding completion figures for fifteen (15) discreet safety recalls.analysis of this data demonstrated that rental car recalls completion was neither complete nor consistent.the rental
Questions about the 2009 Pontiac G6
- What are the most common problems with the 2009 Pontiac G6?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: steering (296 complaints, typically around 110,500 miles); lights (190 complaints, typically around 75,000 miles); electrical (178 complaints, typically around 74,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2009 Pontiac G6 have?
- 4 recalls listed by NHTSA, the latest from May 14, 2014 (stability control). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2009 a bad year for the Pontiac G6?
- It is 4th of 9 G6 model years by number of complaints, with 713 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.