IllustrationAIRBAG FAILURE LIGHT AT 56K MILES SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM BEEPS EVERYTIME KEY IS TURNED ON AND NEVER GOES AWAY.
2009 Pontiac G8
Owner reports · Recalls · Investigations
Limited comparison data
There is not enough comparable history to draw a useful model-year comparison.
About this comparison →How this year compares
Owner complaints by model year
Compare all G8 years →Counts vary with age, sales and reporting. They are not failure rates.
What owners reported most
All reported categories
Tap a category to read its complaints. One report may name several components.
When problems were reported
Mileage at the reported incident
330–25K
2925–50K
3950–75K
1475–100K
8100–150K
3150K+
126 reports with mileage · 18 unknown
NHTSA’s mileage field refers to the reported incident, not necessarily the filing date. This shows report counts, not the likelihood of a failure.
What to inspect
Issues worth paying extra attention to based on owner reports.
- Air Bags. Review the 69 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Electrical System. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
- Suspension. Review the 20 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.
6 crash reports1 fire reports7 injury reports
Air Bags complaints
69 reportsAIRBAG FAULT LIGHT GOES ON AND OFF, SEEMS THIS IS NOT UNCOMMON TO THIS VEHICLE. LIGHT COMES ON WHEN CAR IS STARTED AND COMPLETES IN SAFETY CHECK.
I'VE BEEN READING THROUGH THE COMPLAINTS AND IT SEEMS TO BE A BROKEN RECORD OF "AIRBAG" ISSUES. MINE JUST STARTED A WEEK AGO AT 50,000+. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, IT APPEARS THE NORMAL COST TO MAYBE GET IT FIXED OVER PERHAPS SEVERAL VISITS IS 1K+. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY GET A RECALL INITIATED? UNTIL THE…
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I'VE BEEN READING THROUGH THE COMPLAINTS AND IT SEEMS TO BE A BROKEN RECORD OF "AIRBAG" ISSUES. MINE JUST STARTED A WEEK AGO AT 50,000+. AFTER SEARCHING THE INTERNET, IT APPEARS THE NORMAL COST TO MAYBE GET IT FIXED OVER PERHAPS SEVERAL VISITS IS 1K+. HOW MANY COMPLAINTS DOES IT TAKE TO ACTUALLY GET A RECALL INITIATED? UNTIL THEN, WHY WON'T ANYONE DO SOMETHING TO SILENCE THE LOUD ANNOYING AIRBAG ALARM? IT IS VERY DISTRACTING, AND I BELIEVE MORE OF A SAFETY ISSUE THAN THE POSSIBILITY OF THE AIRBAG NOT DEPLOYING. SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP US.
AT STARTUP, VEHICLE DISPLAYS MESSAGE "AIRBAG FAULT" AND AIRBAGS ARE INOPERABLE. MANY OTHERS WITH GM VEHICLES HAVE SIMILAR ISSUES AND IT HAS BEEN TRACED TO A FAILED PASSENGER SEAT SENSOR (GM PART NUMBER 92225595). THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM AND IS A SAFETY CONCERN AS THE FAULT CAUSES THE AIRBAG TO BECOME INOPERATIVE.
PASSENGER PRESENCE DETECTION SYSTEM FAILURE DISABLING THE SYSTEM UNTIL THE MODULE/SENSOR IS REPLACED. DEALER PRICING IS AROUND $1000 TO REPLACE MODULE/SENSOR. SEEMS TO BE A KNOWN PROBLEM THAT GM ISN'T COVERING AS A SAFETY DEFECT.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 PONTIAC G8. THE CONTACT STATED THAT AFTER THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED, THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 60,000.
