Owners have filed 329 complaints on the Pontiac G5, covering 2007–2010. The system named most often is Steering (85 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2009; cleanest: 2010, 2009, 2008. 35 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire, 6 a death. On average the car was 6.1 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac G5
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 329 G5 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 85 Read
My son was driving a 2009 pontiac g5 in a high school parking lot at approximately 40mph +/- and went to make sudden turn when the power steering completely failed. He slammed on the brakes and even pulled the e-brake to no avail and hit a block wall. As a result of this accident he sustained neck and back injuries as…
Information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6) fall of 2009 in a 2008 pontiac g5 [xxx]traveling north on rt 119 toward indiana pa, slowing down to exit car steering failed car went directly into the guard causing my mother , sister and her friend to be brought to the…
Approaching a busy intersection, my pontiac g5's brakes failed to work. I could tell the hydraulics systems was working as I could hear metal on metal but it did nothing to slow down the vehicle. The vehicle's cdr showed the vehicle accelerating at full throttle although I know my foot was on the brake pedal as…
Fuel/propulsion System 77 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g5. The contact stated that the fuel tank was leaking fuel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed that the failure was a manufacturer's defect and offered no assistance. The vehicle was then taken to a private mechanic for repair. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer…
There is a huge leak in my gas line. I see that this was a defect in the older models of the g5 and they were recalled for it, but there is no recall for my year model and I am having the same kind of problem as stated in those older model recalls for the gas line. I am afraid to drive the vehicle and I am having a…
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g5. The contact noticed a strong fuel odor coming from the rear of the vehicle. The contact was experiencing the same failures listed in NHTSA campaign number: 12V459000 (fuel system). The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The vehicle was not included in a recall. The approximate…
Electrical System 44 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g5. The contact stated that while driving downhill approximately 45 mph on a gravel road, the vehicle spun out of control and landed upside down. The contact sustained bumps, bruises and lacerations to different parts of the body. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to a salvage…
My daughter was driving north on tulls creek road in moyock, mc just north of poyner road when she lost the ability to steer the car and went off into a ditch causing minor injuries and extensive damage to the car. I didn't much about her reasoning until reading about the recent recalll on the ignition switch issue
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g5. While driving at 65 mph, the vehicle stalled without warning and crashed into a guardrail. The air bags did not deploy. A police report was filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the…
Air Bags 37 Read
I was t-boned and the airbag did not deploy. I had numerous indications from the instrument panel to check the airbags since I bought the car in 2009 and at least three times I took the car to two different dealerships and they checked and said they could not find anything wrong
While waiting for the recall parts to come in for my pontiac I was the victim in a head on collision in which my air bags failed to deploy. The speed of impact was between 35-40 mph when I hit head on. At my doctor visit I was diagnosed with severe whiplash in which I had to take time off of work as well. I wanted to…
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g5. The contact stated the vehicle was hit head on by a trailer that had detached from another vehicle. The air bags did not deploy upon impact. The contact suffered neck and back injuries. A police report was taken. The vehicle was destroyed. The vehicle was towed to the contact's…
Fuel System 32 Read
[xxx] on or about 8:50 p.m. On saturday november 28, 2010, my wife [xxx] rochester, ny 14624 [xxx] , was approaching a parking space in front of the dollar tree in south towns plaza, henrietta, ny at approximately 5 mph, coasting to a stop with her feet on neither the gas nor brake pedal, when our 2009 pontiac g5 ny…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac g5. The vehicle caught fire while it was parked and unoccupied at the contact's residence. The fire department extinguished the fire and stated that it originated from the fuel pump area. The manufacturer was notified. The failure mileage was 102,000. Updated 9/18/14*cn updated 2/3/2015
My wife noticed a gasoline smell in the car and after searching for problem found fuel tank is leaking from the top of tank and seeping down onto the frame and other areas. I found that 2007 models were recalled in 2009 for this problem but not newer models
Power Train 13 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac g5. The contact stated that while driving in reverse the gears shifted from reverse to drive on it's own causing the vehicle to accelerate and crash into a building. No one was injured during the crash. The vehicle was towed to a body shop. A complaint was filed with the manufacturer…
The problem seems to be the torque converter engaging/disengaging, repeatedly every 3 to 7 seconds, under steady throttle, going between 35 and 42 mph. It will start the engaging/disengaging "hickups". When this happens, it feels like the engine is missing, or a feeling of it having the "hickups" or "jerking", worse…
I was presented with the unsafe condition of being unable to turn the key in my ignition to shut off the vehicle. I attempted turning the key to the off position and it would not move. I repeatedly shifted the car from park to drive and turned the steering wheel in an attempt to loosen the key. My attempts also…
Suspension 8 Read
Vehicle was being drivin on a two lane highway and all of the sudden the front right fell to the ground and the car spun out and slid into a ditch. The front right ball joint failed and broke apart. My mechanic says he replaces ball joints on these cars at the rate of five cars per month. While being repaired, I had…
Left and right rear axle bushings needed to be replaced in a 2008 pontiac g5 with 34,000 miles. Vehicle would make a loud metal to metal sound when going over speed bumps. Rear shocks were also replaced due to rubber mounting bushings that had cracked and fallen apart
Front suspension bushings on the pontiac g5 and probably chevrolet cobalt wear out rapidly. On my vehicle the driver's side bushing failed at 31,350 miles and the passenger side at 42,850 miles. The factory replacement on the drivers side is starting to fail again at 44,500 miles. Failure is defined as a clunking…
Exterior Lighting 6 Read
Purchased pontiac 2008 g5 coupe brand new in 2008. In 2011 I was informed by a coworker that I was driving into work with my brake lights on all the way. He also mentioned that when it looked like I tried to apply the brakes I would have no brake lights on at all. It seemed that my brake lights worked in reverse. This…
Just after warranty of 3 years with only 44k, the brake light and left turn light of my 2007 pontiac g5 burned. The life of the bulbs cannot be this short, gm should investigate why the bulbs so easy to be burned
2007 pontiac g5. Consumer writes in regards to headlight assembly failure(overheating). *tgw the consumer stated the headlight burned out. She assumed it would be an easy replacement of the bulb. However, the dealer informed her the headlight assembly melted, which in turn caused the light to no longer work
G5 years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Steering | — | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 9 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 13 | 1 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 13 | 1 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 81 |
| Average complaints per series | 4.1 |
| Worst single series | 19 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.1 years |
A model average of 4.1 hides a worst series at 19. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the G5?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2009 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which G5 years are the cleanest?
2010, 2009, 2008 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac G5 have?
329 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2007–2010. Of those, 35 describe a crash and 2 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.