Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (struts, shocks, control arms, ball joints, springs).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2005 Pontiac GTO owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
Tl contact owns a 2005 Pontiac GTO. While driving approximately 62 MPH, the vehicle unexpectedly swerved towards the right and crashed into another vehicle. The contact and the driver of the other vehicle suffered personal injuries. A police report was filed. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired; however, the contact stated the failure was related to the steering. The failure mileage was 80,000. Updated 01/12/11 updated 01/14/11 pictures received 01/27/11 prior to the accident, the rear differential failed internally, and the power steering hose was leaking. Updated 04/15/11
Irregular front tire wear on the inside of the tires down to the steel belts causing blow out and flats. Numerous wheel alignments have not fixed the problem. Why has GM not put out a recall on this dangerous issue? Loss of vehicle control when this occurs. Some one is going to get hurt or lose their life. I lost control of the vehicle the first time it occurred but managed to stay on the road.
After reading cleveland's newsnet5 report about front tire problems on the 2004-2005 GTO, I realized I have had a similar problem. I had to replace my tires at 24,400 miles due to the right front tire being severely cut and worn on the inside tread. Since my tire tread was about half way worn, I chose to replace all instead of one, or two. I discovered the problem during a routine tire rotation, and did not see any sign of abnormal wear when I rotated them at 20,000. I immediately took the car to Firestone and had an alignment done. The right front was off slightly negative camber causing the tire to rub against the strut the clearance is very close when properly aligned. After replacing the tires with pirelli pzero m+s 245/45-17 I had the technician verify clearance with the struts, and he said you can see light meaning the clearance was close. …
The 2005 Pontiac GTO with 18,000 miles was taken to tire service station for inspection and repairs of potential nail penetration to front passenger tire on April 14, 2007. Slow leak in tire after winter storage in garage caused the tire to be flat. Upon removal from car the defective tire determined the entire inner rim was worn out, exposing wires. Stated I was lucky the tire did not blow,out and rip my fender off, and causing an accident. I was informed that the driver's side tire was damaged as well, not safe to drive on, but not as bad as the passenger front tire. Something was severely wrong with car to cause that much damage. Paid for a replacement tire to drive to dealership. Researched information on internet through forums in regard to strut rub issue. …
I have a 2005 Pontiac GTO. The problem exist in the front suspension of the vehicle. The problem occurs when the front ire rubs against the strut tower causing the inner wall of the tire to erode, exposing the steel in the tire which will lead to a massive blowout in the tire. There is a flaw in the design. I had an extensive debate with the service guy at a local GM dealership about this, my two other GM cars I own have gone a year maybe even 2 without an alignment and neither one of them ate the tires off the car! This posses a safety hazard to me and anyone else on the road if that tire blows. Thank god I noticed the steel showing on my tire only cause I backed in and the wheels were turned out. The problem is because OEM parts in the suspension have failed and need to be replaced. …
Tl* -the contact owns a 2005 Pontiac GTO. He received a NHTSA report via email stating that there is an open investigation for the following components: suspension, suspension:front suspension:front:macpherson strut, tires, tires:sidewall. The NHTSA action number is pe07010. The contact's vehicle demonstrated the same failures. The front passenger and driver tires are rubbing against the struts; the steel belts are showing , and the tires are shredding because of it. The tire brand is bf goodrich, dot be8r3u113304, tire size, 17/245. The original tires were replaced due to the related failure. The failure mileage was 20,000 for the original set tires, and 44,000 for the second set of tires. The current mileage on the vehicle is 48,000. The second set of tires is also making contact with the struts and need to be replaced. …
Strut rub on Pontiac GTO 2005. Noticed steering wheel vibrating and sent the car to have an alignment. The technician doing the alignment then had me come into the shop and look at the right front end and there was a 1/4 inch grove dug into the inside of the tire due to rubbing the welds on the strut. Only way recommended to repair is to but a $1400.00 suspension rebuild kit from an aftermarket parts distributor. The technician then checked service bulletins and recall notices for the car and found that GM is saying its wear and tear so they won't be held responsible for the damages nor the repairing of the vehicle. In research for the fixing of the problem found that many other owners of GTO's are having the same problem. As for the consequences..... …
Stock tire one (front right) failed on interstate due to extreme tire wear on the inside section of tread. This happened around 18,000 mi on the GTO. I replaced the tire. The two on front left failed via a slow leak at 21,000 mi. When replacing the second tire I noticed the same extreme wear on inside part of the tire(internal wire belt showing. I inspected the rear tires , recently rotated, and found same excessive inside tread wear. After inspecting the wheel wells, it became obvious that the tires are consistently rubbing inside against the front struts due to lack of clearance. I had to purchase a complete set of 4 new tires and I also photographed the used/worn tires and the worn/scratched front struts. This vehicle is still under the manufacturer's warranty and I have not yet reported this problem to my local dealership.
The factory installed tires on my 2005 Pontiac GTO rub against the strut mounts causing excessive wear on the inside lip of the tire. I have replaced two sets of tires with only 15,000 miles on each set. My father was driving the vehicle when the most recent set of tires caused erratic steering conditions. He was not injured, but the rubber on the tires was so severely damaged from rubbing on the strut mounts that the rubber was separated from the steel belt. This rubbing could potentially cause a blowout which would be very dangerous at the high speeds the GTO is capable of. There is a class action lawsuit in california currently on this issue. I just want GM to notify GTO owners of this problem, even if they are unwilling to pony up the cash to fix their own engineering blunder.
Replaced 2 right rear tires from sidewall blowout. 2005 GTO with 25000 miles, front and rear tires had inner wear. Left rear and right front were cut to the wire and were about to blow. Have pictures of the wear and of the lack of clearance between front strut and tire. Dealer towed vehicle to their shop. Replaced all tires, both rear coil springs,and aligned. Nothing was done to correct front of vehicle. When I picked up the vehicle from the dealer, I asked to see the clearance of the tires and struts on a model in stock. Clearance was less than one half inch. This is a major defect that can have serious consequences for drivers and their safety. GM should be forced to correct the issue immediately and not just keep replacing parts until the warranty is up.
NHTSA investigations
Front strut to tire interference
Note: the complaint and warranty counts given in the failure report summary of this resume include all records related to tire wear and wheel alignment and are not limited to tire-strut contact.general motors (GM) identified two contributors to premature front tire wear in the subject vehicles.one of the contributors causing the premature tire wear was out of specification negative camber.GM stated that excessive…
Suspension complaints in other GTO years
Frequently asked questions
How common are suspension problems on the 2005 Pontiac GTO?
NHTSA has 100 complaints about the suspension of the 2005 Pontiac GTO, 65% of the model year's 154 complaints. The component named most often is front (46 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2005 Pontiac GTO suspension problems?
No. NHTSA lists no suspension recall for the 2005 Pontiac GTO. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2005 Pontiac GTO suspension problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 18,000 miles, and 78% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 1 crash, 0 fires and 2 injuries to suspension 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.