2006 Pontiac Torrent Other / unspecified Problems

I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET WHEN A BUS PULLED IN FRONT OF ME TO MAKE A LET TURN. I WENT TO APPLY THE BRAKES AND I ONLY GOT A PULSATION IN THE BRAKE PEDAL AND THE VEHICLE WOULDN'T SLOW DOWN UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE. THE FRONT OF MY VEHICLE HIT THE SIDE OF THE BUS CAUSING SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO BOTH THE VEHICLES. AFTER THE ACCIDENT I NOTICED THE TRACTION CONTROL AND ABS LIGHTS WERE ILLUMINATED. AFTER THAT ACCIDENT THE BRAKES HAVE BEEN DOING THE PULSATION AND INABILITY TO STOP. I HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALERSHIP NUMEROUS TIMES AND REPLACED WHEEL HUBS AND SPEED SENSORS AND THE PROBLEM STILL PERSIST. THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS PROBLEM AND GM HAS DONE NOTHING! *TR

NHTSA ID

10615779

Incident

Jan 5, 2012

Mileage

7,300 mi

WE WERE TAKING MY CHILDREN TO THE CIRCUS ON 695 WEST DOING 60 MPH WHEN THE LIGHT SHOWING THAT THE CAR HAD OVERHEATED AND THE ENGINE LIGHT CAME ON. WHILE DOING 60 MPH THE CAR JUST STOPS IN THE ON THE BELTWAY. WE COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. THERE WAS NO POWER WHATSOEVER. THE WINDOWS WOULDN'T EVEN ROLL UP. THIS CAR NEEDS TO BE RECALLED. THE ALTERNATOR WAS REPLACED AND A FUEL PUMP AND WE GOT THE CAR BACK A WEEK LATER AND THE SAME ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN EXCEPT THIS TIME WE WERE COMING OUT OF THE BALTIMORE TUNNEL PRAYING IT DIDN'T STOP BUT IT DID AND HAD TO BE TOWED YET AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10607450

Incident

Jun 21, 2014

Mileage

115,000 mi

PASSENGER SIDE WHEEL BEARING WENT OUT RESULTING IN EXTREME VIBRATION AND NOISE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10552630

Incident

Jul 17, 2013

Mileage

70,000 mi

THE FRONT DRIVER'S SIDE WHEEL BEARING WENT OUT RESULTING IN EXTREME VIBRATION AND NOISE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10552627

Incident

Jun 15, 2009

Mileage

35,000 mi

TOTAL OF 4 OCCURRENCES. AFTER ACCELERATING, ACCELERATOR PEDAL BECAME LODGED IN ALL-WEATHER FLOOR MAT AND VEHICLE CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE AFTER THE OPERATOR REMOVED PRESSURE FROM THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL. UNINTENDED, UNCONTROLLED ACCELERATION CONTINUED DURING ATTEMPTED BRAKING. CONTINUED BRAKING WAS ONLY MARGINALLY EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING VEHICLE SPEED. OPERATOR WAS ABLE TO GRADUALLY REDUCE SPEED THROUGH CONTINUOUS BRAKING ALTHOUGH THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO DELIVER POWER IN OPPOSITION. ULTIMATELY, THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL RELEASED FROM THE FLOOR MAT AND THE DRIVER BROUGHT THE VEHICLE TO A STOP. PRIOR TO THE FIRST OCCURRENCE, AFTER-MARKET FLOOR MATS HAD BEEN INSTALLED FOR LESS THAN 1MONTH AND WERE SUSPECTED TO BE DEFECTIVE AS THEY HAVE NARROW, DEEP "WELLS" THAT CROSS THE MAT SIDE TO SIDE IN THE REGION BELOW THE PEDALS RATHER THAN ALONG THE LENGTH. BY INSPECTION, IT WAS EASILY DETERMINED THAT THE HEEL OF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL EASILY BECAME ENTRAPPED IN THOSE WELLS. FOLLOWING THE FIRST INCIDENT, THE FLOOR MATS WERE REPLACED WITH ONES WITHOUT THE DEEP HORIZONTAL WELLS. HOWEVER, 3 ADDITIONAL SIMILAR INCIDENTS HAVE OCCURRED WITH THOSE MATS. THE DURATION OF UNINTENDED ACCELERATION WAS MUCH LESS BECAUSE THE OPERATOR KNEW TO "KICK" THE PEDAL LOOSE. *TR

