2003 PONTIAC SUNFIRE Complaints

THE SPEEDOMETER IN THE VEHICLE BECOMES ERRATIC AFTER WARMING UP. ON A HOT DAY IT MAY NOT RESPOND AT ALL OR MAY RESET TO A NEGATIVE VALUE AND NOT RESPOND DURING MOVEMENT. IT ALSO LOCKS UP WHEN GOING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AT WHATEVER THE SUSTAINED SPEED HAS BEEN, GRADUALLY FALLING TO ZERO AS THE CAR ACCELERATES AND DECELERATES. *TR

FUEL PUMP WENT OUT ON 2003 GM PONTIAC SUNFIRE. LOST POWER ON HIGHWAY IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC ONLY 65K MILES ON THE CAR. *TR

REFERRING TO THE PASSENGER-SIDE HEADLIGHT: WHILE DRIVING MY CHILDREN HOME AFTER IT WAS ALREADY DARK, I NOTICED THAT THE PASSENGER-SIDE HEADLIGHT SEEMED A LITTLE DIMMER THAN THE DRIVER-SIDE HEADLIGHT. I ALSO HAD ON MY DRIVING LIGHTS THAT ARE BELOW THE HEADLIGHTS. WE WERE ON A PARTICULARLY DARK ROAD WHERE THERE IS A TENDENCY TO BE DEER, SO WHEN IT WAS CLEAR OF OPPOSING TRAFFIC, I PUT THE HIGH-BEAM LIGHTS ON. AFTER PUTTING THE HIGH-BEAMS ON, ALL THE LIGHTS.....HEADLIGHTS, HIGH-BEAMS, AND DRIVING LIGHTS WENT OUT....WHILE I WAS DRIVING. A RED "SERVICE" LIGHT CAME ON THE DASHBOARD. I WAS VERY STARTLED AT THIS AND HAD TO PULL OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD. I SWITCHED THE LIGHTS OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN AND NOTHING WOULD WORK AND THE "SERVICE" LIGHT REMAINED ON. FORTUNATELY, I WAS NOT IN A HIGH TRAFFIC AREA OR THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A VERY SERIOUS ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY IF I PANICKED. MY CHILDREN WERE VERY WORRIED THAT WE WERE PULLED OFF IN THE DARK. I DECIDED TO SHUT THE CAR OFF, HOPING TO RESET SOMETHING, AND TURN IT BACK ON. WHEN I DID THIS, THE "SERVICE" LIGHT WAS NOT ON, AND THE HEADLIGHTS AND DRIVING LIGHTS CAME ON. THE PASSENGER-SIDE LIGHT WAS STILL DIM WHEN I LOOKED AT IT, AND I ALSO NOTICED THAT THE HIGH BEAM LIGHTS WERE LIT AND DIM, ALTHOUGH THE HIGH BEAM SWITCH INSIDE THE CAR WAS NOT ON. I BOUGHT A NEW HEADLIGHT AND CHANGED THE BULB, BUT THERE WAS NO CHANGE IN THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE HEADLIGHT, IT WAS STILL DIM. *TR

DRIVING TO THE STORE ONE NIGHT I REALIZED HALFWAY THERE, MY DASH LIGHT BEHIND THE FUEL GAGE WAS ALMOST OUT AND THEN REALIZED EVERYTHING ILLUMINATED BY MY HEADLIGHTS LOOKED VERY DIM, LIKE THEY WEREN'T ON, JUST MY FOG LIGHTS. I PULLED OVER TO FIND THAT IT WAS JUST MY FOG LIGHTS, I HAD NO LOW BEAMS YET THE SWITCH SHOWED MY LIGHTS TO BE ON. THANKFULLY NO POLICE WERE AROUND, I'VE BEEN TOLD DRIVING WITHOUT YOUR LIGHTS ON IS A RED FLAG TO THE POLICE THAT YOU MAY BE DRIVING DRUNK OR DRIVING RECKLESSLY, WHICH NEITHER WAS THE CASE. LUCKILY A FRIEND WAS DRIVING BEHIND ME AND PULLED OVER AT THE SAME TIME. WE BOTH LOOKED AT IT AND THEN HE HAD TO HELP ME GET BACK HOME, DIDN'T KNOW I HAD HIGH BEAMS STILL. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WRONG AND STILL WORKING ON IT 6 MONTHS LATER. I'M NOW ON A DISABILITY INCOME AND CAN'T JUST BRING IT TO THE DEALER/MECHANIC TO SEE IF THEY MAY OR MAY NOT BE ABLE TO FIX IT AND END UP WITH AN OUTRAGEOUS BILL, ESPECIALLY IF I HAVE TO KEEP GOING BACK. I WAS DOING RESEARCH TO SEE IF I MISSED A RECALL OR AN ARTICLE STATING THE PROBLEM & FIX WITH THIS ISSUE WHEN I FOUND THIS WEBSITE AND SEE THAT IT HAS AN AWFUL LOT OF THE SAME COMPLAINTS AS MINE. KIND OF A RELIEF. AFTER READING MOST OF THEM, I STILL HAVEN'T FOUND A COMMENT/COMPLAINT THAT SAYS EXACTLY WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND IF IT'S EXPENSIVE. IF I'M NOT THE ONLY PONTIAC OWNER WITH THIS ISSUE AND AT A LOSS, WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT BESIDES THE OBVIOUS? IS THERE AN ACTUAL FIX FOR THIS PROBLEM THAT I HAVEN'T READ/FOUND YET OR WHEN THERE IS ONE, WILL I/WE BE NOTIFIED? *TR

