NHTSA — Steering Problems

2006 Pontiac G6 (Page 9 of 57)

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:
51 / 3
Injuries / Deaths:
30 / 1
Average Mileage:
75,713 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 steering problems

steering problem

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2006 Pontiac G6 Owner Comments (Page 9 of 57)

« Read the previous 20 complaints

problem #967

May 152017

G6

  • 149,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While the contact's boyfriend was driving 40 mph, he was struck from behind by another vehicle. The air bags failed to deploy. The driver suffered pain and was taken to the hospital. A police report was filed. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic. The body damage to the vehicle was repaired, but the failure was not diagnosed or repaired. A dealer was not contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that nothing could be done. Also, while turning the wheels to leave a parking spot, the steering wheel became extremely difficult to turn. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic who diagnosed that the steering column and torque sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there had been a recall; however, it had been completed. Therefore, the manufacturer could not assist. A dealer was not contacted. The approximate failure mileage was 149,000.

- New Iberia, LA, USA

problem #966

Jul 042017

G6

  • 24,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving at an unknown speed, the power steering warning indicator illuminated through the radio. The vehicle was not taken to a dealer and was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of failure and confirmed that the vehicle was not included in a recall. The approximate failure mileage was 24,000.

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #965

Jul 042017

G6

  • 23,000 miles
The power steering error message appeared in the radio section of the car

- Staten Island, NY, USA

problem #964

Jun 012017

G6

  • miles

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

Elctronic power steering system failing high winding sounds when the stewrong wheel is turned and failing electronic system vehicle says vent valve selenoid is bad, changed it out and cleared the code and error still comes back, also. Right passenger side headlights are dimly lit and there is some sort of voltage problem going on?

- Springfield, VT, USA

problem #963

Nov 012016

G6

  • 170,000 miles
My vehicle has had at least power steering assist failures since new. It was repaired under recall the last time it was worked on and performed as expected until my daughter was driving it home from work one evening and once again the steering went out. This happened while she was driving at between 55 and 60 mph, and could not steer the vehicle to get off the road. Since then I have taken it to a dealer and talked to GM and Pontiac about the issue. They all claim since it was repaired under recall and almost 2 years have passed since the repair was made that I am on my own. They refuse to help or make good on their repair claiming that they apparently are alright with a new part failing at about 24 months and about 50,000 miles as they state since the recall repair. Given the history of the problem, I feel I am being unfairly ignored in my request for repairs to be made again under the recall since apparently the installed parts were defective.

- Paris, KY, USA

problem #962

May 112017

G6

  • 163,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving 40 mph, the power steering failed. The contact stated that the steering wheel became stiff while making a left turn. The vehicle was taken to be diagnosed where it was determined that the power steering module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 163,000.

- Orangeburg, SC, USA

problem #961

May 052008

G6

  • 40,000 miles

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

Takata recall. But not only the air bags. There is a clicking noise when I steering, sometimes causing the air bag light to come on. There is a vibrating coming from the driver's side front when at speed that shakes the steering wheel even after the tires are balanced and the struts and tie rods were replaced. If I grab the steering wheel with both hands, it moves up and down. When parallel parking, the power steering fails making it impossible to turn the wheel without hitting the gas and putting the car in motion. I've noticed in my research that other G6 models of this year and surrounding years were recalled for all of the problems I am having. When I asked the person at Chevy dealer about it, she told me I was out of luck until the VIN pops up in their system. This has been happing since my wife got the car in 2007 apparently, and since we just had a baby, we are looking into it more. I've been waiting on the recalls to be expanded to her VIN, but nothing. Is there anything we can do, other than paying to rebuild the whole steering system of which others with the same problems were covered? thanks for any help.

- Accokeek, MD, USA

problem #960

Apr 292017

G6

  • 160,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving 45 mph, the contact attempted to turn right and the steering wheel seized. The vehicle was driven back to the contact's residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that there was no recall on the vehicle. The approximate failure mileage was 160,000.

- Houma, LA, USA

problem #959

Apr 162017

G6

  • 105,000 miles
There was a sudden loss of electric power steering (eps) assist. There is an existing recall, GM# 14772, which covers the Pontiac G6 and this specific problem. Why isn't my vehicle covered? I am experiencing the same problem!! it has happened several times already, including on the highway at high speeds.

- Union, NJ, USA

problem #958

Apr 252017

G6

  • miles
Recently, I saw an article from a local news station regarding the attorney general going after local car dealerships for not disclosing or fixing recalls for cars sold off of their lot. I purchased my car in February 2015, with no knowledge of any issues or recalls. Upon placing my VIN number into the NHTSA website, I discovered that I have three recalls that have affected my car, having to do with the brakes, transmission and power steering. My car has had issues with its brakes from the get-go, I even went back to websmart to have it fixed with my warranty. Mere weeks after getting it "fixed", the issues returned and I'm not sure if it has to do with this recall or not. My power steering has gone out on me three times while driving, in the little over two years that I have had the car. I am not sure what to do regarding this and could use some help. Thank you, matt.

