Page 3 of 3 · complaints 101–120 of 120

1998 Pontiac Sunfire complaints

Owner reports filed with NHTSA about this vehicle, newest first and reproduced as filed. They are unverified accounts: one proves nothing, and a pattern across many is the thing worth reading. Back to the full 1998 record →

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Jun 30, 1999FL

STALLS INTERMITTENTLY. MANUFACTURER CAN'T DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. BEEN I TO DEALER 4 TIMES. *AK

Vehicle Speed Control › Linkages
Filed May 25, 1999NY

ACCELERATOR STOPS WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING, AT ANY GIVEN SPEED. THE VEHICLE WON'T CUT OFF, BUT THERE IS NO POWER TO ACCELERATE WHEN THIS HAPPENS. SOMETIME ACCELERATION COMES BACK AFTER THE GAS PEDAL HAS BEEN RELEASED AND REAPPLIED. DEALER CAN'T FIND THE PROBLEM. *AK

Electrical System › Horn
Filed Feb 1, 1999CA

HORN RELAY FAILED. YH

Electrical System › Wiring › Front Underhood
Filed Jan 18, 1999GA

CAR IS HAZARDOUS AND UNSAFE TO DRIVE

Air Bags › FrontalCrash
Filed Jan 14, 1999IN

CONSUMER WAS IN A FRONT END ACCIDENT THAT CAUSED NO DAMAGE TO NEITHER VEHICLE GOING ABOUT 10 MPH AND THE AIR BAG DEPLOYED AND SHATTERED THE WINDSHIELD. DEALER HAS BEEN CONTACTED. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Jan 11, 1999CA

WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 15 MPH VEHICLE STALLED AND BATTERY LIGHT CAME ON. *AK

Service Brakes, Hydraulic › Antilock/Traction Control/Electronic Limited Slip
Filed Dec 22, 1998WV

WHILE APPLYING THE BRAKES THERE IS VIBRATION WHICH MAY CAUSE LOSS OF VEHICLE CONTROL. DEALER CANNOT DETERMINE THE PROBLEM. PLEASE PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. *AK

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Dec 18, 1998WI

ENGINE DOESN'T START ALL THE TIME, I'VE HAD IT IN 3 TIMES TO BE CHECKED, THEY CANNOT DUPLICATE PROBLEM.

Air Bags1 injured
Filed Nov 22, 1998CA

VEHICLE WAS RENTED FROM ENTERPRISE. VEHICLE DRIVEN ON INTERSTATE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT WHEN IT RAN OVER SOME DEBRIS FROM PRIOR ACCIDENT ON THE ROAD. DEBRIS STRUCK UNDERCARRAIGE AND THE AIRBAGS ON BOTH SIDES DEPLOYED. INJURY CAUSED TO PASSENGER WHO WAS LOOKING IN THE GLOVE BOX AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. ALL OCCUPANTS HAD SEAT BELTS ON AT THE TIME. CAR VELOCITY AT TIME OF AIR BAG DEPLOYMENT WAS 70 MPH. AFTER BAG DEPLOYMENT THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AND STOPPED BY DRIVER WHOSE VISON WAS BADLY OBSTRUCTED BY THE AIRBAG. NO DAMAGE EXCEPT TO UNDERCARRAIGE AND INTERIOR OF THE CAR WAS DONE. BELIEVE THIS ISN'T THE WAY AN AIR BAG IS SUPPOSED TO WORK. I REPORTED THIS TO YOU EARLIER ON A NON STANDARD FORM AND WHEN I REVIEWED YOUR COMPLAINT LIST I DIDN'T SEE IT SO I AM RESUBMITTING IT ON YOUR OWN FORM. I WAS A SECTION HEAD OF SYSTEM SAFETY AT NWC CHINA LAKE FOR 5 YEARS AND MY PROFESSIONAL OPINION IS THAT A SINGLE POINT FAILURE CAUSED THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOY AND THAT THE CAUSE IS VERY CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ACCELEROMETER SYSTEM. I HAVE DONE SOME RESEARCH INTO IT AND HAVE FOUND ACCELEROMETER PROBLEMS NOT ONLY ON THIS MODEL BUT OTHERS. MATTERS OF THE ACCELEROMETER DELAMINATING UNDER ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS AND THE PROBLEM OF STICTION IN THE ACCELEROMETER ELEMENTS ARE JUST TWO ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH ACCELEROMETERS PUT INTO AUTOMOBILES BY INDUSTRY. COMPOUND THAT WITH AN INCOMPLETE TEST/INSPECTION AND YOU HAVE A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN. I TOOK THE MATTER UP WIT

