Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2009 Pontiac G8 owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
A month ago my passenger air bag light came on indicating there is an issue with the Passenger Air Bag system. This occurs even when there is no one in the passenger seat. This completely disables the airbag system in my car for my passengers and I can no longer reliably transport other passengers for fear of getting into an accident and the air bag not deploying. These parts are not normal mechanical pieces that wear and tear over the course of the cars life, and with a quote from the dealership of almost $1000.00 it is unreasonable for me to pay as this is a HUGE SAFETY ISSUE, not only to passengers but to myself as I am unsure if this will effect the Drivers Air Bag System. I dont think its fair that with the car only being 12 years old that I should have to pay and replace a faulty air bag system, when this is a common issue with the 2009 Pontiac G8. …
7/17/21 (about 94500 miles) - While driving in heavy rain on a congested highway, with my windshield wipers turned on (of course), the wipers suddenly stopped working. This could have easily killed me and my family. The wipers would not turn back on, no matter what I did. At a rest stop that afternoon, and then later during extensive testing, I found that turning the wipers on would never actually make the wipers activate--but it would cause the engine to shut off and caused the car to issue numerous, varying error codes related to numerous vehicle systems (including ABS). Through much difficulty, I was able to find that this was caused by a faulty electrical ground at what's known on the Pontiac G8 as ground point G102. The electrical ground was restored via ground connection elsewhere, and the wipers resumed functioning. …
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. While driving approximately 10 MPH and attempting to stop the vehicle, the steering wheel seized and the vehicle failed to stop when the brakes were engaged without warning. The vehicle crashed into the rear driver side of another vehicle. A police report was filed and the front passenger required medical attention. The vehicle was towed to the contacts residence. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure and the VIN was included in NHTSA campaign number: 14V540000 (electrical system). The failure mileage was unknown.
Tl contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8 gt. The contact stated that the vehicle failed to start until after several attempts and the key was loose in the ignition. The vehicle was repaired. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign number: 14V540000 (electrical system) however, the part needed to do the repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The approximate failure mileage was 25,000. Updated 5/4/15
Tl* the contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. The contact stated that the vehicle was repaired according to NHTSA campaign number: 14V540000 (electrical system). Upon receiving the vehicle, the contact found that the key would not insert into the ignition. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 15,722.
Brake lights will illuminated - when the brake paddle is pushed up the brake lights will turn off for a short time and than illuminate again. This happens when the vehicle is stationary, in motion, on a city street and on the highway.
Our 2009 Pontiac G8 gt with 54,000 miles starting having the air bag fault light show up during startup of the vehicle. This fault stayed illuminated at all times. I researched this fault on the internet, including Pontiac forums, and found that there was a significant amount of other Pontiac G8 owners that have had a similar fault. I also found on the internet that there was a large amount of GM products that has the same fault. I found that the majority of the findings on the internet stated that the issue was the passenger presence module and/or sensor. On 4-22-14, we took our G8 to the dealership for analysis. The dealership found that the failure was the passenger presence module (pn#92225595) and passenger presence sensor (pn#92220398). The air bags in the vehicle will not function with this current fault. The cost to repair the issue quoted by the dealership is $1,193.94. …
Tl contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. The contact stated that when you start the engine the dashboard lights and the engine shuts down. The contact has experienced the problem multiple times. The contact has spoke with both the manufacturer and the dealer. Both stated that they can not resolve the problem until the problem can be duplicated. The dealer did inspect the vehicle and they did not find anything wrong with the vehicle's computer. The last time the problem happened was last week and still had not been repaired. The contact stated that he has to keep restarting the vehicle multiple times because the engine and the dashboard lights keep shutting off, which prevents him from driving at night. The failure mileage was 4400 and the current mileage was 5444.
Air bag fault occurred and displayed in two places on my dash when I started my car to go to work. I had not driven this car in a month and just a few weeks prior to the last time it was driven I had another airbag recall performed. Took car to the dealership to find out the passenger sensor module had a short circuit in it. Unknown to me all the vehicle airbags were disabled with this fault per the service tech. It seems terrible unsafe to disable all airbags for a passenger sensing module. It should fail active rather than fail passive for safety. I have also found numerous reports of this module failing near the time of warranty expiration not necessarily after. Though mine was after by date not mileage.
Vehicle will suddenly throw ABS/traction control/brake system/airbags failure notices; vehicle then goes into limp mode and the transmission locks into first gear. Has occurred 3 times, dealership unable to diagnose or repair. They have cleared all MIL/DTC codes and re-flashed ECM 3 times. The problem has occurred once on the interstate in heavy traffic at 70mph and twice on city streets in rush hour traffic, with significant chance for accident/crash. When the vehicle exhibits this condition, loss of control occurs, as engine delivers no power to transmission and car is limited to 25mph maximum speed.
Related recalls
Electrical system › Ignition
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.
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…
Electrical complaints in other G8 years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2009 Pontiac G8?
NHTSA has 20 complaints about the electrical system of the 2009 Pontiac G8, 14% of the model year's 144 complaints. The component named most often is instrument cluster/panel (1 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2009 Pontiac G8 electrical problems?
Yes — NHTSA recall 14V-540 (ignition, Sep 9, 2014). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers.
At what mileage do 2009 Pontiac G8 electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 36,000 miles, and 33% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 1 injury to electrical 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.