Steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2005 Pontiac G6
1 crash 1 injury 2 of the 34 reports for this failure mention a crash, a fire, an injury or a death. Those are the owner's words on the complaint form, not a verified finding, and one report can mention more than one.
When steering rack, gear or tie rod failure gets reported
Owners of the 2005 Pontiac G6 report steering rack, gear or tie rod failure at a median of 72,500 miles. A quarter of the reports come in before 47,500 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles, from 32 reports that carried an odometer reading.
A part like this is normally expected to survive 98,000 miles. It is the 6th most-reported problem on this model year.
The mileage distribution
The reported range runs from 30,000 miles at the tenth percentile to 145,000 miles at the ninetieth, a spread of 115,261 miles across the middle 80% of reports.
When the reports scatter this far, the mileage is telling you about how these cars were driven more than about the part itself.
19% of the dated reports were filed under 36,000 miles.
The whole distribution
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29,739 miles | 46,750 miles | 73,000 miles | 104,750 miles | 145,000 miles |
Read the 10th percentile as “one report in ten arrived this early”. Exact figures are shown in this table because it is the table of record; everywhere else on the site they are rounded to the precision the sample can carry.
What a percentile can and cannot tell you here
These five numbers describe the readings owners gave, in order. The median is the middle one: half the reports arrived below it. The 10th and 90th are the edges of the bulk of the distribution, and the distance between them is the part worth reading. A tight spread — say 70,000 to 95,000 miles — points at something that wears out on a schedule, and the schedule is knowable. A wide one, 20,000 to 190,000, points at a fault that hits some cars and never troubles others, which means the mileage on the listing in front of you tells you very little about your odds.
What these figures are not is a survival curve. Every reading here comes from a car whose owner filed a complaint, so the sample contains only failures: it cannot say what share of the fleet made it past 150,000 miles untouched, because those owners had nothing to report. Nor is the mileage the moment of failure — it is the odometer reading as recalled at the time of filing, which may be weeks later and is sometimes rounded to the nearest ten thousand by the person typing it.
Percentiles are shown at all only once 8 readings exist for the vehicle and mode. Below that the middle of a handful of numbers is noise wearing a decimal point, so the figures are withheld rather than dressed up.
What happens, and what it costs
Of these reports, 1 a crash and 1 an injury are mentioned. Owners write their own complaints and the agency does not verify them, so read this as what the reports say happened rather than as a confirmed count.
Putting it right typically runs $700–$2,600 at an independent US shop. That range is an editorial estimate held in this site's failure-mode catalogue, not a figure from NHTSA, and it is a repair cost rather than a diagnosis cost.
The same failure on other years
The same failure is reported on 5 model years of this car. It shows up earliest on the 2007, at a median of 30,000 miles, and latest on the 2005 at 72,500 miles.
By volume the 2006 carries the most reports, with 100; the 2005 has 34. A mode that appears across most years of a model is usually a design choice rather than a bad batch.
If one year stands out to the left, that is the year to avoid; if the whole line sits at a similar mileage, this is wear rather than a defect in one production run.
Tick median reported mileage Solid middle half of reports Faint 10th to 90th percentile Colour how bad the failure is when it happens
What owners wrote
Verbatim from NHTSA complaint narratives, trimmed for length. The mileage is the one the owner gave.
Consumer pontiac g6 made a rattling noise in the front suspension. *ts ***nar*** the vehicle was taken to the dealer who insulated the fuel filler tube. The rattle was decreased but still noticeable. The dealer then suggested the consumer have the steering rack replaced. The rack was replaced on 7/6/05. The noise continued and this time the dealer replaced the power steering gear assembly and steering column assembly. The noise returned and the dealer resurfaced both front rotors, completed the lateral runout check and installed brake alignment shims behind both front rotors. Four months later the noise returned. This time the dealer resurfaced the rotors and replaced the pads. The consumer is concerned about all the repairs. *nm
This is an addendum to complaint with odi id# 10152492. After first steering failure, g6 brought to dealership 13 march 2006. Diagnosis claimed that steering system power source was emitting low voltage. Motor and controller assembly of power steering system was replaced. Steering failed again on 29 may 2006. G6 brought to dealership next day. Tech could detect no current faults under road test. No service was done to vehicle. Steering failed 04 august 2006. G6 brought to dealership same day. Diagnosis claimed internal steering gear failure. Whole power steering system and gear assembly was replaced. Received car more than five weeks later on 12 september 2006. Steering failed 18 september 2006. G6 brought to dealership same day. Investigation pending. In all instances steering failed within minutes of ignition. Steering wheel tightened moderately then stiffened immediately. Service wrench icon illuminated followed by power steering message in dic display. Steering took increased effort; like opening a rusty valve in order to merge into another lane or onto curb. *jb
Continuous problem with steering, even after dealer replaced and serviced all components ...it came steering clunk at u joint and steering shaft came back. To my understanding this is a major manufacturer flaw from talking to people driving pontiac g6 from 2005 till 2007? ...and it can potentially lead to steering lock that will lead to accident and worse. *tr
Also reported on the 2005 Pontiac G6
Other steering problem
Loss of power steering
Steering column or shaft failure
Other electrical problem
Cruise control failure
Other powertrain problem
How far this goes
Complaints are voluntary, so 34 is a floor and not a count of affected cars. Mileages are typed in by owners and cluster on round numbers. And the mode itself is assigned by software reading the complaint text, which is reliable in bulk and fallible one report at a time.
Questions this page answers
At what mileage does steering rack, gear or tie rod failure happen on the 2005 Pontiac G6?
Across 32 owner reports that included an odometer reading, half were filed by 72,500 miles. A quarter were filed before 47,500 miles and a quarter after 105,000 miles. These are the mileages owners reported when they complained, not a prediction for any individual car.
How common is steering rack, gear or tie rod failure on the 2005 Pontiac G6?
34 reports have been filed with NHTSA, about 0.3 per 1,000 vehicles. Complaints are voluntary, so this is a floor rather than a count of affected cars.
What this is and is not. These are the mileages at which owners chose to complain to a federal agency, which is not the same as the mileage at which the part fails on every car. It skews toward failures that happened outside warranty, cost real money, or frightened someone. It is still the only public dataset that carries failure mileage at all, and the shape of a few hundred readings is informative even when a single one is not. Methodology · JSON · this failure on other cars
Source Owner complaints and recall records published by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, model years 1996–2027 Figures rebuilt Published by AtWhatMileage How every figure is computed