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NHTSA — Steering Problems

2006 Pontiac G6 (Page 1 of 58)

CarComplaints.com Seal Of Avoid Like The Plague

CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2006 Pontiac G6 has major problems with two areas fairly critical to the act of driving... steering & safety.

The 2006 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 2006 G6 wasn't included in that recall.

In July 2010, GM issued a "Special Coverage Adjustment" â€” TSB #10183 â€” covering "certain" (not all) 2005, 2006 & 2008 Pontiac G6's for this power steering issue, up to 10 years/100k miles. However a large number of 2006 G6 owners have reported they were not covered by this campaign, based on VIN#.

As of late 2013 the NHTSA had well over 700 steering complaints on file for the 2006 G6, with 21 crashes & 12 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 2006 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 2006 Pontiac G6's poor side impact protection & you end up with a vehicle you should steer clear of.

10.0

really awful

Crashes / Fires:: 53 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:: 30 / 1
Average Mileage:: 75,280 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.

2006 Pontiac G6 steering problems

steering problem

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2006 Pontiac G6 Owner Comments (Page 1 of 58)

problem #1142

Apr 082024

G6

miles

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

sudden loss of power steering and leaks

- Farmington, MO, USA

problem #1141

Feb 292024

G6

miles

Power steering torque sensor. My wife was picking up my daughter and the power steering light came on the display and she couldn't steer got scared almost crashed. When the car is at idle the wheel just shakes.

- South Milwaukee, WI, USA

problem #1140

Feb 152024

G6

miles

When I was driving the power steering went completely out, almost causing me to wreck-?? turned car off and on, it was working fine the boom happened again. I notice reading previous recalls this has been an issue in the past

- Des Moines , IA, USA

problem #1139

Feb 072024

G6

89,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated while driving 10 MPH and pulling into a parking space, the steering wheel became stiff and failed to turn. The power steering failure message was displayed. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, where it was diagnosed that the failure was due to the electric steering assist. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was contacted, and the contact was informed that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering) but no assistance was provided. The failure mileage was approximately 89,000.

- Sedalia, MO, USA

problem #1138

Dec 312023

G6

184,000 miles

The contact owned a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving approximately 35 MPH, the power steering suddenly failed causing the driver to lose control of the steering and crash into a utility pole. During crash, the utility pole was damaged and the driver's air bag did deploy as intended. No injuries were reported and a police report was taken at the scene. The vehicle was destroyed and towed to an undisclosed location. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was contacted and informed that the VIN was not included in the NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V054000(Steering). The contact indicated that the vehicle had experienced that same failure listed in the recall. The local dealer was not contacted. The failure mileage was 184,000.

- Newport, PA, USA

problem #1137

Dec 012023

G6

miles

The power steering intermittently goes out even after the recall repair. This caused an accident on 12/1/23

- Whitewater, WI, USA

problem #1136

Sep 062023

G6

miles

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

What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request" Power steering pump/Module, Break light, and Head lights How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? Power steering/module went out while driving and almost cause an accident. The break and head light have gone out shortly after changing them and caused me to receive a Warning ticket. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? No but I can take it in to the nearest dealership to have a report made. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? Police Were there any warning lamps, messages or other symptoms of the problem prior to the failure, and when did they first appear" the error for the power steering/module came on as it was failing. no head light or break light warning.

- Huntington, IN, USA

problem #1135

Sep 022023

G6

miles

On several occasions my steering has went out and i recieved a power steering notice on my radio.The car is extremely difficult to steer making it dangerous

- Des Moines, IA, USA

problem #1134

Jun 012023

G6

miles

Unknown

- Greenville, NC, USA

problem #1133

Oct 122022

G6

miles

Sometimes when I get in the car my power steering don-??t work an it says power steering on the radio screen an my wheel is hard to turn like there-??s no power steering then sometimes when I get in it works just fine

- East Prairie, MO, USA

problem #1132

Apr 112023

G6

180,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated while driving 30 MPH, the vehicle started shaking and the steering wheel became stiff without warning. The contact pulled over and turned off the vehicle. The contact restarted the vehicle however, the steering wheel remained stiff. The contact was able to drive the vehicle back to the residence. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the dealer stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering) and provided no further assistance. The manufacturer was contacted, and the manufacturer stated that the vehicle needed to be taken to the dealer for assistance. The failure mileage was 180,000.