NHTSA ID

10492872

Incident

Jun 18, 2012

Mileage

68,000 mi

FIRST WHEEL BEARING WENT OUT AT 16K MILES TO THE RIGHT FRONT. THEN THE LEFT FRONT WENT OUT WITH ALMOST 36K MILES. FIRST TWO REPLACED UNDER WARRANTY. THEN AT 55K MILES STARTED HAVING WHEEL SENSOR FAULTS. DEALER FIXED. WIRE WORN THROUGH AGAIN, SAME FAULT AT 72K MILES. FIXED OURSELVES WITH BETTER TAPE ON WIRE. NEXT THE LEFT WHEEL BEARING/HUB WENT BAD AND HAD TO BE REPLACED AT 78K MILES. 3RD WHEEL BEARING FOR THAT SIDE. CONTACT GM AND NO HELP WITH CASE THERE, SO REPLACED WITH PART FROM AUTOZONE TO SAVE MONEY. AT 83K MILES RIGHT WHEEL BEARING WENT BAD. THIS ONE HAD TWO BOLTS STUCK. HAD TO WAIT AROUND 2 WEEKS FOR BOLTS. PAID A SHOP TO TORCH OFF BOLTS AND REPLACE BEARING.3RD WHEEL BEARING FOR THAT SIDE. THIS IS NOT NORMAL! BEARING SHOULD LAST OVER 100K. I KEPT THE REPLACEMENTS THAT WENT BAD IF THEY COULD HELP FIGURE OUT WHAT IS THE ROOT CAUSE. LUCKILY IT DIDN'T CAUSE AN ACCIDENT, BUT THERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH MY CAR TO CAUSE THIS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10447089

Incident

May 17, 2008

Mileage

16,000 mi

I HAD 2 WHEEL BEARINGS REPLACED WITH 3 MONTHS OF ONE ANOTHER AND THEN THE HEATER DIED. JUST BLOWS COLD AIR - TOLD IT WAS THE BLEND DOOR AND WOULD COST $1200 TO FIX - WHICH I DO NOT HAVE. NO DEFROST EITHER - DEFINITE HAZARD. THIS IS OBVIOUSLY A DEFECT IN THIS VEHICLE AND GM IS NOT WILLING TO FIX. MY CAR HAS 78,000 MILES CURRENTLY - *TR

