Owners have filed 188 complaints on the Pontiac G8, covering 2008–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (74 reports). Worst years by volume: 2009, 2008; cleanest: 2008, 2009. 8 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 5.2 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac G8
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 188 G8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 74 Read
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…
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…
My vehicle was at a complete stop when we were struck from behind by a vehicle traveling at approximately 50 mph. The air bags did not deploy; instead, I received an "airbag fault" light and audible signal and the car filled with black smoke. Thankfully, no one was injured in the accident. But if it had been a head-on…
Electrical System 24 Read
I am the 2nd owner of this vehicle I bought it with 20,000 miles and now it has 41,000. The car has had 5 recalls since I have owned it which I understand is not a bad thing cause they are fixing the problems,but when the problem keeps existing and gm says "ill give you a year free maintenance for the trouble" come…
Air bag fault occurred and displayed in two places on my dash when I started my car to go to work. I had not driven this car in a month and just a few weeks prior to the last time it was driven I had another airbag recall performed. Took car to the dealership to find out the passenger sensor module had a short circuit…
Unable to remove key from ignition. ..updated 07-05-13
Suspension 23 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. While driving approximately 15 mph, he noticed a loud noise in the front of the vehicle. The contact is in the process of taking the vehicle to the dealer for further inspection and notifying the manufacturer. After further research the contact was able to determine that the lower…
Front suspension: control and caster arms: ball joints
After only 11,000 miles my front right ball joint was bad and a wobble was noticed when braking hard. Dealer had to replace the lca to fix it. This is a safety issue with the premature failure and could eventually cause injuries if a more solid fix isn't completed
Steering 14 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. While driving approximately 10 mph and attempting to stop the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle failed to stop when the brakes were engaged without warning. The vehicle crashed into the rear driver side of another vehicle. A police report was filed and the front…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. While driving approximately 50 mph around a curve, the steering wheel seized and caused the vehicle to crash into a tree. The air bags deployed. A police report was not filed. The contact sustained a cut around the left eye which required medical attention. The vehicle was not…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. While driving at approximately 35 mph, the steering wheel seized and the contact lost control of the vehicle. As a result, the contact crashed into the median strip and the air bags failed to deploy. A police report was filed and there were no injuries reported. The vehicle was…
Power Train 11 Read
Transmission fails to downshift immediately after accelerating, leaving driver in vulnerable position of being slow to merge into traffic as anticipated. This action is a daily occurrence since car purchased
Automatic transmission fails to immediately downshift when accelerating to merge into traffic, leaving car and driver in precarious predicament with today's highway speeds. Transmission also causes a vibration when speed decreases and causes dod to be implemented. Dealer has no solution
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8, with a 6 speed transmission. He can shift from first to second gear only when driving between 15 to 20 mph. Consequently the vehicle would shift from 1st to 4th gear. A technician from the dealer stated that the failure was a normal characteristic for that model type. The pontiac…
Exterior Lighting 6 Read
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…
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. The contact stated that the headlights were difficult to reach and change. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealership where the contact was informed that the bumper and headlight fixtures would have to be taken off to get to the belt. The contact believed the problem was a…
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. While driving 55 mph, the brake lights remained illuminated without the brake pedal being depressed. When the brake pedal was depressed, the brake lights failed to illuminate. When the vehicle was started, an abnormal clicking sound was heard indicating that the brake lights were…
Engine 6 Read
A tapping noise was heard when the engine was running - whether the car was at idle or moving. The tapping would not cease. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where they discovered that the #2 valve lifter had collapsed into the camshaft and damaged the camshaft. All 16 lifters, camshaft and associated gaskets were…
Hello, I am writing to you today to inform you of a common and known issue with all gm ls engines that come with active fuel management (afm) or displacement on demand (dod). The lifters in the engine begin to fail somewhere after 40,000 miles - with this particular issue occurring in my own vehicle at just over…
Right side oil leak from the valve cover, leaking onto the exhaust manifold @20000 miles. Fire concern
Seat Belts 4 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. The contact stated that while driving at approximately 55 mph, she crashed into a ditch resulting in the seat belt separating from the buckle. The vehicle was towed to a dealer where it was diagnosed that the tensioner assembly needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. A…
When car started seat belt warning light for driver illuminates but no concurrent audible chime. Once seat belt is engaged driver warning light goes out
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 15V399000 (seat belts); however, the part to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The…
G8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Air Bags | 6 | 1 | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | — |
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 | 51 |
| Average complaints per series | 3.7 |
| Worst single series | 12 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.2 years |
A model average of 3.7 hides a worst series at 12. 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
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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 G8?
By complaint volume, 2009, 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 G8 years are the cleanest?
2008, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac G8 have?
188 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2008–2009. Of those, 8 describe a crash and 1 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.