MY VEHICLE WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP WHEN WE WERE STRUCK FROM BEHIND BY A VEHICLE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY; INSTEAD, I RECEIVED AN "AIRBAG FAULT" LIGHT AND AUDIBLE SIGNAL AND THE CAR FILLED WITH BLACK SMOKE. THANKFULLY, NO ONE WAS INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT. BUT IF IT HAD BEEN A HEAD-ON COLLISI…
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MY VEHICLE WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP WHEN WE WERE STRUCK FROM BEHIND BY A VEHICLE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 50 MPH. THE AIR BAGS DID NOT DEPLOY; INSTEAD, I RECEIVED AN "AIRBAG FAULT" LIGHT AND AUDIBLE SIGNAL AND THE CAR FILLED WITH BLACK SMOKE. THANKFULLY, NO ONE WAS INJURED IN THE ACCIDENT. BUT IF IT HAD BEEN A HEAD-ON COLLISION AND THE AIR BAGS FAILED, I MAY NOT BE HERE TODAY TO TYPE THIS SAFETY COMPLAINT. I READ THAT MANY G8S WERE RECALLED FOR AIR BAG FAULTS, BUT MINE WAS NEVER ON THE LIST. *TR
THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT TURNED ON AT APPROXIMATELY 55,000 MILES IN MID-DECEMBER 2014. MY MECHANIC HAS DETERMINED THE PROBLEM TO BE THE AIRBAG CLOCK SPRING, BUT CANNOT ACQUIRE THE PART FROM GENERAL MOTORS OR LOCAL DEALERSHIPS BECAUSE OF A NATIONWIDE PARTS SHORTAGE. MY AIRBAG IS STILL MALFUNCTIONING, AND AFTER TWO MONTHS IT STI…
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THE AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT TURNED ON AT APPROXIMATELY 55,000 MILES IN MID-DECEMBER 2014. MY MECHANIC HAS DETERMINED THE PROBLEM TO BE THE AIRBAG CLOCK SPRING, BUT CANNOT ACQUIRE THE PART FROM GENERAL MOTORS OR LOCAL DEALERSHIPS BECAUSE OF A NATIONWIDE PARTS SHORTAGE. MY AIRBAG IS STILL MALFUNCTIONING, AND AFTER TWO MONTHS IT STILL CANNOT BE REPAIRED BECAUSE GM HAS FAILED TO STOCK THE PART IN SUFFICIENT QUANTITY. I DON'T KNOW IF THIS TECHNICALLY FALLS UNDER NHTSA, BUT A MANUFACTURER THAT WON'T STOCK A CRITICAL AIRBAG COMPONENT FOR A VEHICLE THAT SEEMS PRONE TO AIRBAG FAILURE IS A SERIOUS SAFETY CONCERN. *TR
THE AIR BAG SYSTEM'S PASSENGER PRESENCE MODULE FAILED WHILE THE PONTIAC G8 GT WAS AT THE GM DEALER BEING REPAIRED FOR A DIFFERENT PROBLEM. ERROR CODES WERE B0081 AND U0170. THE PPM WAS REPLACED BY DEALER'S SERVICE TECHNICIAN WITH GM PART NUMBER 92225595. THE REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH THIS MODULE IS KN…
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THE AIR BAG SYSTEM'S PASSENGER PRESENCE MODULE FAILED WHILE THE PONTIAC G8 GT WAS AT THE GM DEALER BEING REPAIRED FOR A DIFFERENT PROBLEM. ERROR CODES WERE B0081 AND U0170. THE PPM WAS REPLACED BY DEALER'S SERVICE TECHNICIAN WITH GM PART NUMBER 92225595. THE REPAIR WAS NOT COVERED BY ANY WARRANTY EVEN THOUGH THIS MODULE IS KNOWN TO BE A HIGH-FAILURE ITEM DUE TO A DEFECTIVE DESIGN. THIS IS A DANGEROUS DEFECT WHICH MAY CAUSE THE PASSENGER-SIDE AIRBAG TO FAIL TO INFLATE IN A CRASH. THE VEHICLE SHOULD BE RECALLED. *TR
AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT IS ON CONTINUOUSLY. I'M SURE IT'S THE SAME SEAT SENSOR ISSUE EVERYONE ELSE IS HAVING WITH THE G8. THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE THAT SHOULD BE CORRECTED VIA A RECALL. *TR
Official recalls
415V399000 · Seat Belts
Jun 23, 2015
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 breaking.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: If the cable breaks, the seat occupant may not be properly restrained in the event of a crash, increasing their risk of injury.
