05GTO

There aren't too many cars out there that can shred all four tires at once, but that's exactly what certain Pontiac GTO models are being accused of. Cleveland's Newsnet5 looked into GTO owners' complaints of shredded front tires with all the drama and hidden pinhole cameras (see the video here) you'd expect from a such a story.

What they found was actually somewhat startling. Early GTOs are eating their front tires. It seems the Holden Monaro, on which the GTO is based, is sold in Australia with 233 mm-wide tires. In the U.S., the GTO gets 245 mm-wide tires. According to the Center for Auto Safety, that extra rubber puts the tire snug up against the GTO's strut, causing the front tires to eventually fail. The TV station says 65 GTO owners have filed reports with the NHTSA about the problem, which has mailed letters alerting owners to an investigation.

Owners of 2006 GTOs need not worry about the tire-shredding problem. GM fitted the newer cars with updated struts which give sufficient tire clearance. Instead, that group of GTO fans gets to worry about strut failure, of which there have been numerous NHTSA complaints.

The Center for Auto Safety (CAS) today called on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to open an investigation into tire failures and front suspension problems that occur on the 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO.

The agency has received 65 complaints involving tires on the 2004-2005 GTO, involving 8 blowouts and one crash. Many of these complaints cite tire wear caused by contact with struts as the source of the failures. The problem seems to occur early in the lifespan of the vehicle, as a number of complaints cite mileages of less than 10,000 at the time of the failure.

The 2004-2006 GTO was manufactured by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia based on the Holden Monaro platform. The Australian version came equipped with tires of 235mm in width, however the GTO sold in the United States was equipped with wider tires of 245mm width. The larger width of the GTO tire results in contact with the struts, wearing the tire and creating a risk of tire failures that can result in loss of vehicle control. Additionally, many GTO owners are forced to replace worn tires and damaged struts at their own expense.

The 2006 Pontiac GTO was manufactured with redesigned front struts that seem to have eliminated the tire wear problem. However, NHTSA has received more than 100 complaints of front strut failure in the 2006 model.

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Randy

 

dcarlock

I did actually notice a little rub myself when I was working on my front tires on my 05 stock GTO. Will this warrant a recall at some point or are we going to be left in the dust on this one?

bemeyer

Search the forum as this has been covered in detail. Dealer put two brand new tires, after they re-aligned the front to get clearance. All under warranty.

Keep your eyes on your inner edges as they shred very quickly.

silgoat05

so people with 04-05 should go to the dealer and tell them about this and they should fix it for free????????? thanks for the info

mlyon

Am I the only owner not to experience this? I have an 04 and can't find any evidence of this problem but mine only has 6000 miles on it...Is this guaranteed to happen?

The_Goat

I've had a problem with inner tire wear, but not on the side, on the top. No strut rub though.

DAH GTO

I too have the 04 and wasn't experiencing this problem until I rotated my tires, then the passenger side front tire was rubbing. I noticed it the moment I drove it away from the dealership. I instantly turned around and went back. The dealership put it up on the lift, and behold, rub marks on the freshly rotated tire. They then put the tires back as it was originally were and the rubbing sound was gone.

They did some research and found a technical service bulletin (TSB) where the fix is turning the strut upside down. The strut is wider at the top so the reverse orientation would resolve the problem. It sounded cheezy and I said no for now, not until I did some research. That was in the late fall and my GTO has been garaged all winter, so I need to revisit this topic come thaw time here in Wisconsin.

Turning the strut upside down sounds like it could hamper the handling performance, anyone agree?

GTO JUDGE

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Vice President : SVGTO Tigers

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mlyon

Is there a make and model of a replacement tire that will make any difference? I want to replace mine in a few months and was just wondering...

Taxman

I had this problem but dealer claimed it wasnt happening, but they did that with every problem it had.

They said it was alingment, (which they had done) insist thats the problem until you tell them they did it then problem becomes balance, had 2 places check it was fine, but dealer said that was also the problem.

Sold it, got rid of it even though it cost me a good bit to do. Learned not to buy anything from GM ever again and to encourage others to do the same.

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Master Pontiac in Augusta, Ga doesnt think you are good enough to test drive a GTO.
Dont complain about it, they say it is "childish"
They also will not service one when you take it in under warranty.
Tell them what you think at 800-771-0953