# What is falling apart on your new GTO?



## Tom (Nov 1, 2004)

My interior is.

I was putting a new booster seat in the car (LATCH) when i noticed the headliner was not secured it meets the rear window.

There are three plugs, they don't hold. If I push hard, I will dent the foam the headliner is made of. Anyone else have this problem?

Also, piece of cardboard under the dash, over the passenger's legs that holds the nifty green light bulb cannot be secured. the panel has two rods sticking out of each side, and there are holes in the kick panel. The problem is the kick panel is about 1/4" wider than the panels rods. 

Has anyone else had these problems?


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## Groucho (Sep 11, 2004)

Mine has over 15k miles on it and the car is as solid and intact as the day I drove it off the lot.

Weird that your having issues, dude. Sorry to hear that. I had an Intrepid which featured the Incredible Imploding Interior, but no such probs in my Holden...


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## westell (Oct 4, 2004)

other than dealer breaking hinge pin on fuse box cover. interior is A+

after, 8000 miles, my only problems, 
back up switch at shifter shorted.
couple times erratic speedo, fuel gage. it's in the shop today for ipm reprogram (if they can locate the program), and A/C relay.


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## Tom (Nov 1, 2004)

Groucho,
I wish all my problems were as major as this.

A little velcro on the panel under the dash, and new clips in the headliner should fix it.

problem is if the dealer does it, they will probably break something else!


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## sary7422 (Jun 14, 2010)

*Everything if falling apart on my 06 GTO*

I bought my car brand new in July of 06 and since day one i've had problems. Don't get me wrong I love the car, but I'm disappointed that i spent so much money on a nice sports car that is now falling apart on me. I'm sharing so that if you have the 04-06 Gto you can look out for the repairs,and yes they are costly.

I bought the car new and it already had a blown speaker. Then a year later the engine light came on and it came to turn out the car had been leaking gas for a whole year. 

Next about 2 years later, the paint was peeling off my door handles and i had to have the repainted in my rare color of course the Braze orange.

Then same time the paint came off i noticed that my back seats in the stitching it was unwraveling. Turned out the leather was totally ruined and dried out from the sun, even though my car is garage kept, windows deep tinted black and has never been driven in the winter. They told me that should not have happened considering how i had taken care of it, however it is a common problem in the new gto's because of the leather that was used. It's not your normal leather.

If you see that the top of your back seats are hard as a rock, you will need to have the leather repaired. They had to strip all the leather off my back seats and put new on. The new leather is not the same as the original that comes with the car. It looks similar, however the new leather is more like your normal leather.

The latest almost 4yrs now coming in July, one of my speaker covers is broken, my steerling wheel is falling apart, and i mean the buttons for the radio have broken off and to repair it they have to replace the entire part behind the steering wheel...

The mirror cover on my passenger door is loose because the rubber that holds it on has worn off or fallen off..and last but not least my gear shift leather is drying out also.

I found out this car was built on a friday, i guess i have bad luck and a lemon.

I contacted GM to tell them how dissapointed i am that i spent so much money on a nice sports car only to have it falling apart on me almost 4yrs later. They may listen, they did replace the leather in my car for free even though it was out of warranty.

Hopefully no one else has all the problems i have had. I want to keep the car, but with all the repairs and how costly these repairs and parts are i'm not sure i will.

Good luck with yours!


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

sary7422 said:


> I bought my car brand new in July of 06 and since day one i've had problems. Don't get me wrong I love the car, but I'm disappointed that i spent so much money on a nice sports car that is now falling apart on me. I'm sharing so that if you have the 04-06 Gto you can look out for the repairs,and yes they are costly.
> 
> I bought the car new and it already had a blown speaker. Then a year later the engine light came on and it came to turn out the car had been leaking gas for a whole year.
> 
> ...


Lets cipher this... First.... All the defects you list are NOT assembly process issues. To say the car was assembled on a Fri or a Mon has nothing to do with defective parts. The parts are NOT manufactured on the spot and stuck in the car. These parts come from vendors. You issues are with the vendors NOT the working stiff on the assy line. You are placing blame on the wrong people. 

I too purchased my car new. I had to wait on it to arrive. I have had issues as well. Seats, this is a major issue, my car sits in a dark garage and I just had the covers replaced, the assy worker didn't cause this defect. IMO the leather shrinks and it is not a high grade of leather. Looks good but I have $hit many a tird that was a masterpiece but it was still a tird, if you get my meaning. I had my covers replaced at no cost too, no they do not perfectly match the are close as the leather "pebble" look on the sides are not as deep as OEM however the quality of leather that was installed is night and day different than OEM, BLAME GM for this NOT the assy worker.