Remedy: 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.
14V540000 · Electrical System:ignition
Sep 9, 2014
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.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: 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.
Remedy: 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 for this recall is 14445. Note: Until the recall has been performed, it is very important that drivers adjust their seat and steering column to allow clearance between their knee and the ignition key.
11V534000 · Air Bags:frontal:sensor/control MODULE-INACTIVE
Nov 4, 2011
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 PASSENGER AIR BAG.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: IN THE EVENT OF A CRASH, THIS DELAY MAY RESULT IN INCREASED HEAD INJURY TO CERTAIN FRONT SEAT OCCUPANTS.
Remedy: 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.
09V172000 · Service Brakes, Air:antilock:control Unit/module; Tires:pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems
May 21, 2009
GM IS RECALLING 35,038 MY 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT" AND FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLES SAFETY STANDARD NO. 138, "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS". THE BRAKE PEDAL POSITION SWITCH MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED. WITH THIS CONDITION, THE BRAKE LAMPS MAY BE CONTINUALLY ILLUMINATED AND FAIL TO WARN A FOLLOWING DRIVER WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BRAKING. ALSO CERTAIN VEHICLES MAY HAVE INCORRECT VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT ILLUMINATE THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE TELLTALE UNTIL TIRE PRESSURE FALLS BELOW VALUES REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
Consequence & remedy
Consequence: INAPPROPRIATE, NON-STANDARD LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR DRIVING ON A SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-INFLATED TIRE CAUSES THE TIRE TO OVERHEAT AND CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE BRAKE POSITION SENSOR AND THE REMOTE CONTROL DOOR LOCK RECEIVER WITH THE CORRECT VALUES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 5, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Additional source detail variants (2)
Tires:pressure Monitoring And Regulating Systems
GM IS RECALLING 35,038 MY 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT" AND FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLES SAFETY STANDARD NO. 138, "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS". THE BRAKE PEDAL POSITION SWITCH MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED. WITH THIS CONDITION, THE BRAKE LAMPS MAY BE CONTINUALLY ILLUMINATED AND FAIL TO WARN A FOLLOWING DRIVER WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BRAKING. ALSO CERTAIN VEHICLES MAY HAVE INCORRECT VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT ILLUMINATE THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE TELLTALE UNTIL TIRE PRESSURE FALLS BELOW VALUES REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
Consequence: INAPPROPRIATE, NON-STANDARD LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR DRIVING ON A SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-INFLATED TIRE CAUSES THE TIRE TO OVERHEAT AND CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE BRAKE POSITION SENSOR AND THE REMOTE CONTROL DOOR LOCK RECEIVER WITH THE CORRECT VALUES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 5, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Service Brakes, Air:antilock:control Unit/module
GM IS RECALLING 35,038 MY 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT" AND FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLES SAFETY STANDARD NO. 138, "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS". THE BRAKE PEDAL POSITION SWITCH MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED. WITH THIS CONDITION, THE BRAKE LAMPS MAY BE CONTINUALLY ILLUMINATED AND FAIL TO WARN A FOLLOWING DRIVER WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BRAKING. ALSO CERTAIN VEHICLES MAY HAVE INCORRECT VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT ILLUMINATE THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE TELLTALE UNTIL TIRE PRESSURE FALLS BELOW VALUES REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
Consequence: INAPPROPRIATE, NON-STANDARD LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR DRIVING ON A SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-INFLATED TIRE CAUSES THE TIRE TO OVERHEAT AND CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE.
Remedy: DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE BRAKE POSITION SENSOR AND THE REMOTE CONTROL DOOR LOCK RECEIVER WITH THE CORRECT VALUES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 5, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Model-level recall history does not show whether a particular VIN is affected or has received a repair. Check a VIN with NHTSA ↗
NHTSA investigations
0No exact-year investigations in this snapshot.