Power Train › Automatic Transmission
Filed Oct 27, 1998CA

TRANSMISSION DESIGN ALLOWS FOR THE VEHICLE TO ROLL WHEN RELEASING BRAKE PEDAL ON INCLINES. TRANSMISSION REPLACED FOR THIS PROBLEM AND SLIPPING OUT OF GEAR, HOWEVER CONTINUES TO ROLL.

Seats › Front Assembly › Head Restraint
Filed Oct 27, 1998OR

THE DESIGN OF THE HEAD REST CAUSES A BLIND SPOT AND WILL NOT STAY WHEN RAISED.

Steering › Column
Filed Oct 14, 1998IN

STEERING WHEEL IS LOOSE AND TILT STEERING MECHANISM HAS SLIPPED OUT OF POSITION WHILE DRIVING. ALSO, ACCELERATOR STUCK WHILE DRIVING AT 40 MPH.

Vehicle Speed Control
Filed Oct 14, 1998IN

WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE ACCELERATOR STUCK WHILE BRAKING FOR A STOP ON TWO OCCASIONS,DEALER CLAIM THE PROBLEM WAS A FAULTY CRUISE CONTROL CABLE ON AN AFTERMARKET CRUISE CONTROL THEY INSTALLED AT THE TIME OF DELIVERY.*ET

Structure › Body
Filed Oct 3, 1998FL

CONSIDERABLY LEAKY; LEAVING OUTRAGEOUS MILDEW SMELLS; CONSTITUTES A SAFETY PROBLEM.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine
Filed Sep 25, 1998OH

VEHICLE WOULD STALL OUT FOR NO REASON WHILE DRIVING ABOUT 40MPH. HAD VEHICLE TOWED 4 TIMES TO DEALER FOR ENGINE. NO REASON FOUND FOR STALLING. PROBLEM NOT DUPLICATED. SPEED WOULD VARY WHEN STALLING OCCURRED. *AK

Fuel System, Other
Filed Aug 20, 1998NJ

AFTER AIR CONDITIONER IS CUT OFF THE SPEEDOMETER GETS FOGGED UP.

Vehicle Speed Control › Cruise Control
Filed Aug 5, 1998MI

INTERMITTENTLY WHEN ACCELERATING THE VEHICLE WILL IDLE AND WON'T MOVE, AND SUDDENLY TAKE OFF. THE DEALER HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK

Suspension
Filed Jul 26, 199800

THE VEHICLE'S SUSPENSION MAKES A DULL CLUNKING SOUND WHEN DRIVEN ON GRAVEL ROAD SURFACES. WHEN BROUGHT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE DEALER, OTHER NEW SUNBIRDS WERE TESTED AND SAME PROBLEM WAS FOUND.

Engine and Engine Cooling › Engine › Gasoline
Filed Jul 9, 1998WI

CONSUMER EXPERIENCING VEHICLE HESITATION AT RANDOM WHEN VEHICLE IS BEING USED. VEHICLE BEEN/OUT OF DEALER SHOP MORE THAN THREE TIMES AND CONDITION CANNOT BE CORRECTED. *AK

Air Bags › Frontal
Filed May 26, 1998GA

THE VEHICLE REAR ENDED ANOTHER VEHICLE AT 65 TO 70MPH AND DRIVER SIDE AIRBAG DID NOT DEPLOY. *AK

Reading these

NHTSA publishes every complaint as the owner wrote it and investigates only a fraction. Spelling, capitalisation and judgement are the filer’s own. What carries weight is repetition: the same component failing the same way across many filings, and whether the manufacturer eventually opened a recall for it.

Full record for the 1998 Pontiac Sunfire → · Every Sunfire year → · How the figures are calculated →