NHTSA ID

10436050

Incident

Jul 15, 2010

Mileage

72,000 mi

HEAT WENT OUT WITH OUT WARNING. UPON RESEARCHING ONLINE FOUND IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THE ACTUATOR WAS THE CAUSE OF THE BROKEN SHAFT ON THE BLEND DOOR. THE ACTUATOR HAD ROTATED TOO FAR, BEYOND ITS LIMITS, AND OVERPOWERED THE PLASTIC SHAFT ON THE DOOR. THIS ACTUATOR ISN'T JUST A SIMPLE MOTOR. AS YOU KNOW, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR SPINS WHEN POWER IS APPLIED. THE ACTUATOR IS A SMALL ELECTRIC MOTOR CONNECTED TO A GEAR-REDUCTION UNIT, WITH A POSITION-SENSING DEVICE THAT IS MONITORED BY THE BODY CONTROL MODULE (BCM), WHICH IS A COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS A BUNCH OF STUFF NOT RELATED TO THE ENGINE OR POWERTRAIN. WHEN THE POSITION SENSOR INDICATES THAT THE ACTUATOR IS AT THE END OF ITS RANGE OF TRAVEL, THE BCM SHUTS OFF POWER TO THE MOTOR. THE OUTPUT SHAFT ON THE ACTUATOR SHOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO REACH THE DEGREE OF ROTATION THAT IS SHOWN ABOVE. WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? DID THE BCM MALFUNCTION AND APPLY POWER TOO LONG? I DOUBT IT... BECAUSE ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS ARE LESS LIKELY TO MALFUNCTION THAN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THE ACTUATOR IS FAULTY... THAT THE POSITION-SENSING DEVICE (PROBABLY JUST A VARIABLE RESISTOR) DEVELOPED AN OPEN CIRCUIT, OR AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT, OR SOMETHING. THIS KIND OF PROBLEM BUGS ME (AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE) BECAUSE GENERAL MOTORS HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL TO FIX WHAT CAN BE A SAFETY PROBLEM... NO HEAT MEANS YOU CAN'T DEFROST OR DE-FOG YOUR WINDSHIELD. WHAT'S WORSE... GM HAS NOT EVEN ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) ABOUT THIS PROBLEM TO ADVISE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THE HOW'S AND WHY'S OF THIS MALFUNCTION. SO I'M A BIT CONCERNED THAT THE NEW ACTUATOR MIGHT MALFUNCTION JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE. IF GM HAD ISSUED A TSB, I'D BE ASSURED THAT THE ENGINEERS HAD SOLVED THE FAULTY ACTUATOR PROBLEM, AND THAT ALL THE REPLACEMENT PARTS HAD BEEN REVISED AND IMPROVED, AND THE HEAT WOULD WORK JUST FINE FOR YEARS TO COME. BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE. RECALL NEEDED. DANGEROUS. *TR

NHTSA ID

10386062

Incident

Jan 28, 2011

Mileage

79,580 mi

I OWN A 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT. OVERNIGHT THE HEATER STOPPED WORKING IN MY VEHICLE. THE BLOWER FAN AND ALL THE SWITCHES ARE FINE. AIRFLOW DOES CHANGE FROM VENT TO FLOOR TO DEFROSTERS. WHEN I TURN THE TEMPERATURE KNOB TO HOT AIR, ONLY COLD AIR COMES OUT NO MATER WHAT THE SETTING IS ON THE MODE DOOR. I BROUGHT IT TO MY MECHANIC AND THEY RAN A DIAGNOSTIC. MY TEMPERATURE GAUGE WAS FINE AS WAS MY COOLANT LEVEL. THEY ADVISED THAT THE TEMPERATURE SHAFT IS BROKEN INSIDE THE HEATER BOX AND WOULD NEED TO BE FIXED BY REMOVING THE ENTIRE DASH LABOR COST ALONE IS ABOVE 1000K. I CALLED GM TO ASK WHAT THEY WILL DO TO ASSIST WITH THE COST BUT SINCE THERE IS NO RECALL OR CLASS ACTION THEY WILL NOT HELP TO REPAIR THE DAMAGED HEATER DOOR. ONLINE THERE WERE OVER 325 COMPLAINTS OF THE EXACT SAME ISSUE WHEN I JUST PUT IN 2006 PONTIAC HEATER AS A SEARCH. NOTE THAT THIS VEHICLE IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD AND GARAGED AT ALL TIMES THIS SHOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED AND IS A SAFETY ISSUE ESPECIALLY SINCE I NO LONGER HAVE HEAT IN THE CAR AND TRANSPORT CHILDREN DAILY. *TR

NHTSA ID

10384317

Incident

Feb 23, 2011

2006 PONTIAC TORRENT, 33,350 MILES. HEAT STOPPED WORKING. TOOK THE CAR TO AN AUTO REPAIR SHOP. PROBLEM WAS DIAGNOSED AS A BROKEN AIR BLEND DOOR. PART COST AROUND $65. COST TO REPAIR, APPROXIMATELY $1000.00. MECHANIC EXPLAINED THAT THE ENTIRE DASH BOARD NEEDS TO BE REMOVED TO REPAIR THIS "CHEAP PART". THE MAJORITY OF THE COST IS LABOR. COULD NOT SEE OUT OF MY WINDOWS THIS MORNING BECAUSE THE DEFROST IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. GM SHOULD HAVE A SAFETY RECALL FOR THIS PART. IN DOING RESEARCH, THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM AND NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED BY GENERAL MOTORS. THE DEALER WILL NOT REDUCE THE COST OF THIS REPAIR BECAUSE OF THE LABOR INVOLVED. THIS IS A DEFINITE SAFETY ISSUE. PEOPLE NEED HEAT IN THEIR CAR AND THEY ALSO NEED A PROPER DEFROST SYSTEM. MANY PEOPLE, MYSELF INCLUDED CAN NOT AFFORD A $1000. REPAIR BILL ON A "CHEAP PART" WITH NO GUARANTEE THAT IT WILL NOT BREAK AGAIN. *TR

