RoadVitals

2008 Pontiac Grand Prix Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
142
Latest Feb 17, 2026
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
12
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
2
Reports on file since Jul 15, 2008

What this page shows

Our database holds 142 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–25 of 142 · page 1 of 6

Exterior lighting
Filed Feb 17, 2026

Low beam lights quit randomly, running lights did once too. This has happened multiple times so I switch to hi beams before I crash. This is a documented safety issue and recall should include my car.

NHTSA ID
11718556
Incident
Feb 13, 2026
Electrical
Filed Oct 2, 2025

The contact owns a 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds, the ignition switch unintendedly turned off the vehicle, and the vehicle lost power. The contact was able to immediately restart the vehicle. Occasionally, the contact had to wait for several minutes before the vehicle restarted and was able to be driven. The failure had become more persistent over time and the contact became aware that the failure mostly occurred in warmer weather. The contact became aware of NHTSA Campaign Number: 14V400000 (Electrical System); however, the VIN was not included in the recall. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer to be diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not informed of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 194,000.

NHTSA ID
11690909
Incident
Sep 18, 2025
Mileage
194,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Oct 28, 2024

Purchased the car in march and filed with local dealership to get the recall repaired for the ignition. 6 months later and the dealership says that GM hasn’t sent the part. It’s needs repaired now. I’m tired of waiting, it shouldn’t take this long to get a recall repaired.

NHTSA ID
11622229
Incident
Oct 21, 2024
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jun 13, 2024

The transmission shifting cable has clips that keep it held in place for you to be able to put your car into drive or reverse and park ect. Is broke and at least once a month or more my car won't go into gear the shifter just slides smoothly but don't catch a gear. So far it hasn't happened on the road just when it's parked. But still feels like it's not in park. I worry that it won't be in park and back up or roll forward on me while I'm trying to get into or out of my car. [XXX] INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

NHTSA ID
11594086
Incident
Jun 11, 2024
Filed Aug 21, 2021

Car cuts off without notice while driving . Starts back up but eventually shuts off again . Also when put in reverse it shuts off

NHTSA ID
11430014
Incident
Aug 21, 2021
Engine
Filed Oct 12, 2020

I WAS RIDING ON THE HIGHWAY AND A CAR INFRONT OF ME SLAMMED ON BRAKES AVOIDING A DEER CAUSING ME TO SLAM ON BRAKES EVER SINCE I HAVE HAD A OIL LEAK RUNNING DOWN THE MANIFOLD. I NEVER WRECKED INTO THE VECHILE IN FRONT OF ME I SEEN ON DIFFRENT YEAR PONIAC WERE SIMULAR RECALLS WERE MADE.

NHTSA ID
11364028
Incident
Oct 1, 2020
Mileage
150,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Oct 7, 2020

WHEN I TURN OFF MY CAR MY DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHT WILL NOT STAY OFF AND IT KILLS MY BATTERY. I LOOKED ONLINE FOR HELP WITH THIS AND IT SEEMS MY CAR IS NOT THE ONLY PONTIAC GRAND PRIX WITH THIS PROBLEM YET I SEE NO RECALLS FOR THIS. CAN YOU PLEASE HELP ME?

NHTSA ID
11363299
Incident
Oct 7, 2020
Mileage
143,360 mi
BrakesDriver assistance
Filed May 26, 2020

ENGINE POWER REDUCED WARNING LIGHT CAME ON AND CAR HAS MINIMAL ACCELERATION NOT ALLOWING TO GO OVER 40 MPH. ANTILOCK BREAK AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS BOTH ON. BREAKING ISSUE WHEN THIS HAPPENS CAUSING BREAKS TO HESITATE. ALL ISSUES LISTED HAPPEN WHILE IN MOTION ON CITY STREET & HIGHWAY, WHILE GOING STRAIGHT & TURNING AND WHEN BREAKING. *TR

NHTSA ID
11326033
Incident
May 26, 2020
Mileage
208,000 mi
Interior & seats
Filed Aug 15, 2019

FRONT PASSENGER SEAT PRESURE SENSOR IS GOING BAD. THE WARNING LIGHT WILL PERIODICALLY COME ON AND THEN GO OUT AFTER A FEW MINUTES. THIS WOULD OCCUR WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS; STATIONARY, MOVING AND OR TURNING.

