Airbag complaints by model year
Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (front, side and curtain air bags, sensors and inflators).
Mileage when the problem started
What owners report
The contact owns a 2009 Pontiac G8. The contact stated that the airbag warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact had taken the vehicle to a dealer and was informed that the front passenger's side airbag sensor was defective and needed to be replaced. Upon investigation, the contact linked the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number: 11V534000 (Air Bags) however, the vehicle was not included in the recall. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 29,000.
The contact owns a 2009 PONTIAC G8. The contact stated that at start-up, the airbag default warning light was illuminated on the instrument panel. The contact proceeded to drive and noticed that the light was no longer on the instrument panel. Neither the dealer nor the manufacturer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 56,000.
I have gotten a "airbag fault" warning every time I start my car. Apparently this is due to a censor giving out and to repair the issue costs about $1000. This is highly unsatisfactory as many users of this particular vehicle have reported this issue when operating this type of vehicle under normal conditions. This in a sense renders the vehicle unsafe to operate as drivers (some unaware), whivh I was not, are operating the vehicle without any operable airbags. The cost to repair is very high for a feature that is a safety standard across the industry. The airbag system of a vehicle should never have any faults or failures unless it has been deployed or tampered with. It is quite disappointing that a system that has never been used or tampered with can have such costly faults/failures. This is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. This is scary. …
Passenger seat occupancy module - failure the failure of an electronic module located under the passenger seat, defaults the airbag system to "off". Cost is just under $1,000 for dealer replacement. Dealer indicated there was no method to turn on the airbag system - regardless of passenger or not. Because of this failure (many failures recognized since the 2006 solstice model) any passenger is subject to an unsafe condition without active airbag. The value of the vehicle negates the dealer cost to repair. Complaint filer feels the cost of the replacement module should be half of that quoted by the dealer since genuine GM parts are available at $275 instead of dealer cost of $417 and that labor of 2.5 hours to replace module under the seat is excessive based on time taken by others self-correcting the problem. (times indicated ran from 20 minutes to 45 minutes for most). …
Related recalls (1)
Air bags › Frontal › Sensor/control module-inactive
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.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Which Pontiac G8 years have airbag problems?
By NHTSA complaints, the 2009 (69) and 2008 (25) model years. Airbag complaints make up 48% of all complaints for the 2009.
Is there a recall for Pontiac G8 airbag problems?
Yes — 1 recall, including 11V-534 (sensor/control module-inactive, Nov 4, 2011). Recall repairs are free at authorized dealers; check a specific car with the VIN recall check.
At what mileage do Pontiac G8 airbag problems start?
Across all years, half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 60,000 miles; 35% happened before 50,000 miles.
What part fails most often?
Owners most often name the frontal › sensor/control module (2 mentions), followed by the frontal (2).
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.