NHTSA — Air Bags Problems

2006 Pontiac G6 (Page 2 of 5)

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:
13 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
8 / 1
Average Mileage:
71,278 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 (Page 2 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #66

Aug 192016

G6

  • 170,388 miles

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

I had the recalls all fixed as soon as I was aware of them. A few months later my brake lights started flashing as I was driving. I took it to a dealer and $300 later it was fixed. They said I had to pay since the recall had already been taken care of. A few months later and here I am again with the airbag reporting problems as working and not working. Also now my brake lights are staying on as I am driving and turning off for a few seconds when I tap the brake. As I am stopped the brake lights are not turning on unless I forcefully hold the pedal down. I know when I take it into the dealer that it is going to be the same thing, lots of money for a temporary fix that all extend from the "fixed" recall. I also had a new brake control sensor put in, but it made no difference. This is causing a dangerous condition and since it is my car, I don't know what I am suppose to do here. The recall repair is not fixing the problem, other than temporarily, and this is putting my life and others at risk.

- Fresno, OH, USA

problem #65

Jun 272016

G6

  • 46,000 miles
Service airbag warning light appears intermittently. I purchased this vehicle 2 weeks ago. It only has 46,000 miles and all was well for about a week. I was getting off the interstate and the driver side service airbag light illuminated. I stopped at the off ramp and proceeded down a 30 mph street. Stayed on for about 5 minutes and turned off. About 4 days later while traveling on the interstate, the light illuminated again. Stayed on for about 10 minutes and then turned off. This time I was not stopping but continuously driving about 70 mph. My concern is the safety issue. While that light is illuminated, the airbag will not deploy. There has not been a recall and while looking online, there are quite a few people that have this issue. I've been reading other complaints and it sounds like the sensor in the seat is at fault. I checked to see if my vehicle had any open recalls and there were none.

- Mukwonago, WI, USA

problem #64

Aug 152015

G6

  • 112,209 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that when the front passenger side seat was occupied, the air bag failed to activate. The vehicle was taken to a dealer where the failure was undetermined. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 112,209.

- Kansas City, MO, USA

problem #63

Sep 142014

G6

  • 136,000 miles

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

When stationary or in motion the drivers side air bag light would go on and off randomly. Now it just stays on.

- Fairfax, VA, USA

problem #62

Jan 022016

G6

  • miles
The air bag warning will come on and off during drives. The air bags will turn off and turn on throughout drives. I have a small child now and this really concerns me. Air bag problem has been occurring for a few years now but happens almost every drive now. This happens when car is in motion on a city street, highway, turning and when sitting still. I selected steering because the steering wheel has been replaced by dealership a few years ago from a recall. Electric steering would stop working whenever it wanted to. Never worked normal since it was replaced. This happens when car is in motion on a city street, highway, turning and when sitting still. I also selected electrical because of the rear brake light. It was recalled due to a brake light that may or may not work when applied and took to dealership to have corrected. Since it was looked at we have noticed rear brake lights not working all the time. I've only noticed when sitting still in driveway.

- Noble, OK, USA

problem #61

May 272015

G6

  • 193,000 miles
The contact owned a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving approximately 40 mph, the contact's vehicle crashed into the side of another vehicle. During the incident, the front end sustained significant damage and the air bags did not deploy. The driver sustained a concussion as well as injuries to the neck, back, head, and right leg. The contact required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The cause of the failure was not determined. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 193,000. The VIN was not available.

- Moberly, MO, USA

problem #60

Aug 032015

G6

  • miles

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

Noticed that the air bag sensor on the passenger side was not functioning properly. It would randomly turn off even if there was a passenger, or stay on if there was no passenger. There was a recall for G6's that had cloth seats that were changed to leather seats. My car has leather seats, however it is not included under this recall. The repair shop investigated the problem. The wiring for the sensors was never properly done. There was no space to put certain wires and they were never connected. The air bag sensor was never properly connected!

- Millville, NJ, USA

problem #59

Sep 102014

G6

  • miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was flashing. In addition, the passenger side air bag off warning light illuminated when the seat was not occupied. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was unavailable.

