Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 39,131 complaints for PONTIAC
Incident date: Sep 15, 2022
When making turns the electronic power steering go out causing dangerous situations.
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(1998) - ENGINE
Sep 15, 2022
Incident date: Jun 16, 2021
The contact owns a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that he noticed oil spots on the ground underneath the vehicle. The contact then stated that upon inspection, he checked under the vehicle and noticed that oil was leaking from the valve cover gasket. No warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The dealer was not notified of the failure. The manufacture... Read more
Incident date: Sep 9, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while his daughter was driving at approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist. The contact stated that an automated voice feature alerted his daughter that the power steering had failed. His daughter managed to drive the vehicle home and upon inspection of the vehicle, the contact stated that the power steering ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 7, 2022
My issue is with the initial recall of the air bag system. Why is the air bag replaced only one time when this is an ongoing problem. My air bag system needs replaced for the second time but it is not covered. I don't understand the logic behind not continually correcting an ongoing problem. Can you please help me? [XXX] INFORMATION Redacted PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2020
I’ve had my vehicle for quite some time now and it’s been braking down slowly but surely. From The Switches to Wires. I’ve Had One Miner Accident due to The Brakes. I’m Just Curious
Crash
Incident date: Aug 12, 2020
I’ve had my vehicle for quite some time now and it’s been braking down slowly but surely. From The Switches to Wires. I’ve Had One Miner Accident due to The Brakes. I’m Just Curious
Crash
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2006) - ENGINE
Aug 30, 2022
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Seems like a bad motor gasket cause it’s a constant burning oil smell with no visible leaks at all
Incident date: Jun 24, 2022
The air conditioning vents spew out white dusty powder which is suspscted to be aluminum oxide, a known carcinogenic.
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The airbag sensor in the passenger seat has been recalled before, their only fix was to wrap it in tape, which does not solve the issue, this is a continuing problem for owners of kappa platform cars (Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, etc.) for years and gm continues to ignore it, it is absolutely a safety issue due to the exorbitant price of the fix many people will just continue to drive the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
The airbag sensor in the passenger seat has been recalled before, their only fix was to wrap it in tape, which does not solve the issue, this is a continuing problem for owners of kappa platform cars (Pontiac Solstice, Saturn Sky, etc.) for years and gm continues to ignore it, it is absolutely a safety issue due to the exorbitant price of the fix many people will just continue to drive the vehicle... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2006
Since we first bought the car in 2005, whenever the fuel tank is filled to 3/4 or higher the car starts to smell of fuel fumes. If it is filled up full to the top, it literally spills fuel onto the ground (about 16oz). I called GM and they told me to bring it to the dealership. The dealership looked at it and determined that it is a bad weld on the fuel tank filler neck and also confirmed that the... Read more
Incident date: Aug 1, 2022
Fuel lines on this car are non-metallic. Apparently, some sharp-toothed critter bit the line causing a fuel leak as confirmed by the independent service center indicated on the uploaded invoice. There was no warning. I noticed a puddle under the differential. Replacement lines are no longer available from manufacturer. Problem must be known because repair kits (see invoice) are available. "Be... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the vehicle speed control (VSC), ABS, and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure; however, the independent mechanic replaced the heat shield. The dealer was not notified o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2022
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle lost motive power with the vehicle speed control (VSC), ABS, and check engine warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic who was unable to duplicate the failure; however, the independent mechanic replaced the heat shield. The dealer was not notified o... Read more
Incident date: Aug 10, 2022
The plastic hose that comes off the fuel pump cracked causing fuel to leak out of my car and very strong gas Vapors inside of my car. The smell of gas inside my car was so strong it literally made me sick not to mention gas leak in everywhere is never good. There was no light sensor or anything that come on to give any warnings still no lights on no check engine no nothing just fuel sausage and th... Read more
Incident date: Aug 4, 2022
I had called GMC and there was a recall on the power steering but that was opened back in 2014 and was closed the same year I am having problems with mine I had just bought the car from someone else and the car had not been took care of and I have a new born baby that rides n the car and I'm really worried about this
Incident date: Jul 28, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, excessive force was needed to steer the vehicle as both the power steering and battery warning lights would illuminate on the instrument panel. During one instance, the contact stated that while driving at 45 MPH, the vehicle stalled as both warning lights illuminated the instrument panel. The contact also... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2005) - POWER TRAIN
Aug 2, 2022
Incident date: May 4, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that it was difficult to shift the vehicle into gear. There was an abnormal banging sound coming from the vehicle. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic where the transmission fluid was flushed and refilled. The contact was also informed that a spacer was missing. The local dealer wa... Read more
Incident date: Jul 17, 2022
My steering wheel has been having a mind of its own last couple of weeks. It moves by itself back and forth from left to right it takes alot of effort to keep it straight. Very dangerous today my power steering light came on. This is the first time the service light came in the but the problem itself started about 2 weeks ago. The steering wheel also vibrates on and off.
