1998 PONTIAC SUNFIRE Complaints

WHEN VEHICLE WAS IN PARK STEERING COLUMN CAUGHT ON FIRE, AND COULD HAD CAUSED INJURIES TO CONSUMER. DEALER NOTIFIED.*AK

WHILE TRYING TO START VEHICLE AND WITHOUT WARNING STEERING COMPONENT STARTED TO SMOKE. VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO DEALERS, MECHANIC INFORMED CONSUMER THAT IGNITION SWITCH HAD MELTED , NO ENTRY FOR KEY.*AK

WHILE TRAVELING AT 30 MPH ON A GRAVEL ROAD BOTH PASSENGER'S SIDE AND DRIVER'S SIDE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED. CAUSE UNKNOWN. PLEASE PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

ONGOING PROBLEM WITH ENGINE STARTING, TOOK SEVERAL CRANKS BEFORE ENGINE WOULD START OR NOT START AT ALL. DEALER WAS NOT NOTIFIED AT THIS TIME. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION.*AK

VEHICLE STALLS MULTIPLE TIMES IN REVERSE. NORMALLY DOES THIS WHEN COLD OR HAS BEEN SITTING OVERNIGHT. ALSO HAS ROUGH IDLE CONDITION. SOMETIMES VEHICLE MALFUNCTIONS WHEN WET ALSO. TOOK TO DEALERSHIP, THEY WERE UNABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, EVEN WHEN THEY ALLOWED IT TO SIT OVERNIGHT. AFTER TAKING CAR FROM DEALERSHIP AND PARKING IT FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, VEHICLE AGAIN STALLED TWO TIMES IN REVERSE, AND WAS ALSO VERY HARD TO START. ALSO, TRANSMISSION GROWLS WHEN ENGINE IS RUNNING AND PARKED ON A INCLINE. ACELLERATOR CABLE HAS STUCK 3 TIMES WHEN I PASS VEHICLES AS WELL.*AK

WAS TRAVELING 25MPH AND HAD STARTED SMELLING BURNING PLASTIC. ODOR WOULD COME FROM AN D THROUGH THE VENTS. HAD NO CAUSE OF PROBLEM. VEHICLE AT DEALERSHIP.*AK

MY ABS BRAKE MODULE WENT OUT, ALONG WITH MY REGULAR BRAKES AS WELL. IF MY CAR GOES OVER 30 MILES PER HOUR, THE CAR SKIDS TO A STOP AND MY TIRES LOCK UP. MY CAR IS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY AND I KNOW GM HAS A "CODE A" THAT COVERS REPAIR IF THE VEHICLE IS OUT OF WARRANTY, BUT THE CAR DOESN'T YET HAVE 60,000 MILES ON IT. ONLY A GM DEALERSHIP CAN FIX IT, BUT THEY WON'T COVER IT UNDER CODE A. I TOOK IT TO ANOTHER REPAIR SHOP AND THEY TOLD ME THAT SOMETHING IN MY CAR'S SYSTEM CAUSED THE ABS BRAKE MODULE GO OUT, SO THERE TECHINICALLY IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY CAR, IT ISN'T JUST THAT THE PART WENT OUT. I HAVE TALKED TO PONTIAC REPEATEDLY FOR OVER THE PAST MONTH, AND ALTHOUGH THEY ADMIT THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN TO MY CAR WITH ONLY 48,00 MILES ON IT, THEY REFUSE TO REPAIR IT FOR ME UNDER CODE A. OBVIOUSLY THERE IS A DEFECT IN MY CAR, HOWEVER, THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I DON'T WANT TO GIVE ANY MORE MONEY TO GM BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY ARE OF NO HELP, BUT I CAN'T EVEN GET MY CAR REPAIRED BY A REGULAR MECHANIC BECAUSE ONLY THE DEALERSHIP CAN FIX THE ABS BRAKE MODULE. I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT GM FOR NOT REPAIRING A DEFECT IN MY CAR, BECAUSE I LITERALLY HAVE NO BRAKES LEFT IN MY CAR, AND THEY REFUSE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. MY CAR IS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY WON'T OWN UP TO THE FACT THAT MY CAR IS DEFECTIVE IF IT IS MY CAR'S SYSTEM CAUSING THE HIGHLY PRICED ABS BRAKE MODULE TO GO OUT, IT'S NOT JUST "NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR." I THINK MY CAR, AS WELL AS OHTER PONTIACS ARE DEFECTIVE, AND I WOULD LIKE FOR SOMETHING TO BE DONE ABOUT IT. THANK YOU.*AK

FIRST THIS CLICKING/POPPING SOUND STARTED COMING FROM THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN YOU TURN IT AT LOW SPEED. THE MECHANIC SAID ITS THE INNER TIE RODS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED. BUT TO REPLACE THEM YOU HAVE TO REPLACE THE WHOLE STEERING ASSEMBLY BECAUSE THERE MADE AS ONE PIECE. THEN ONE MONTH AGO THE CAR STARTED SHACKING AT IDLE SPEED. IF YOU ARE IN DRIVE OR NUETRUEL AT A STOP LIGHT STANDING STILL YOU COULD FEEL IT SHACKING A LITTLE. THE DEALER SAID IT COULD BE ANYTHING FROM ELECTRIC PROBLEMS TO COIL PROBLEMS. BUT JUST YESTERDAY I WAS DRIVING AT NIGHT ON THE FREEWAY GOING ABOUT 60MPH WHEN I SAW SMOKE BEHIND MY CAR. I GOT ON THE SHOULDER AND SAW SMOKE COMMING OUT OF THE ENGINE. THEN I TRIED STARTING THE CAR BUT IT WON'T START. SO I HAD IT TOWED TO MY HOUSE. AT MY HOUSE I CHECKED THE ENGINE WITH A FLASHLIGHT AND FOUND A BIG HOLE (3-4 IN DIAMETER) IN THE ENGINE BY THE DIPSTICK. IT SEEMS THAT SOMETHING GOT LOOSE IN THE ENGINE THAT MADE THE CAR SHACKING AND WHEN IT GOT LOSE IT JUST FLEW OUT. LUCKLY IT DIDN'T WHEN TRU THE HOOD. IF ANYONE COULD HELP ME PLEASE IN FINDING MAYBE THERES LIKE A SERVICE BULLETIN OR A RECALL FOR THIS PROBLEMS. ALSO I WILL NEVER BUY ANY STUPID PONTIACS AND WON'T RECCOMEND ONE FOR ANYONE. *AK

AIRBAG LIGHT ILLUMINATES ON THE DASHBOARD. CONSUMER HAS CONTACTED DEALER. DEALER STATED AIRBAG MAY NOT DEPLOY WHEN NEEDED. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER DETAILS.*AK

UNABLE TO REMOVE KEY FROM IGNITION SWITCH IF STEERING COLUMN IS NOT TILTED OR POSITION IN A CERTAIN WAY. DEALER WAS CONTACTED. FEEL FREE TO PROVIDE ANY FURTHER INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS MATTER.*AK