[eaglesrealm]

Hello All, I am a member and frequent visitor/poster on GrandAmGT.com.
I currently own a 2001 Grand Am GT with 124K, so I am starting to think about my next car.

When the G6 first came out, I was disappointed that the exterior was too feminine looking and the interior was too cheap. I have since let the exterior win me over for the most part.

I have a few questions, for those kind enough to assist.

1) I see a lot about steering lock up issues. This is a serious issue (obviously). Does it relate to only the Electric Power Steering or the Hydraulic power steering only? Only on one engine?

2) I went through a lot of the thread listings here, but are there any other big, common issues to watch out for other than the steering and the panoramic roof?

Since I travel a lot for work, I get to rent many vehicles around the world. I recently was given a G6 in Chicago. I found the V6 acceptable, nothing fancy. I don't think I have huge fingers by any means, but I found the buttons on the steering wheel to be way too narrow to use.

The things I wish they would change -

* Have a manual trans for the V6 Sedan
* I can't stand that black plastic part of the rear bumper. I have seen so many of them that are uneven after some miles are on the car. And when I am behind a G6 on the freeway, many of them are fluttering terribly in the draft.
* Minor, but would love to see body colored mirrors.

Anyways, the main purpose of this e-mail was to solicit info on mechanical issues common to this particular Epsilon vehicle.

 

[mphred]

1) Electric power assist steering only, on 4 cyl and 3.5L models

2) Panoramic roof should be avoided at all costs. A few lucky souls have had no problems, but those with mileage over 5K are reporting a LOT of problems, repeated trips to the stealer, and worsening noise over time. Fixes don't seem to fix for long, and it has been suggested that the G6's (lack of) structural integrity cannot handle an opening in the roof of that size. The sunroof works as well as any I've used. Get the coupe and you don't need the Proof. Or better yet, the convertible. The rear valance has not been noted by anyone on this forum as being loose. A nice upgrade is to have the mirrors and rear valance painted body color.

Steering wheel controls could be bigger. I rented a lot of V6 G6 sedans, and that's what brought me into the GM family. I was really impressed overall.
And for 2007, the GT, which now has the 3.9L OHV (essentially a 2006 GTP) comes with a 6-sp manual across all body styles. Autostick only for the new GTP, which has the OHC 3.6L. Hope that helps.

 

[bigbengt67]

^ The only GT's that get the 3900 are those with the manual, auto GT's are stuck with the 3500 for 2007.

 

[mphred]

Yeah, it's confusing, but what BigBen said

 

[bristol16]

2) Panoramic roof should be avoided at all costs. A few lucky souls have had no problems, but those with mileage over 5K are reporting a LOT of problems, repeated trips to the stealer, and worsening noise over time. Fixes don't seem to fix for long, and it has been suggested that the G6's (lack of) structural integrity cannot handle an opening in the roof of that size. The sunroof works as well as any I've used. Get the coupe and you don't need the Proof. Or better yet, the convertible. The rear valance has not been noted by anyone on this forum as being loose. A nice upgrade is to have the mirrors and rear valance painted body color.

if i were buying my car again i would definately get the pano roof again. i love it, mine is open whenever i am in the car and the weather cooperates which is pretty frequent in NC. i love it much more than the standard sunroof in my other vehicle and i would never consider buying a convertible so for me this is better than any other option out there.

 

[eaglesrealm]

Thanks for the replies guys. If I got one, I would probably get the G6 Sedan with the Sport Package (for the engine) and that says it comes with Hydraulic Power Steering, so I should be safe??

I could not imagine the poor people that have lockups - that would be terribly disturbing to have happen while driving.

I did see now that the GT has the 6 sp manual - which is tempting, and one of the things I don't like about the Fusion.

Thanks again.

 

[Kman]

Thanks for the replies guys. If I got one, I would probably get the G6 Sedan with the Sport Package (for the engine) and that says it comes with Hydraulic Power Steering, so I should be safe??

