G8 GT/GXP Owners With 100K+ Miles Come On In
03-16-2014, 09:34 PM
#1
G8 GT/GXP Owners With 100K+ Miles Come On In I'm looking to get into a new DD, currently looking at a few G8 GTs (mileage between 50-90k), I was originally trying to keep to 70k or less, but that kind of narrows me down as far as options/colors/price go. Question to you 100k+ V8 G8 owners, what kinds of things have you had to change over your ownership time? From everywhere I've looked these cars are getting great reviews, but I want to hear from those of you who've had them for the long haul as far as reliability goes. I'm not looking to hot rod it, but a CAI, header-back exhaust, and tune will be in order (and a cam if I really feel the need to ditch the AFM). Thanks in advance.
03-18-2014, 10:21 AM
#3
I bought my '09 GT new and now have 91k miles so close enough.
20k miles - dropped a few lifters/ate cam - replaced under warranty
60k miles - front end started making noise and has progressively gotten worse - fixing tomorrow (front LCA's/FE3 shocks/struts/upper strut mount bushing)
60k miles - steering wheel shimmy..thought it was related to above but swapped rims (front to back) and went away. One rim has bad curb rash so must be out of whack
70k miles - ABS light has been (ABS module needs to be flashed)
Otherwise day to day driving is great...
PS have a Vararam CAI and Cortex tuner and ran 12.98 @ 107mph in mine shaft conditions
20k miles - dropped a few lifters/ate cam - replaced under warranty
60k miles - front end started making noise and has progressively gotten worse - fixing tomorrow (front LCA's/FE3 shocks/struts/upper strut mount bushing)
60k miles - steering wheel shimmy..thought it was related to above but swapped rims (front to back) and went away. One rim has bad curb rash so must be out of whack
70k miles - ABS light has been (ABS module needs to be flashed)
Otherwise day to day driving is great...
PS have a Vararam CAI and Cortex tuner and ran 12.98 @ 107mph in mine shaft conditions
03-18-2014, 10:44 AM
#4
Sounds kind of in line with what I've read. Are the FE3's part of the base GT or part of the sport performance package (pretty much the metal pedal covers and a different steering wheel right)? That really doesn't sound too bad overall. Do the G8's typically have the same suspension issues as the GTO's (shocks leaking and bushings shot from the showroom)? Were you running at Atco, Island, or E-town? I'd like to get 12's and DD it, lol.
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04-12-2014, 01:49 AM
#8
Only issue I've seen with them is the control arms otherwise everything else is solid. I've heard of lifter issues. I drove from LA to Vegas and back. Got 24mpg doing 85+ there hanging with traffic and 29mpg on the way back going 80. Mind you it was in 4 cylinder mode and I had a car full of people and suitcases.
04-12-2014, 08:54 PM
#10
Weeeelp, I ended up getting an 04 Torrid Red GTO. I really wanted a 5 seater, 4-door sedan with some grunt, however, for what I need, the GTO will do it (I just need an in-dash navigation unit, lol). I believe there will be others out there looking for the same feedback, so keep the input rolling in. I test drove 2 G8 GT's, and from what I've seen/experienced these are some pretty bad *** rides.
04-14-2014, 02:35 PM
#11
Staging Lane
I'm at 79k miles but since I drive the car every single day year round in New England and have been since 2010 I will post. Lifter failures and lower control arms are the two most common issues with these cars. I had a lifter failure two years ago and discovered last year that my SECOND one was starting to occur when the cam swap was done.
The DOD systems in these cars are HORRIBLE, IMO. Easily the weakest part of the entire drivetrain. I say it's good to find a G8 with 50-60k+ on the clock because more than likely these common problems have already been solved by the previous owner, and now you don't have to worry about it.
Many G8 owners are driving 100k+ cars and have no major issues other than routine maintenance. There was a member on G8 board with nearly 300k miles on his car before he got rid of it. I say shoot for a private sale where you can talk to the owner personally and find out first hand the history of the car. Don't be turned away if he's had lifters done because quite frankly, it's not "if" it will happen but "when."
The DOD systems in these cars are HORRIBLE, IMO. Easily the weakest part of the entire drivetrain. I say it's good to find a G8 with 50-60k+ on the clock because more than likely these common problems have already been solved by the previous owner, and now you don't have to worry about it.
Many G8 owners are driving 100k+ cars and have no major issues other than routine maintenance. There was a member on G8 board with nearly 300k miles on his car before he got rid of it. I say shoot for a private sale where you can talk to the owner personally and find out first hand the history of the car. Don't be turned away if he's had lifters done because quite frankly, it's not "if" it will happen but "when."
04-15-2014, 11:12 PM
#12
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I'm looking to get into a new DD, currently looking at a few G8 GTs (mileage between 50-90k), I was originally trying to keep to 70k or less, but that kind of narrows me down as far as options/colors/price go. Question to you 100k+ V8 G8 owners, what kinds of things have you had to change over your ownership time? From everywhere I've looked these cars are getting great reviews, but I want to hear from those of you who've had them for the long haul as far as reliability goes. I'm not looking to hot rod it, but a CAI, header-back exhaust, and tune will be in order (and a cam if I really feel the need to ditch the AFM). Thanks in advance.
