NHTSA — Engine And Engine Cooling: Engine Problems

CarComplaints.com Seal Of Avoid Like The Plague

CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005 Pontiac G6 has major problems with two areas fairly critical to the act of driving... steering & safety.

The 2005 G6 has a major defect trend with electronic power-assisted steering failure. The power steering cuts out while driving, making it extremely difficult to steer. G6 owners typically report spending $600 - $1,200+ to fix the problem, replacing either the entire steering column or the power assist motor.

In March 2010, GM recalled 1.3 million vehicles for this exact problem "...after receiving 1,100 complaints of power steering failures." However the 2005 G6 wasn't included in that recall.

In July 2010, GM issued a "Special Coverage Adjustment" — TSB #10183 — covering "certain" (not all) 2005, 2006 & 2008 Pontiac G6's for power steering problems, up to 10 years/100k miles.

As of early 2013 the NHTSA had 300+ steering complaints on file for the 2005 G6, with 12 crashes & 4 injuries. The NHTSA closed their initial investigation in 2007, having determined that losing your power steering going over 15-20 mph isn't a big deal & that most crashes occurred at slow speeds, so not a safety risk. Ridiculous? Yep, we think so too.

The 2005 G6 also has an expensive problem with "popping" or "clunking" noises when turning, & that issue extends to newer model years as well.

Factor in the 2005 Pontiac G6's poor side impact protection & you end up with a vehicle you should steer clear of.

5.2

fairly significant
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
18,824 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2005 Pontiac G6 engine problems

engine problem

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2005 Pontiac G6 Owner Comments

problem #3

Jun 052008

G6

  • 47,200 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I bought my car on June 2, 2008, when we left the dealership we could smell oil burning, we thought they just overfilled the fluids, on Thursday, June 5th, 2008 while going to lunch, my transmission gave out in my car, it went back to the dealership for eleven (11) days while they replaced the transmission. When we got it back from the transmission repair the air conditioner was no longer working and the brakes were squealing. We took it back to the garage a week and a half later for this and they said everything was fine. In the beginning of August, we noticed that the oil kept going low. On August 14th, 2008 we had to take it back to the garage because there was horrendous, mass amount of oil collecting under the motor. The garage kept my car again, because the rear main crank shaft seal went in the engine. They replaced the rear main crank shaft seal, it was in the garage until August 21, 2008, on this day when we picked the car up, we had to take it right back to the garage because it was hesitating to start and the transmission was shifting hard. The garage determined that wires were unplugged on the engine. On, September 5th while leaving work the car broke down on me again, this time the engine blew in the car. The car was in the garage until September 17th, 2008, while they replaced the engine. So in the few months that I have owned the car it has been in the garage for almost a month getting repair after repair done to it.

- Nanty Glo, PA, USA

problem #2

Jan 102005

G6 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 100 miles
I purchased my 2005 Pontiac G6 Jan. 10, 2005. This car is having issues starting first thing. It will either over start like I held the ignition too long or it will keep trying to start once it has been started. In both cases, the engine will die. I have been notifying the dealership about this issue since the car was less than a month old. Each time, it was brought into the dealership, ran on the computer, and explained to me that there was nothing wrong and the technicians couldn't re-create the issue. I called gmac about the issue and they had their own technician come out. Their technician told me that a certain valve needed to be replaced and once it was fixed, it would solve all issues. Part was installed and to this day, the car still is overstarting. I stated 700 failures because this happens every time I start the car in the morning.

- Austin, TX, USA

problem #1

Jul 252006

G6 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 9,172 miles
The contact stated that the vehicles power steering column locks up while driving 45 mph or less. The warning sign prior to failure is the steering would pull to the left under normal road conditions. The vehicle was taken into the dealers but they were unable to duplicate the problem. The dealers replaced the steering column. The vehicle presented further problems with the steering column. The vehicle was taken back tot he dealer and they replaced the shaft and motor assembly. The contact called the manufacturer and file a complaint with a representative. Updated 8/21/2006 - the harmonic balancer was not seated properly.

- Stockton, CA, USA

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