NHTSA — Suspension: Front Problems

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" — TSB #10183 — 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:
1 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
48,260 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 suspension problems

suspension problem

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2006 Pontiac G6 Owner Comments

problem #17

Nov 032014

G6 6-cyl

  • 139,000 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 an abnormal noise emitted from the front of the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to a dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ball joints and tie rods needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 139,000. Updated 5/15/15 updated 05/26/15

- Wentville, MO, USA

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problem #16

Jul 102009

G6

  • 60,000 miles
Front suspension issues. I have had to replace both front lower control arms, both front wheel bearings, and the passenger side strut. With these parts failing, they also ruin the tires. This causes for me to have to replace brand new tires as well. Interior light does not come on when doors are opened. Parking brake does not fully release causing excessive wear on the inside brake pad of the rear brakes.

- Troy, IL, USA

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problem #15

Apr 012010

G6

  • 76,000 miles
Loud popping noise when you turn the steering wheel to the right or left. Driving down the street and the radio screen went completely blank and the radio wouldn't come on. Cut car off and turned back on and radio came back on. Repaired control arms, ball joints, and struts. Popping noise continues. Think its in the electric steering column.

- Chicago, IL, USA

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problem #14

Jun 162010

G6

  • 60,000 miles

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

2006 Pontiac G6, car steering wheel started to shake when driving and braking at around 60,000 miles, the vehicle also made a clunk noise when steering wheel turned at low speeds, went to a mechanic and they replaced the outer tie rods. The vehicle continues to shake and thump. Now the mechanic is telling me that I need to replace the control arm, bushings etc. My whole front suspension is having major problems. My car veered off to the next lane on its own. Lots of play in the steering wheel. Its in the shop now, also needing the rack and pinion replaced. Please recall this. My family was lucky not to have hit another vehicle or be hit. Thanks.

- Dallas, TX, USA

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problem #13

Mar 182010

G6 6-cyl

  • 41,006 miles
Thought lost weight off tire because car started shimmy and driving funny, took to shop to have tires checked, guy said had wires showing on front two tires and car was out of alignment. Couldn't understand why, bought it with 20,000 miles on it and it has 41,000 miles on it now. Took it to another shop to find what caused alignment problem, found out today that lower ball joint is bad and on top of that, you cant replace just lower ball joint, must replace whole a arm and now tires, which were fine when I had oil changed last time. This shouldn't be a problem with a car with so little miles and little wear and tear, this is not normal, there has to be a problem somewhere.

- Durham, MO, USA

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problem #12

Mar 162010

G6

  • 45,000 miles
Incident of carriage parts on 2006 Pontiac G6 GT...ball joints and tie rods along with rear parts believed to be under spec...meaning that they are too weak to support the vehicle and to provide support for everyday road abuse....parts wore out at roughly 45K...there are also a lot of complaints I see about the front end parts on this car...

- Hibbing, MN, USA

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problem #11

Dec 282009

G6

  • 77,109 miles

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

2006 Pontiac G6 power steering becomes hard to turn. It is hard to control and happens at almost anytime. What happens if it locks up while going 65 with my two kids in the car. Warranty has expired and GM wouldn't fix it anyway. Also a loud clunking noise has started in the front of the car.

- Stillman Valley, IL, USA

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problem #10

Oct 162009

G6

  • 22,000 miles
All four brakes and rotors replaced at 22,000 miles due to pre-mature wear and sub-standard original parts. Dealership wanted outrageous prices to replace with the same crap parts. Also suggested replacing a failed ball joint and strut which was just out of warranty. Offered minimal assistance from GM, so went to Mr. Tire which was much better and cheaper. This car is just made poorly.

- Beachwood, OH, USA

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problem #9

Oct 092009

G6

  • 52,000 miles
I recently found out that my 06 Pontiac G6 needs a new lower control arm assembly on the passenger side. The car only has 52,000 miles on it. This is a problem because the wheel could fall off. The lower control arm should not have to be replaced at only 52,000 miles. When I took the car into the dealer they told me that I had other things wrong, when in return those parts were fine and the whole control arm needs to be replaced. After reading through some complaints I have found out that this is a problem on the G6 starting back from 2005.

- Clay, NY, USA

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problem #8

Jul 252007

G6

  • 25,000 miles
Continued steering/front end problems causing popping, clicking, unsteady steering/drifting and premature wearing on tires resulting in frequent replacement. - known factory/manufacturer defect with no replacement parts by manufacturer;GM admits to defect with no remedy-no recall. First report 7-25-07 without remedy. - - vehicle unsafe - - should not be available for resale. Has been returned to freedom Pontiac in odessa Texas due to unsafe condition.