I see people preaching 2xMPG maybe they have more self discipline than me. i never had a tank over 20MPG unless it was road trip and all highway. If you can keep it in AFM mode (you can see this in engineering mode by holding down left steering wheel audio control at vehicle start) I never see AFM turn on unless I am coasting, or maintaining my speed at less than 70-75MPH. If you can force yourself to use the cruise control it really helps the mileage.
So gas mileage is really the worst thing about the car, I get 15-17 (on reg 87 though) mostly suburban driving.
04-17-2014, 05:38 PM
#13
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I've got 91k on mine..still debating on all the mod options, but how do I know I've got a bad lifter I haven't had any problems with it that i know of...so what are characteristics and is there any way to find out without digin' into the motor?
04-19-2014, 01:50 PM
#16
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I just bought one with 78k miles on it for my wife about a month ago. Previous owner already had the control arms done. I've had to replace the idler pulley and the belt is on my list of things to do this week. I'll probably be deleting DOD after summer just to be on the safe side.
04-23-2014, 05:40 PM
#17
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Shavings on the dipstick...I'm freakin out a little I just bought my car and I'm worried I'm already gonna have to do work on the heads???? Any ideas or previous experience with this matter all help is appreciated!! Thanks in advanced
08-20-2014, 06:33 PM
#18
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I had the cam failure at approx. 35K miles. The replacement parts seem to have cured the problem--no roller lifter "chirp" or any other issues... Thinkin of a LSA swap now that she's out of warranty. These are great cars.
08-21-2014, 01:09 AM
#19
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Had mine and sold it with 117k with mods in my sig. Still had all the dod stuff in there. No problems at all!! Looking to buy another one now for the wife. Had to sell that one because we were getting married! Ha I know doesn't make a lot of sense but gotta do what u gotta do sometimes.
08-21-2014, 10:03 PM
#20
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I bought my '08 G8GT new in the fall of '08. I have 160k on it now.
At 125k a regular lifter, not a DOD, failed and ate the cam. I swapped out the DOD and did some mods since I was in there. Have run a best of 12.49 in the quarter with the mufflers off.
Great cars, fairly easy to work on.
I've had to replace the electric trunk latch, belts, plugs, vapor canister thing near the tank, and front rotors. Believe it or not (I don't care, LOL) I'm still using the original brake pads. A blessing of lots of highway miles I suppose.
We got the wife's '08 G8 GT with 27k miles in Nov. '09. A regular, non DOD lifter failed at ~120k miles. I just put another factory fresh DOD cam back into hers, along with a CAI. Headers and a tune are in her future.
She's at 130k now, needs rotors and pads. We both love how these cars look, drive, and the cargo/passenger room they afford. She has the leather and sunroof, mine has fabric.
I'd highly recommend picking one up, they are excellent family cars. Before I ditched the DOD, I got ~22mpg on my 86 mile commute, and up to 28mpg on long, flat highway road trips. Since the cam swap, something a little more interesting with a slight lope at idle, I regularly get 19mpg average on my commute, and a best of 24mpg on a road trip. But I can't complain, 412hp at the wheels and a 4,000lb car getting that mileage isn't bad. And the tallest guy at work (6'5"-6'6"?) fits comfortably in the back with plenty of legroom with a 6' tall guy sitting in front of him.
Enough from me. Thanks for reading.
At 125k a regular lifter, not a DOD, failed and ate the cam. I swapped out the DOD and did some mods since I was in there. Have run a best of 12.49 in the quarter with the mufflers off.
Great cars, fairly easy to work on.
I've had to replace the electric trunk latch, belts, plugs, vapor canister thing near the tank, and front rotors. Believe it or not (I don't care, LOL) I'm still using the original brake pads. A blessing of lots of highway miles I suppose.
We got the wife's '08 G8 GT with 27k miles in Nov. '09. A regular, non DOD lifter failed at ~120k miles. I just put another factory fresh DOD cam back into hers, along with a CAI. Headers and a tune are in her future.
She's at 130k now, needs rotors and pads. We both love how these cars look, drive, and the cargo/passenger room they afford. She has the leather and sunroof, mine has fabric.
I'd highly recommend picking one up, they are excellent family cars. Before I ditched the DOD, I got ~22mpg on my 86 mile commute, and up to 28mpg on long, flat highway road trips. Since the cam swap, something a little more interesting with a slight lope at idle, I regularly get 19mpg average on my commute, and a best of 24mpg on a road trip. But I can't complain, 412hp at the wheels and a 4,000lb car getting that mileage isn't bad. And the tallest guy at work (6'5"-6'6"?) fits comfortably in the back with plenty of legroom with a 6' tall guy sitting in front of him.
Enough from me. Thanks for reading.