NHTSA — Engine And Engine Cooling: Engine: Gasoline Problems

10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
0 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
0 / 0
Average Mileage:
0 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

1998 Pontiac Sunfire engine problems

engine problem

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1998 Pontiac Sunfire Owner Comments

problem #18

Nov 162002

Sunfire

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Car stalls at any speed while driving. Dealer serviced 3 times and still not fixed. Dealer states they don't have any idea what else it could be. No error codes from modules.

- Coplay, PA, USA

problem #17

Oct 152002

Sunfire

  • miles
This car has been stalling intermitantly. It has happened on most ocassions when making a slow turn (like from a stand still and turning at a light). It has had a tune up and still continues to do this. It has been to the dealers for about 2 weeks and they can find nothing wrong or recreate the problem. In my search on the net I have found numerous 1998 Sunfire owners with the same problem. When the engine stalls the power stearing is affected and the car is dangerous. My daughter has this car in ga while attending college and has had to rent a car for the past 2 weeks. I hope this can be resolived soon.

- Freeland, MD, USA

problem #16

Jul 152001

Sunfire

  • miles
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.

- Port Washington, NY, USA

problem #15

Feb 052001

Sunfire

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

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.

- Owosso, MI, USA

problem #14

Feb 062002

Sunfire

  • miles
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 Pontiac and won't reccomend one for anyone.

- Ceres, CA, USA

problem #13

Apr 302001

Sunfire

  • miles
The oil pressure switch went bad and pumped all the oil out of the engine ruining it within minutes with no warning to the operator. The Pontiac dealer said there was no way for me to know what happened until it was too late. If I was not pulled over by a police officer telling me the car was smoking I would not have known until I stopped that I was smoking. I am alarmed Pontiac has refused any blame for engineering an engine part to fail and ruin the engine without any prior indication. I had no option to try and prevent this problem. It is a defect in manufacturing to happen at 44,000 miles and ruin my engine.

- New Port Richey, FL, USA

problem #12

Jun 282001

(reported on)

Sunfire

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Severe engine hesitation after accelerating with a cold engine.

- Gladstone, NJ, USA

problem #11

Apr 052001

Sunfire

  • miles
Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. This also seems very dangerous to me because I never know when my car might stall or hesistate. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks.( dot number: )

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #10

Apr 052001

Sunfire

  • miles
Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. This also seems very dangerous to me because I never know when my car might stall or hesistate. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks.( dot number: )

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #9

Apr 052001

Sunfire

  • miles
Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks.( dot number: )

- Memphis, TN, USA

problem #8

Apr 011999

Sunfire

  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The vehicle stalls at low speeds or stop and go traffic.

- Hempstead, NY, USA

problem #7

Sep 111998

Sunfire

  • miles
Ongoing/intermittent problem with engine stalling during low/high speed from a stop position while turning; etc. Vehicle been in/out of dealer shop on several occasions, and problem still reoccurring.

- Mason, WI, USA

problem #6

Mar 181998

Sunfire

  • miles
When starting out, vehicle starts but when you push the accelerator it stalls, when you try to restart it keeps turning, it won't catch. It has also hesitated while driving at 30 mph and 60 mph. It has done this 15-20 times and been to the dealer at least 7 times. They say that there is nothing wrong, once they updated my computer, another time they replaced my computer, but it still stalls and hesitates.

- Rensselaer, NY, USA

problem #5

Jul 151999

Sunfire

  • miles
This problem has occured several times since original incident, almost everyday. The vehicle turns over many times before starting, and has stalled at intersections twice. It has been to the dealer two times in the past year for this problem, and each time they stated that they were unable to duplicate the problem. There are no certain conditions that this tends to happen in, they vary everytime. This is not necessarily a safety hazard, but more of a hassle to have a new car and these sort of problems.......

- Maumee, OH, USA

problem #4

Nov 011998

Sunfire

  • miles
Stalls intermittently. Manufacturer can't duplicate the problem. Been I to dealer 4 times.

- Bradenton, FL, USA

problem #3

Jul 091998

Sunfire

  • miles
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.

- Kenosha, WI, USA

problem #2

Jan 091999

Sunfire

  • miles
While driving about 15 mph vehicle stalled and battery light came on.

- San Gabriel, CA, USA

problem #1

Dec 181998

(reported on)

Sunfire

  • miles
Engine doesn't start all the time, I've had it in 3 times to be checked, they cannot duplicate problem.

- Germantown, WI, USA

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