IN DEC. 2005 MY DRIVER SIDE POWER WINDOW FAILED TO OPERATE - IT WILL STICK AND NOT ROLL DOWN. AFTER WHILE IT WILL ROLL UP AND DOWN AS NORMAL. I TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER MCELVEEN PONTIAC, SUMMERVILLE, SC (I HAD BOUGHT THIS VEHICLE FROM THIS DEALER) AS IT WAS STILL UNDER WARRANTY. DEALER FOUND NOTHING WRONG AND NO WORK WAS PERFORMED. ABOVE PROBLEM CONTINUED WITH DRIVER AND PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW INTERMITTENTLY NORMALLY HAPPENED WHEN IT WAS DRIZZLING RAINING. IN DEC. 2007 MY PASSENGER SIDE POWER WINDOW FAILED AND IT WILL NOT ROLL UP. IT WAS DRIZZLING WHEN IT FAILED. I TOOK THE CAR TO DEALER LOU SOBH PONTIAC, DULUTH, GA ON 12/13/2007 AND GOT REPAIRED ON 12/17/2007. ACCORDING TO DEALER PASSENGER SIDE WINDOW ASSEMBLY HAD FAILED. DEALER REPLACED THE REGULATOR ASSEMBLY. SINCE THAN BOTH WINDOWS ARE WORKING OK SO FAR. THIS CAN CAUSE ACCIDENT IF IT IS RAINING AND WINDOW FAILS TO ROLL UP OR IN THE EVENT OF POOR VISIBILITY (MORNING WITH HEAVY FOG OR FROST ON THE WINDOW) WHEN YOU WANT TO ROLL DOWN WINDOW TO SEE UPCOMING TRAFFIC BEFORE TAKING LEFT TURN. THIS FAILURE OCCUR AT THE SAME TIME WHEN MY REAR SIGNAL LIGHT FAILED. IT TURNED OUT THAT THERE WAS ELECTRICAL PROBLEM AND SOCKET HAD MELTED. THEREFORE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT THESE TWO INCIDENTS ARE RELATED. *TR

I HAD BOUGHT 2003 PONTIAC SUNFIRE FROM MCELVEEN PONTIAC-BUICK-GMC TRUCK, SUMMERVILLE, SC IN 2002. THIS CAR WAS RECALLED UNDER FOLLOWING RECALL FOR REAR STOP LAMPS AND WORK WAS DONE ON 6/8/2005. NHTSA ACTION NUMBER: EA04028 NHTSA RECALL CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 04V524000 MAKE: PONTIAC MODEL: SUNFIRE YEAR : 2003 MANUFACTURER : GENERAL MOTORS CORP. COMPONENT : EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL MY PASSENGER SIDE REAR SIGNAL LIGHT FAILED IN DECEMBER 2007 AND I TOOK THE CAR TO LOU SOBH PONTIAC, DULUTH, GA ON 12/13/2007. THEY REPLACED THE TURN LAMP. IN FEB. 2008 THIS LAMP FAILED AND I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO LOU SOBH PONTIAC, DULUTH, GA AND THEY REPLACED THE BULB (NO PAPER WORK WAS GENERATED BY SERVICE DEPT. AND WORK WAS COVERED UNDER PART WARRANTY). IN MARCH 2008 BOTH REAR SIGNAL LIGHT FAILED. I TOOK CAR AGAIN TO LOU SOBH PONTIAC, DULUTH, GA ON 4/5/2008. THIS TIME THEY CHECKED ALL WIRING AND INFORMED ME THAT THE BOTH SOCKETS ARE MELTED DUE TO OVERHEAT AND MAY BE LOOSE CONTACTS. THEY REPLACED BOTH SOCKET. SOCKETS WILL MELT OVER THE TIME ONLY IF THEY ARE LOOSE TO BEGIN WITH, AND IF IT IS NOT CAUGHT IN TIME, THAN WIRING MAY CATCH FIRE AND ALSO MAY CAUSE ACCIDENT. THIS ALSO MAY BE RELATED ANOTHER INCIDENT I HAD ENCOUNTERED WITH MY POWER WINDOWS WHICH FAILED DUE TO FAILURE OF REGULATOR DUE TO SHORT (IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY) WHICH HAPPENED AT THE SAME TIME AS WHEN REAR SIGNAL LIGHT FAILED IN DEC. 2007. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 PONTIAC SUNFIRE. WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT, THE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE. THE DEALER STATED THAT THE HEADLAMP CIRCUIT MALFUNCTIONED DUE TO A FAILED WIRE AND CORRODED CONNECTION. THEY MADE THE REPAIR. THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 55,346. UPDATED 3/5/08 *CN THE REAR TURN SIGNALS WERE INOPERATIVE AS WELL.

LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS QUIT WORKING. THE BULBS TESTED FINE, THE FUSE TESTED FINE AND THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH SEEMS TO BE WORKING PROPERLY. I REPLACED THE SWITCH WITH A KNOWN WORKING SWITCH AND THE LOW BEAMS STILL DO NOT WORK. I DRIVE WHEN IT IS DARK OUTSIDE AND AM FORCED TO USE MY HIGH BEAMS TO SEE AND MAKE SURE THAT I AM SEEN BY OTHER DRIVERS. I TALKED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SUGGESTED REPLACING THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH WHICH I DID AND THE LOW BEAM LIGHTS STILL DO NOT WORK. *CN

I PURCHASED THE CAR IN OCTOBER 2003 AND THE CAR WAS GREAT. IN MARCH 2006 I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS WHERE THE CAR WHEN ATTEMPTED TO START WOULD TAKE A FEW SECONDS EXTRA AND THEN START, THEN 6 MONTHS LATER I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE STREET AND THE CAR JUST CUT OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF AN INTERSECTION. THE CAR RESTARTED ABOUT 10 MINUTES LATER. THEN IN NOVEMBER THIS STARTED HAPPENING MORE AN MORE FREQUENTLY. ONE NIGHT IN DECEMBER THE CAR CUT OFF AND WOULD NOT RESTART AT ALL. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OF THE ROAD. I WAITED AN HOUR AND STILL THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I CAME BACK THE NEXT DAY AND THE CAR WOULD NOT START. I GOT THE CAR TOWED TO A MECHANIC WHO SAID THAT HE THOUGHT IT WAS THE FUEL PUMP SO I REPLACED THAT AND THE CAR WORKED FOR 2 DAYS AND THEN THE SAME PROBLEM AGAIN. HE THEN TESTED THE CAR AND SAW THERE WAS NO POWER GOING TO THE FUEL PUMP. I HAD HIM DO A TEMPORARY FIX AND RUN A LINE FROM THE BATTERY TO THE FUEL PUMP SO THE CAR WOULD STILL START. THEN EVERYTHING ELSE SLOWLY STARTED TO FAIL. THE AIR BAG LIGHT WOULD COME ON INTERMITTENTLY AND NOW STAYS ON. ONE LOW BEAM HEADLIGHT WENT OUT AND THEN THE OTHER FOLLOWED BY MY HIGH BEAM TOTALLY. MY FRONT LEFT TURN SIGNAL WENT THEN THE REAR RIGHT FOLLOWED BY THE FRONT RIGHT. MY HORN NO LONGER WORKS. I DON'T KNOW IF MY AIRBAGS WOULD DEPLOY IF I WAS IN AN ACCIDENT. THE WINDSHIELD WIPER RECENTLY STOPPED WORKING AS WELL. *JB

THIS IS MY MOTHER'S CAR, NOT MINE, SHE'S 54 YEARS OLD AND SHE DOES NOT DRIVE CRAZY. LAST WEEK HER FRONT SPRING SUSPENSION BROKE FOR NO REASON. I'M A MECHANIC, AND I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THAT KIND OF FAILURE, IT HAD TO BE A MANUFACTURER DEFECT. WHEN SHE WENT AT THE DEALER (WHICH WASN'T WHERE SHE BOUGHT THE CAR) THEY SAID THAT HER CAR WASN'T UNDER WARRANTY, SO IT WOULD COST A $120 PLUS LABOR TO REPAIR THE CAR. SO SHE BOUGHT A USED PART AND HAD IT REPLACED. PERSONALLY, I THINK THE DEALER SHOULD HAVE TOLD HER, THAT THEY NEVER SEEN THAT TYPE OF PROBLEM BEFORE AND THEY SHOULD INFORMED THE MANUFACTURER OF THIS DEFECT. *TR