2006 Pontiac Solstice
The Verdict
The 2006 Pontiac Solstice has 242 owner complaints filed with NHTSA. The most reported issues are electrical (186 complaints) and transmission (25 complaints). With a Klunk Score of 49/100, it earns a "Proceed with Caution" rating. If you're shopping for a Pontiac Solstice, consider the 2009 model year which has 85% fewer complaints.
Safe Bet
The 2009 has 85% fewer complaints
View the 2009 Pontiac Solstice dashboard →
Klunk Score: Proceed with Caution
About average for complaint volume. Research the specific issues before buying.
How is this calculated?
The Klunk Score ranks this vehicle year against all others in our database based on total owner complaints filed with NHTSA. 100 = fewest complaints (top tier), 0 = most complained-about. Scores above 60 are better than average; below 40 means more problems than most.
Recalls 1
Active safety recalls from NHTSA for this vehicle year.
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2006-2010 Pontiac Solstice and 2007-2010 Saturn Sky vehicles. The Passenger Air Bag Suppression System (PPS) sensor may become bent or damaged within t...
Risk
In the event of a crash, if the front passenger air bag does not deploy as intended, the front passenger has an increased risk of injury.
Remedy
The remedy for this recall is still under development. A permanent remedy is currently under development. The recall began February 26, 2018. Owners may contact Pontiac customer service at 1-800...
Reported Apr 11, 2026
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Under the Hood
Each number is a complaint. Darker = bigger problem.
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Worst Problems
Complaints
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
I purchased a 2006 Pontiac Solstice from a Lexus dealership in 2020. No known issues were discussed when I purchased the vehicle. The ignition switch turned off while I was driving around a curve which caused engine to stall, and my steering wheel to locked up preventing me from turning. I crashed into a guardrail at 60 mph and my car spun, hitting the back as well. The car is totaled. My airbag did NOT deploy in the crash, resulting in worsened injuries. Thankfully no other cars were involved, but the faulty ignition switch put my safety at risk. The car is available for inspection, and is currently in the hands of my insurance agency who has inspected and totaled it. I did not drive much, and had not experienced this issue prior with my car.
my car had a recall on it when I bought it for the air bag sensor in the pass seat. I took it in and they patched it...not fixed it but a patch... it has been sat in about 20 times since and now has the light on. I will not pay them to repatch or fix this as they should of fixed it properly the first time, if you OKed the use of a tape patch than you can pay for the proper fix. these should never of been patched. they should of been fixed. it will not go back to the dealer that did the patch as I got the car back with grease on many portions of the neer new like leather as well as the new like exterior of the car along with scratch,dent etc. so somebody needs to find the correct fix and have these cars fixed!! not a patch that last 20 times sat in. this is a low millage car and garage or carport kept, still looks about like a 2 month old car. is is despicable that any body could be permitted to patch something like this!! it was patched by perston hood chevy in fortwalton beach florida.
CAR HAS LESS THAN 10000 MILES AND THE SERVICE AIR BAG LIGHT CAME ON. MANUAL SAYS NEVER NEEDS SERVICE. THE IDIOT LIGHT ALSO CAME ON SHOWING THE AIRBAG DEPLOYED AND SEAT BELT WARNING LIGHT
WENT FOR DQ, WIFE PURCHASED OUR ICE CREAM. UPON HER RETURN TO THE CAR AND SITTING DOWN, THE DASH PASSENGER AIR BAG INDICATOR LIGHT STATED SYSTEM WAS "OFF" WITH HER SITTING IN THE SEAT ENGINE RUNNING. THIS CONDITION CONTINUED ON THE DRIVE HOME. NO SIR FAILURE LIGHT INDICATED. WHEN AT HOME, VEHICLE SHUT OFF AND SHE EXISTED. I RESTARTED THE CAR AND SHE GO BACK IN THE CAR AND SAT IN THE SEAT. INDICATOR LIGHT STATED SYSTEM WAS "ON". SO WE HAVE A SYSTEM THAT SOMETIMES SENSES A PASSENGER, AND SOMETIMES NOT. SHE WEIGHS OVER 140 LBS., SO THIS SHOULD NOT BE PART OF THE PROBLEM. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALERSHIP IN 2018 FOR THE SEAT SENSOR RECALL FIX - - WHATEVER THEY DID. BELIEVE IT MIGHT BE ONLY A "REINFORCEMENT". CAR IS PRESENTLY AT JUST OVER 24,000 MILES. VERY, VERY LIMITED PASSENGER SEAT USAGE. THE ONLY "OTHER" ELECTRICAL CHANGE IN THIS JOURNEY WAS AT DQ AND DRIVE HOME THE VEHICLE HEADLIGHT SWITCH WAS SET TO PARKING LAMPS. WHEN PULLING INTO THE GARAGE I RESET THIS SWITCH TO "HEADLAMPS". SO THE "ON" CONDITION WAS WITH HEADLAMPS VERSUS THE "OFF INDICATION" WITH PARK LAMPS. THAT SHOULDN'T MATTER, BUT YOU ASKED FOR INFORMATION. REPORTED INFORMATION TO GM, CASE NUMBER 9-6235950579
AIRBAG SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT WAS REPLACED BY GM DEALER AND SOMETIMES WORKS AND SOMETIMES IT DOESN'T, HAS DONE THIS SINCE BEING REPLACED NO MATTER STATIONARY OR IN MOTION.