Incident date: Jul 24, 2022
Steering gone out while driving times 3 with 2 replacements and now in shop for 3rd replacement. Nearly hit a lady. Time before, I nearly went over an embankment. Steering column has been entirely replaced twice. The electric steering motor has also been replaced 2 to 3 times as well. Numerous times have lost the ability to steer when in a curve but then later corrected itself and continued d... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2020
The contact owns a 2007 Pontiac Solstice. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated while driving. The contact stated that the passenger’s side air bag warning light was illuminated while a passenger was seated in the seat. The contact stated that the vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated they needed to order parts for a switch for the passenger’s side air bag fail... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
My car stopped working all of a sudden in the middle of the road. no warning signs were made nor any of my lights came on. it’s rough running and never stays on long to drive. when i brake it completely shuts off. it overheats without the temperature gauge telling me it is. i don’t know exactly what is wrong but it’s not working now. i couldn’t go over 35 mph without it shutting off either... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
My car stopped working all of a sudden in the middle of the road. no warning signs were made nor any of my lights came on. it’s rough running and never stays on long to drive. when i brake it completely shuts off. it overheats without the temperature gauge telling me it is. i don’t know exactly what is wrong but it’s not working now. i couldn’t go over 35 mph without it shutting off either... Read more
Incident date: May 5, 2022
My car stopped working all of a sudden in the middle of the road. no warning signs were made nor any of my lights came on. it’s rough running and never stays on long to drive. when i brake it completely shuts off. it overheats without the temperature gauge telling me it is. i don’t know exactly what is wrong but it’s not working now. i couldn’t go over 35 mph without it shutting off either... Read more
Incident date: Jul 2, 2022
When I was slowing down to come to a stop at 15-20mph it suddenly hard shifted and jerked like the brakes came on but I did not have my foot on the brake. The back tires squealed like they locked up or something. Lucky no one was behind me or I may have gotten rear ended. My care has 50K miles and this is the first time this has happened. I drove straight home and it did it 4-5 times more on the... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
None of the gauges work properly Gm has not issued a recall despite the numerous complaints and it is a 500 to 800 dollar repair bill to replace the instrument cluster. 2005 Sunfire and the instrument cluster is malfunctioning. The gas gauge has stopped working altogether and the temp and rpm gauge work erratically. This is definitely a recall issue and has nothing to do with the maintenance of t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
None of the gauges work properly Gm has not issued a recall despite the numerous complaints and it is a 500 to 800 dollar repair bill to replace the instrument cluster. 2005 Sunfire and the instrument cluster is malfunctioning. The gas gauge has stopped working altogether and the temp and rpm gauge work erratically. This is definitely a recall issue and has nothing to do with the maintenance of t... Read more
Incident date: Apr 1, 2022
None of the gauges work properly Gm has not issued a recall despite the numerous complaints and it is a 500 to 800 dollar repair bill to replace the instrument cluster. 2005 Sunfire and the instrument cluster is malfunctioning. The gas gauge has stopped working altogether and the temp and rpm gauge work erratically. This is definitely a recall issue and has nothing to do with the maintenance of t... Read more
Incident date: Jun 5, 2022
The contact owns a 2005 Pontiac Vibe. The contact stated that the air bag warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was diagnosed at a local dealer with air bag coil wire failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The VIN was not included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V168000 (Air Bags). The approximate failure mileage was 199,850.
