Tl* the contact owns a 2009 pontiac g3. As soon as the vehicle was purchased, it needed an oil change and constantly experienced engine failures. The contact stated that the thermostat was sealed shut, the heater hose was hot, the engine overheated, oil was mixed in with the coolant, and the check engine oil warning indicator illuminated. The vehicle was towed to arc auto store (95 design dr, north kansas city, mo 64116, (816) 474-2277) where a new tie rod, heater hose, thermostat, and water pump were installed; however, the failures recurred. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failures. The failure mileage was 182,000. The vin was unknown.
Engine & cooling
Pontiac G3 Engine problems by year
5 complaints filed with NHTSA about the Pontiac G3's engine & cooling. Stalling, loss of power, oil consumption, overheating, head gaskets, timing chains and engine failure.
Engine complaints by model year
| Year | Engine complaints | Crashes | Injuries | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Latest G3 engine complaints
I was driving and the vehicle started overheating and smoking a lot. I pulled over and there was slushy fluid flowing from the car and I had to have it towed. I towed it to a nearby auto repair service professional for testing, and the test showed that the coolant was contaminated with transmission fluid and the transmission had coolant fluid in it. According to them, there was a malfunction of the coolant hose that allowed the coolant to mix with transmission fluid and as a result the car does not drive anymore....
Read the full complaint
This is a very rare situation to see in a car with this few miles, five years old and maintained well. I then took the car to the dealership, which confirmed that the issue. However, the dealership began to blame me for it by saying that I put water in the coolant which caused the coolant reservoir to freeze and the hose to malfunction. I told them that I have records of consistently taking it to a gm dealer for maintenance, repairs, and anything thus why would I now try to put water in the coolant. I did not put anything in the hood area or receive a coolant flush because the car just turned 5 years old a few months ago. The dealership I took it to is providing biased information because I did not purchase the car with them or use that location for previous repairs. They acknowledge that this is an unusual issue. I called gm and they worked with the customer service manager at that same dealership to try to resolve the issue and the dealership and gm is not trying to do anything. The vehicle has been maintained by gm dealers for the entire life of the car, I am the only owner, no accidents and I cannot reach a resolve with them. There is clearly an issue with the manufacturing of the car and the equipment has a defect to allow coolant to mix with transmission fluid, but no one is trying to help because it is expensive to repair the issue. *Tr
Leaking water pump - appears to be a seal. Vehicle has not reached max miles/km's but has passed the 5 year warranty but should not be failing for such a low amount of miles/km's. *Tr causes heating delay. *Tr
Traveling north on i-81 near bristol, va. Had cruise control on, driving in left lane when suddenly, the engine coughed and sputtered and I lost all acceleration. I was able to coast across three lanes of traffic and drift off the next exit, thank god! The dealer in bristol said it was a throttle problem and would be covered under the power train warranty. They called later to say they had to replace a power harness also, and it would be $990.00. When I finally got the car back the air conditioner was not working. *Tr
Gauges in instrument cluster difficult to read. The trim around the cluster divides the gauges into individual pods. The trim is black and the gauge face is also black with red indicator needle. The trim does not allow enough light into the pod area to see the needle in the daytime. You can barely see the needle even when the cluster lights are on. The gauges are so small, the steering wheel blocks viewing them. *Tr
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) complaints and recalls, checked daily. Complaints are owners' own reports and are not verified. How we use the data