NHTSA ID
11244211
Incident
Aug 14, 2019
Powertrain (other)
Filed Jun 19, 2019

TRANSMISSION FLUID TEMP IS OVERHEATING

NHTSA ID
11221115
Incident
Sep 12, 2018
Mileage
102,000 mi
Engine
Filed Feb 11, 2019

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2008 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 55 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED WITHOUT WARNING. THERE WERE NO WARNING INDICATORS ILLUMINATED. THE CONTACT PULLED THE VEHICLE OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WAITED A FEW SECONDS, AND THE VEHICLE STARTED NORMALLY. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE OCCURRED SPORADICALLY FOR TWO YEARS. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO BOB KING BUICK GMC (5115 NEW CENTRE DR, WILMINGTON, NC 28403) AND KEPT FOR TWO WEEKS FOR DIAGNOSTIC TESTING, BUT THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DUPLICATED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE AND PROVIDED CASE NUMBER: 9-5020128648. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 130,837.

NHTSA ID
11176152
Incident
Jan 15, 2019
Mileage
130,837 mi
Airbags
Filed May 10, 2018

DEALER STATES AIRBAG HAS BAD INFLATER, NOT COVERED UNDER WARRANTY

NHTSA ID
11093225
Incident
May 9, 2018
Mileage
88,000 mi
Electrical
Filed May 8, 2018

I FILED A COMPLAINT IN AUG OF 2017. NEVER HEARD ANYTHING. MY CAR IS WORSE. IN THE SHOP AGAIN. THE CAR WILL DIE OUT IN PARK OR WHILE DRIVING IT. DIES OUT WAITING AT A RED LIGHT OR AT A STOP SIGN. IT ALSO STARTS WHEN IT WANTS TO START. THE ENGINE CRANKS OVER NORMALLY WHEN YOU ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR, BUT THE ENGINE DOES NOT START AT FIRST ATTEMPT. CAN TAKE UP TO 4 ATTEMPTS AND 15 MINUTES (GIVE OR TAKE MINUTES) BETWEEN EACH ATTEMPT TO FINALLY START. 3 AUTO PLACES AND NO ONE CAN FIND OUT WHAT IT WRONG. THIS CAR CAN CAUSE AN ACCIDENT WHEN IT DIES OUT WHILE DRIVING.

NHTSA ID
11092569
Incident
May 4, 2018
Mileage
65,000 mi
Exterior lighting
Filed Apr 5, 2018

2008 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX. CONSUMER WRITES IN REQUESTING REIMBURSEMENT FOR TURN SIGNAL SWITCH REPAIRS. *LD THE CONSUMER STATED THE VEHICLE SHUT OF WHILE DRIVING. THE CONSUMER MANAGED TO PULL OVER WITH NO POWER STEERING, BRAKES, OR GAS. THE VEHICLE RESTARTED 5 MINUTES LATER.*JS

NHTSA ID
11030969
Incident
Aug 1, 2016
ElectricalExterior lightingVisibility
Filed Nov 8, 2017

I WAS DRIVING AT DARK HOURS WITH HEADLIGHTS ON AND LIGHTS JUST WENT OUT. TURNED ON BRIGHT LIGHTS AND THE LIGHTS WORKED. TURNED BACK TO DIM AND LIGHTS WORKED FOR ABOUT HALF A MILE.LIGHTS WENT OUT AGAIN TURNED ON BRIGHTS AND SAME THING AS BEFORE THE LIGHTS WORKED. I THOUGHT I SEEN SOMEWHERE A RECALL WAS ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM. I GUESS I DIDNT.

NHTSA ID
11044743
Incident
Nov 8, 2017
Mileage
122,000 mi
Body & structureSteering
Filed Oct 30, 2017
Crash reported1 injury reported

HAVE HAD 2 MOTOR ACCIDENT AND THE AIR BIG NEVER DEPLOYMENT

NHTSA ID
11041137
Incident
Feb 13, 2010
Exterior lighting
Filed Oct 16, 2017

TAKATA RECALL. AFTER DRIVING MY VEHICLE AT NIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY I NOTICED MY LOW BEAM LIGHTS WOULD NOT COME ON ALSO NO DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS. I PULLED OVER SHUT CAR OFF CHECKED CONNECTIONS AND FUSES TURNED CAT BACK ON STILL NO LOW BEAMS. HIGH BEAMS AND FOG LIGHTS WORK JUST NO LOW BEAMS

NHTSA ID
11033500
Incident
Oct 15, 2017
ElectricalFuel systemExterior lighting
Filed Oct 13, 2017

CAR IS TURNED OFF BUT HEADLIGHTS JUST RANDOMLY COME ON AND A LOUD FAN BLOWING TYPE NOISE UNDER THE HOOD.

