NHTSA — Seat Belts 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:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
70,244 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 seat belts / air bags problems

seat belts / air bags problem

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2006 Pontiac G6 Owner Comments

problem #8

Jan 202017

G6

  • miles

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

When my seatbelt is plugged in whether I'm in drive or I'm in park the light comes on and keeps beeping if I rattle the buckle inside the seat belt housing around the light goes off at 15 seconds momentarily and then comes back on if I get in an accident I'm scared that the airbag will not deploy because the seat belt light is on in the dash constantly and keeps beeping every 45 minutes due to the light being

- Lewiston, MI, USA

problem #7

Oct 102014

G6

  • 78,000 miles
Seat belt would not unbuckle. With a fair amount of difficulty and some assistance, I was able to slip out of seat belt. The plastic on the buckle portion of the belt near the opening where the latch slides in had broken into several pieces and lodged inside the buckle preventing it from opening. After picking the broken pieces out, the buckle finally released. A potentially serious problem.

- Evansville, IN, USA

problem #6

Oct 122014

G6 6-cyl

  • 81,949 miles
Parked car was doing fine came to get in car air bag on passenger side front seat didn't come on then it came while driving then driver seat belt light keeps coming on and turning off for a while then pops on again while driving passenger seat light and air bag stays on when passenger leaves car and flashes saying to put on seat belt but no passenger is in car this all happened out of nowhere it does not detect that someone is buckled up in driver seat and doesn't detect when someone leaves passenger seat it all happened at once the steering rack makes a popping noise and we told the dealer about it and the looseness they sad that car has no open recalls on this VIN but certain others of this car does.

- Centralia, IL, USA

problem #5

Dec 182013

G6 4-cyl

  • 140,000 miles

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

I checked my VIN on my 2006 Pontiac G6 to see what recalls popped up. My vehicle does not fall under any of the recalls for power steering, air bags, or seat belts but I have had many issues. My power steering quits working randomly. I have to pull over, shut the car off, then turn it back on and it will work agian. Just yesterday the warning light came on and said service air bags. Also the sensor for the seat belts will sometimes not work. The bell will continuously ding to alert you that the seat belt is not buckled and it actually is. Funny thing is, my car has had none of the problems that it is under recall for and all of the problems it's not under recall for. I have three children and this is my only transportation. I am afraid to put them in this car and drive anywhere with them.

- Sterling, MI, USA

problem #4

Feb 282014

G6 4-cyl

  • 155,000 miles
Car started giving a warning that driver seat belt was not fastened and it was, the warning would repeatedly come on and go off for the whole day. Then while driving we lost power steering. It was very difficult to control and fortunately was able to pull into a private drive. Left the car and obtained a ride to my destination and the next morning returned, started the car and it was ok. Car does sit outside and not sure what happened but glad we were not going 70 mph on highway. We had to replace the manifold on the car just about 2 weeks before these issues and it was expensive. I don't believe this to be a normal issue for this year of car and what's scary is we also own a 2008 G6.

- Ridgeway, OH, USA

problem #3

Jan 172012

G6 6-cyl

  • miles
If I drive my automobile and I have a passenger in it and the airbag works fine. If I drop them off the airbag still sense that there is someone still sitting in the passenger seat. If I go pick someone up the airbag will not sense that there is someone there. I bought the car in 4/11 I did not buy it new. If I ever have an accident and the airbag never sense that there is someone in the front passenger seat afraid it will not properly.

- Scranton, PA, USA

problem #2

Mar 102011

G6 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 65,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated the rear passenger side shoulder belt webbing failed to retract when engaged by the occupant. There were several attempts before the shoulder belt webbing would retract properly. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer, who stated that the seat belt mechanism would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified and stated that there were no recalls related to the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 65,000. Updated 09/21/11 the consumer stated the passenger rear seat belts locked in the fired position. It did not matter if the vehicle was moving or sitting still. It locked and wouldn't release. It had to be pulled several times to get enough slack to release it. Updated 10/03/11

- St, Louis, MO, USA

problem #1

Aug 072007

G6

  • 42,000 miles
Mr. Did evasive manuevers at 65 mph to avoid deadly collision with fully loaded senior citizen van by a driver with a cell phone. Steering wheel was very loose, brakes pedals were very easily depressed, none of the front air-bags deployed and car seats did not lock. Mr. Hit median concrete at 60 mph. Ambulance and emergency room dictated, "you all very lucky to have survived." 3rd party administrator(esis) counter claims mr.. that because Mr. Collided with median sideways the air-bags did not deploy. Mr. Argues that front driver portion of car hit median first, air bags should have deployed and seat belts should have locked. 3rd party administrator counters. Because there is no proof we cannot claim such fact. She (3rd party) is insisting on us to sign medical release forms and submit pictures of car. Mr. Has advised that car is repaired and has been sold. Confusion arises when dealer agrees that car has sensors and collision shop did not indicate any sensors. Mr. Is confused whether stabili-trak or some other systems should be in place to have prevented the collision with median and under the tire sensors should have been in place. If any system (stabili-trak or other) were in place, the whole accident could have been prevented. Esis-claim #[xxx]. parts of this document have been redacted to protect personally identifiable information pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Mercedes, TX, USA

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