G6 Problems

[travisc410]

I have a 06 Pontiac G6 w/ 20K Miles. at 4K miles it went to the dealership for a cd player problem. Now I have more problems. 3 Weeks ago we went to use the vehicle and the battery was dead. It was towed to dealership and batt. found to be bad. Last monday 29th we found the battery to be dead again so it was towed back to te dealership again. Once again battery was bad and replaced. Then we had been noticing problems with the fule range, mileage and low fuel light.

You would be driving and the gasgauage would say you had 1/4 tank left and 39 miles to empty. You drive a mile and the gauage is on empty and ti says LOW FUEL!!! the dealership says " No problem found, working as manf. built" Then it would say you have X amount of miles to empty then the number would jump up and down. Took to dealership who said. " No problem found, working as manf. built".

I picked it up from the dealership and it said 206 miles to empty, I drove a half mile and it said 180 miles to empty. then drove a quarter mile and it said 193 miles to empty. This was under normal speeds and acceleration.

My dealership finally refused to work on the vehicle so I Took it to another dealership who said "Cannot duplicate the problem" so I dropped it off to have the oil changed. come back 15 hours later and THE BATTERY WAS DEAD. Towed to the dealership again. they replaced the battery again. I picked it up once again and the fuel mileage said 142 I drove a half mile and it went to 130 i drove a quarter mile and it said 126 miles and then i drove 700 feet and it said 116 miles. I drove it back to the dealership and when i stopped I had 131 miles to empty. This car has been in the shop every day since monday the 29th.

Any body have any problems like this or suggestions?

[likearock00]

Sorry to hear about the battery problem. Something sounds crazy with it! I would consider buying a non Delco battery for it if it goes dead one more time. Did they check it out or just swap the batteries? It seems like it is almost getting depleted whenever you turn it off.

As for the DIC- ignore it. If you step on the gas and spin the engine up to 2k rpm, the computer is calculating the mileage at 2k rpm. It doesn't take into account that when you get up to speed that you'll get out of the gas. Just make sure it is filled! If it shows a 1/4 tank and you run out, then take it back.

[CobaltSScrazy]

We have a 04 malibu maxx of same platform as your G6 and depending on where the gas level sensor is in the car, it can vary maybe 20 or 30 miles till empty depending on that. Even though your vehicle drove like 2 miles and said it lost 100 miles of gas, did it really or maybe its just the sensor?

Sounds like a bad wiring issue with your car, I'm not very technical and couldn't say for sure, but thats my thought on it.

CObaltSScrazy

[smith7629]

Its not the brand of battery. I had a problem with my 03 Tahoe, where the battery died twice. Come to find out an AC control device for the rear cabin had a constant drain on the battery. They replaced that and no more problems. I fortunately had a dealer who looked for the cause of the problem instead of just keep replacing the battery. You should insist they look for the source of the drain on your battery. Do you have an aftermarket stereo in your car?

[smokyn454]

Sorry to hear you are not happy with your G6. I also own a 2006 G6 and so far the car has been flawless. I have only 13,000 miles on mine though.

With the fuel range ( DIC ) , it is really only intended for highway use. Mine will jump all around too in city use. It works pretty good though on the highway with nice steady speeds. Ours does the same exact thing yours does, once it hits about 40-50 miles left in range, it will just say low fuel. When your low gas bell chimes, the owners manual says you have two gallons of gas left. Hope this helps.

As for the dead batteries, that is definitely a parasitic drain on the battery. Do you have an aftermarket CD player now? Aftermarket foglamps or alarm/remote start system? Those are usually the biggest culprits. Also anything plugged into the cigaratte lighters can cause dead batteries. Or it might just be a short somewhere in the car. Have a technicians read the hot and ground cables with the car off. If there is a negative charge, something is draining the battery.

[member12]

The DIC uses the instantaneous mileage to caclulate "miles to empty". Its relatively accurate, but that depends on how your driving style changes from mile to mile. It's a neat little feature, but it's more useful on longer trips. I've come across many signs all over this country that says "next gas station 100 miles" or something. It's nice just to be able to look down and see that I have adequate fuel to keep crusing to the next station (or to when I find one with lower prices). North America is a huge continent. There are places where you can be driving on a perfectly smooth highway and end up hundreds of miles from the nearest fueling station. You bought an American car.....so you can see the design philosophy of your ride. German cars have similar features.

Your G6 probably has a similar system as on my Silverado. If mine is on empty and within 30 or 40 miles of being dry, it just says "low fuel". It's probably safer than having it say "10 miles to emtpy" and then you take a steep hill or run into some traffic and the car goes empty. In city driving, mine jumps around a lot. It's not useful for city driving because you spend as much time stopped as you do moving- so when the car recalculates it tells you how many miles left driving at that instantaneous speed.

It sounds like your Driver info system is working fine. It's normal for it to say x number of miles to empty, then down the road your driving style changes and it recalculates it at a different number. I'd fill up all the way and see if it gives you your normal range (ex: 15 gallons @ 30 miles per gallon = 450 miles)

I don't think it's related to the battery issue. For some reason, the Delco batteries have been causing problems in a lot of GM products. My advice is to replace it with a DieHard or Interstate battery next time it fails. Even when working properly, it doesn't last much longer than 3 or 4 years. I wouldn't be surprised if your dealer replaced your obviously defective battery with another defective one without even knowing.

Welcome to GMI. I am sorry to hear about your G6 problems. I've always been a fan of them. I have some friends that have a G6 coupe and it's really, really nice.

How do you like it (other than the battery)?

[travisc410]

No after market stereo or other devices. The car it self is ok but very bad if you have a car seat in the back. No room and it will cuz you to have neck problems.

[civilzues]

the miles to empty is working fine!! as for the battery, thats odd-but mine died too and also had cd problem, I HATE THAT UNIT SO MUCH! I have had 5! but I do use it quite a bit.... sounds like your having some normal problems with it.

[gmhashope]

The DIC is working fine. It sounds like an electrical issue. Is the battery in the trunk or underneath the seat in the G6?

[fastdriver]

Originally Posted by travisc410

No after market stereo or other devices. The car it self is ok but very bad if you have a car seat in the back. No room and it will cuz you to have neck problems.

Sorry to hear about your problems AND a dealer that sounds like they don't care AFTER the fact! How some of them are so VERY helpful BEFORE you sign on the dotted line and then.......

Anyway, check to see if the glovebox light or the trunk light are going out the way they should. I have heard of this happening. Also, MAYBE a bad door jamb light switch?

Worth a look anyway. Hope you find the problem because I'm sure that each visit to that dealer aggravates you a little more! Worse comes to worse, call DETROIT directly. Forget "customer service". They're useless with problems like that. You have to get to the TOP and have them make a few phone calls. Then, MAYBE the factory rep for your area will step in and do something. That's ONLY if Detroit calls them. Most dealers and factory reps work hand in hand and back each other up. Screw the customer. I KNOW. I've had my problems with Chrysler- not GM.

Keep us informed. Things like this just aggravate me reading about them because NO ONE cares about ANYTHING these days from CEO's on down!

[Triple-X08]

you have a draw somewhere in the electrical system, the dealership has been throwing batteries at it, 3 times in for the same problem = lemon law, have them fix it right or tell them you will go to GM.