Owners have filed 487 complaints on the Pontiac Torrent, covering 2006–2009. The system named most often is Air Bags (88 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2006, 2008; cleanest: 2009, 2008, 2006. 16 reports describe a crash, 12 a fire. On average the car was 6.6 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Torrent
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 487 Torrent complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Air Bags 88 Read
The contact owns a 2009 pontiac torrent. While driving 5 mph, another vehicle crashed into the driver side door of the contact's vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained back injuries and the driver of the other vehicle sustained unknown injuries. A police report was filed and medical attention was…
The contact's friend owed a 2008 Pontiac Torrent. The contact stated while the owner was driving at an unknown speed when he fell asleep and rear-ended a semi-truck. The contact was seated at the front passenger side and the air bag did not deploy but the front driver side air bag did deploy. The contact stated the…
The contact owns a 2007 pontiac torque. The contact was driving approximately 50 mph and crashed into a cement wall. The air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was destroyed. A police report was filed. The vehicle was towed to an independent towing company. The contact injured her right hand and neck. The manufacturer…
Fuel/propulsion System 69 Read
Noticed a strong gas smell looked underneath car and realized there is a gas leak coming from the gas tank area. Significant amount of gas pouring out . As I have read on other year models having the same problem!
When filling up car with gas, gas was profusely leaking from the bottom of the car. Took it to a mechanic who replaced the fuel pump 6 months prior. Was told that there was a defect in the fuel neck and pontiac is aware of the issue, and has a new 'kit' that can be installed on cars to fix the problem. However, I was…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac torrent. The contact noticed a strong odor of fuel inside the cabin. The failure started approximately 21 days ago when the contact noticed fuel leaking from the rear passenger side of the vehicle. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic…
Electrical System 62 Read
200 pontiac torrent ..snow melted and the water leaked into the fuse box and imitated a fire .it shorted out the system caught fire I. Which fire guard did not protect and the car was totally destroyed .it burned right thru the windshield into the inside of dash .firemen were called .vehicle is destroyed.vehicle was…
Airbag light is on and off even when my sister who is approx. 140lbs sitting in psgr seat. This was recalled for 2007 but should add 2008. This vehicle was only built as limited edition between 2007 and 2008. We had a rear end and front end collision and airbags did not deploy when car was total in back end. We were…
2006 pontiac torrent driver airbag did not deploy during rear collision. Wires in drivers door were broken which seems to be common problem with this model. Not sure if these wires control airbag or not but power windows and doors stopped working, various dash lights go on and off at various times. The wiring harness…
Steering 58 Read
I was on the freeway when the steering wheel went out. I tried to pull off the rode but ran into a ditch and damaged one of my tires. I could not turn the wheel it was very hard to steer, I made it to a exit and found a local auto zone. I was informed it was electric and the part had to be purchased from the dealer. I…
While driving my stabitrak light came on causing all tires to lock up. I was unable to steer vehicle safely, steering wheel was nearly impossible to turn. All 4 brakes locked up and loud grinding noise could be heard. Vehicle top speed dropped abruptly to 11 mph while traveling on busy interstate. Vehicle started…
On 11/5/17 my 2007 pontiac steering locked and I was in a major car crash. The steering locked as I tried to leave a gas station after giving a stranded person a jump. I turned car off and back on and it was fine. Proceeded home and got on the highway, after driving about 45 minutes the steering locked again as I was…
Fuel System 33 Read
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac Torrent. The contact stated that after parking the vehicle, the odor of fuel was present. Upon inspection, it was discovered that a crack was present on the top of the fuel tank causing fuel to leak onto the ground. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The local dealer was…
Reported very sluggish acceleration "chugging" between 45-65 mph for the last year. No engine light. Took to dealer and they "couldn't recreate it" so nothing done
Car refused to accelerate when I tried to get out of a dangerous situation. Had to floor the accelerator and engine light lit up for a few minutes only. Jerking (lack of acceleration) continued until called gm ho and connected with my dealer under "special coverage." had to take a mechanic on the road and duplicate to…
Visibility 28 Read
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac torrent. While driving 50 mph, there was a burning insulation smell and when turning on the rear windshield wiper they failed to function. The contact then drove onto the emergency lane and checked the fuse which was burned out. The fuse was replaced again and the failure occurred. The…
While traveling down the road I tried to activate the rear wiper to clean the rear window. But the windshield wiper would not move and a horrendous noise came from the rear windshield wiper motor. The noise would not go away so I had to pull into a driveway to see if I could get it to stop. I had to manually push the…
2006 pontiac torrent - 500 miles on car - ambient temp 35 degrees f - defroster on high for approximately 10 minutes - vehicle equipped with auto dim rvm with temp and compass - mirror attach to windshield failed - mirror shot toward passenger compartment only restrained by wire harness - windshield delaminated at…
Service Brakes 18 Read
While driving on city streets, I tried to slow down to make a turn. The brakes failed to respond in a normal manner. As I pushed on the brake pedal, at first there was no response as if the brakes had not been applied. The car continued moving at the same speed. As I continued to push down on the brake pedal, the car…
Pontiac torrent(2007 yr only) right rear flexible brake line hose to rr disc brake caliper has over a 100 degree bend with no play. As wheel assembly hits bumps this hose will fail in time causing rear brake failure. I advised gm service manager on 11/22/06 and he was going to advise gm engineering,w/on line report
During heavy rain while driving on the highway, the ABS system engaged without any use of the brakes causing the car to pull from side to side as the ABS system applied alternating brakes. This repeated at least 4 times during a 1.5 to 2 hour highway drive. Once off the highway at a lower speed the problem did not…
Engine 17 Read
Vehicle with around 100k. Traction control has been disabled for about two years for no reason. Goes off sporadically. Now vehicle is overheating for no reason. I've been told that there are no indications of headgasket. Oil is clean, overflow is full, no leaks to be seen. Overheats mostly when standing idle. Vehicle…
The contact owns a 2008 pontiac torrent. While driving 35 mph, the check engine warning light and reduced engine power warning light illuminated. The vehicle stalled and was unable to be restarted. The failure recurred twice. The vehicle was towed to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired.…
I had a code p0008 for camshaft positioning sensor on first incident and timing chains were replaced in january 2012. I had approximately 52,465 miles on the car. I had second code p0008 in may 2014 with approximately 70,759 miles on the car. The timing chains were stretched and had to be replaced. I now have the code…
Torrent 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 | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 2 | 2 | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 6 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 7 | 8 |
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 | 91 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.4 |
| Worst single series | 20 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.6 years |
A model average of 5.4 hides a worst series at 20. 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 Torrent?
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 Torrent 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 Torrent have?
487 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2006–2009. Of those, 16 describe a crash and 12 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.