THE SENSOR IN THE PASSENGER SEAT FOR THE PASSENGER AIR BAG FAILED. THIS CAUSES THE SERVICE AIRBAG LIGHT TO REMAIN ON. I DO NOT KNOW IF AIRBAG WILL WORK OR NOT. VEHICLE WAS PARKED.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 PONTIAC SOLSTICE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE AIR BAG WARNING INDICATOR WAS ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT DIAGNOSED OR REPAIRED. THE DEALER AND MANUFACTURER WERE NOT CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 500. *TR CONSUMER STATED I HAD A RECALL FOR MY 2006 PONTIAC SOLTICE I TOOK IT TO A DEALER AND HAD IT WORKED ON TO FIX THE AIRBAG SENSOR FOR THE PASSENGER SIDE. THEY SAID THEY WERE FINISHED, AND EVERYTHING WORKED FINE FOR AWHILE. NOW THE AIRBAG SENSOR LIGHT GOES FROM ON TO OFF FREQUENTLY WHILE SOMEONE SITS IN THE SEAT. I`M WONDERING IF THEY USED THE SAME SENSORS LEFT OVER FROM STOCK FROM 2006 WHICH MAYBE BAD ALSO. WHAT DO I DO BECAUSE I DON`T LIKE THE IDEA OF MY WIFE RIDING ALONG BEING UNCOMFORTABLE, WORRYING ABOUT BEING SAFE. *JB
THE PASSENGER AIR BAG SENSOR IN MY VEHICLE FAILED AT AROUND 51800 MILES . WITH THIS TYPE OF A SAFETY ISSUE ANY PASSENGER IN THE CAR FACES ADDED RISK IF AN ACCIDENT WERE TO OCCUR AND THE WEIGHT SENSOR FOR THE PASSENGER SEAT DOSEN'T WORK COULD END CATASTROPHICALLY. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THE OWNER'S COST TO FIX THIS ITEM IS PROHIBITIVE ($500 - $800), AND THAT THE EARLY FAILURE OF THIS PART IS A VERY COMMON ISSUE FOR THIS VEHICLE. I CHECKED MY VIN NUMBER FOR A RECALL OF THIS SAFETY ISSUE BUT THERE ISN'T ONE FOR MY VEHICLE.
DRIVE AXLE SEAL LEAK. THE REAR DIFFERENTIAL IS LEAKING DUE TO A FAULTY PINION SEAL. I CHECKED ALL RECALL INFORMATION, AND YES, IT WAS RECALLED. I WILL NOTIFY THE DEALER OF THE RECALL AND REQUEST THAT IT BE REPAIRED AT NO COST. THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED WHEN I NOTICED THE LEAK. SMALL AMOUNT ON GARAGE FLOOR.
I TOOK MY SOLSTICE IN TO DEALERSHIP FOR IGNITION AND AIRBAG RECALL SEPT 2018. THEY FIXED IGNITION BUT SAID I NEEDED A NEW PART FOR THE AIRBAG SENSOR (MY AIRBAG LIGHT IS ALSO ON). IT HAS BEEN 9 MONTHS AND I HAVE REPEATEDLY CALLED THE DEALERSHIP (FREDERICK MD) BUT THEY TELL ME THERE ARE NO PARTS TO FIX IT. I'VE ALSO CALLED 2 OTHER LOCAL DEALERSHIPS WHO HAVE SAID THE SAME THING. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE TIME LIMIT FOR THESE REPAIRS IS 10YRS FROM ORIGINAL SALE DATE, WHICH IN MY CASE WOULD BE 2016, FOR THE DEALERSHIP TO REMEDY THE RECALL. WHAT CAN I DO TO GET THIS FIXED SO I CAN HAVE A PASSENGER RIDE IN MY CAR?
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY (WITHIN A COUPLE HUNDRED MILES) AFTER RECEIVING PRODUCT SAFETY RECALL 17036 PASSENGER PRESENCE SYSTEM TO ADD A REINFORCEMENT STRIP TO THE PASSENGER PPS SENSOR MAT, MY "SERVICE AIR BAG" LIGHT CAME ON. WHEN I VISITED MY DEALERSHIP, THEY DENIED THAT THEIR SERVICE COULD HAVE HAD ANY IMPACT ON THE FAILURE AND ATTEMPTED TO CHARGE ME A DIAGNOSTIC FEE THAT WOULD NOT BE APPLIED TO A REPAIR.
IN MAY OF 2017 DASH WARNING SHOWED SERVICE AIRBAG REMAINED ON. TOOK TO DEALER AND IT AS REPLACED FOR $991.20 PLUS TAX. IN 2018 RECEIVED RECALL NOTICE THAT STATED I WOULD BE REIMBURSED AS PART WAS RECALLED. TOOK CAR TO DEALER TO SEE ABOUT REIMBURSEMENT AND DID PAPER WORK ON 7/17/18. WHILE I AS THERE I REQUESTED AN APPOINTMENT WITH THE DEALER TO SEE IF THE REPAIRED RECALLED PART WAS DONE WITH THE SAME OLD PART THAT IS UNDER RECALL, THEY CHECKED OUT THE PREVIOUS REPAIR AND DISCOVERED THAT THE PREVIOUS REPAIR WAS MADE WITH THE SAME RECALLED PART. DEALER REPLACED THE REPAIRED PART THROUGH RECALL CAMPAIGN 17036. GM HAS NOT REIMBURSED ME FOR THE ORIGINAL REPAIR. AS I WAS NOT MADE WHOLE BY GM, I AM ASKING FOR A DETERMINATION FOR REIMBURSEMENT
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