[Christopher Price]

I'm hoping someone would explain to me about the 2010 G6 GT...

According to GM, the 2010 G6 GT wasn't supposed to exist, it was deleted. And yet, I've seen at least a couple fleet 2010 GT's for sale.

Of course, I'm interested because the 2009.5 model GT's lacked StabiliTrak, while all 2010 G6's came with StabiliTrak. And, I'd prefer a GT with StabiliTrak than having to hunt down a base model with all the GT's features.

Looking at the option codes for the 2010 MY, I'm wondering if all 1SH package orders just got GT badged at the last minute.

Anyone have any clear ideas here on how these 2010 GT's came to be?

 

[Christopher Price]

Update: Making some progress...

Used GM's VIN decoder docs to see if I could find anything without the help of a dealer. And, well, I did.

All the 2010 G6 GTs that I've found so far use ZA as the 4-5 VIN codes. According to GM's table, that indicates a base G6 Sedan. GT would have used ZB as the 4-5 VIN codes.

So, it's starting to become clear that 3.5L V6 base models sold to fleets had the GT badge stuck on during the final run. I wouldn't be surprised if 1SH was the qualifying package, or the one right before it.

Either way, if you want a G6 GT with StabiliTrak and the 2009.5 improvements... this appears to be what you're looking for.

I've sent off a couple of emails to dealers asking them to confirm the StabiliTrak feature code is present on the VIN. I'll post back if/when I hear back.

 

[Christopher Price]

Well, here's some bad news. Dealers reported back that FX3 (StabiliTrak) codes aren't on these 2010 GTs.

So, there doesn't appear to be any way to get the 2009.5 improvements, V6 engine, and StabiliTrak on the same car. (Unless, well, you buy a 2010 Malibu).

Sigh. Back to saving up for the G8 for me.

 

[waterfowler76]

...good research. and hey there is nothing wrong with a G8. except the price.

 

[Daniel]

yeah Thats awesome that you found all that info to bad tho.

 

[SexyG6]

how much would stabilitrac even help? my 2008 gt has ABS and TC and ive never been in a situation where i could not control the vehicle. ive had my 6er completely sideways at 70mph on a 2 lane road after aparently a bunch of hail fell in just that one spot over the top of a hill, and corrected it and was just fine...... seems to me if you need to rely on something like that to keep control of the vehicle in all situations you need to learn to be a better driver.........

 

[Lampoon]

I dont believe there were any 2010's.
I think they were built in 2009 and released as a 2010.
Those last ones were fleet vehicles = not the good ones. Bummer.

 

[Daniel]

how much would stabilitrac even help? my 2008 gt has ABS and TC and ive never been in a situation where i could not control the vehicle. ive had my 6er completely sideways at 70mph on a 2 lane road after aparently a bunch of hail fell in just that one spot over the top of a hill, and corrected it and was just fine...... seems to me if you need to rely on something like that to keep control of the vehicle in all situations you need to learn to be a better driver.........

I have no ABS or TC LOL so winter is fun

 

[Christopher Price]

There is an ongoing debate about how much ESC/StabiliTrak does help an experienced driver.

I tend to side on the side that argues that even experienced drivers make mistakes, and good, experienced drivers accept that.

But, there's another camp that argues that ESC will help in all situations where the car loses control, because ESC can kick in before your brain can even send the commands to break in many cases.

Obviously, ESC is designed to prevent those "two wheel only" situations where your car is horizontal… or crossing into oncoming traffic.

The way it works is by dynamically shifting power to breaks based on which ones are losing control. The idea is that you can't tell each break to operate independently, but ESC can tell which wheels could use additional breaking power to regain control.

In short, it detects skidding and "steers" the vehicle with the breaks to prevent spinouts or loss of control.

Considering that GM adds additional ESC controls, called Active Handling, to Corvette… even GM would probably agree that experienced drivers will want to use it off the track. Cadillac also has Active Front Management, so clearly, ESC is a baseline tool.

Also, considering it will be required on all cars shortly, NHTSA estimates it would save 5,000 to 9,000 lives each year if every car had ESC.

Bottom line: ESC is a powerful safety feature that most should want on their cars.

I suspect the 2009.5 and on GT models lost StabiliTrak because GM knew that the G6 was mostly going to be a rental fleet item as only the G8 (and possibly Solstice) were the candidates for surviving GM's bankruptcy. Sadly, neither of those made it either.

P.S. I think you're right, Lampoon. Those 2009.5 GT units were probably sitting on the production line during the cut-off, which is why they got sold as 2010's. It would also explain why I've only found three in a nationwide search. I wonder if that makes it the rarest Pontiac trim ever sold? There were twenty 2010 Solstices made.

