Pontiac Aztek Reliability by YearBest & worst years, problems & recalls — NHTSA data

I ACTUALLY GOT ON THE SITE TO RESEARCH RECALLS ON ANOTHER VEHICLE WE RECENTLY PURCHASED AND OUT OF CURIOSITY INCLUDED THE AZTEC WE STILL OWN. NO RECALLS SHOWED? I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT SINCE IT HAS BEEN NOTHING BUT TROUBLE FROM DAY 1. JUST AS ALL OTHERS DESCRIBED THE IGNITION MESSES UP ALL THE TIME. MY GAUGES GO CRAZY! WILL SHOW NO GAS AND IT WILL BE FULL OR IT WILL GO WAY OVER FULL INTO OTHER GAUGES. SPEED GOES CRAZY I COULD BE DOING 25 AND IT WILL SAY 80. THE BELT...,,,, I HAVE LITTER ALLY REPLACED IT EVERY 4 MONTHS AFTER OWNING THE CAR A YEAR AND EVERYONE SAYS "YOU SURE IT IS'NT RECALLED ?" SO GLAD I DO NOT HAVE TO DRIVE IT ANYMORE BUT IF SOMEONE ELSE DOES THEY WILL BE IN JUST AS MUCH DANGER AS WE WERE! NOW WE OWN A JEEP THAT HAS A RECALL THAT WAS RECALLED IN 2014 BUT THEY DON'T HAVE THE PARTS TO FIX IT WITH!!! OH AND YES IT'S THE IGNITION.

THE VEHICLE HAS SEEMED TO STALL TWICE. UPON FURTHER DISCUSSION WITH THE DRIVER, THE STEERING ALSO LOCKED. THIS SEEMED SIMILAR OF THE SAME AS THE GM RECALL FOR FAULTY IGNITION SWITCHES AND KEY SLOTS. PONTIAC WAS CONTACTED BUT THE RESPONSE WAS THAT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT UNDER A RECALL, WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, AND THAT REPAIRS WOULD BE THE EXPENSE OF THE OWNER. PONTIAC DID NOT SEEM CONCERNED ABOUT A POTENTIAL EXTENSION OF THE GM RECALL LIST. WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT GM WOULD BE VERY INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING IF THE PONTIAC AZTEK IS AFFECTED. WE ARE NOW VERY CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING THE PONTIAC AZTEK. *TR

WHEN THE RADIO IS TURNED ON AN EXTREMELY LOUD SCREECHING SOUND IS HEARD. THE NOISE CONTINUES EVEN AFTER THE KEY IS TURNED OFF. THERE IS AN ELECTRICAL CRACKLING SOUND IN THE DASH AND WHEN THE BRAKE IS DEPRESSED THERE IS A LOUD CRACKLING SOUND. NO GAUGES WORK CORRECTLY. THEY EITHER PEG OUT OR OPERATE OUT OF THE EXPECTED RANGE OF OPERATION. THE AIRBAG LIGHT FLASHES OFF AND ON. THE AWD LIGHT IS ON ALL THE TIME. THE GAS GAUGE ALWAYS BELOW "E". *TR

BOTH THE ANTILOCK BRAKE WARNING LIGHT & THE AWD LIGHTS ARE ON & NO ONE CAN DETERMINE WHY. *TR

A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE I NOTICED VERY STRONG ODOR OF GAS INSIDE VEHICLE WHILE IN MOTION AND IT GOT NOTICEABLY STRONGER WHILE IDLING. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY CHECKED IT PLACED ME IN A LOANER. COULD NOT FIND A PROBLEM. THIS OCCURRED 2 MORE TIMES OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT WEEK.THEY REPAIRED WHAT THEY BELIEVED TO BE THE PROBLEM BUT I WAS BACK IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS LATER AND IN ANOTHER LOANER. 4 TECHNICIANS AND 2 SERVICE MANAGERS LATER,THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE ENGINE HAD TO BE REBUILT DUE TO A FUEL LEAK DUE TO A FAULTY O-RING. CAR VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN RECALL AND COST OVER 1200 TO REPAIR.

KEY BECAME LOCKED IN THE IGNITION. COULD NOT TURN THE CAR OFF NOR REMOVE KEY. TOOK TO DEALER AND THEY KEPT THE VEHICLE AND PLACED ME IN A LOANER. HAD TO REPLACE THE IGNITION IN ORDER TO CORRECT. VEHICLE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN ANY RECALLS RELATED TO THIS. FORTUNATELY I WAS NOT CHARGED AS THIS WAS THE 4TH TIME I HAD TO BRING IN THE VEHICLE IN MY FIRST 30 DAYS OF OWNERSHIP. *TR

