2008 Pontiac G8 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (20) · Electrical System (8) · Steering (6)
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
59 NHTSA complaints that reported an odometer reading.
Safety recalls (3)
Seat Belts 2015-06-23 · campaign 15V399000 · 47,042 vehicles
Defect: 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 breakin
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 2014-09-09 · campaign 14V540000 · 47,043 vehicles
Defect: 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 f
Air Bags:frontal:sensor/Control Module-Inactive 2011-11-04 · campaign 11V534000 · 38,444 vehicles
Defect: 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 PASSEN
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 bulletins (948)
Technical service bulletins are repair instructions manufacturers send dealers for known issues. Unlike recalls, the fix is not automatically free — but naming the bulletin at the service desk can save diagnosis time and support goodwill repairs.
Unknown Or Other 2025-09-09 · 13598 · Other
new vehicle monitoring programs section in ivh
Unknown Or Other 2025-08-07 · PIC5650M · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an intermittent no crank, no start, or start stall concern with the security light coming on. technician may find diagnostic trouble codes b3055, b3060, b3935, c0750, c0755, c0760, c0765, and/o
Unknown Or Other 2025-07-18 · PIP5601C · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this pi communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from tac.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Unknown Or Other 2025-05-30 · PIT5074R · Service Bulletin/Repair Instructions
this preliminary information communication provides information to the technician about the use of j-35616-64b and mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.
Showing the 6 most recent of 948 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2025-10-09 · Electrical System · 135,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. the contact stated that while driving 20 mph, the key was accidentally bumped, and the ignition switch was knocked out of the run position, turning off the engine. there were no warning lights illuminated. the contact stated the failure was related to nhtsa campaign number: 14v540000 (electrical system). the cont…”
2021-07-16 · Electrical System · 120,000 mi“the contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. the contact stated that after turning off the vehicle, the ignition key could not be removed from the ignition switch. the cause of the failure was not yet determined. the local dealer was notified of the failure. the manufacturer was not yet contacted. the failure mileage was approximately 120,000.…”
2020-06-11 · Steering · 103,302 mi“was driving on both highway & neighborhood streets and the air bag fault light & warning tone came on. after many diagnosis drive tests, i learned that every time making a complete left u-turn the airbag fault indicator would disappear. however once completing the full left u-turn, and driving straight center wheel position, the airbag fault indi…”
2019-11-06 · Service Brakes · 60,000 mi“passenger airbag light fault remains illuminated indicating that the system is disabled. the passenger airbag sensor is known by gm as being defective and they would not replace it under warranty. the abs, traction control, and stability control indicators are illuminated and will not function. the manufacturer suggested to check all fuses, the w…”
2019-10-10 · Service Brakes · 104,000 mi“keep getting air bag light on code u0170 and b0081 seems like this is a big safety problem with the pontiac g8 needs a recall on this problem and replaced the rear abs sensors and still have the issue with it not working and replaced them 2 times with new sensors…”
2019-01-02 · Air Bags · 86,000 mi“passenger seat does not register when a person is sitting in seat to activate. codes recieved: u0170, b0081.…”
2019-01-02 · Air Bags · 86,000 mi“passenger seat does not register a person sitting in it to activate air bag system. codes retrieved: u0170 and b0081. odometer: 86,000…”
2017-01-04 · Air Bags · 30,000 mi“fault light activation,fault code states it's the passenger seat module. when this happens, there will be no airbag activation . this is very common with all g8 vehicles, do you think there might be an investigation into this problem?…”
2016-10-04 · Air Bags · 30,000 mi“air bag fault light comes on when car is started, which means that the air bags will not work. there is an air bag recall to this car, but they will not fix my car's fault light problem. this is a big safety defect that many gm have, according to your website. thank you my car has 30,000 miles on it. *tr …”
2016-09-16 · Air Bags · 130,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2008 pontiac g8. while the vehicle was stationary, the air bag indicator remained illuminated without warning. the vehicle was repaired, but the issue recurred. the manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. the failure mileage was approximately 130,000.…”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.