NHTSA ID

10360578

Incident

Oct 14, 2010

Mileage

33,350 mi

I HAVE A 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT, THAT IS/WAS DRIVEN BY MY SON WHO WAS ON HIS WAY HOME FROM WORK. THE HIGHWAY HE WAS DRIVING ON HAS A SPEED LIMIT OF 65 MPH, WITH A LENIENCY OF GOING 70 MPH. WELL THERE IS CONSTRUCTION OF REPAVING THE HIGHWAY, WELL NOT ALL OF THE REPAVING WAS DONE ESPECIALLY GETTING ONTO THE OFF RAMP WHICH HAS A HIGH 2-3 INCH DROP OFF OF ASPHALT. APPROX. 1/4 MILE OF THE HIGHWAY GETTING ONTO THE OFF RAMP WHICH WAS NOT PAVED COMPLETELY STILL HAVING THE 2-3 INCH DROP OFF OF ASPHALT. WHILE MY SON WAS CROSSING OVER TO GET ONTO THE OFF RAMP, THE PAVED DROP OFF GRABBED ONE OR BOTH OF THE LEFT DRIVER TIRES, WHICH CAUSED A STEERING AND CONTROL PROBLEM TO CAUSE HIM TO OVER CORRECT ONTO A GRASSY DIRT AREA ON HIS RIGHT. HE HIT A TIRE MARK THAT WAS LEFT THERE FROM OTHER ACCIDENTS IN THE SAME AREA WHILE THE DIRT WAS WET. AS HE HIT THIS PREVIOUS TIRE MARK, HE ROLLED THE CAR THREE TIMES. HE WAS WEARING HIS SEAT BELT THANK GOD, AND HAVING HIS SEAT SLIGHTLY LEANED BACK THE SEAT BELT LOCKED AND PREVENTED HIM FROM HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL. HOWEVER, THE 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT HAS A ROLLOVER SENSOR THAT THE CAR HAS AS PART OF THE SECURITY PACKAGE, AS WELL AS ONSTAR. AS THE CAR ROLLED THE SENSOR DID NOT SENSE THE CAR ROLLING WHICH RESULTED IN NOT ONE OF THE AIR BAGS THIS CAR HAS WAS EVER DEPLOYED AT THE TIME OF CAR ROLLING TO PROTECT MY SON, WHICH WOULD BE DRIVER AND PASSENGER AIR BAGS AND SIDE CURTAIN AIR BAGS. I TOOK PICTURES OF THE HEAD LINER HANGING AND THE AIR BAGS STILL ROLLED UP ON THE INSIDE. AND ONSTAR NEVER DETECTED THE ACCIDENT TO GET EMERGENCY HELP FOR MY SON. A BYSTANDER CALLED FOR HELP. THANKS TO GOD MY SON WAS ABLE TO WALK A WAY FROM HIS CAR WITH MILD INJURIES FROM HIM WEARING HIS SEAT BELT IN SPITE OF THE AIR BAGS AND ONSTAR NOT WORKING. THE PARAMEDICS WERE SURPRISED FROM LOOKING AT THE DAMAGE OF HIS CAR THAT MY SON WAS ABLE TO GET HIMSELF OUT AND WALK AWAY THANKS TO THE SEAT BELT. AS FOR THE CAR IT'S TOTALED BEYOND REPAIR. *NM

NHTSA ID

10171483

Incident

Oct 19, 2006

Mileage

14,200 mi