2009 Pontiac G8 Problems, Complaints & Recalls
- Compared with other G8 years
- Not enough data 1st of 3 for complaints
- Safety recalls
- 4 recalls: check your VIN
- NHTSA crash rating
- Not rated
Owners have filed 144 complaints with NHTSA about the 2009 Pontiac G8. That is the most of any G8 model year in the database (3 years). The most reported problem area is air bags (69 complaints, 48%), typically at around 56,000 miles. Complaints mention 6 crashes, 1 fire, 8 injuries. There are 4 safety recalls covering this model year.
- 144owner complaints
- 4safety recalls
- 0NHTSA investigations
- 6complaints mentioning a crash
Complaints are unverified owner reports and are not adjusted for sales volume.
Most common 2009 Pontiac G8 problems
Complaints grouped by the part of the car owners reported, with the median mileage when the problem happened.
| Problem area | Complaints | Share | Median miles | Owners mention most | Typical repair cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Bags problems | 69 | 48% | 56,000 | “air bag fault” (28%) | $1,250 |
| Electrical System | 20 | 14% | 35,600 | — | — |
| Suspension | 20 | 14% | 27,500 | — | — |
| Power Train | 9 | 6% | 17,025 | — | — |
| Exterior Lighting | 7 | 5% | 51,000 | — | — |
| Electronic Stability Control (esc) | 6 | 4% | 46,325 | — | — |
| Service Brakes | 6 | 4% | 75,000 | — | — |
| Steering | 6 | 4% | 14,034 | — | — |
| Tires | 6 | 4% | 8,406 | — | — |
| Seats | 5 | 3% | 41,361 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Gasoline | 4 | 3% | 9,865 | — | — |
| Seat Belts | 4 | 3% | 83,500 | — | — |
| Structure | 4 | 3% | 71,000 | — | — |
| Engine | 3 | 2% | 35,900 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Hydraulic | 3 | 2% | 36,000 | — | — |
| Unknown or Other | 2 | 1% | 38,500 | — | — |
| Vehicle Speed Control | 2 | 1% | 50,000 | — | — |
| Wheels | 2 | 1% | 20 | — | — |
| Fuel System, Other | 1 | 1% | 722 | — | — |
| Service Brakes, Air | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
| Traction Control System | 1 | 1% | 41,000 | — | — |
| Visibility/wiper | 1 | 1% | — | — | — |
One complaint can list several problem areas, so shares can add up to more than 100%.
Complaints by year received
2009 Pontiac G8 recalls (4)
Tap a recall to see the problem, the risk and the fix.
Seat belts
Problem: 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, 2016. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 or Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 15206.
Electrical system:ignition
Problem: 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 December 31, 2014. The recall began on February 4, 2015. Owners may contact Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020 and Pontiac customer service at 1-800-762-2737. GM's number for this recall is 14445. Note: Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that drivers adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.
Air bags:frontal:sensor/control module-inactive
Problem: 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.
Tires:pressure monitoring and regulating systems; service brakes, air:antilock:control unit/module
Problem: 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 by the standard.
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.
To see whether a specific car still has an open recall, enter its VIN on NHTSA's official recall lookup. You can also decode a VIN here.
Recent owner reports
Short excerpts of the latest complaints filed with NHTSA, with personal details removed. Full reports can be searched on NHTSA.gov.
7/17/21 (about 94500 miles) - While driving in heavy rain on a congested highway, with my windshield wipers turned on (of course), the wipers suddenly stopped working. This could have easily killed me and my family. The wipers would not turn back on, no matter what I did. At a rest stop that…
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. The contact stated that upon starting the vehicle, he noticed that the airbag warning light was illuminated. The contact stated that the airbag warning light remained illuminated. The dealer and the manufacturer were not notified of the failure. The vehicle was…
Was leaving for a road trip and the rear passenger door would not latch when closed. We were an hour from home, so I had to use a bungee cord to hold the door closed for the drive back. My son had to sit in the middle seat. That door is rarely used. I have ordered the part and it should be here…
The contact owns a 2009 PONTIAC G8. The contact stated that at start-up, the airbag default warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact proceeded to drive and noticed that the light was no longer on the instrument panel. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of…
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. The contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that the front passengerâs side airbag sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. Upon investigation…
Other Pontiac G8 years
See all Pontiac G8 problems by year, every Pontiac model, or the VIN decoder.
Similar Pontiac models
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Frequently asked questions
What are the most common problems with the 2009 Pontiac G8?
Owners most often report air bags, electrical system, suspension problems. The top one, air bags, accounts for 69 complaints.
Was there a recall on the 2009 Pontiac G8?
Yes, 4 safety recalls. Enter your VIN at NHTSA.gov to check whether the repairs were done on your car.
Was the 2009 Pontiac G8 a good year?
Complaint data can't fully answer that, because counts aren't adjusted for sales. Compared with other G8 model years, the 2009 has too little data to compare. Always get a pre-purchase inspection and check the VIN for open recalls.