Burying the Dead: Pontiac G8 faces recall over faulty taillamps, tire-pressure sensors
2009 Pontiac G8 GXP – Click above for high-res image gallery
General Motors may have already buried its Pontiac division, but the brand's recent passing isn't stopping a posthumous recall campaign by the automaker and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The action, which covers some 35,038 Pontiac G8 sedans from the 2008 and 2009 model years, stems from two potential issues:
1) The brake pedal position switch may be incorrectly programmed, which NHTSA says could lead to the brake lamps operating in a constant state of illumination, leaving trailing motorists unable to tell whether the G8 driver ahead of them is stepping on the binders or not. The defective taillamps could therefore contribute to an accident.
2) In another programming issue, certain G8s make have tire pressure monitoring systems loaded with incorrect values, which could result in the system failing to identify under-inflated tires, potentially leading to reduced handling abilities and/or tire failure.
According to NHTSA, Pontiac dealers will reprogram the brake position sensor and the remote control door lock receiver to remedy both issues. G8 drivers can expect the recall to begin by June 5, and anxious owners can call GM at 1-800-620-7668 to learn more. Thanks for the tip, Peter!
Live photos copyright ©2008 Drew Phillips / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: NHTSA]
PRESS RELEASE:
Vehicle Make / Model: Model Year(s):
PONTIAC / G8 2008-2009
Manufacturer: GENERAL MOTORS CORP. Mfr's Report Date: MAY 20, 2009
NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number: 09V172000 N/A
NHTSA Action Number: N/A
Component: TIRES:PRESSURE MONITORING AND REGULATING SYSTEMS
Potential Number of Units Affected: 35038
Summary:
GM IS RECALLING 35,038 MY 2008-2009 PONTIAC G8 VEHICLES FOR FAILING TO COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD NO. 108, "LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT" AND FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLES SAFETY STANDARD NO. 138, "TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEMS". THE BRAKE PEDAL POSITION SWITCH MAY HAVE BEEN INCORRECTLY PROGRAMMED. WITH THIS CONDITION, THE BRAKE LAMPS MAY BE CONTINUALLY ILLUMINATED AND FAIL TO WARN A FOLLOWING DRIVER WHEN THE VEHICLE IS BRAKING. ALSO CERTAIN VEHICLES MAY HAVE INCORRECT VALUES PROGRAMMED INTO THE TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM THAT WILL NOT ILLUMINATE THE LOW TIRE PRESSURE TELLTALE UNTIL TIRE PRESSURE FALLS BELOW VALUES REQUIRED BY THE STANDARD.
Consequence:
INAPPROPRIATE, NON-STANDARD LIGHTS COULD INCREASE THE RISK OF A CRASH OR DRIVING ON A SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER-INFLATED TIRE CAUSES THE TIRE TO OVERHEAT AND CAN LEAD TO TIRE FAILURE.
Remedy:
DEALERS WILL REPROGRAM THE BRAKE POSITION SENSOR AND THE REMOTE CONTROL DOOR LOCK RECEIVER WITH THE CORRECT VALUES FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON OR BEFORE JUNE 5, 2009. OWNERS MAY CONTACT GM PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668.
Notes:
GM RECALL NO. 09101 & 09046. OWNERS MAY ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S VEHICLE SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), OR GO TO HTTP://WWW.SAFERCAR.GOV .
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
rndmnme 6:16PM (5/22/2009)
And I still want one...
Reply
Sea Urchin 8:35PM (5/22/2009)
To date i have seen only one G8, but the car looks like a real winner. No reason why this very same car can not be sold as a Chevy in USA. They just need to use some lighter materials to improve MPGs so it is more appealing to average folks.
chconline 10:19PM (5/22/2009)
Personally I found the fuel economy to be pretty good for a V8.
dingotheband 10:57PM (5/22/2009)
Should have been badge engineered to be a replacement for the Impala. I know GM has Cadillac for RWD sedans, but they could have benefited from a lower cost RWD V8 Chevy.
paul34 6:19PM (5/22/2009)
I guess I'll be the "glass half full" guy today and just say that at least it wasn't any type of major mechanical issue, just some relatively minor programming errors.
The the brake lights on all the time thing? I get that plenty down here in Florida. Many of our uhh, "senior" drivers tend to drive with two feet... riding the brake pedal means the lights stay on... all the time; generally along with one blinker, blinking for miles, and miles, and miles...
Reply
Who 'Dis? Who 'Dat? 6:25PM (5/22/2009)
LOL!!! That's messed up, Paul! But a good laugh!
letstakeawalk 6:34PM (5/22/2009)
I feel sorry for good drivers who have to deal with Florida. I'm normally a pass-on-left-only kind of guy, but on a recent trip to Palm Beach, I had to give that up! People in FL absolutely clog the passing lane, leaving the right hand lanes wide open. I felt like I was slapping my Dad and my Driver's Ed. teacher in the face... but it was the only way to get past the old geezers doing 60mph.
greglewiscpa 2:10AM (5/23/2009)
Dealers? what dealers.
