Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (fuel pump, injectors, fuel tank, hybrid and EV propulsion).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2008 Pontiac G5 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
The contact owns a 2008 Pontiac G5. The contact stated while driving the vehicle into the garage, there was an abnormal gasoline fumes odor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer and diagnosed with rusted fuel lines from underneath the engine to the rear of the vehicle. The vehicle was currently being repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure; however, no assistance was provided. The approximate failure mileage was 33,000.
1. Fuel Leak 2. Fuel leaking in driveway, car has potential to catch fire if driven 3. Suspected leak and odor was reported 4 years ago. Dealer said the recall did not apply to my car. After receiving an email reply back from GMLegalUpdate department indicating they would cover the "fuel line" under special coverage, the dealer looked at the car. Dealer said they couldn't find any leak. Now the leak is very apparent when you start the car. Significant gas leaks onto the ground. After speaking to GM at [phone], GM says that my VIN No does not apply to the special coverage. Now they won't honor the letter. A service bulletin 12191B has been issued for this problem "regardless of the vehicle's age or mileage" but it seems from numerous posts GM pawns this problem off as the car's Vin No does not apply to their vehicle.
Fuel line rusted out causing fuel leakage. The bracket that holds fuel lines also retains salt and brine deposits and is of poor design causing fuel lines to rust through one spot only. It is located a foot in front of rear driver side tire underneath. About a inch away from exhaust. Fuel pours out a steady drop and puddles underneath hot exhaust. This is not the fuel pump recall problem already listed. Repair costs $951.87 at dealership. Looking underneath car all the line was rust free except this fuel bracket area. This is very dangerous to have fuel leaking on to pavement and under hot exhaust. As gas evaporates its fumes could start a fire. A person May drive for many miles without noticing the fuel leaking. The gas fumes enter the inside of car. If a person smokes this could also cause explosion all from poor design and no recall to replace fuel line and bracket. …
Noticed a strong fuel smell coming from rear of vehicle after returning from a trip to the store. Looked under vehicle and saw a puddle of fuel forming on drivers side in front of rear tire. Looked at the undercarriage and saw a steady fuel leak coming from the fuel line beneath the silver heat shield wrap. I removed the wrap to find that the fuel line had rusted through around the plastic mounting clip. This is a serious safety defect as the fuel line run inches from the exhaust pipe hence the manufacturers heat shield wrap attempting to shield the fuel lines from the exhaust pipe. This is a poor design as it is located just in front of the driver side rear tire. The heat shield wrap gets saturated from water from the tire then has no place to go, accelerating corrosion. My vehicle only has 63,000 miles. This should never had happened. …
Started to smell a strong fuel odor in garage. Noticed about a foot in front of the driver side rear tire dripping gasoline from fuel line next to the plastic clip there. This is very close to the exhaust pipe and very dangerous. Went online and saw several similar complaints about this issue and how there was an associated recall but only for 5-6 states. Not sure why only these states were listed but in line with many of the other complaints the plastic clip holding those fuel lines was holding salt and brine of the winter months and causing corrosion at that spot. Taking the car in to a dealer to have it looked at and am fully expecting to have to replace the whole fuel line at $600-1000 similarly to the other complaints I saw. If this issue was already recalled for some states then it needs to be recalled for all of them as it is clearly an ongoing and persistent issue.
My 2008 G5 has a strong gas smell both inside and outside the car. I checked for recalls and saw that 2008 G5's have been recalled for a fuel leak due to a defective fuel pump module but only in hotter states. I'm in sc and we certainly should qualify as a hotter state with temps in the upper 90's in the spring. GM recalled the '06 and '07 G5's in sc for fuel leaks so they should recall the '08 model too since it has the same problem (recall 09v-419) my car has only 31,903 miles on it so I should not be stuck with the cost of repairing an ongoing fuel leak problem that GM has had with '06-'08 models. My mother bought this car new from the dealership and it has been garage kept and driven very little. GM should repair all the 2008 G5's that are leaking fuel, not just the ones in a select few states. Fuel leaks are dangerous and could result in a fire in any state.
While driving in town around other vehicles namely those with bright lights and at stop lights. It felt as though there was a ton of pressure inside my vehicle almost like the the windows were going to explode. Im not sure how to explain it maybe a gravataional downward pull? Almost like a chemical burn from the brightness of other headilghts and the vehicle mirrors mixed chemical nomenclature were having a bad reaction. This caused me to become aware of an issue. I took the vehicle in and had the battery tested noticing the battery was located in the trunk with no protection surrounding the battery and wires semi exposed placed next to fuses and sheet metal. Who designes things like that? Thats a disaster waiting to happen. Today my head still hurts and I will be seeking a medical professional.
2008 Pontiac G5, approx. 77,000 miles. Failed annual inspection due to fuel leak in fuel line, drivers side, rear, just in front of tire. Close inspection of fuel line, showed it to be the fuel return line, that had rusted a small hole due to shielding that was around the line in that area retaining moisture (shielding was fiberglass looking in appearance and covered in silver covering and most likely is a heat shield as like are about a foot from the exhaust pipe. This is a poor design as it retains moisture around the line causing it to rust. Dealer estimate to repair (replacing entire fuel line was $700+. This appears to be a common issue with these cars (Chevy and Saturn versions too) suggest dealers recall these cars and replace with stainless fuel lines if lines are rusty.
Car speeds up without pressing the gas petal and it's hard to stop it when in motion on interstate it stopped out of nowhere and turned off with an 18 wheeler behind me like to have killed me got car in neutral finally forcefully praying that jesus protect me because it would not shift into gear and pulled over to side of road. I'm scared to drive my car. Driving down road steering wheel locks up causes engine to shake whole car and backfires my car rides really rough. Messed up power steering has caused my blinkers not to work now. I'm really sad. The engine light comes on every time I put gas in my car. The transmission acts up and when driving my car it's like it doesn't know what gear it should be in so it jerks really bad.
After noticing a gasoline smell and a puddle collecting underneath my vehicle while it was in park, I took it to the dealer to see what was going on with my vehicle. The dealership then informed me that my vehicle was seriously leaking fuel. They told me that the fuel line from the tank to the engine was completely rusted through. The price to replace this part is completely ridiculous and I am highly upset that no one has told me that this part was starting to rust for the last year. My car is only 9 years old and doesn't even have 100,000 miles on it. This is a highly unsafe issue that requires the company to do a recall on because no one should be driving their vehicle when there is a fuel leak!!!!
Related recalls
Fuel system, gasoline › Delivery › Fuel pump
General Motors (GM) is recalling certain model year 2007 Chevrolet Equinox and Pontiac Torrent vehicles originally sold or currently registered in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas; model year 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G5, and Saturn ION vehicles originally sold, or currently registered in, Arizona, California,…
Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel pump module, free of charge. Notification to owners began on on November 21, 2012.
Fuel System complaints in other G5 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are fuel system problems on the 2008 Pontiac G5?
NHTSA has 35 complaints about the fuel & propulsion system of the 2008 Pontiac G5, 30% of the model year's 115 complaints. The component named most often is delivery › fuel pump (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2008 Pontiac G5 fuel system problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 12V-459 (fuel pump, Sep 19, 2012). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2008 Pontiac G5 fuel system problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 84,000 miles, and 3% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 0 fires and 1 injury to fuel & propulsion system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.