Headliner: Seems to me the glue broke down, again, blame the outfit that manufactured that not the assy worker all he did was install the entire unit. The car travels down the assy line there is not enough time to glue the headliner in, the install it as it comes in.

Blown speaker? Blame the manufacturer not the assy worker that installed it.
Paint adhesion problems on the door handles is an issue, It was a process issue not some guy not knowing what hes doing, MANY including me had this same issue. There is a process workers follow and they work to the process.

4 years after having your car the steering wheel is falling apart. Something caused that after 4 years. Built on a Friday 4 years ago to me is stretching it.

Leaking gas? Took a year to notice leaking gas? I can smell raw gas from a distance, sitting in closed garage, I would think the smell of raw gas would alert someone. You didn't specify where it was leaking. That may be an assy problem unless something failed? 

Dried out leather on the gearshift. NOT an assy error. NOT saying you are guilty of this but.......Many eat in their vehicles many love jamming french fries in their mouth as they drive. French fries= SALT, SALT= drying out of leather. I wonder how many people out there fail to associate that type activity with leather failures? 

MOST of the issues you list are the common nuisance items with this car and I agree they should not be happening. Point blame at the right people. I worked many years on an assy line building Mack Trucks and components and MOST take pride in their work and often times the assy workers are blamed for things that are out of their hands. I also spent 18 years in warehousing there where I seen bad parts come in and are rejected and sent back. I'd bet the assy plant there had their fair share of poor quality parts come in. MANY make it to production. The parts come in they are sent to the line in a just in time fashion (now a days) and the assy worker picks the parts and installs from a build sheet. If the quality is poor its NOT his or hers fault. GM is to blame as you conveyed your dissatisfaction to them. Add all this up and this plays a part of why GM was in dire straits. 

I do feel your pain with the car as my car is babied and housed in a garage. Not one of my issues was the fault of the assy line worker, it was GM suppliers. I agree with you this should NOT be happening this is why I purchased a GMPP and I am NOT a proponent of extended warranties but as items became known and the cost of these parts I decided to purchase one.

Then there are those who beat the snot out of these cars then unload them and young guys are buying them up along with the issues they have NO idea about. Many blame the car when a lot of it was the owner. 

Good Luck with your car. Hopefully things will work out for ya :cheers


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## Gotagoat (Jan 6, 2006)

Knock on wood, five years and 24K down the road and no issues. Interior still smells new. (Car is garaged at home and at the office on the rare occasions it's driven to work.)


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## roy (Jun 1, 2010)

*rear tires*

I;ve only had my 06 for a short time & already the rear tires are showing wear,
I think this is terrible for such a well built vehicle!
My drive way is about a mile long & i;ve got a mind to scrap up the two long,thick black stripes on my driveway & show them to GM!
Other than rear tire wear the GTO may be one of the best built vehicles i;ve ever owned.


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

roy said:


> I;ve only had my 06 for a short time & already the rear tires are showing wear,
> I think this is terrible for such a well built vehicle!
> My drive way is about a mile long & i;ve got a mind to scrap up the two long,thick black stripes on my driveway & show them to GM!
> Other than rear tire wear the GTO may be one of the best built vehicles i;ve ever owned.


Chances are you are experiencing rear end sag which causes the inside of the tires to wear at an accelerated pace.


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## FastFrank (Jun 12, 2009)

I also suffered from premature rear tire wear. But after exhaustive investigation it was determined that my right foot is too heavy.


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## Rukee (Feb 8, 2007)

You guys better trade them off for a Mustang!!!


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## RunksGoat (May 16, 2010)

I have had my 05 for about 4 weeks now and only noticed a couple problems that came with it. I as well have the problem with the panel under the dash on the passenger seat, and the glove box "stopper" is torn so the glove box opens ALL the way if you don't hold on to it. 

2 very minor problems since the rest of the interior is flawless. Still shines, still smells like new, and seats are as comfortable as ever 

I guess you could say I have the rear tire ware problem as well...but that's only b/c I just have to drive fast every where I go with this car now! :cool


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## motoristx (Apr 27, 2010)

68k miles

most of the problems with my car have been with the previous owner(s) not taking care of it. 

same as the normal stuff on GTOs i guess, new bushings and paint are my only complaint.


