There are 7 stored owner reports matching the powertrain & transmission leading-label group for the 2009 Pontiac G8 in our NHTSA-sourced dataset. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
This group counts stored reports whose component label starts with one of this site's matching prefixes, ignoring case. Each matching report counts once within the group. Components mentioned later in the label or only in the narrative are not searched. How component counts work
Loaded 7 of 7 matching reports.
Open the full vehicle complaint log (all categories)LEFT FRONT WHEEL BEARING ASS'Y HAS BEEN REPLACED TWICE BECAUSE OF MOAN/ROARING NOISE THAT INCREASES AND DECREASES AS SPEED INCREASES AND DECREASES. NOISE BECOMES NOTICEABLY LOUDER AS YOU MAKE A RIGHT HAND TURN - WHICH CAUSES THE LEFT FRONT WHEEL TO HAVE AN INCREASE IN WEIGHT BEARING. ORIGINAL REPLACED @ 78,042 MILES. FIRST REPLACEMENT BECOME SO NOISY THAT IT WAS REPLACED @ 79,264 MILES. NOISE WAS LESSENED, BUT WAS STILL NOTICEABLE. NOW, THE SECOND REPLACEMENT IS SO NOISY DRIVING IT STRAIGHT DOWN THE HIGHWAY THAT I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE IT @ 90,000 MILES. *TR
WHILE DRIVING ON THE HIGHWAY AT 70 THE CAR SHIFTED TO PARK AND THEN SHIFTED BACK TO DRIVE ON IT'S OWN. *TR
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. *TR
THE TRANSMISSION ON MY 2009 G8 (6K MILES) IS VERY ROUGH SHIFTING ESPECIALLY WHEN COLD. WHEN TRYING TO STOP, THE TRANSMISSION FREQUENTLY HESITATES TO DOWN SHIFT, REMAINING IN THE HIGHER GEAR. IF THE DRIVER DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION AND APPLY CONSTANT PRESSURE ON THE BRAKES, THE CAR WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD INTO THE INTERSECTION UNCOMMANDED. IF THE DRIVER LETS OFF THE BRAKE BEFORE THE DOWNSHIFT OCCURS, THE CAR WILL ACCELERATE DANGEROUSLY. THE DEALER APPLIED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN ON THIS ISSUE BEFORE I TOOK DELIVER, BUT IT HAS NOT RESOLVED THE ISSUE. * * * THIS IS A DANGEROUS, POTENTIALLY LIFE THREATENING PROBLEM! * * * *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2009 PONTIAC G8, WITH A 6 SPEED TRANSMISSION. HE CAN SHIFT FROM FIRST TO SECOND GEAR ONLY WHEN DRIVING BETWEEN 15 TO 20 MPH. CONSEQUENTLY THE VEHICLE WOULD SHIFT FROM 1ST TO 4TH GEAR. A TECHNICIAN FROM THE DEALER STATED THAT THE FAILURE WAS A NORMAL CHARACTERISTIC FOR THAT MODEL TYPE. THE PONTIAC MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED, BUT NO ASSISTANCE WAS PROVIDED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 6,000. UPDATED 12/22/09. LJ THE CONSUMER STATED THE SECOND GEAR IS LOCKED OUT FROM ABOUT 10 MPH TO 25 MPH. WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN TRYING TO MERGE FROM A STOP IN HEAVY TRAFFIC. THERE ISN'T TIME TO FIGURE OUT WHICH GEAR TO SELECT AFTER ATTEMPTING TO SHIFT TO SECOND GEAR. THE VEHICLE LOOSES MOMENTUM, THE ENGINE RPM'S DROP TO AN IDLE. THE CONSUMER WAS TOLD IT IS A CHARACTERISTIC OF THE VEHICLE. UPDATED 12/29/09. *JB
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION FAILS TO IMMEDIATELY DOWNSHIFT WHEN ACCELERATING TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC, LEAVING CAR AND DRIVER IN PRECARIOUS PREDICAMENT WITH TODAY'S HIGHWAY SPEEDS. TRANSMISSION ALSO CAUSES A VIBRATION WHEN SPEED DECREASES AND CAUSES DOD TO BE IMPLEMENTED. DEALER HAS NO SOLUTION. *TR
TRANSMISSION FAILS TO DOWNSHIFT IMMEDIATELY AFTER ACCELERATING, LEAVING DRIVER IN VULNERABLE POSITION OF BEING SLOW TO MERGE INTO TRAFFIC AS ANTICIPATED. THIS ACTION IS A DAILY OCCURRENCE SINCE CAR PURCHASED. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
NHTSA source checks for this vehicle year
Checks are recorded separately for each dataset, not for the whole page. Dates use UTC. A missing check date does not mean no records exist.
Vehicle import recorded: Apr 28, 2026. This is the stored import date, not confirmation that every source was successfully refreshed.