NHTSA ID
11033218
Incident
Sep 1, 2017
Exterior lighting
Filed Aug 17, 2017

THE HEADLIGHT MODULE (LOW BEAMS) AND/OR FUSE BOX, KEEPS FAULTING OUT. DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE HEADLIGHTS SUDDENLY GO OUT. VERY DANGEROUS. THIS THE 3RD MODULE IVE REPLACED, AN NOW IM ON MY 2ND FUSE BOX.THIS HAPPENS AT ALL TIMES, WHETHER MOVING, STATIONARY, OR ETC.

NHTSA ID
11015941
Incident
Jun 24, 2016
Mileage
125,000 mi
Electrical
Filed Aug 13, 2017

RECALL FOR MY CAR 14V400. I WAS GIVEN 2 LITTLE KEY RINGS FOR MY KEYS, AND A LITTLE BLACK RUBBER INSERT WAS PLACED IN THE KEY SLOT. THE RUBBER INSERT, BY THE WAY, ALWAYS COMES OUT (3 DAYS AFTER IT WAS PUT IN) IT WILL NOT STAY IN AT ALL. I AM VERY WORRIED DRIVING MY CAR. MY CAR HAS DIED OUT 3 TIMES AT A RED LIGHT AFTER I HAD THE LITTLE KEY RINGS AND RUBBER INSERT. ( I HAVE NOTHING ON MY CAR KEY HANGING WHEN IT GOES INTO MY IGNITION ) . I DO HAVE PROOF OF ONE TIME IT DIED OUT, ITS ON PAPER FROM SPITZER'S AUTO. THEY WERE TRYING TO FIND OUT WHY MY CAR WON'T START AT FIRST ATTEMPT, AND WHY IT TOTALLY DIES OUT. THIS ISSUE IS STILL GOING ON. IT IS REALLY GETTING WORSE. IT WILL NOT START ON 2ND OR 3RD TRY ANY MORE (WAITING FOR 10 MIN. IN- BETWEEN TRIES. ITS WORSE, IT TAKES 20 MIN TO 40 MIN IN-BETWEEN TRIES FOR IT TO START. MY CAR DIES OUT ON ME AT RED LIGHTS, ITS A SHORTER TIME PERIOD IN-BETWEEN TRIES. WHEN IT DIES OUT, TAKES 10 TO 15 MINUTE WAIT, TRY TO START IT AGAIN, IT WILL START. I DONT FEEL SAFE IN MY CAR. I REALLY NEED THIS LOOKED INTO. FROM READING THE PAPER I WAS SENT EXPLAINING ABOUT THE RECALL .. I FEEL THAT IF MY CAR IGNITION IS GOING TO THE "RUN" POSITION, BY ITSELF, THEN THE KEY RINGS AND RUBBER INSERT DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. IF YOU NEED ANY FURTHER INFO PLEASE LET ME KNOW. THANK YOU .IT IS ASKING DOWN BELOW "WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN" ..I HAVE SEVERAL DATES, IT WILL ONLY LET ME CHOOSE ONE.

NHTSA ID
11014966
Incident
Aug 13, 2017
Exterior lighting
Filed Jun 21, 2017

LOWBEAM LIGHTS TURN OFF AT SAME TIME RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS VERY HAZARDOUS AND YOUR "SAFETY COVERAGE" ONLY COVERS HDM MODULES TO BE REPLACED WHICH IS A TEMPORARY FIX (LASTS USUALLY 2 MONTHS) THIS IS WIDELY KNOWN ISSUE ON THESE VEHICLES DATING BACK TO 2005 AND IF I GET IN A SERIOUS WRECK DUE TO YOUR NEGLIGENCE I WILL BE TAKING ACTION. I'M SICKENED YOU WOULD COVER THE COSTS OF A PERMANENT FIX WHEN YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE SUCH AT A HIGH RISK OF FATALITIES WHILE DRIVING. (THIS ISSUE HAS BEEN REOCCURRING FOR THE LAST YEAR AND HAVE COME CLOSE TO MANY ACCIDENTS)

NHTSA ID
11000454
Incident
May 2, 2016
Mileage
115,000 mi
Electrical
Filed May 9, 2017

ANTI-THEFT DETERRENT SYSTEM (PASSCODE 3?) FAILS TO RECOGNIZE AND ENABLE VEHICLE KEYS AS REPLACED FROM PREVIOUS (IGNITION) RECALL. CAR WILL NOT START, EVEN AFTER RESET PROCEDURES PER GM. VEHICLE STATIONARY. NEW KEYS CODED CITY MOTOR, GREAT FALLS, MT ELECTRONIC COMPONENT BLOCKS OWNER FROM USING DEALER RECALL KEYS.