- Odessa, TX, USA

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problem #7

Aug 262008

G6

  • 49,000 miles

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

I had a clunking noise on the left front of my vehicle - I took it in for an oil change and had the shop review steering issue - ball joint was bad replaced same along w/ lower control arm and completed and alignment - also had new tires put on vehicle then a popping noise occurred when turning to the left, my car even jumped the track at a car wash and I had to reverse out of the car wash and hold my steering wheel throughout the entire car wash. I then took to a dealership and was determined I needed to have the intermediate steering link replaced, power steering motor and stabilizer bar link replaced - damaged parts have been disposed of.

- Cincinnati, OH, USA

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problem #6

Feb 282009

G6

  • 29,600 miles
On 2/28/09 I noticed that my steering wheel was pulling severely to the left, while it felt like the rest of the car was pulling to the right. This got progressively worse and was difficult to control the car when turning corners. Decided not to take the interstate. Heard a loud thump and car veered to the left. The entire left wheel assembly had fallen off the car while I was driving on a busy street in heavy traffic. When the tire and assembly came off it pushed out the left front fender and bent it from the weight of everything coming apart. Police responded and told me had I been on the interstate it could have been fatal. Car was towed to dealer. Car is 2.5 yrs. Old, 29K miles.

- Richmond, VA, USA

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problem #5

Feb 142009

G6

  • 68,000 miles
After leaving a stop sign the driver's front upper, lower control arms, cv joint, ball joint and upper strut mount completely broke away from the car causing the car to veer sharply to the left and strike a parked car. Witnesses including the police officer who witnessed the accident say the car just abruptly went left at approx 15 mph on dry level, smooth pavement. Luckily the car wasn't on the highway at speed or my daughter would have possibly been severely injured of killed.

- Isola, MS, USA

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problem #4

Jul 242007

G6

  • 20,000 miles
Starting at approx. 25K miles the front passenger strut was replaced, 10K miles later the strut and strut mount were replaced passenger and driver, roughly 10K more miles and the entire front suspension was replaced. At 55K miles the strut is again bad and now the front passenger wheel bearings are bad and whining very loudly as you increase speed and then decrease as the speed decreases to a stop. This has been an ongoing issue and feel that there should be a recall on this. My dealership has remarked several times that this is a known issue but am very concerned that this cannot be resolved long-term. I have entered the rough original date of issue which began the first year that I purchased the car.

- Sharpsville, PA, USA

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problem #3

Aug 182006

G6

  • 2,071 miles
I have been having steering/suspension problems starting two months after the vehicle was purchased. The first incident started in August of 2006. I took the car in because of a rattle in the front end when vehicle was warmed up. Service dept. Replaced the engine stabilizer/snubber. Second incident happened in February of 2008. I took the car in because there was a rattle in the front end over bumps and when turning. The service dept. Replaced the left hand strut upper mount and lubed the intermediate shaft and reset the collar on the rack and pinion. The third incident happened in July of 2008. I took the car in because I felt a knocking noise in the steering and it worsened when I was stopping. The service dept. Then replaced the right lower control arm. My car is now making more noises in the front end and I have an appointment to get it serviced on August 8th (14 days after last incident). This car has only 26,000 miles on it. I should not be having all these problems with the front end. I feel their needs to be a recall on the suspension on these G6's. they are terrible and dangerous. I went on a trip this past weekend and drove some windy roads and thought either my front end was going to shake to pieces or I would not be able to stop. Someone is going to get seriously hurt.

- Swansea, IL, USA

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problem #2

Jul 282008

G6

  • 38,500 miles
I bought the car used from #1 cochran of robinson and from the time I bought I had squealing coming from the front end. Upon have the tires and brakes checked nothing could be found to be wrong. I just had the vehicle inspected and found that the tie rods were both completely worn out. This is a 2006 Pontiac G6 and I was told that this should not have happened in a 2 year old vehicle. I have only had the car for a year and it has now cost me well over $1,100 to get it fixed.

- Pittsburgh, PA, USA

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problem #1

Aug 162006

G6 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 16,131 miles
- the contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6 with a current odometer reading of 28438 miles. The vehicle was purchased with an odometer reading of 4936 miles as a new vehicle. The contact stated that on 8/16/06 the vehicle began to have a strong vibration in the steering column when turning. After the vehicle was taken to stokes hodges Pontiac of thomson ga the contact was told by the service person that the vehicle was serviced prior to the purchase on 3/31/06 for vibration problems of the front suspension and steering. The contact was told at time of the repair of 8/16/06 that a service bulletin 06-02-32-0007 had been issued for the power steering gear. This was replaced on 8/19/06. The contact mentioned that service she was shown a file regarding the vehicles previous repairs performed prior to the purchase on 3/31/06, which was information that was not disclosed at the purchase time. The contact filed a complaint since this was a safety problem, and the fact that the dealer did not provide this information and sold the vehicle as new. The failure mileage was 16,131 and the current mileage was 28,300. The consumer stated the vehicle continues to exhibit a vibration when turning the wheel. Updated 05/21/07

- Dearing, GA, USA

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