- Ocean Springs, MS, USA

problem #58

Feb 162015

G6 6-cyl

  • 95,132 miles
My airbag message keep coming on the dash and my car just shuts off and doesn't want to turn back on it takes about like an hour and a half or two to start back up to reset the computer I know my Pontiac power steering is electric and also that message pops up on the dash and my car just shuts off and wont turn back on in about an hour or so it done this to me numerous times and I don't know what's the exact problem and I'd like to know because I know that's not normal.

- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

problem #57

Jun 012008

G6 6-cyl

  • 20,000 miles
June of 2008, the service airbag light kept coming on. I took it back to the dealership where I bought the car from and they said it was the passenger side seat sensor that needed to be replace and since it was still under warranty at the time I didn't have to pay for it. After getting it fixed it hasn't come back on until about two years ago and it is now no longer under warranty and I was told if I don't get it fixed then when it comes back on then the airbags won't deploy. February of 2011, the check engine light came on and I had to replace all four of my O2 sensors and then the brain in order for the check engine light to go off. But every winter the check engine light comes back on when the temperature is 35degrees or lower and then I am unable to remote start my car. I have had it checked and code that keeps coming up is that I have bad O2 sensors but when they are checked they are still good. Both of these are a real pain. Can you please check to see if there are any other complaints. Thank you.

- St. Louis, MO, USA

problem #56

Dec 192014

G6

  • 20,000 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 that the air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 20,000.

- Brunswick, OH, USA

problem #55

Apr 302010

G6 6-cyl

  • miles
2006 Pontiac G6. Lawyer wrote in on behalf of client. The air bags did not deploy during an accident. The consumers daughter died in the accident.

- Gulfport, MS, USA

problem #54

Jul 012009

G6 6-cyl

  • 60,000 miles
Service air bag message appears frequently and passenger airbag is disabled, even if a person is sitting in the passenger seat. I understand there is a recall for this in vehicles with aftermarket leather seats, but since my vehicle has factory leather seats, I believe the problem may extend to vehicles with factory leather seats as well. This has been happening for years, but I only recently realized that the passenger airbag is disabled when the message appears and am now concerned about the safety of anyone sitting in the passenger seat.

- Kent, OH, USA

problem #53

Nov 102014

G6 6-cyl

  • miles
My 2 light's are on stating service air bags !!!

- Manteca, CA, USA

problem #52

Nov 102014

G6

  • 146,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that the front passenger side air bag warning light illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The technician diagnosed that the seat needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, but the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 06V417000 (air bags). The failure mileage was 146,000.

- Littleton , IL, USA

problem #51

Oct 152014

G6 6-cyl

  • miles
Has happened several times nobody's in the passenger seat and the airbag light is on and if some one is seating there sometimes it's off. Makes me worried what if I need it to work and it doesn't.

- Selma, NC, USA

problem #50

Jun 132013

G6

  • 125,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving 30 mph, another vehicle crashed into the passenger side of the contact's vehicle which caused the contact to crash into the preceeding vehicle. The contact stated that the steering wheel had become difficult to turn and the air bag failed to deploy. The contact sustained injuries to the left foot, back and body aches, and required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The contact received a notification for NHTSA campaign number: 14V153000 (steering). The approximate failure mileage was 125,000.

- Miami, FL, USA

problem #49

Sep 122014

G6

  • miles
I was involved in a low impact accident on 9/12/2014. The airbag in my vehicle (Pontiac G6) deployed but not in the vehicle that struck me. When my airbag deployed it tore the steering wheel cover open side to side causing the metal Pontiac symbol in the center to strike my left wrist. I now have a half circle imprint on my left wrist (from the emblem) that doesn't appear to be going away and a fractured scaphoid bone (in the wrist) and I am in a cast for 6 or more weeks. Had the steering wheel cover opened in a less dangerous way I would have walked away from my accident with no injuries. It doesn't appear very logical to have metal pieces moving with such force in the direction of the drivers hands at the time of a car accident. I feel that completely removing the metal piece or designing the steering wheel in a way that it opened differently, such as up and down, could have prevented my injuries and possibly the life long branding I may now have on my wrist.

- Monroe, MI, USA

problem #48

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 #47

Apr 162014

G6

  • 108,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving approximately 40 mph, a deer ran into the road and the contact crashed into the deer. The vehicle stalled and the air bags failed to deploy. The vehicle restarted after several attempts. The contact sustained back pain, but did not require medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 108,000.

- Columbus , GA, USA

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