NHTSA ID
10984590
Incident
Apr 1, 2017
Mileage
194,400 mi
BrakesElectricalSuspension
Filed Mar 5, 2017

THE DOOR LOCKS ON THE 2008 MODEL DO NOT LOCK WITH REMOTE AND THE DRIVERS DOOR KEY ENTRY LOCK DOESN'T WORK.WON'T TURN LEFT OR RIGHT.ONLY ONE KEY ENTRY ON THE ENTIRE CAR SO YOU MUST USE THE DRIVERS SIDE KEY ENTRY.HAVE TO KEEP REPLACING CAR REMOTES AT $125.00 A PIECE ALMOST YEARLY. HAVE HAD CAR SINCE 2009.KEEP HAVING TO GET STRUTS REPLACED ON THE RIGHT SIDE AND REPLACE BRAKES ON THE FRONT WHEELS.THE LIGHTS ON THE GEAR PANEL KEEP GOING OUT AND ALSO THE LIGHTS WHERE THE RADIO STATION SHOWS IS DIMMED OR BURNING OUT.MY LEFT HEADLIGHT KEEPS GOING OUT.ELECTRIC IN THE CAR BASICALLY AN OVERALL ONGOING ISSUE.WHEN CAR IS PLACED IN REVERSE IT DOESN'T REVERSE SOMETIMES.I HAVE TO TURN IT OFF AND RESTART THE CAR THEN PLACE IT IN REVERSE BEFORE IT WILL REVERSE.THE CAR SHAKES AFTER GOING OVER 65MPH.SUSPENSION IS OFF.HAVE TO REPAIR TIRES CONSTANTLY BECAUSE INNER TIRES WEAR OUT QUICKLY.

NHTSA ID
10958652
Incident
Mar 4, 2017
Mileage
135,000 mi
ElectricalExterior lighting
Filed Dec 6, 2016

UPON STARTING OF THE CAR UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS, NOTICED A SLIGHT BURNT ELECTRICAL SMELL, AFTER INSPECTION OF THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT, I DID NOT NOTICE ANY SMOKE OR OBVIOUS SIGNS, AND THE SMELL WENT AWAY, THIS HAPPENED TWICE WHILE OUT SHOPPING AT VARIOUS PLACES. ON THE FINAL LEG OF THE TRIP ON THE WAY HOME, I NOTICED THE SMELL BECOMING MORE APPARENT, AND THE SMELL WAS NOTICEABLE AT TRAFFIC LIGHT STOPS. ONCE HOME, I ONCE AGAIN INSPECTED THE COMPARTMENT, AND NOTICED A MELTED SPOT ON THE TOP OF THE FUSE BOX, AFTER OPENING, THE LOW BEAM RELAY WAS BURNT BEYOND RECOGNITION AND FUSED TO THE WIPER RELAY. IN ORDER TO USE HEADLIGHTS, I NOW HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE FUSE BOX DUE TO THE BURNT SPOT IN THE COVER AND THE FUSE BOX. SEE ATTACHED PICTURES. I COULD NOT ATTACH THE PICTURE OF PLASTIC DUST WHICH IS WHAT IS LEFT OF THE RELAY, DUE TO SIZE LIMITATIONS.

NHTSA ID
10930231
Incident
Dec 4, 2016
Mileage
110,000 mi
Engine
Filed Nov 26, 2016

THE VEHICLE STARTS OK AT TIMES,BUT THERE ARE TIMES WHEN YOU DRIVE IT AND STOP SOME PLACE YOU HAVE A HARD TIME RESTARTING IT. YOU HAVE TO LET IT SIT FOR ABOUT 15 TO 20 MIN THEN IT WILL START ,THERE IS A LOT OG PLAY IN THE IGNITION,WHAT CAN THE CAUSE BE

NHTSA ID
10928039
Incident
Nov 25, 2016

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

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