I WAS LEAVING SCHOOL AND I STARTED TO SMELL GAS, SO I STOPPED AND CHECKED TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY LEAKING AND THERE WASN'T. A WEEK HAD WENT BY AND I DIDN'T SMELL THE GAS ANYMORE BUT MY RADIO AND DASH LIGHTS HAD QUIT WORKING. SO I HAD THE FUSES CHANGED AND THE SPEEDOMETER STARTED WORKING AGAIN BUT NOT THE RADIO. SEVERAL MONTHS LATER MY TEMP GAUGE STARTED SHOOTING ALL THE WAY UP TO HOT RIGHT AFTER IT WAS CRANKED. SO I HAD IT CHECKED AND MY VEHICLE WASN'T RUNNING HOT. THE ONE NIGHT I WAS DRIVING HOME FROM TOWN AND MY CAR SHUT OFF AND A TEMP LIGHT WAS BLINKING. I POPPED THE HOOD AND MY HOSES FROM THE RADIATOR TO THE MOTOR HAD BUSTED FROM ALL THE PRESSURE BUILT UP. THE NEXT DAY I BROUGHT MY CAR TO A SHOP AND HAD A NEW MOTOR PUT IN. AND LOW AND BE-HOLD MY TRANSMISSION STARTS SHIFTING REALLY HARD WHEN I GO TO START OFF. I HAD IT LOOKED AT BUT THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING WITH IT. BUT SINCE IVE BEEN KEEPING THE TRANSMISSION FLUID CHECKED WEEKLY IT HASN'T BEEN DOING IT AS MUCH. BUT IT STILL SCARES THE CRAP OUT OF ME. *JS

THERE WAS A STRONG FUEL ODOR COMING IN THE INTERIOR AND THE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC BUT THEY COULD NOT DETECT IF THERE WAS A FUEL LEAK OR WHY THE FUEL ODOR WAS SO STRONG. THIS ONLY SEEM TO HAPPEN IN THE COLD WEATHER MONTHS THE SMELLL IS A LOT STRONGER WHEN THE CAR IS NOT MOVING BUT STILL RUNNING IN TRAFFIC OR WARMING UP OR AT A STOP LIGHT. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC AZTEK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT SHUT OFF NOR WOULD THE KEY RELEASE FROM THE IGNITION. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER THREE TIMES WHERE THE IGNITION RELAY WAS REPLACED EACH TIME. THE FAILURE RECENTLY RECURRED AND THE COIL WIRE WAS DISCONNECTED IN ORDER TO SHUT THE ENGINE OFF. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED FOR THE MOST RECENT FAILURE. NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 05V157000 (ELECTRICAL SYSTEM) WAS RELATED TO THE FAILURE; HOWEVER, THE VIN WAS NOT INCLUDED IN THE RECALL. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 32,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. UPDATED 09/05/13*LJ

I PURCHASED THIS CAR USED. WHEN I FIRST PURCHASED IT, I SMELLED AN STRONG ODOR OF GAS/FUEL. WHEN I RESEARCHED THE CAR ON THE INTERNET, THE SEARCH REVEALED THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE FUEL SYSTEM OF THE 2005 PONTIAC AZTEK. AFTER READING MORE IN DETAIL ABOUT THE RECALL, THE SEARCH FOUND THAT THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR WERE PRODUCED WITHOUT AN O'RING AND RETAINER, WHICH CAUSED THE FUEL TO LEAK. I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALERSHIP TO BE CHECKED. THEY FOUND THAT FUEL WAS LEAKING AND THE FUEL PRESSURE REGULATOR HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THE THROTTLE BODY WAS CHOKING. I CONTACTED GM AND I WAS TOLD THAT BECAUSE MY VIN NUMBER DID NOT READ FROM AN AREA THAT HAD RECALLS, I WOULD NOT BE HELPED IN THIS SITUATION. I RESPONDED THAT MY CAR HAD THE SAME ISSUES AS OTHER CARS. THEY ALSO STATED THAT THEY COULD NOT FIND ANY RECALLS ON THE 2005 PONTIAC AZTEK, BUT I HAVE FOUND COMPLAINTS ON THE NHTSA WEB SITE, AS WELL AS ON THE INTERNET REGARDING THIS ISSUE. *TR

RETAINER CLIP THAT HOLDS SIDE PANEL ON SEAT HAS BROKEN 3 TIMES. *JS

TRANSMISSION SHIFTS VERY HARD BETWEEN 1ST AND 2ND. *JS

GAUGES DO NOT WORK PROPERLY, FUEL, TACHOMETER, TEMP AND THIS MONTH 04/2012 THE SPEEDOMETER STARTED ACTING UP. *JS

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 PONTIAC AZTEK. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THERE WAS A STRONG FUEL ODOR COMING IN THE INTERIOR AND THE EXTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A LOCAL MECHANIC BUT THEY COULD NOT DETECT IF THERE WAS A FUEL LEAK OR WHY THE FUEL ODOR WAS SO STRONG. THE DEALER WAS NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE WHO OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS ALSO NOTIFIED WHO STATED THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS FOR THE VEHICLE AND OFFERED NO ASSISTANCE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 66,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 70,000.