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## Mike_V (Mar 10, 2006)

Interior - ZERO ISSUES. Not even one sound over bumps and still looks new.
Exterior - two super small rock chips I took care of and you would never know. I have one little chip on the spoke of the rim. You can't see, but I know it's there  Oh, and my rear emblem is a little faded.

I did have a lot of things go wrong from the common GTO problems list, but they were fixed and all has been great.

If you buy a used GTO, find an owner as anal as I am :rofl:


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## RunksGoat (May 16, 2010)

Mike_V said:


> Interior - ZERO ISSUES. Not even one sound over bumps and still looks new.
> Exterior - two super small rock chips I took care of and you would never know. I have one little chip on the spoke of the rim. You can't see, but I know it's there  Oh, and my rear emblem is a little faded.
> 
> I did have a lot of things go wrong from the common GTO problems list, but they were fixed and all has been great.
> ...


Mike_V: Your profile picture is absolutely amazing. Thank you for that. :lol:


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## Bluegoat05 (Mar 22, 2010)

i just wanna second that motion it is truely a silly picture:cheers


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## sary7422 (Jun 14, 2010)

GTO JUDGE said:


> Lets cipher this... First.... All the defects you list are NOT assembly process issues. To say the car was assembled on a Fri or a Mon has nothing to do with defective parts. The parts are NOT manufactured on the spot and stuck in the car. These parts come from vendors. You issues are with the vendors NOT the working stiff on the assy line. You are placing blame on the wrong people.
> 
> I too purchased my car new. I had to wait on it to arrive. I have had issues as well. Seats, this is a major issue, my car sits in a dark garage and I just had the covers replaced, the assy worker didn't cause this defect. IMO the leather shrinks and it is not a high grade of leather. Looks good but I have many a tird that was a masterpiece but it was still a tird, if you get my meaning. I had my covers replaced at no cost too, no they do not perfectly match the are close as the leather "pebble" look on the sides are not as deep as OEM however the quality of leather that was installed is night and day different than OEM, BLAME GM for this NOT the assy worker.
> 
> ...


To whom ever wrote this reply, i'm sorry you felt like i was knocking on the workers, that was not my intention. And i don't eat or drink in this car and it's an automatic so i can't shift it hard like i feel you were blaming me this car has been exceptionally well taken care of.

I was just trying to help out anyone else who may run into the same problems i did, with a car with only 25k on it.


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## 87GN06GTO07IRL (Aug 10, 2009)

Mines good so far. Might have something to do with it having 5,004 miles :rofl: My wallet is falling apart now though


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## jetstang (Nov 5, 2008)

sary7422 said:


> It's not your normal leather.
> 
> The new leather is not the same as the original that comes with the car. It looks similar, however the new leather is more like your normal leather.!


That's because the original leather is Kangaroo or Wallaby...


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

sary7422 said:


> To whom ever wrote this reply, i'm sorry you felt like *i was knocking on the workers,* that was not my intention. And i don't eat or drink in this car and it's an automatic so i can't shift it hard like i feel you were blaming me this car has been exceptionally well taken care of.
> 
> I was just trying to help out anyone else who may run into the same problems i did, with a car with only 25k on it.


I wrote the reply. 

You stated >> "I found out this car was built on a friday, i guess i have bad luck and a lemon." 

That statement suggests you are blaming the working stiff on an assy line that because its Friday they are in a hurry and the troubles you are experiencing are a result of rushing to go home. 

Built on a Monday, workers are hung over, built on a Friday workers are in a hurry to get home to get drunk. 

I was merely giving you an oversight as to what really happens in real world assy. I'm not blaming you for any of your misfortunes on the car. I am however pointing out: point blame at the right sources. MOST of the time its bad parts. I will go one step further, MOST of the parts come from Union Shops, in fact many contracts dictate parts come from union shops. Did I open a can of worms with that remark?  Maybe, but its a fact. Regardless, behind the scenes: assy plants have a warranty department you'd be surprised at the back charges and the degree of bad parts that come into a plant whether it be union or non union. 