Incident date: May 27, 2022
The secondary safety hood latch failed causing the hood to fly up and shatter the windshield while also obstructing visibility on the road. The complete obstruction of the windshield presented a dangerous situation putting myself and others at risk of death of severe injury. In addition this caused glass shards to enter the driver/passenger compartment if the vehical further presenting risk to t... Read more
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
Electrical system has mysteriously drained 2 batteries, the exterior lights vary on which will work despite the bulbs being good, the electric power steering comes on then off at inopportune times makes steering heavy and difficult to maintain Speed fluctuation the car will jump into gear or rev up to appropriate gear.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
Electrical system has mysteriously drained 2 batteries, the exterior lights vary on which will work despite the bulbs being good, the electric power steering comes on then off at inopportune times makes steering heavy and difficult to maintain Speed fluctuation the car will jump into gear or rev up to appropriate gear.
Incident date: Feb 26, 2022
Electrical system has mysteriously drained 2 batteries, the exterior lights vary on which will work despite the bulbs being good, the electric power steering comes on then off at inopportune times makes steering heavy and difficult to maintain Speed fluctuation the car will jump into gear or rev up to appropriate gear.
Incident date: May 26, 2022
The contact's daughter owns a 2008 Pontiac G6. The contact stated that while her daughter was driving at an undisclosed speed, the driver's side air bag deployed without warning. There was no impact to the vehicle that could have caused the air bag to deploy. The contact's daughter did not sustain any injury, and no medical attention was received. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired by an i... Read more
Incident date: May 19, 2022
Going down a busy highway at night, 1 minute the car is fine, the next minute the lights go off and then the car dies. The service air bag light came on, the oil light came on, the anti theft light came on and the battery light also. I tried to crank it, nothing. I put a jump box on the battery it Crunk. Within the last 6 months I have replaced the starter twice, the alternator twice, the fuse bo... Read more
Incident date: Dec 7, 2018
Van crashed with damage to the front when it ran off the road and went into a culvert/ditch and air bags did not deploy resulting in paralyzation of the wife of the owner after van had been apparently donated to Charity Cars as junk vehicle or salvage vehicle. Vehicle was apparently repaired by towing company and offered for sale at at a used car dealership in Zanesville, Ohio. The passenger ... Read more
Crash
2 injured
Incident date: May 9, 2022
i HAVE AN ISSUE WITH MY POWER STEERING AND EPS TURNING OFF AFTER MY CAR HAS BEEN CRANKED A MINIMUM OF 2 MIN MAYBE NOT EVEN THAT LONG. MY STEERING WHEEL ALSO ROTATES (LIKE SHAKING) WITHOUT THE CAR MOVING AND IF THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN IT POSES A HUGE RISK TO CRASHING AS THE JERKING CAUSES THE CAR TO SWERVE. i TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE RECALL ISSUES REPLACE SEEING THAT THE ISSUES I AM ... Read more
Incident date: May 9, 2022
i HAVE AN ISSUE WITH MY POWER STEERING AND EPS TURNING OFF AFTER MY CAR HAS BEEN CRANKED A MINIMUM OF 2 MIN MAYBE NOT EVEN THAT LONG. MY STEERING WHEEL ALSO ROTATES (LIKE SHAKING) WITHOUT THE CAR MOVING AND IF THE CAR IS BEING DRIVEN IT POSES A HUGE RISK TO CRASHING AS THE JERKING CAUSES THE CAR TO SWERVE. i TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE RECALL ISSUES REPLACE SEEING THAT THE ISSUES I AM ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2001) - FIRERELATED
May 19, 2022
Incident date: May 12, 2022
The contact owns a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that while the vehicle was idle, a burning odor was detected. The contact turned off the vehicle and noticed that there was smoke and then flames coming from underneath the hood. The contact did not sustain any injuries, and no medical attention was received. No police report was filed. The contact waited until the fire went out on its... Read more
Fire
Incident date: Feb 4, 2022
The passenger presence pad was not repaired.
