2006 PONTIAC TORRENT Complaints

NO HEAT; TEMPERATURE CONTROL DOES NOT CHANGE FROM COLD TO HOT. BELIEVE TEMPERATURE BLEND DOOR TO BE THE PROBLEM, AS THIS SEEMS TO BE WHAT THE DEALERS (CHECKED WITH 3 LOCAL GM DEALERS) ALL POINT TO AS A COMMON PROBLEM ON THIS MODEL. THIS WILL AFFECT VISIBILITY (NO OR POOR DEFROSTING) AS WELL AS COMFORT, BOTH OF WHICH ARE SAFETY HAZARDS WHEN FACING THE COMING WISCONSIN WINTER. STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS TO BE A MANUFACTURING DEFECT THAT SHOULD BE RECALLED, AS IT INVOLVES A RELATIVELY LOW COST PART BUT EXTENSIVE LABOR TO DISMANTLE THE DASHBOARD AND REPLACE IT. ESTIMATES HAVE RANGED FROM $800 TO $1200 FOR THE JOB. PLEASE TAKE ACTION ON THIS, AS IT HAS BEEN A SAFETY AND FINANCIAL CONCERN FOR ME AND MY FAMILY, AS WELL AS NUMEROUS OTHER PONTIAC TORRENT AND CHEVROLET EQUINOX OWNERS. THANK YOU. *KB

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 10 MPH, A LOUD SCREECHING NOISE WAS UNDER THE HOOD AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. UPON RESTART, THE FAILURE CONTINUED TO OCCUR. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP, WHERE THE CONTACT WAS INFORMED THAT THE NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION FLEX PLATE. THE VEHICLE WAS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 78,000.

NO HEAT IN 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT. BROKEN VALVE DOOR. HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING THIS PROBLEM. HOWEVER, SINCE THE ACTUALLY MAINTENANCE IS SO COSTLY, GM HAS CHOSEN TO NOT RECALL IT. ( HTTP://M.TOPIX.COM/FORUM/AUTOS/CHEVROLET-EQUINOX/TNMHVCTE76U9HGTH4/P19 ). *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT. THE CONTACT STATED WHILE DRIVING 25 MPH AND RIDING OVER A BUMP IN THE ROAD THERE WOULD BE A POPPING NOISE COMING FROM THE CORNER OF THE RIGHT FRONT INSTRUMENT PANEL. THE VEHICLE HAD NOT BEEN TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER HAD NOT BEEN CONTACTED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 45,000. UPDATED 09/15/11*LJ UPDATED 09/23/11*JB

WATER LEAKAGE INTO THE CABIN OF THE CAR. FLOORBOARDS SOAKED AFTER A HEAVY RAIN, AND THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM IS STARTING TO SHORT OUT. *TR

EXPERIENCED NO HEAT; FAN WORKED. NO HEAT MEANS YOU CAN'T DEFROST OR DE-FOG YOUR WINDSHIELD. TOOK TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. FROM INVOICE -- "TEMP ACTUATOR OUT OF PARAMETER. BROKEN TEMP DOOR...TEMP DOOR DOES NOT MOVE...DEFECTIVE TEMP ACTUATOR. DOES NOT RESPOND....R&R TEMP ACTUATOR. FOUND END OF TEMP DOOR BROKEN OFF. TEMP ACTUATOR OUT OF PARAMETER DUE TO BROKEN DOOR. NEED TEMP DOOR....RE-PLACED TEMP DOOR AND TEMP ACTUATOR AS NEEDED." COST INCLUDING LABOR & PARTS ~$1550. GENERAL MOTORS HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL TO FIX THIS SAFETY ISSUE GM HAS NOT EVEN ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) ABOUT THIS PROBLEM TO ADVISE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THE HOW'S AND WHY'S OF THIS MALFUNCTION.

