2006 Pontiac Solstice

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) has completed its review of a Defect Petition received December 12, 2019 requesting an investigation into the possibility of passenger compartment fires attributed to overheating HVAC blower motor connectors in Model Years (MY) 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky vehicles.An analysis of General Motors (GM) complaint data and information in NHTSA?s databases identified thirteen unique vehicle identification numbers (VINs) with reported incidents that could pertain to blower motor overheating, smoking, or melting in the 90,938 MY2006-2010 Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice vehicles produced. Two of the thirteen cited incidents reported smoke and thermal damage that may be attributed to the HVAC blower motor although neither incident was confirmed through vehicle inspection. One incident, a MY2008 Saturn Sky with substantial field exposure from a frontal collision, could not have the root cause identified. The other, a MY2007 Pontiac Solstice, did not inform the manufacturer nor take the vehicle to a dealer for evaluation.Most of the 13 incidents reported an overheated or discolored connector with attendant loss of HVAC blower fan function. GM reported 354 warranty claims with the subject components for the Sky and Solstice, none of which included a report of fire and only one report of smoke. Over a period of ten to fourteen years in service, there are two reports of smoke or thermal damage.While the subject Sky and Solstice vehicles and the recalled Hummer H3 and H3T vehicles do share common components, the Sky and Solstice vehicles have demonstrated very different behavior and their HVAC system has a lower power draw than the recalled Hummer H3 and H3T vehicles. The recalled H3 and H3T vehicles generate over triple the failure rate of the Sky and Solstice vehicles. GM suggested in its response to the ODI?s information request that this difference was due to the larger interior volume of a recalled Hummer vehicle imposing a heavier electrical load and duty cycle on its HVAC blower. The duty cycle is defined as how long it takes for the vehicle to cool down enough before the HVAC blower motor fan speed is lowered or turned off completely.Additionally, due to the size differential between the Sky and Solstice vehicles and the recalled Hummer H3 and H3T vehicles, the parts have a different power draw. The Sky and Solstice vehicles, due to their smaller size, draw less wattage, which reduces the likelihood of a thermal event. This condition in the Sky and Solstice vehicles typically leads to an inoperable HVAC blower motor as opposed to a thermal event.Despite the commonality of parts in the Sky and Solstice vehicles with those that were the basis of a safety recall, the subject vehicles have not demonstrated a safety defect trend that would likely lead to a safety recall or merit further investigation by the ODI. The subject vehicles have a low rate of reported thermal events over the ten to fourteen years they have been in service with the most recent occurring in 2017 with no confirmed fires. The HVAC blower motor was not confirmed to be the root cause for either thermal event cited above.After thoroughly assessing the material submitted by the petitioner, information already in NHTSA?s possession, information submitted by GM in response to an information request, and the potential risks to safety implicated by the petitioner?s allegation, NHTSA does not believe that the petition warrants a formal investigation at this time. Consequently, the petition is denied.The entire petition denial can be viewed in the October 14, 2022 Federal Register under DP20-002.(https://www.f

The Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) received a petition requesting the opening of an investigation into the air bag system on model year 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky, the subject vehicles.The petitioner raised the issue of failure of the Passenger Sensing System for the front passenger seating position.On January 26, 2017, General Motors filed a defect information report recalling the subject vehicles to address the issue raised by the petition.In view of the recall, ODI considers the petition moot and is closing the action.The closing of the petition does not constitute a finding by NHTSA that a safety-related defect does not exist, and the agency reserves the right to take additional action if warranted by future circumstances.

ODI EVALUATED TWO DIFFERENT ALLEGED DEFECTS INVOLVING REAR DRIVETRAIN COMPONENTS DURING THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION.GM IS CONDUCTING A RECALL TO ADDRESS ONE OF THE DEFECT CONDITIONS AND ODI HAS OPENED AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS TO CONTINUE ITS INVESTIGATION OF THE OTHER ALLEGED DEFECT. ON DECEMBER 19, 2007, GM SUBMITTED A DEFECT INFORMATION REPORT TO NHTSA CONCERNING DEFECTIVE REAR AXLE PINION SEALS IN APPROXIMATELY 275,936 MODEL YEAR (MY) 2005-07 CADILLAC CTS, STS AND SRX VEHICLES AS WELL AS MY 2006-07 PONTIAC SOLSTICE AND MY 2007 SATURN SKY VEHICLES (RECALL 07V-589).ON STS AND SRX VEHICLES WITH ALL WHEEL DRIVE, THE FRONT AXLE PINION SEAL ALSO DOES NOT MEET ALL OF GM'S SPECIFICATIONS AND MAY EXPERIENCE A FLUID LEAK.GM INDICATED THAT THE SEAL SUPPLIER MADE AN UNAUTHORIZED CHANGE TO THE PINION SEAL MATERIAL.LEAKING PINION SEALS COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF REAR DIFFERENTIAL LUBRICATION WHICH COULD RESULT IN REAR WHEEL LOCK-UP AND LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. ON DECEMBER 7, 2007, ODI OPENED AN ENGINEERING ANALYSIS (EA07-017) TO INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF REAR DRIVETRAIN COMPONENT FAILURE (E.G., FRACTURED REAR DIFFERENTIAL CARRIER HOUSING OR REAR AXLE HALF SHAFTS) WHILE DRIVING IN APPROXIMATELY 7,600 MY 2004 THROUGH 2006 CADILLAC CTS-V VEHICLES.THIS CONDITION MAY RESULT IN A LOSS OF MOTIVE POWER AND VEHICLE DISABLEMENT AND IS NOT ADDRESSED BY RECALL 07V-589.ODI IDENTIFIED 35 COMPLAINTS (16 TO ODI AND 19 TO GM) AND 128 WARRANTY CLAIMS POTENTIALLY RELATED TO THIS CONDITION (SEE EA07-017 OPENING RESUME).THESE COMPLAINTS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THE FAILURE REPORT SUMMARY OF THIS CLOSING RESUME. THE COMPLAINTS AND WARRANTY FIGURES GIVEN IN THIS RESUME ARE LIMITED TO THOSE THAT (A) ARE MOST LIKELY CAUSED BY A LEAKING REAR PINION SEAL; AND (B) RESULTED IN AN ALLEGATION OF A REAR DIFFERENTIAL FAILURE WHILE DRIVING.THE DATA DO NOT INCLUDE ALL REPORTS OF SEAL LEAKAGE.

