2009 Pontiac G8 problems, complaints & recalls
Most-reported problem areas: Air Bags (55) · Suspension (11) · Electrical System (10)
🛣️ Complaints by mileage
126 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 (996)
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 996 bulletins. Search all of them free at nhtsa.gov.
What owners report
2023-08-08 · Visibility/Wiper“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 afternoon, and then later during extensive testing, i …”
2022-01-04 · Air Bags · 23,000 mi“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 not diagnosed or repaired. the failure mileage was a…”
2021-12-02 · Structure:body“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 soon. the drivers door has become difficult to open a…”
2021-08-27 · Air Bags · 56,000 mi“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 failure. the vehicle was not diagnosed or repa…”
2021-08-17 · Air Bags · 29,000 mi“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 passenger’s side airbag sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to nhtsa campaign numbe…”
2021-07-21 · Electrical System“a month ago my passenger air bag light came on indicating there is an issue with the passenger air bag system. this occurs even when there is no one in the passenger seat. this completely disables the airbag system in my car for my passengers and i can no longer reliably transport other passengers for fear of getting into an accident and the air b…”
2020-07-10 · Air Bags:sensor:occupant Classification · 37,000 mi“tl* the contact owns a 2009 pontiac g8. the contact stated that the air bags warning light was illuminated. the vehicle was taken to an unknown dealer to be diagnosed. the contact was informed that the front passenger's occupant classification system was defective and needed to be replaced. the vehicle was not repaired. the manufacturer was not not…”
2020-07-06 · Air Bags · 160,000 mi“while driving car on highway it started showing air bag fault warning on the center console screen and corresponding light came on. consulted with local gm dealership and diagnosis indicated need to replace the "passenger presence module". the cost quoted by gm dealership is $855 (total), for parts and labor. this fault disables the air bag system …”
2020-06-08 · Service Brakes · 79,000 mi“brake lights will illuminated - when the brake paddle is pushed up the brake lights will turn off for a short time and than illuminate again. this happens when the vehicle is stationary, in motion, on a city street and on the highway. *tr…”
2020-04-28 · Air Bags · 147,226 mi“today i woke up and starting receiving the air bag fault error. contacted my local gm dealership and was told it's the passenger side module that need to be replaced. they quoted me $1200 for parts and labor. this is a safety critical component that should not fail as it disables the air bag system which could be life threatening in an accident. …”
Excerpts of consumer complaints filed with NHTSA, lightly truncated. They are owner statements, not verified findings.