WHILE I WAS DRIVING MY 2006 PONTIAC TORRENT, MY DRIVER SIDE HEATED SEAT CAUGHT FIRE. THE SEAT WAS TURNED ON AND BEGAN GETTING HOTTER THAN USUAL. I BEGAN TO SMELL BURNING. I WAS ON A MAJOR HIGHWAY AND COULD NOT PULL OVER, SO I STUCK MY HAT BEHIND MY BACK DUE TO THE HIGH TEMPERATURE. ALTHOUGH I TURNED OFF THE SEAT I STILL SMELLED BURNING AND THE SEAT WAS STILL HOT. WHEN I GOT OFF THE HIGHWAY, I SAW THAT THERE WAS A WHOLE BURNED INTO THE SEAT AND MY HAT WAS SMOKING AND HAD A WOULD AS WELL. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN MY BACK. *TR

HEAT WENT OUT WITH OUT WARNING. UPON RESEARCHING ONLINE FOUND IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM AND SHOULD BE RECALLED. THE ACTUATOR WAS THE CAUSE OF THE BROKEN SHAFT ON THE BLEND DOOR. THE ACTUATOR HAD ROTATED TOO FAR, BEYOND ITS LIMITS, AND OVERPOWERED THE PLASTIC SHAFT ON THE DOOR. THIS ACTUATOR ISN'T JUST A SIMPLE MOTOR. AS YOU KNOW, AN ELECTRIC MOTOR SPINS WHEN POWER IS APPLIED. THE ACTUATOR IS A SMALL ELECTRIC MOTOR CONNECTED TO A GEAR-REDUCTION UNIT, WITH A POSITION-SENSING DEVICE THAT IS MONITORED BY THE BODY CONTROL MODULE (BCM), WHICH IS A COMPUTER THAT CONTROLS A BUNCH OF STUFF NOT RELATED TO THE ENGINE OR POWERTRAIN. WHEN THE POSITION SENSOR INDICATES THAT THE ACTUATOR IS AT THE END OF ITS RANGE OF TRAVEL, THE BCM SHUTS OFF POWER TO THE MOTOR. THE OUTPUT SHAFT ON THE ACTUATOR SHOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO REACH THE DEGREE OF ROTATION THAT IS SHOWN ABOVE. WHY DID THAT HAPPEN? DID THE BCM MALFUNCTION AND APPLY POWER TOO LONG? I DOUBT IT... BECAUSE ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS ARE LESS LIKELY TO MALFUNCTION THAN ELECTRO-MECHANICAL DEVICES. I'M GOING TO HAVE TO ASSUME THAT THE ACTUATOR IS FAULTY... THAT THE POSITION-SENSING DEVICE (PROBABLY JUST A VARIABLE RESISTOR) DEVELOPED AN OPEN CIRCUIT, OR AN INTERNAL SHORT CIRCUIT, OR SOMETHING. THIS KIND OF PROBLEM BUGS ME (AND A LOT OF OTHER PEOPLE) BECAUSE GENERAL MOTORS HAS NOT ISSUED A RECALL TO FIX WHAT CAN BE A SAFETY PROBLEM... NO HEAT MEANS YOU CAN'T DEFROST OR DE-FOG YOUR WINDSHIELD. WHAT'S WORSE... GM HAS NOT EVEN ISSUED A TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB) ABOUT THIS PROBLEM TO ADVISE DEALERSHIP SERVICE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THE HOW'S AND WHY'S OF THIS MALFUNCTION. SO I'M A BIT CONCERNED THAT THE NEW ACTUATOR MIGHT MALFUNCTION JUST LIKE THE FIRST ONE. IF GM HAD ISSUED A TSB, I'D BE ASSURED THAT THE ENGINEERS HAD SOLVED THE FAULTY ACTUATOR PROBLEM, AND THAT ALL THE REPLACEMENT PARTS HAD BEEN REVISED AND IMPROVED, AND THE HEAT WOULD WORK JUST FINE FOR YEARS TO COME. BUT I DON'T HAVE THAT CONFIDENCE. RECALL NEEDED. $915 TO FIX IT. *TR

2006 PONTIAC TORRENT. CONSUMER STATES PROBLEM WITH THE FUNCTIONING AIR TEMPERATURE BLEND DOOR *TGW THE CONSUMER STATED WHEN SHE TURNED THE HEAT ON ONE MORNING, ONLY COLD AIR CAME FROM THE VENTS. THE CONSUMER LEARNED THE PLASTIC DOOR WAS ATTACHED TO A MOTORIZED ACTUATOR WHICH OPENED AND CLOSED TO ALLOW AIRFLOW PAST THE HEATER CORE. *JB

2006 PONTIAC TORRENT APRIL 17,2007 THE RESISTOR FOR DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS REPLACED, NOW IT IS DEFECTIVE AGAIN. ALSO THE BAFFLE PLATE IN THE HEATER BLOWER IS DEFECTIVE . IN ORDER FOR IT TO BE REPLACED FOR THE CAR TO HAVE HEAT, THE DASHBOARD HAS TO BE TAKEN APART , A $1200 BILL. *TR