Owners have filed 4,937 complaints on the Pontiac G6, covering 2003–2014. The system named most often is Steering (1,946 reports). Worst years by volume: 2006, 2007, 2008; cleanest: 2003, 2004, 2014. 200 reports describe a crash, 66 a fire, 5 a death. On average the car was 6.7 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac G6
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 4,937 G6 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Steering 1,946 Read
My son died in the car
The contact owns a 2010 pontiac g6. The contact stated that the steering wheel locked while driving 35 mph. When the failure occurred the contact lost control of the vehicle, proceeded through the intersection and crashed into a curb. The steering wheel regained normal function after the vehicle was restarted. The…
I am the owner of a 2010 pontiac g6 with a 4-speed automatic. My car was serviced for a recall in for the transmission shifter cable. To cure the fix the recall(12106) called for a retainer to be added to the cable to prevent the breakage from occurring. Recently not even two years later as I was pulling into my…
Electrical System 502 Read
I bought this car from a dealership called drive now in lebanon tennessee. About 2 miles after signing and trading my vehicle for this one the ESC, tc off, check engine, low tire pressure sensor lights all came on on the dash. I took it to them 4 different times now and they stated to me it's an electrical problem and…
In 2010 I purchaced a 2009 pontiac g6. I had it for a couple weeks and my head lights burned out. I then got a new one and it burned out again then the other side did the same thing over and over again. When replacing it I see the socket was burned and melted. To this day I have to replace the bulbs every couple weeks…
Another gm car fire: 2009 pontiac g-6. Received bcm electrical harness recall bulletin 13036 (august 2014) in the mail, 2.5 years after the fact, in spring 2017. Alleged fix was applied on 5/17/17, 4.5 months later, car is totalled due to an electrical fire in engine compartment. Sporadic electrical issues ensued…
Exterior Lighting 384 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g6. The contact stated that the bulb in the headlights continued to blow out because the harness for headlights had melted. The dealer advised the contact that there were no open recalls. The manufacturer did not offer any assistance nor was the vehicle repaired due to the repair cost.…
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…
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…
Power Train 218 Read
I am a insurance adjuster for erie insurance, on 11/28/2008 our insured parked her rental car a 2008 pontiac g6 in front of her home and placed the car in park. She exited the car only to find that the car began to roll away and struck a lamp post in her neighbors yard. The damage to the car was $2097.32 & the damage…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac g6. When the gear shifter stick was placed in the park position, the vehicle independently lunged forward and crashed into a parked vehicle. There were no injuries and a police report was not filed. In addition, the ignition key required force to be removed. The failure recurred…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac g6. While the vehicle was parked with the emergency brake applied, the vehicle rolled away and crashed into a tree stump. The failure recurred numerous times. The vehicle was towed to a dealer, but was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that the gear shifter was replaced five…
Air Bags 212 Read
On 9/14/2010 my wife was involved in an auto accident in our 2010 pontiac g6 gt in which she turned from a private drive into the path of another vehicle. The other vehicle was traveling approximately 35-40 mph, impacting our car in the drivers side front fender, wheel assembly, and drivers door. Both airbags were…
My car rolled over 3 times on the crash the airbags didn't deploy
The contact owns a 2010 pontiac g6. The contact stated that while driving 60 mph and depressing the brakes, the brakes did not engage and the contact crashed into another vehicle. The contact stated that the air bags did not deploy and the vehicle was destroyed. There were no injuries reported. The manufacturer was…
Service Brakes 190 Read
In october 2012, my pontiac g6 'rolled off' from my driveway, resulting in a crash. The car had been parked, and the key removed, at this time. The local dealership contacted, told me that according to their records, this car was not specifically under recall for this problem. Since this problem did occur, I wished to…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac g6. The current and failure mileage were 11000. The contact stated while traveling 60 mph on dry road conditions when applying the brakes they did not connect and failed to stop the vehicle. The vehicle then ran into a side rail
In attempting to slow down on an exit ramp, the brakes locked causing the rear end to fish tail. After trying to maintain control of the car, the car went off the road and struck a cement post where a light pole used to be. The insurance company had to total the car. This also occured about six months ago, when the…
Fuel/propulsion System 169 Read
My car started smelling of gas. Another mechanic noticed a slow gas leak. I took it to the dealer and was told it's the fuel pump. I see that a recall had been done on earlier years of my model but not the 2010. Given that there has been no impact to the vehicle, it appears to be a defect in the car
Recently noticed fuel smell coming from vehicle. Aware of recall done in 2012 for issue with fuel pump I believe this is a related issue
A few months ago I started smelling fuel from my parked vehicle. As time has gone on it has gotten worse, and my car is beginning to lose power and fail to run properly. I have been informed by a mechanic that the smell is coming from a small fuel leak coming from a connector on the fuel pump assembly. This issue…
Fuel System 54 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g6. The contact noticed an abnormal fuel odor in the vehicle. Upon inspection, the contact noticed that the fuel tank was leaking. The dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to NHTSA. The contact referenced NHTSA campaign number:…
I have a 2009 pontiac g6 gt 4d. It is currently registered to my girlfriend VIN#[xxx]. Due to the electrical and technical problems this car has given use so much problems. Especially at night. Well it has an automatic light turn on and I have notes that the back brakes will not turn on unless my foot is on the brake.…
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g6. The contact stated that there were gasoline fuel fumes inside the vehicle. The contact was able to locate a fuel leak from under the vehicle and through the muffler. The vehicle was taken to a private mechanic, who stated that there was a leak on the fuel pressure line that LED to…
G6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 19 | 18 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 30 | 13 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 47 | 21 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 75 | 9 | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 20 | 4 | |
| 2004 | Service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2003 | Exterior Lighting | — | — |
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 | 625 |
| Average complaints per series | 7.9 |
| Worst single series | 73 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.7 years |
A model average of 7.9 hides a worst series at 73. 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
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 G6?
By complaint volume, 2006, 2007, 2008 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 G6 years are the cleanest?
2003, 2004, 2014 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac G6 have?
4,937 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2003–2014. Of those, 200 describe a crash and 66 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.