Owners have filed 649 complaints on the Pontiac Solstice, covering 2006–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (441 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2006, 2008; cleanest: 2009, 2008, 2006. 26 reports describe a crash, 3 a fire. On average the car was 7.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Solstice
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 649 Solstice complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 441 Read
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac solstice. The contact stated that while traveling approximately 10 mph, another vehicle crashed head on into the contact. Upon impact, the air bags failed to deploy. The driver of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac solstice. The contact stated that while driving 10 mph, another vehicle crashed head-on into the contact's vehicle and the air bags failed to deploy. The contact mentioned that after the crash the air bag warning light illuminated. The driver from the other vehicle was taken to a…
Rear ended a vehicle, totaled car, airbags failed to deploy, broke ankle and heel
Electrical System 62 Read
The blower fan did not come on when I tried to use it with the air conditioning. I smelled a burning smell, and turned the fan to the off position. Fortunately, I was in the driveway at the time of attempting to turn on the fan. Upon having it inspected and removed, it had an obvious burned area. When I investigated…
Letter from senator brown on behalf of constituents re gm ignition claims. *smd 2006 pontiac solstice. The consumer stated in august 2006, she experienced an incident involving the ignition switch where the keys locked up in the auxiliary position rendering which caused the key to become stuck in the ignition. In…
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…
Power Train 51 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac solstice. The contact received a recall notice in december of 2007 regarding the power train:axle assembly:axle shaft:seal. In february of 2008, she went to the dealer and had the vehicle repaired. In march of 2008, while driving 58 mph in wet conditions, the wheels suddenly locked. The…
I was driving (pontiac solstice 2007)and the car went out of control. The front end had some damage to the driver's side after coming in contact with a cement barrier. I contacted pontiac customer assistance to report the accident. Gm sent an investigator to review the car. He found nothing wrong with the car.…
Vehicle was parked in a private driveway on an incline and left with engine off, parking brake engaged and in 1st gear. Vehicle was found after it rolled down the incline approximately 50 feet and was stopped by having run into a group of 7 foot height hedges. The vehicle was still in first gear with the emergency…
Service Brakes 33 Read
On two separate occasions (the second date was about 2 months ago), I have had to make very hard stops at freeway speeds. Both times, the car came to a stop with the anti-lock brakes functioning properly (brake pedal vibrations indicating correct modulation). Once the car comes to a complete stop however, the brakes…
After a hard brake on the highway, the car stopped fine with the ABS brakes kicking in as needed. However, after the car came to a complete stop, we started to move forward, and the brakes would no longer function properly. As it came time to stop again, I pressed the brake to the floor, and nothing happened. I then…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac solstice. While driving at approximately 20 mph and attempting to stop, the brakes failed and caused the vehicle to crash into the rear of a second vehicle. A police report was not filed and no injuries were reported. The vehicle was taken to an independent brake specialist who was…
Structure 11 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac solstice. While driving 40 mph with a boat in tow, the vehicle began to shake, the a-frame failed, and the main frame collapsed. The contact lost control and the boat detached from the vehicle. The vehicle came to a stop when it crashed into a bridge. There were no injuries. The…
The contact's spouse owns a 2006 pontiac solstice. While driving approximately 60 mph, the vehicle was struck by a tractor trailer on the front driver's side door and the convertible top. Since the crash, the convertible top does not go into place and lock properly. The top has released and flown backwards without…
Interior door latch on driver's side does not open latch. Cheap parts components for an essential part on the car is what gm is all about. Car out of warranty
Engine 8 Read
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac solstice. The contact stated the air intake manifold malfunctioned causing the vehicle to overheat. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer who could not remedy the intake manifold due to the lack of parts. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and informed the contact that…
My vehicle recently stopped working. They repair shop (wilkins buick--richie hwy, glen burnie, md)says the problem stems from the engine. I am concerned the repair shop knows that the problem is a result of the poor build/work from the gm manufacturer, and is unwilling to repair for free. Is there any recourse--can I…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac solstice. The contact stated that he received a manufacturer's recall notification letter pertaiing to the engine and the dealer informed him that the part needed was unavailable. The contact stated that he was very frustrated. The contact had not experienced a failure
Suspension 6 Read
My wife was driving down a straight road about a mile from our home and the road curved but the car didn't and she hit a sign then a pine tree that stopped her. There were no skid marks and the air bag did not deploy. She was hospitalized and the car was totaled. We never could figure out what happened until the…
The contact owns a 2006 pontiac solstice. While driving 70 mph, the contact changed lanes to the center lane and the vehicle began to skid because the rear wheels lost all traction; because of the failure, the front axle cracked. The contact believed the failure to be because of a defective rear differential. The…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac solstice. The contact stated that he opened the front driver's door and noticed that the handle was rusted. The contact also stated that the interior door handle on the passenger side detached from the door panel. The vehicle was taken to the dealer. The dealer stated that they had to…
Engine And Engine Cooling 4 Read
Vehicle overheats; passenger floor inner side gets very hot, coolant light on panel comes on and leaks coolant. Vehicle has been taken to the dealer (benitez auto in caguas puerto rico) but they claim nothing is wrong with the vehicle. The vehicle has done this several times, on november 18, 2011 coolant light came on…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac solstice. That contact stated that the vehicle was leaking coolant. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where it was diagnosed that coolant leaked into the transmission due to the radiator that needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred and the gears were…
In march, 2007, my 2006 pontiac solstice had a catastrophic catalytic converter failure without warning. I was traveling on the freeway at 65mph one second, and the next second the car slowed to 30mph without any warning (no warning lights, no prior engine power issue). I was able to get the car to my dealer at a…
Solstice 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 | — | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 6 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 11 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 9 | 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 | 117 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.5 |
| Worst single series | 23 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 7.3 years |
A model average of 5.5 hides a worst series at 23. 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 Solstice?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2006, 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 Solstice years are the cleanest?
2009, 2008, 2006 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac Solstice have?
649 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2006–2009. Of those, 26 describe a crash and 3 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.