Incident date: May 7, 2022
Electronic steering only works intermittently. I was recently driving the vehicle and the power steering stopped working as I was going around a corner and almost collided with another vehicle because of it. After shutting the vehicle off and restarting it, the power steering started working for a little bit, then stopped working again.
Incident date: May 10, 2022
The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac G6. The contact stated while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle lost power steering assist while pulling into his driveway. The contact attempted to steer the vehicle however, the steering wheel jerked to left. The contact observed that the "Power Steering Failure" warning light was illuminated. The contact drove the vehicle to a local dealer however, the vehi... Read more
Incident date: May 8, 2022
I was driving with my kids from Ohio to wv. Halfway there my steering got super stiff and it was very hard to turn the wheel. Then a light on dashboard of a car with wrench in it came on then the car made ding noise and across radio message center said power steering. I read there was a recall in 2014 for my year make and model of car a 2005 Pontiac G6 but since it's been so long I can't check to ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2005) - UNKNOWN OR OTHER
May 15, 2022
Incident date: May 10, 2022
Other unknown motor vehicles are in the same area and and different times of day monitoring my vehicle. I get car washed and park I return I have spray on the sides, hood, and directly in front of glass.
Incident date: May 8, 2022
On 5-8-22, I, along with my 3 children, were driving from Ohio to west Virginia to visit my mother for mother's day. We were about 5 minutes away from getting on the highway where speed limit would've been 70 mph and multiple vehicles. The road we were on the speed limit was 55 mph but I was coming up to a sharp left turn so I was slowed down to about 35 mph. Before I started to go into the sharp ... Read more
PONTIAC
GRAND PRIX
(2005) - ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
May 10, 2022
Incident date: May 10, 2022
The contact owned a 2005 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V400000 (Electrical System) and would like to be removed from the recall distribution list as she does no longer own the vehicle. There was no further information provided.
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
Electrical wiring mess with air for air or heating up I was trying to make it work while driving and then all of suddenly dashboard light went out, car slowed down and stopped. Turned the car off then turned back on dashboard light wouldn't work, windshield wipers stop working. Got stuck middle of nowhere after I pulled over to check with the car won't turn back on till fuse change and engine star... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
Electrical wiring mess with air for air or heating up I was trying to make it work while driving and then all of suddenly dashboard light went out, car slowed down and stopped. Turned the car off then turned back on dashboard light wouldn't work, windshield wipers stop working. Got stuck middle of nowhere after I pulled over to check with the car won't turn back on till fuse change and engine star... Read more
Incident date: Oct 22, 2021
Electrical wiring mess with air for air or heating up I was trying to make it work while driving and then all of suddenly dashboard light went out, car slowed down and stopped. Turned the car off then turned back on dashboard light wouldn't work, windshield wipers stop working. Got stuck middle of nowhere after I pulled over to check with the car won't turn back on till fuse change and engine star... Read more
Incident date: Feb 5, 2022
No SE lights on dash. Shudder shifts intermittently between all gears both in automatic and manual driving mode. No shops have been able to diagnose what the actual problem is. Huge safety risk as there is no telling when it will actually happen and “stall” the car out in traffic when shifting. In searching the internet this is a common problem for 5+ years and there has not been a solution id... Read more
Crash