NHTSA — Air Bags Problems

2006 Pontiac G6 (Page 5 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 5 of 5)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #6

Jun 282007

G6

  • miles

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

I am writing to notify you of serious safety concerns regarding my 2006 Pontiac G6 GT. I purchased my car from lou sohb Pontiac GMC in conyers, ga on November 6, 2006. Approximately 6 months later, I began having trouble with the power steering. There were instances while traveling on the road that the car would momentarily lose the power steering capability and therein makes the vehicle difficult to turn. I was involved in an accident on June 28, 2007. While attempting to make a lane change the vehicle"S steering wheel became very difficult to turn and loss power steering and it resulted in me being struck on the passenger side by another vehicle. There were no injuries. The vehicle was repaired and it seemed as I simply viewed it as one of those unexplainable instances. On December 25, 2007, christmas day the vehicle again had a momentary loss of power steering as I was turning in my driveway. I took the vehicle to the dealer the following week and I was told that there were no problems and the staff looked at me as if I were ?crazy" trying to explain that it just happens unexplainable and then works fine again. The staff at the dealership did not leave me assured that it would not happen again. I contacted a private mechanic by the name of larry reaves, jr. Who inspected the car on January 12, 2008 and again told me that there is nothing wrong with the power steering. At this point, the power steering has been checked by both GM certified mechanics and a private mechanic at cost to me. Both times I was told that they could not see anything wrong that would make it malfunction as such. I have now grown fearful to drive this vehicle, as I had a momentary loss of power steering again this past weekend on November 22, 2008 while exiting the freeway heading 75 North in atlanta. This has become a real safety issue.

- College Park, GA, USA

problem #5

Nov 282008

G6

  • 69,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving 15 mph, the steering wheel locked up and the power steering failed. The contact lost control of the vehicle and nearly crashed into another vehicle. The air bag indicator illuminated and will not dim. He has not taken the vehicle back to the dealer for inspection or repair. The failure mileage was 69,000.

- Hudson, NC, USA

problem #4

Aug 282007

G6 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 19,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The air bag light illuminates intermittently. The dealer could not duplicate the failure. The powertrain and purchase date were unknown. The current mileage was 24,329 and failure mileage was less than 19,000.

- Lake Station, IN, USA

problem #3

Jun 082007

G6 6-cyl

  • 12,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact noticed that the air bag warning light sporadically illuminated on the instrument control panel. She took her vehicle to the dealer, but they could not duplicate the failure. Two weeks later, the air bag light illuminated again more consistently. She took the vehicle back to the dealer and they replaced the module on the side air bag inflater. A few months later, the air bag warning light illuminated again. The dealer replaced the entire air bag system because it was inoperative. The contact has pictures of the failed component. She also filed a formal complaint with the manufacturer. The failure mileage was 14,000 and current mileage was 12,000. Updated 03/13/08. The consumer stated after the rack was replace, the vehicle still pulled to the right. The dealer adjusted the alignment. The sun visor kept falling down. Updated

- Lakeland, FL, USA

problem #2

Nov 302007

G6 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,300 miles
First leak was the xm antenna. Water came in through roof center console lights. Second leak was from the sunroof water entered the cabin through the same place. Dealer repaired sunroof drain tube. Third leak was the sunroof drain tube. Dealer repaired the other sunroof drain tube. The water enter the cabin and ran on the passenger seat belt. This happened in the winter and the seat belt froze solid in the retraction reel. At the same time the water also damaged the airbag sensors in the passenger seat and caused the an airbag failure. The forth leak soaked both seat belts. This time the dealership extended the sunroof drain tubes per a service bulletin. Now there are intermittent electrical problems with the car. The heads lights would not turn on until the car was turned off then restarted. The turn signals, instrument cluster lights, and heater control lights stopped working intermittently. Of course they worked fine while the dealership had the car.

- Aurora, IN, USA

problem #1

Jul 192006

G6 4-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
My car every time I turned to the left or right my tires would make a squealing sound, so my husband thought I needed my tires rotated, I took it down to get an oil change and to get the tires rotated but he (sales person) told me that my tires were fine. Well I was going to work at 6:00 a.M my car started pulling to the right so I went off the road and tried to get my car back on the road but my tires locked up or something B/C my car started to spin in circles, I tried to get control of my car but before I knew I hit a tree. What scared me the most was that my airbags didn't deployed, I had frontal and side damage. I really don't know if it was a defective airbag or what but I've been having trouble getting another car because I didn't have gap insurance. I would have gotten it if my sales person would have mentioned it to me. Now I have to pay $3000 to pay the rest of a car that is not drivable before I can get another vehicle. It was a scary situation I don't want pity I just wanted to let other drivers know about the problem.

- Munford, AL, USA

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