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2003 Pontiac Sunfire Problems and Recalls
Owners filed 72 complaints with NHTSA about the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, most often about the lights (35% of complaints, typically around 19,000 miles). It is the 3rd most complained-about Sunfire model year since 2000 and has 1 recall.
Most common 2003 Pontiac Sunfire problems
Lights
25 complaints · 35%Half of these problems showed up before 19,000 miles. Parts named most often: turn signal, headlights, brake lights, fog lights.
Head lights fail for no reason and at any time. This can include both high and low beam and fog lights. Has been repaired now for the 5th time at a gm dealer ship.
Failure to the headlight harness, with time, corrosion attack the headlight harness. Which will cause the headlight intensity to lower or worst, total headlight failure. That mean that you can be driving at night and totally lose your headlight. This defect has been repaired 4 times now, and I need to have it repaired…
Electrical
23 complaints · 32%Half of these problems showed up before 46,000 miles. Parts named most often: wiring, instrument cluster/panel, horn.
Was driving on the freeway, traveling at 70 MPH and all of the lights both dash and exterior went out and the engine stopped. Pulled to the side of the highway and tried to restart the car, no luck. Waited for 30 minutes and tried to restart it and it started up, but when I got up to 40mph, it repeated what it did…
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…
Engine
10 complaints · 14%Half of these problems showed up before 69,000 miles. Parts named most often: engine, exhaust system.
I purchased the car in 2006 with everything on it stock. In 2009 the coil pack started misfiring causing the catalytic converter to go bad and also causing the rods bearings to spin.
: the contact stated intermittently, the vehicle stalled while driving. There were no warning lights when this occurred. The vehicle was put in neutral then restarted. The dealership was unable to duplicate the problem. Also, the clutch failed on the vehicle twice. The first time occurred while parked and the…
Brakes
8 complaints · 11%Parts named most often: foundation components, antilock, antilock/traction control/electronic limited slip.
Brake rotors warped after less than 11,000 miles of travel; 2003 Pontiac-Sunfire purchased on april 29, 2003. I believe that this is a bad batch of brake parts or the component is either under designed or improperly specified to withstand day-to-day city driving conditions. A 2001 chevrolet-cavalier that I previously…
Dt: the contact stated that while driving the brakes grabbed and let go, like a pulsation. Took the vehicle to the dealer three times for this problem. The first time the vehicle was at the dealer they turned the rotors. The second time the dealer cleaned the rotors. The third time they turned the rotors for the…
Fuel system
7 complaints · 10%Half of these problems showed up before 65,500 miles. Parts named most often: delivery, storage, fuel injection system.
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…
Was driving on the freeway, traveling at 70 MPH and all of the lights both dash and exterior went out and the engine stopped. Pulled to the side of the highway and tried to restart the car, no luck. Waited for 30 minutes and tried to restart it and it started up, but when I got up to 40mph, it repeated what it did…
Air bags
6 complaints · 8%Parts named most often: frontal.
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…
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…
Transmission
4 complaints · 6%Parts named most often: automatic transmission, clutch assembly.
: the contact stated intermittently, the vehicle stalled while driving. There were no warning lights when this occurred. The vehicle was put in neutral then restarted. The dealership was unable to duplicate the problem. Also, the clutch failed on the vehicle twice. The first time occurred while parked and the…
1. High use of transmission shift cable leads to separation at the transmission end link. 2. Once the shift cable link wears out it falls down and the transmission can no longer be shifted through gear positions from within the vehicle. A vehicle can be left stranded in any gear, drive, reverse, neutral, or any other…
Visibility and wipers
4 complaints · 6%Parts named most often: power window devices and controls, rearview mirrors/devices, windshield wiper/washer.
Driver's side window began losing ability to lift/lower after being lowered one day while window had moisture on it. Took it to gm dealer after window became totally stuck down and was told it was motor. A month later it happened again. Was told it was regulator. Three months later happened again, only this time to…
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…
Complaints are owner reports to NHTSA, not verified defects. One complaint can name several components, so shares add up to more than 100%.
2003 Pontiac Sunfire recalls
Lights: turn signal
Risk: An inoperative brake lamp will not convey the driver's intention of stopping to drivers in following vehicles, and an inoperative rear turn signal lamp will not convey the driver's intention to turn to drivers in following vehicles. Both of these failures can increase the risk of a crash.
Fix: Dealers will inspect the rear lamp bulb socket assemblies and apply grease or replace them if necessary. The recall began on january 18, 2005. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1-800-630-2438 or pontiac at 1-800-620-7668.
Full defect summary
On certain passenger vehicles, the rear lamps that provide stop and turn signals and tail lamp functions stop working because of inadequate contact between the bulb and socket. In addition, if one bulbs were to become inoperative while the vehicle was operating in cruise control, the cruise control would disengage when the remaining bulb was activated. If both lamps were to become inoperative, the cruise control would not engage.
Recall repairs are free at any franchised dealer. Enter your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which recalls are still open on your car.
NHTSA defect investigations
Turn signal malfunction
Summary
On may 14, 2004 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe04-043) based on consumer complaints alleging that the brake/tail turn signal lamps would not operate properly when either the tail lights were turned on, the brake pedal was depressed, or when the turn signal switch was activated.on september 14, 2004 odi upgraded pe 04-043 to an engineering analysis (ea04-028).gm states that some brake/tail/turn signal lamp bulbs can prematurely become inoperative due to excessive heat buildup within the bulb sockets.the cause of the excessive heat build up was determined to be a lack of thermal grease placed in between the bulb and the socket. By letter dated octo
Turn signal malfunction
Summary
Complainants allege that the rear turn signals fail to illuminate and do not provide a signal to drivers in following vehicles.odi has received one report of a crash where the complainant braked and attempted to make a left turn and the following vehicle impacted the complainant's vehicle in the driver-side door.in may 2002, gm's supplier made changes to the bulb socket that included stopping the use of thermal-mastic grease in the bulb socket.gm reports that the grease reduces arcing at the contacts and dissipates heat thus preventing melting of the socket material or burning of the contacts.most of the subject vehicles were produced without grease applied to the bulb socket.in june 2003, g
Questions about the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire
- What are the most common problems with the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire?
- By NHTSA owner complaints: lights (25 complaints, typically around 19,000 miles); electrical (23 complaints, typically around 46,000 miles); engine (10 complaints, typically around 69,000 miles).
- How many recalls does the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire have?
- 1 recall listed by NHTSA, the latest from November 1, 2004 (lights). Check your VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls to see which ones are still open on your car.
- Is the 2003 a bad year for the Pontiac Sunfire?
- It is the 3rd most complained-about Sunfire model year since 2000, with 72 complaints. Complaint counts are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, so popular years collect more of them, and the newest years have had less time to.