Reply
tke 6:32PM (5/22/2009)
kick'em while they're down.
Reply
JDM Life 6:40PM (5/22/2009)
Would have never thought....(sarcasm)
What else is new...
Reply
Taglane 6:49PM (5/22/2009)
Well Nissan recalled a bunch of Muranos.... Wonder if you saw that... Next page over btw.
chad.dawkins 7:03PM (5/22/2009)
Why do people like this act like GM is the only company that recalls vehicles? Hell VW recalled 25,000 Jettas today also. A year ago Toyota had to recall their entire Yaris fleet because their seatbelts could catch on fire. A recall is not a big deal.
JDM Life 7:18PM (5/22/2009)
@ Chad.
Notice how you said Toyota recalled about a "year" ago.
Theres a big difference. GM & Ford have recalls almost every other week.
The facts shows. Dont kill the messenger.
Also.....EVERY time GM & Ford have a issue, people always throw in " But toyota this and Toyota that" get over ya self...toyota has nothing to do with THEIR problems. Yes Toyota has their own issues, but its FAR less frequent then GM & Ford.
JDM Life 7:25PM (5/22/2009)
Also.
A recall is a big deal. It shows who one top of things and whos not. You can sit there and try to "defend" recalls by saying oh it's simple problem, but the fact remains somewhere along the line attention was not being paid enough.
It also make a BIG difference for those who have recalls more frequently then others.
No one is picking on GM or Ford for their recalls, but when their are consistant recalls over simple things at a higher rate then others...people start to take notice, reason why GM & Ford recalls get more news and coverage more then others.
rndmnme 7:35PM (5/22/2009)
@JDM Life.
You're not the messenger, you're the biased clown.
GM: The brake lights stay on and the tire pressure sensor doesn't work.
Toyota: THE CAR CATCHES ON F***** FIRE.
I dunno. Call me crazy, I'll take my chances with GM.
Toyota has also had many more recalls in the past year. It's not like they are immune to them. The seatbelt wasn't over a year ago, it was the begging of 2009, it also wasn't a measly 35,000 cars, IT WAS 1.35 MILLION.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE50R10U20090128
Regal GNX 8:27PM (5/22/2009)
@JDM Life
Well first of all, toyota only has 2 divisions here in the US(Toyota and Lexus), GM has 8(cadillac, chevy, pontiac, hummer, sabb, saturan. buick, and gmc).
Toyota is not even close to having as many models out as GM. You would think...hmm maybe because toyota has less models, they have less recalls that show up
eb110americana 9:40PM (5/22/2009)
JDM, it's ignorant hearsay, bias, and so called "common knowledge" like yours which passes for fact all too often. This is the biggest hurdle facing American manufacturers.
Let's get this out of the way first: problems, no matter how small, are bad. Recalls aren't good either, but they're expected if there is already a problem and the vehicle is in production. Every automaker has some quality issues, but for the most part, each car on sale today has sorted out any quality concerns where even some of the best vehicles from only ten years ago would be considered unreliable by today's standards.
Toyota reliability still outranks the rest of the Japanese automotive crowd, followed closely by Honda, and they both generally have good quality, but on a number of occasions they have been surpassed by domestic models. But just to make a comparison (and I have always driven domestic, but worked as a mechanic on every make sold in the US) here are just a couple examples of the supposedly "untouchable" Toyota quality, by which every other make is measured.
Toyota quality problems:
FJ Cruiser chassis cracking:
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/problems-dealer-service/33440-engine-bay-body-rips.html
http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj-cruiser/171443-engine-bay-body-rips.html#post2444763
Toyota Tundra rusting into structural failure:
http://www.thebostonchannel.com/investigative/19294250/detail.html
tuxchown 1:41AM (5/23/2009)
Toyota doesn't do recalls. They force their 3.5 million suffering customers to sue before they'll fix the problem and even then they refuse to admit there is a problem.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/01/toyota_sludge_settlement.html
I guess that if you ignore a problem, it doesn't exist.
AngeloD 1:44AM (5/23/2009)
JDM Life wrote
""Yes Toyota has their own issues, but its FAR less frequent then GM & Ford.""
What absolute B.S., In 2007 Toyota actually issued recalls for more vehicles than they sold in the US.
""The fact is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that Toyota recalled more vehicles in the US than they sold last year. They recalled 2.38 million vehicles but only sold 2.26""
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/182700/toyota_recalls_more_cars_than_they.html
The truth is that Toyota's quality and reliability is below that of GM, and very far below the industry leaders like Ford and Honda.
Clay Garland 8:03AM (5/23/2009)
Buick was number one in relability in the last survey done by JD Power, out of all manufacturers, so you can pretty much take your opinion and shove it up your ass.