- Sioux Falls, SD, USA

problem #1131

Mar 232023

G6

miles

Sometimes when I start my car, my power steering doesn-??t engage and I have to turn my car off and turn it back on for power steering to engage. My car is currently pulling heavily to the driver side and when I am idling, my steering wheel is shaking and rocking. Sometimes when I am driving down the road my car will jerk to one side or the other as my wheel will jerk it that way. And there-??s been a couple of times as I-??m turning or just driving and my power steering will cut out and I have to yank the car to the side.

- Casa Grande, AZ, USA

problem #1130

Mar 292023

G6

miles

While driving the car the electrical power steering randomly goes out often during a turn making it extremely hard to complete a turn and avoid hitting something the part has had a recall on other pontiac g6 cars and the electrical power steering goes out without warning it happens suddenly and immediately while driving.

- Risingsun, OH, USA

problem #1129

Mar 172023

G6

188,000 miles

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated while driving 55 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering functionality, nearly causing the contact to crash into a ditch. The power steering warning light was illuminated. The contact decelerated and veered to the side of the road. The contact turned off the vehicle and inspected under the hood. The contact became aware that the power steering was electric, and he verified the fuses were in good condition. The contact stated upon restarting the vehicle, the vehicle operated as needed; however, the failure reoccurred after driving several miles. The local dealer was contacted and informed the contact that the vehicle was previously included in an unknown power steering failure recall; however, the recall had expired, and the parts had been discontinued. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 188,000.

- Wykoff, MN, USA

problem #1128

Feb 012023

G6

miles

I was pulling into interstate I-94 and my electric power steering failed. Vehicle was steerable with much effort. Caused veering across center line with failure no warning message until failure. GM dealership said part had already been replaced, and wouldn't warranty repair.

- Fergus Falls, MN, USA

problem #1127

Feb 102023

G6

miles

Power steering warning on radio, never once did a warning light on dash come up. This started at about 193,000 miles. Turning over car constantly to get my power steering to start. About a month after it just went out while driving approximately 40 mph. Kept pulling over to restart car, never turned back on. Potential wreck trying to turn to get into work parking lot when the car wouldn-??t turn. Dealerships claim my car was fixed already years ago, however this problem with the steering started again apparently at about 193,000 miles. The steering wheel started jerking and shaking when the car was idle around the same time the power steering message came across the radio. The car would also randomly lock my horn, didn-??t realize it could do that until I couldn-??t honk when someone was merging into me.

- Raymore, MO, USA

problem #1126

Jan 122023

G6

miles

The power steering in my vehicle quit working. Sometimes it will work when I start the car and then it just goes out randomly. I took it to the dealership and they said it's a power steering assist motor and a power steering torque sensor. When I looked it up it seems there was a recall for the exact same thing in this type of car but there are none associated w/ my vin #. I called GM & they said it was serviced already due to a recall for the same issue & any further issues are my own expense. Power steering not working randomly is definitely a safety issue. There are only about 65,000 miles on the vehicle.

- Arvada, CO, USA

problem #1125

Jan 042023

G6

miles

I went to the dealer to fix a power steering issue where the vehicle becomes dangerous to drive due to the power steering randomly shutting off. There is a recall associated with this and someone who had the vehicle before me may have replaced the steering column unaware of the recall. They may have replaced it with a vehicle from the junk yard that never went in for the recall on the electronic steering assist. The dealer, Friendly Chevrolet of Dallas-tx, out me and all who drives the vehicle at risk due to lacking the adult reasoning skills to comprehend that just because the steering column was replaced that doesn't 100% correlate to the safety recall being fixed. The vehicle is dangerous and the incompetence in GM's hiring practices for service technicians has put lives at risk. GM should have hiring practices to weed out any employee that stupid with simple pre-employment logic questions included in their pre-employment screening and having such questions be highly impactful in regards to to being offered employment. For a mistake this dangerous GM and all employees associated with the hiring of the 'service technician'/mechanic should be fired along with all customer service agents who are employed by GM and failed to properly address such a dangerous issue.

- Dallas, TX, USA

problem #1124

Oct 042022

G6

miles

Steering wheel just keeps shaking real bad and I the power steering goes in and out all the time

- South Bend, IN, USA

problem #1123

Sep 092022

G6 6-cyl

200,000 miles

The contact's daughter owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist. The contact stated that an automated voice feature alerted his daughter that the power steering had failed. His daughter managed to drive the vehicle home and upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact stated that the power steering resumed normal operation. The contact called the dealer and was informed that NHTSA Campaign Number: 15V064000 (Steering) had been closed for the vehicle. The manufacturer was informed of the failure and referred him back to the dealer for assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 200,000.

- Pinewood, SC, USA

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