- Henrietta, NY, USA

problem #957

Apr 042017

G6

  • 180,000 miles

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

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving in reverse, the driver noticed that the steering wheel was very difficult to turn in either direction. The driver continued to experience the failure while driving at low speeds. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed that the electronic power steering module was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 180,000.

- Bloomington, MN, USA

problem #956

Mar 302017

G6

  • 197,000 miles
On approximately 13 different occasions over the last 2 months (while on a city street at 25mph, and while on a state highway with a speed limit of 65mph) all instrument panel gauges go crazy and suddenly dropped to zero. 'power steering' message and 'low fuel' light (had a full tank of gas) was shown on the radio message center, along with warning sounds, and 'error' was displayed in the odometer window. Gauges continued fluctuating repeatedly from normal and/or correct ranges, to zero, and continued sounding/showing warning sounds and error messages for approx 5-6 minutes. Then all gauges dropped to zero and stayed there, car engine was cutting in and out and radio stopped working. Pulled off the road, did not have a loss of power steering. Parked car, shut off, removed key, opened door and restarted car. Drove fine (no issues) for approximately 5 miles and then the same thing happened again, this time radio stayed on and engine did not cut out, guages returned to normal after about 2-3 minutes of intermittent fluctuating, error messages disappeared from message center without having to shut off car, but traction control light showed it was off and I could not turn back on - traction control worked after car was turned off and then restarted a short time later. Recall repair for power steering torque sensor was completed at a local dealership approximately 2 years ago, in 2015. Two mechanics in area could not find codes that were thrown but state that it is probably the part or a part pertaining to the recalled torque sensor, but could not confirm.

- Blair, NE, USA

problem #955

Mar 102017

G6

  • 145,500 miles
Power steering started to go out about 10 days ago. Difficult to steer. I noticed there was a recall on the steering of the G6's so I took it to a Buick dealer to look at. They said my car was out of the manufacturer date of the recall (NHTSA campaign number: 15V064000). I had the 23232310 sensor kit and 22837369 module replaced. $1303.34. Why is my car not covered when it sounds like it had the same issues as those in the recall. The dealer said mine was made later with newer parts. But, it still appears to have failed the same way. Are there other complaints similar to mine" should mine be in the recall"

- Akron, OH, USA

problem #954

Feb 022017

G6

  • 152,000 miles
Due to a previous recall for my Pontiac G6 I brought my car to a Pontiac dealership to have the corrections made. When I search by my VIN number there are no open or new recalls present. Yet over the past month while driving my information display on the center console will chime and display "power steering". I do not notice any changes with the functioning of the car when the display appears. I have pressed the info button once it appears and it then goes away from the display and no other functioning appears. I am concerned that the part that was replaced previously on a recall is malfunctioning.

- Burnsville, MN, USA

problem #953

Mar 152017

G6

  • 175,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving 50 mph, the power steering seized without warning. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and stated that the VIN was not included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V153000 (steering). The failure mileage was 175,000.

- Dearborn Heights, MI, USA

problem #952

Mar 052017

G6

  • 149,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving 75 mph, the steering wheel seized and the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact coasted the vehicle over to the side of the road and then resumed driving. In addition, the contact stated that code C0545 "steering wheel touch input sensor" illuminated on the instrument panel. The vehicle was repaired per NHTSA campaign number: 15V064000 (steering). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 149,000.

- Rock Springs, WY, USA

problem #951

Feb 282017

G6

  • 156,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that the power steering warning indicator illuminated. The contact was concerned of a failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The failure mileage was 156,000.

- Republic, PA, USA

problem #950

Feb 062017

G6 4-cyl

  • 141,000 miles
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. While driving various speeds, the power steering failed and the warning indicator illuminated the vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where it was diagnosed that the electric power steering assist torque sensor needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 141,000. Updated 05/14/17 contact wishes to be reimbursed for 2nd repair from recall #14116.

- Rockville, MD, USA

problem #949

Feb 062017

G6

  • 175,000 miles
The electrical power steering in not working correctly when starting and wheel is hard to turn, does this on and off.

- Wilmington, MA, USA

problem #948

Dec 142010

G6

  • 75,000 miles
Power steering fails and causes loss of control of the car. Local dealership responded to warranty upgrade and had attempted to fix the car, but problem still existed. I was involved in an accident, when the power steering failed while traveling at 55 mph in a curve.

- Raeford, NC, USA

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