Guys,

I am seriously thinking of buying a 09 G8 GT. From your perspective do you experience any issues or do you have something really dislike?

Thanks
Hardy

I've posted these before, but two pet-peeves I have are:

1. No way to tell when you are in 4 cylinder mode while driving.
2. When below 1/4 tank of fuel, you cannot view the estimated driving range. It only shows that you are low on fuel.

Otherwise, all I can say is the car is awesome and heaps of fun to drive. I'd have spent 10k more for the same car (shhh, don't tell GM that).

Talking about 4 cylinder mode, will the same 4 cylinders be deactivated all the time or GM uses some algorithm to choose 4 cylinders.

My worry is that if some certain 4 cylinders are chosen to deactive all the time when required, does it mean 4 cylinders will wear out much more than other 4?

Go to the Engineering Mode on your display and it'll show you when AFM is activated/deactivated

AFM is only activated during light load conditions; when stress to the rings, pistons and cylinder walls is at a minimum. So I would say no.

Don't worry about it. If it was a regular V8, all 8 cylinders would "wear out" whenever their time is due.. Or looking at it another way, when the 4 cylinders wear out, 4 of them will still be ok.
When that happens, you'll have a good excuse to go out and get a GXP!

Go out and read the forums. Everyone seems to have a quip. I have a 2009 G8 GT with the works. Little over a month of service and 1500 miles. I have only had a problem with the auto start and key programming...fixed in 15 minutes at the dealer.
Go out and drive one and.....Those quips won't mean a thing.
You won't find a better bargain for a sedan with the looks and performance of the G8GT !

I and others on this site are experiencing similar problems with shaking or vibration in the steering wheel and in my case the whole body at certain speeds while cruising. In my case anything from 20 to 50 while cruising I get this vibration. I took it to my independent mechanics who definitly noticed the problem but where unable to find a fix... so it is off to the dealer tomorrow. My GT is a 2009 loaded with 4900 miles.

I too have noticed road noise around 50mph, I figured it just needs to be rebalanced.

Also, my left rear door has a small "clang" when I close it - I think it's a build defect, not sure if they can adjust it.

As for pet-peeves, I have several (which i knew of when buying):

1. Passenger seat doesn't go back far enough, leaving annoyingly little leg room for my girlfriend(s)
2. Both front seat inclines require turning a knob to adjust, they really should be powered in a premium pkg
2a. My wristwatch always scratches the car when I reach to adjust the knob
3. Sound system needs mid levels, not just treble/bass
4. The hood doesn't completely close (look right above the pontiac emblem), it detracts from the quality of the body
5. No small pocket on door to hold my bluetooth - I have to store it on the center console (annoying while driving)

My car had a slight vibration in the steering wheel at about 65mph and up.
The dealer felt it, and rebalanced all 4 wheels. One was off by 3 oz. They
also did an alignment, changing none of the angles appreciably, but making
the steering wheel exactly straight. My car is perfect now.
Also, on my delivery day I found a small area where the paint hadn't been
sprayed on enough, so some small streaks of the white primer showed through
on a lower rear quarter panel. The dealer got it painted before I picked it
up and it's also perfect now.
Occasionally, sitting completely still idling, I can feel a slightly uneven
idle as if the car had a high-performance cam. Not much to notice, and
not very often.
The main impression is that it's high quality, luxuriously roomy, quiet,
handles really well, smooth, and lots of eager power on demand. This
is not a sloppy poser sedan.
Joe
(currently bone-stock '09 silver G8GT)

Most vibration issues can be related to wheels being out of balance to start with or losing the wheel weights they cam ewith. Another known (but easily fixed) cause is failure of dealer or others along the way in removing shipping blocks from suspension.

My peeves are minor in that the leather is quality but looks cheap, and where is a light grey or light brown interior option that would be perfect with certain colors?

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Hmmm, when we headed to the dealership to check G8 GT my wife actually dislike the exterior very much because she hated scoop on hood. And she turned to the CTS beside it and just loved it.

Since we won't be able to buy 2 vehicles, I don't know now.

Show her one of the Holden conversions floating around that would give you the G8 without the hood scoops for less (hopefully) than the CTS. The only reason I see to purchase a smaller, slightly slower CTS over a G8GT is for the AWD option.

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yeah the cts is beautiful and so nice. but when loaded with options (cuz who would want a bare-bones caddy) its almost $50,000 and its heavier with less power. if someone doesn't like the hood scoops then they shouldn't be getting a pretty much muscle car anyway. the scoops are the one thing that i think makes the car what it is; which is much better looking then the holden. they define a look of muscle but are in-line with the hood lines and low profile so they come across as subtle and classy as well.

My g8 gt will be at the dealer this week due to a safety recall. They say the trans has a delayed downshift that needs to be reprogrammed. Has anyone heard of this???

What safety recall?

He's talking about the TCM reflash for certain early cars, I believe. All it does is basically firm up some shifts, but not everyone having update reports noticing results. It is not a recall, but a TSB and as a campaign is supposed to be performed on eligible vehicles prior to delivery or only if customer complains. It is applicable only to some GTs produced before 4/23. Ask th eservice manager to verify as open or closed.

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It's some what mentioned here 'Laggy" Throttle response? go down to August 23rd, 2008, 12:56 PM

That transmission recalibration was done to my G8 GT a few days after I bought it. I don't know when it was made, I bought it with 18 miles on it Sept 5th, it had just come in a few days earlier. One known problem with the 09's is that the front windows rattle when the door is shut with them down all the way. I was told to bring it back in a month or two as they don't have a fix for it yet, but was told that it is a known problem. One other annoying thing is that they took out the amp and oil pressure gauges because supposedly they were cheesy looking but didn't replace them with anything.
Otherwise it's a great car, handles like a sports car, rides great and flies.

My check engine light is always on now. Dealer told me it was due to the gas tank having air in it and it is a known issue. Full tank of gass...still there. Auto start doesnt work anymore. I do have an aftermarket system now. Maybe it was the way they hooked it up. I dont know, I am gonna read through my manual.

Auto start doesnt work anymore.

Check out the ground for this system. It was not secured in my car and the hood pinched it off. I have also heard and read other posts about vapor lock issues with the gas tank.