Owners have filed 847 complaints on the Pontiac Sunfire, covering 1995–2005. The system named most often is Electrical System (172 reports). Worst years by volume: 1996, 1997, 1995; cleanest: 2004, 2001, 2005. 86 reports describe a crash, 30 a fire, 2 a death. On average the car was 4.3 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Pontiac Sunfire
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 847 Sunfire complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Electrical System 172 Read
I was driving my new 2004 sunfire that was just purchased at the end of august, when I saw a flame come out from under the dash near my foot. I slammed on the brakes, through it in park and jumped from the vehicle. The vehicle was totaled!
Rear brake light ignited due to faulty socket installation while driving car
Prior to incident being reported, a burning rubber odor could be detected while standing beside vehicle after normal operation. Then, on 04-jan-2002, vehicle was parked for approximately 20 minutes when a neighbor informed owner there was a fire underneath the car. Owner started vehicle and moved vehicle away from the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 151 Read
1999 pontiac sunfire burst into flames immediately following loud clunk in engine while driving on expressway. Vehicle is totaled. Spark plug fell to ground as fire started
Since the accident I have complained of thumping and clanking noises.. Car started to stall under 1x RPM... Engine light came on, possible solution was crankshaft. Then they said it was possibly a bushing. I noticed in your files someone else had the same problem. I don't understand why such problems on a car that is…
Vehicle caught on fire
Service Brakes 96 Read
While braking the brake pedal was working normally then suddenly went soft. Pumped brakes but pedal went to floor. Caused car to crash into vehicle in front of it. Failure was consistent with either mater cylinder failure or hydraulic brake line failure causing loss of fluid and pressure. Both vehicles were a total…
The contact owns a 2002 pontiac sunfire. While driving between 35-40 mph, the brakes failed. The vehicle struck and destroyed the rear bumper of the preceding vehicle. The contact's vehicle was destroyed and towed from the scene. A police report was filed. He was transported to the hospital by an ambulance and…
On november 12, 2008 I was in an auto accident. I was driving my 2002 pontiac sunfire that I had purchased on october 28, 2008. As the car ahead of me began to brake I began to brake as well. However, it did not feel as thought the brakes "grabbed" causing me to collide into the car in front of me. I have a broken…
Steering 85 Read
Bought a 2003 pontiac sunfire from a dealership 5 months ago. I told the owner/salesman I wanted a safe 1st car for my kid. My kid and some friends were driving,it was raining and the back tires started to slide,my kid regained control of the car briefly and said after a few minutes the steering locked up and they…
My daughter was on her way to college and she was going around a curve and the steering of her 2002 pontiac sunfire locked up and she could not steer. Due to this she hit a telephone pole and the car was turned sideways and hit a tree then went over a embankment. The damage is all to the rear of the car. I have called…
My son was driving home the night before his wedding, was not drunk according to the coroner. The police report said he must have went off the road, overcorrected and began spinning and rolling.the car went 469 feet before it came to rest on top of him, the report says he must have been ejected through the sunroof. My…
Air Bags 75 Read
Dt: while driving about 45 mph, the airbags deployed inadvertently deployed which caused the consumer to strike a utility pole. The seat belt also failed, it unlatched during this incident. The vehicle was totaled as a result. The consumer had been driving for about 20 minutes when this occurred. No repairs have been…
While driving 45 mph my airbags deployed for no reason which caused me to hit a pole. My seatbelts unlached during impact
I have a 2002 pontiac sunfire and I was in a car/cow accident in may 0f 06 I was going at speeds of 55 mph we hit head on and the air bags did not deploy. Now what's up with that??? Thank god now one was hurt
Exterior Lighting 39 Read
The rear turn lights on our 2003 pontiac sunfire continue to fail leaving us without turn signals. We have taken the vehicle back to the dealer, including under a safety recall, but the fix (put "grease" on the bulb) has not ended the problem
The low beam lights are so low that during the night the vision is very poor. Consumer contacted the manufacturer, who indicates that there is nothing they can do. The brightness for the low beam bulbs are so bad that it is almost as if driving without. *jb headlights
Dt: the low beam headlights are not bright enough to see. There is no adjustment for the high beam to low beam, only a dim bulb. Has been to a dealer and tried other headlamps, but these were not any better with the visibility. Contacted gm, and gm stated that this was the way the car was designed, and they would not…
Fuel System 35 Read
I have had the car since august of 2002, and have only had a problem with the rear defroster. It would work when it wanted to. I was told that it was a fuse, that wasn't the problem. I figured that it was a short in the wiring, but it wasn't covered by the warranty, and I don't have the money to let a mechanic go…
The fuel gauge show different amount of fuel in it, erratic shows full then half then you out of gas. Right electric window goes down but only goes up an inch at a time, and it takes along time
Vehicle has several problems; fuel gauge is not reading properly, causing vehicle to shut off when the gauge reads 1/4 full. Also, left turn signal light does not operate all the time
Visibility 33 Read
Blower for heater/airconditioner blew after hitting small bump on 5/26/03; fuse replaced;same problem after hitting pothole on 6/21/03 with a burning plastic smell noted on 6/22/03; brought to dealer on 6/23/03 and was told it was not the fuse it was the blower with part on order; returned to dealer and was told that…
Rear defrost would not work for two days and on the thrid day tried if again, then a few minutes later, my rear glass exploded
Outside mirror vibration at interstate highway speeds, which makes it impossible to see vehicles on the side and rear of car. Dealer and general motors refuses to correct the problem. Was told that this is a "normal operating characteristic of this model." vehicle can not be driven safely at higher speeds
Sunfire years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 2 | 1 | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 6 | 3 | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 9 | 4 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 7 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 7 | 1 | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 18 | 4 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 20 | 6 | |
| 1995 | Air Bags | 9 | 6 |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 398 |
| Average complaints per series | 2.1 |
| Worst single series | 8 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 4.3 years |
A model average of 2.1 hides a worst series at 8. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
- No ads, on every page
- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Sunfire?
By complaint volume, 1996, 1997, 1995 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Sunfire years are the cleanest?
2004, 2001, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Pontiac Sunfire have?
847 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1995–2005. Of those, 86 describe a crash and 30 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.