 

[coupe_gtp]

There are plenty of 2010 G6's I searched on manhiem and there are about 20 pages of them at different auctions I would say that most of them went to fleets and rentals most likely.

 

[06gtpg6]

they were some 2010 models released in this year but were produced 09, do you think the front bumper will fit an 06 model g6, i like that look

 

[Christopher Price]

There are plenty of 2010 G6's I searched on manhiem and there are about 20 pages of them at different auctions I would say that most of them went to fleets and rentals most likely.

Yes, the 2010 G6 was sold exclusively to fleets. But, there weren't supposed to be any GTs made for 2010 MY.

they were some 2010 models released in this year but were produced 09, do you think the front bumper will fit an 06 model g6, i like that look

It should. GM didn't modify the frame for the 2009.5 revision. However, it won't be cheap to do, you're looking at $1,000 at least (unless you do it yourself). All the parts would have to be purchased from GM, since there are so few '09.5+ models, you probably won't find the parts any any junk yard.

 

[MattInSoCal]

I dont believe there were any 2010's.
I think they were built in 2009 and released as a 2010.
Those last ones were fleet vehicles = not the good ones. Bummer.

Fleet does not necessarily mean bad. My car was first sold as a fleet vehicle (National RAC). It's a GT, and not white. I bought it because I enjoyed driving the G6 GT I had rented a few weeks earlier from Avis.

~ MattInSoCal

 

[Christopher Price]

Okay folks, finally found one that fits what I was looking for. Completely stumbled on the answer by accident (had put this all out of mind a long time ago).

Turns out I was right with my original hypothesis. The 1SH package for 2010 MY is indeed badged as a GT, and it does indeed have StabiliTrak.

The confusion stems from a handful of GT models that were 2009.5 units, but shipped as 2010's. Those do lack StabiliTrak as previously noted. They carry the pre-2010 build codes, that's how you can tell quickly.

There are only two ways to know if you have a 2010 GT with StabiliTrak, either have the dealer do a build order for the FX3 StabiliTrak code to appear, or see if it has 1SF, 1SG, or 1SH. Personally, I suggest both if you're in the market for the best G6 ever made.

For a breakdown of these packages, check here.

And yes, I did a couple of build orders on these 2010 G6's to verify they weren't 2009.5 models rebadged.

Now the bad news… these 1SG/1SH optioned G6's are insanely priced. You could get a V6 G8 for less money and just a bit more mileage.

One final tidbit that I found. Many 2010 G6's include OnStar Remote Vehicle Shutdown. Good to know if your car is stolen… or if you miss a payment.

 

[Droptop Diamond]

Thanks for all the research! This also answers the question in another recent thread about there being 2010 G6's. And in this rare instance I happened to be right

 

[coupe_gtp]

The funny part about most of the 2010 g6 GT's I have driven is that they haven't had tapshift lol.

 

[Christopher Price]

The only 2010 GT's that would have tapshift were 2009.5 units that slipped through badged as 2010's (which, was what started all this confusion in the first place).

Keep in mind GM's original stance was that there weren't any 2010 GT variants.

I suspect someone down the line realized that 1SF, 1SG, and 1SH would be impossible to distinguish from the 2.4L I4 engine variants from the outside, and that would be a pain to check each car when someone wanted to rent/buy a V6 model.

So, at the last minute they put the GT badges back on, even though tapshift wasn't in the cars.

That actually may be an easy way to check for StabiliTrak though. If you're looking at a 2010 GT, and it doesn't have tapshift, it almost certainly has StabiliTrak. Personally, I'd take StabiliTrak over tapshift any day.

 

[coupe_gtp]

Well I actually thought about it when I was driving two 2010 G6's today for you. They both had ESC since when I held the T/C button for 10 seconds it showed that it was off.

 

[djrobnyc]

UGH! Do these cars have Stabilitrak?

There is some great research in this thread - but there seems to be a discrepancy between what GM is telling me and what the dealer's GM Certified Window sticker says. I called GM with 2 2010 G6 VIN codes and they told me with certainty that the cars do NOT have Stabilitrak. But then the dealer(s) insist they do - and again, I don't think they are intentionally misleading - the info, which looks like they are pulling from the original build sheets, indicates the cars do have it. Can anyone help? Why is there a conflict of information?

 

[guzman]

One thing I have notice is (online) cars that listed as 2010 G6s that are for sale have instrument cluster gauge graphics similar to the 2005-09 (maybe a different font), whereas the 2009(.5) have very different gauge graphics, has anyone else noticed this?

Oh and it looks like all the ones listed as 2010 base (2.4 or 3.5) models have leather steering wheels.