The Pontiac G8 has 4 NHTSA recall campaigns on record covering 2008–2009. On average a defect was admitted 3.75 years after the car was built, the slowest took 7 years. The most recalled system is Seat Belts (1 campaigns). Owners also filed 188 complaints on this model — see what breaks.
What was recalled on the Pontiac G8
Grouped by system. Open any row for the campaigns themselves — what failed, what it risks and how the dealer fixes it, straight from the NHTSA filing.
Seat Belts 1 Read
What's wrong. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to October 22, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking
Risk. If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat belt tensioner assembly which includes the steel cable, free of charge. These replacement parts reposition the tensioner cable out of the path of entry into the vehicle and uses a more flexible cable, set at a more upright angle. The recall began on July 5,…
What's wrong. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to October 22, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the flexible steel cables that connect the seat belts to the vehicle at the outside of the driver seat and the front passenger seat may be bent from being sat on while entering the vehicle. This repeated bending may result in the cable breaking
Risk. If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the seat belt tensioner assembly which includes the steel cable, free of charge. These replacement parts reposition the tensioner cable out of the path of entry into the vehicle and uses a more flexible cable, set at a more upright angle. The recall began on July 5,…
Electrical System 1 Read
What's wrong. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to December 6, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the driver may accidentally hit the ignition key with their knee, unintentionally knocking the key out of the run position, turning off the engine
Risk. If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position could cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the key blade from the original flip key/RKE transmitter assemblies, and cut and fit a revised key blade and housing assembly, in which the blade has been indexed by 90 degrees, to the original RKE transmitter assembly. GM issued an interim notification to owners on…
What's wrong. General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2011-2013 Chevrolet Caprice vehicles manufactured October 15, 2010, to December 6, 2013, and 2008-2009 Pontiac G8 vehicles manufactured July 25, 2007, to February 18, 2009. In the affected vehicles, the driver may accidentally hit the ignition key with their knee, unintentionally knocking the key out of the run position, turning off the engine
Risk. If the key is not in the run position, the air bags may not deploy if the vehicle is involved in a crash, increasing the risk of injury. Additionally, a key knocked out of the run position could cause loss of engine power, power steering, and power braking, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash
Fix. GM will notify owners, and dealers will remove the key blade from the original flip key/RKE transmitter assemblies, and cut and fit a revised key blade and housing assembly, in which the blade has been indexed by 90 degrees, to the original RKE transmitter assembly. GM issued an interim notification to owners on…
Air Bags 1 Read
What's wrong. General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 pontiac g8 vehicles manufactured from november 2, 2007 through january 22, 2009. A 5th percentile female anthropomorphic test device (atd) in a 30 mph frontal barrier test exceeded the head injury criteria (hic) requirements of the standard. With the front passenger seat positioned full forward, the seat position sensor will cause a 30 milliseconds deployment delay between the first and second stages of the dual-stage frontal passenger air bag
Risk. In the event of a crash, this delay may result in increased head injury to certain front seat occupants
Fix. Gm dealers will reprogram the sensing and diagnostic module free of charge. The safety recall began on november 30, 2011. Owners may contact pontiac at 1-800-620-7668
What's wrong. General motors (gm) is recalling certain model year 2008-2009 pontiac g8 vehicles manufactured from november 2, 2007 through january 22, 2009. A 5th percentile female anthropomorphic test device (atd) in a 30 mph frontal barrier test exceeded the head injury criteria (hic) requirements of the standard. With the front passenger seat positioned full forward, the seat position sensor will cause a 30 milliseconds deployment delay between the first and second stages of the dual-stage frontal passenger air bag
Risk. In the event of a crash, this delay may result in increased head injury to certain front seat occupants
Fix. Gm dealers will reprogram the sensing and diagnostic module free of charge. The safety recall began on november 30, 2011. Owners may contact pontiac at 1-800-620-7668
Service Brakes, Air 1 Read
What's wrong. Gm is recalling 35,038 my 2008-2009 pontiac g8 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment" and federal motor vehicles safety standard no. 138, "tire pressure monitoring systems". The brake pedal position switch may have been incorrectly programmed. With this condition, the brake lamps may be continually illuminated and fail to warn a following driver when the vehicle is braking. Also certain vehicles may have incorrect values programmed into the tire pressure monitoring system that will not illuminate the low tire pressure telltale until tire pressure falls below values required…
Risk. Inappropriate, non-standard lights could increase the risk of a crash or driving on a significantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure
Fix. Dealers will reprogram the brake position sensor and the remote control door lock receiver with the correct values free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before june 5, 2009. Owners may contact gm pontiac at 1-800-620-7668
What's wrong. Gm is recalling 35,038 my 2008-2009 pontiac g8 vehicles for failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard no. 108, "lamps, reflective devices, and associated equipment" and federal motor vehicles safety standard no. 138, "tire pressure monitoring systems". The brake pedal position switch may have been incorrectly programmed. With this condition, the brake lamps may be continually illuminated and fail to warn a following driver when the vehicle is braking. Also certain vehicles may have incorrect values programmed into the tire pressure monitoring system that will not illuminate the low tire pressure telltale until tire pressure falls below values required…
Risk. Inappropriate, non-standard lights could increase the risk of a crash or driving on a significantly under-inflated tire causes the tire to overheat and can lead to tire failure
Fix. Dealers will reprogram the brake position sensor and the remote control door lock receiver with the correct values free of charge. The recall is expected to begin on or before june 5, 2009. Owners may contact gm pontiac at 1-800-620-7668
How long a defect stays unadmitted
Campaign numbers encode the year of the announcement, so each recall on this model can be dated against the car it applies to.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Average gap before admission | 3.75 years |
| Slowest campaign | 7 years |
| Admitted 5+ years later | 50% |
| Campaigns on record | 4 |
Which G8 years were recalled most
Campaigns per model year. A year with more campaigns is not automatically worse — it may simply have sold in far greater numbers.
| Model year | Campaigns | Most recalled system |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Service Brakes, Air | |
| 2008 | Service Brakes, Air |
Check your own car
A campaign applies to a range of production, not to every car of the model. The only way to know whether yours is affected — and whether the repair was already done — is by VIN.
| Step | What you get |
|---|---|
| Enter the VIN above | Open campaigns for that exact vehicle, straight from NHTSA |
| Check the repair status | Whether the free fix has already been carried out on this car |
| Book at any franchised dealer | Recall work is free regardless of age, mileage or owner |
Go deeper
A campaign covers a production range. Yours is one car.
- Check whether this exact VIN is affected — and whether the fix was done
- Alerts if a new campaign lands on a car in your garage
- Full research report as a PDF you can hand to a mechanic
- Decode a whole list of VINs at once
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
Frequently asked questions
How many recalls does the Pontiac G8 have?
4 NHTSA campaigns on record, covering 2008–2009. Not every campaign applies to every car — coverage is by production range, so check your VIN.
Is recall work free?
Yes. Safety recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer regardless of the car's age, mileage or how many owners it has had. That is a federal requirement, not a courtesy.
How do I know if my G8 still has an open recall?
Enter its VIN above. We show campaigns that apply to that exact vehicle and whether the repair has already been recorded as done.
Why did a defect take years to be recalled?
On this model the average gap between the car being built and the defect being admitted is 3.75 years, and the slowest campaign came 7 years later. Defects usually surface as they accumulate in the field: complaints pile up, an investigation opens, and only then is a campaign issued.