Incidentally, I worked with a few who were hung over often. I think many others have too. :willy:


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## BIGmatt (Jun 8, 2010)

My car has 45k miles on it and only has just now begun to show signs of wear and tear(excluding tire wear problems casued by the struts in the begining)... I opened my trunk a few weeks ago and heard a loud plastic POP!! The molding on my back windshield was being peeled up about a quarter of the way up... The molding on the bottom of the glass also has started to come loose... Im cleaning/gluing both down this weekend and she should be as good as new and hopefully i can get a tint job done soon after that, the suns been harsh on my leather this summer, with very little shade to park under... 

Oh yeah, with 45k miles im on my 4th set of rear tires... I think i got the same problem as Frank... I <3 my burnouts though...


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## GTO JUDGE (May 14, 2005)

BIGmatt said:


> Oh yeah, with 45k miles im on my 4th set of rear tires... I think i got the same problem as Frank... I <3 my burnouts though...


Damn cheap rubber


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## Mike_V (Mar 10, 2006)

RunksGoat said:


> Mike_V: Your profile picture is absolutely amazing. Thank you for that. :lol:


That's an old pic - he's upgraded to larger.
:shutme


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## kevracer (Sep 27, 2004)

28 K and no problems (knock on wood)


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## Lukemo2 (Apr 13, 2010)

I have an '04 with 48K. The leather on my back seat behind the head rest on the passenger side is starting to unravel on one of the seams. Also, the seam on that head rest is coming apart as well. I've owned this car for 9 months and have cleaned/conditioned the seats with UV protecting leather cleaner twice. I'm hoping I can find an upholstery shop that can sew 'em back together. Also, I've noticed the swede starting to peel back on the drivers side door. It's not noticeable unless you look very close, but I'm going to put a stop to it somehow! 

The paint is cheap. It's peeling off in little bits around the edge of both door handles and the gas tank cover. It's also peeling underneath the skirts behind both rear wheel wells. I bought a bottle of clear nail polish and it has become my new best friend. Fortunately, my car is silver so it doesn't show that bad.

Other than these complaints, the car is great. It's rattle free and looks brilliant when its clean!


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## taz4141 (Nov 6, 2006)

FastFrank said:


> I also suffered from premature rear tire wear. But after exhaustive investigation it was determined that my right foot is too heavy.


mine to. :agree :cheers


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## UdnUdnGTO (Jan 30, 2006)

Ok, 131,000 on an 05 M6. Brakes, tires, and fluids changed once. Oil several times. Going great. Still a lot of power. Pretty good for an "old goat." I am 63 myself.


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## jgos929 (Nov 15, 2007)

78K miles here and the trim is starting to peel off on the passenger side door. Other then that no interior issues. The car rattles and is murder over bumps despite all new suspension. Other then that its all good.


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## Felix C. (May 18, 2005)

2004 GTO bought new and mostly garage kept. Has 44000miles or so. 
Have had door panel suede detach from door panels. Began three years ago. Fixed with store bought adhesive. Now appears as new.

Headliner droop over passenger side front seat. Within previous twelve months.Fixed with store bought adhesive. Appears as new.

Passenger sun visor hinge fail. Occurred two months ago. Replaced with part from dead GTO.

Driver side rear seat cover dissconnect.(But that could be due to back seat passenger's knee rubbing against the driver's seat) Occurred eight months ago. GM parts.

Gasket disintegrating around gas cap flip up lid. Noticed within the previous 30 days. GM parts.


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## srs7324 (Jul 8, 2010)

*2005 Torrid Red GTO A4*

I bought my baby used with 38K. 
When I get a new vehicle no matter what it is GTO, Bus, VW, Camper, or John Deere it gets a complete once over, then another one every couple of months.

After reviewing the CARFAX , it appears the 3 owners / dealers/ bank before me had all the problems or caused the problems.

Like most performace cars it was reposesed by the bank once, so in turn a number of the problems were caused by misuse.

Issuess addresed by previous owners. IE Bank and Dealers

[*]Both door handles replaced and new keys were issued.
[*]Windshield leaked it was repaired once, then it appears it was replaced later.
[*]Rear end has been opened and worked on.
[*]Front end has had minor cosmetic repairs on the pasenger side and hood,
overspray where it should not be.
[*]Usual under body scratches and scars.
[*]Mystery water leak appeared in back floor board, then disapeared not sure if I fixed it or it just went away.
[*]Original tires showed inner tire wear, but new set appears fine so far.

PROS
Leather is in great condition, seen many more GTOs with the dreaded rear seat stitching issues.
A4 transmission in great shape.
Engine is like new, strong and bullet proof no additions or mods before purchase.
Paint and clearcoat like new.


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