I could not imagine the poor people that have lockups - that would be terribly disturbing to have happen while driving.

I did see now that the GT has the 6 sp manual - which is tempting, and one of the things I don't like about the Fusion.

Thanks again.

There are no problems with the Hydraulic Steering. The 6 MT mated with the 3900 V6 in the GT Sport Package, is much improved over the 6 MT in the 2006 GTP.

 

[built4drivers]

There haven't been any posts about steering problems from 2006 owners with electric power steering that I have seen. I own 3 GM's from 05-06 that have EPS (including 06 G6 4-cyl with 38K now) and none have any trouble. I believe the problem was isolated to early-mid model year 2005 G6's just as it was to early-mid 2004 model year Malibu/Malibu Maxx. I wouldn't be worried about the EPS, I personally prefer the steering feel of the EPS to the Hydraulic to be honest.

 

[mphred]

The rental G6s I drove had the EPS, and one of the things I liked best was the steering. And I immediately noticed the difference between EPS and HPS when I test drove a coupe & convert. EPS is quick and light, HPS is heftier-feeling with a great on center feel. Both are great choices, shame about the problems people have had with EPS vehicles.

 

[Hambone]

I love my 6 speed!

 

[eaglesrealm]

There haven't been any posts about steering problems from 2006 owners with electric power steering that I have seen. I own 3 GM's from 05-06 that have EPS (including 06 G6 4-cyl with 38K now) and none have any trouble. I believe the problem was isolated to early-mid model year 2005 G6's just as it was to early-mid 2004 model year Malibu/Malibu Maxx. I wouldn't be worried about the EPS, I personally prefer the steering feel of the EPS to the Hydraulic to be honest.

Thanks for the input. So is it safe to say, as best I can tell, there seems to be no lingering common issues with the G6 these days? Obviously each car may see different failures, but the important thing is that from reading through the thread titles, I don't see any other common theme in terms of a large scale problem.

 

[WildMan]

2) Panoramic roof should be avoided at all costs. A few lucky souls have had no problems, but those with mileage over 5K are reporting a LOT of problems, repeated trips to the stealer, and worsening noise over time. Fixes don't seem to fix for long, and it has been suggested that the G6's (lack of) structural integrity cannot handle an opening in the roof of that size. The sunroof works as well as any I've used. Get the coupe and you don't need the Proof. Or better yet, the convertible. The rear valance has not been noted by anyone on this forum as being loose. A nice upgrade is to have the mirrors and rear valance painted body color.
QUOTE]

I would disagree with this. I absolutely love the panoramic roof and it is one of the reasons I bought this car. Although it's starting to get colder now, I use mine every day it's not raining. I would do it all over again.

 

[built4drivers]

I have to agree with Wildman about the Panoramic roof, I have rented a few 2006 G6's that had the P-Roof and none of them rattled or made noise, and all the cars had 15-40,000KM on them at the time. A couple of 2005's I rented did make the noise however. I think now that GM has worked out the bugs they aren't a common issue anymore. That's not to say there may be a couple here and there that will make noise.

 

[mphred]

Like I said, a few lucky people have had no problem whatsoever, but based on what I've read here, I wouldn't get the P-roof. [/I]SEVEN trips to the dealer for the same problem would drive me nuts. Another thing to consider is how much would the noise bother you vs how much enjoyment you'd get from the Pano Roof. When I was a lot younger, my daily driver was a Triumph Spitfire. I drove it every day and on cross-country road trips all the time. It was so loud top up or down that on road trips I would wear earplugs. And I loved it then, but now I am older and grouchier, at least moreso than when I was 22 years old. I see why the older you get, the more luxurious/quiet cars you buy, at least a your daily driver. When I want the wind in my hair-bugs in my teeth-will the car make the trip? experience, I ride my motorcycle or take the Porsche 914 out of suspended animation