HEADLAMP HOUSING IS CRACKING AND ALLOWING MOISTURE TO GET INTO HEADLIGHT AREA. IT MAKES THE LIGHTS WHILE DRIVING VERY POOR AND IS A NIGHT HAZARD.

NHTSA ID

11651823

Incident

Jul 1, 2024

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Solstice. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V061000 (Air Bags) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The air bag warning light was illuminated. The dealer was contacted. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 192,000. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID

11620371

Incident

Jun 7, 2024

Mileage

192,000 mi

Hello i would like to make an agreement with someone to recover a seized vehicle by cbp at the border I made a mistake and i really want to fix it because i really need the car for work but all proof of ownership is inside the vehicle under the driver seat on a red docs bag the guy that sold it to me doesnt want to help me and im Just a young buddy I got it on payments with the condition that i was going to have the original tittle until i pay it all help

NHTSA ID

11610874

Incident

Jun 20, 2024

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Solstice. The contact stated while the vehicle was parked, the passenger’s side seat sensor air bag warning light was not illuminated; however, the passenger’s side seat was occupied. The contact was notified that the VIN was included in NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V061000 (Air Bags). The vehicle was taken to a dealer and the contact was informed that the inflatable restraint passenger presence module needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired; however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was 38,153.

NHTSA ID

11610284

Incident

May 22, 2017

Mileage

38,153 mi

Passenger seat position sensor for the air bag system has failed. This sensor was inspected and supposedly "reinforced" under the GM Recall on this item in 2018, vehicle mileage 22390. It is now 2023, with the vehicle mileage at 25,131. The passenger seat in this vehicle is used very rarely by my wife, so in these 5 years perhaps 400 miles of usage on the component in failure. Contacting GM, they will do nothing regarding this problem from a recall or warranty standpoint. Doing the "fix" that GM should have done in 2018 on this seat is going to cost me $1095 per the dealership phone call this afternoon. So what exactly did NHTSA approve in this recall (reference 17036)? A fix that will not even survive usage for 400 or so miles on an airbag system component? I believe NHTSA needs to revisit this campaign and force GM to supply correct components to enable system performance. How many subsequent failures have happened to the GM vehicle involved in this campaign after the supposed "reinforcement" was installed? If you are seeing these failures than the "fix" was not a "fix". In my vehicles case the "fix" failed, and I now have a vehicle that is not safe to operate with a major, important safety system off line. The fix was already failing in 2020, see complaint number 11353358. It is now a hard fail with the SIR light hard red on the instrument panel telltale.

NHTSA ID

11530930

Incident

Sep 5, 2020

The contact owns a 2006 Pontiac Solstice. The contact stated that the "Service Air Bag" message was displayed. Additionally, the air bag light remained off while the front passenger's seat was occupied. Additionally, a beeping sound engaged, and the SRS warning light was illuminated while starting the vehicle. The dealer was notified of the failure. The vehicle was not diagnosed nor repaired. The contact stated that the vehicle was previously repaired under NHTSA Campaign Number: 17V061000 (Air Bags) however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 25,126.

NHTSA ID

11528318

Incident

Jun 12, 2023

Mileage

25,126 mi

Service airbag indication. Passenger airbag light OFF. Previous recall completed in 2018 at 87k miles. Vehicle is at 104k miles and PPS sensor failed again. Previous completed recall for this issue is N17V061000. Failure is the same, dealer refuses to repair a second time. Issue is once again a safety issue with no airbag.

NHTSA ID

11516902

Incident

Apr 12, 2023

The electric system appears to be unsafe, the ignition doesn't turn over and drains the battery every day. I'm also worried about the airbags and other recalls on this car. I contacted the dealer "Dave Kirk Automotive" in Crossville, TN weeks ago. They took the vin # and looked up the recalls. This was a month ago. They said they would get the parts and call me. No one at the dealer has contacted me again. They know there are serious recalls on this vehicle. I need help on this. I'm 74, the car only has 39000 miles on it. This needs to be fixed at once.

NHTSA ID

11495876

Incident

Nov 25, 2022

This PI communicates the requirement to provide a pico file to receive diagnostic assistance from TAC.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B and Mini 50 terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about vehicles that have an unusual noise and is difficult to identify, isolate or pinpoint. Technician should get record a sound clip or take a video of the noise for assessment by engineering. Technician will need to call General Motors Technical Assistance Center for further assistance.

This Preliminary Information communication provides information to the technician about the use of J-35616-64B terminal test probe, replacement terminals, and terminated leads. The J-35616-64B is the latest test probe released for checking tension or probing the .64 series terminals. The test probe terminal has been released in the terminal repair kit (J-38125-620H) located in Lear Tray 7 part number 963716-2. There are 5 terminated leads in a package part number is 13505346, which can be ordered through your normal General Motors Customer Care and Aftersales parts channel.