2001 PONTIAC SUNFIRE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 64 complaints · 3 recalls

Verdict & Safety Summary

Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (15 complaints · 23.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 8
  • Fires 2
  • Injuries 9
  • Deaths 1
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Component Problem Distribution

Share of owner complaints filed for each vehicle system (unaffected by sales volume)

Component Problem Distribution ELECTRICAL SYSTEM appears in 15 of 64 owner complaints (23.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 15 complaints, 23.4% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 · 23.4% · 1 crash reports 2 fire reports ENGINE: 14 complaints, 21.9% of reports ENGINE 14 · 21.9% SERVICE BRAKES: 7 complaints, 10.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 7 · 10.9% AIR BAGS: 6 complaints, 9.4% of reports AIR BAGS 6 · 9.4% · 5 crash reports FUEL SYSTEM: 4 complaints, 6.3% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 4 · 6.3% VISIBILITY: 4 complaints, 6.3% of reports VISIBILITY 4 · 6.3% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 2 complaints, 3.1% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 · 3.1% SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 3.1% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 3.1% · 1 crash reports STRUCTURE: 2 complaints, 3.1% of reports STRUCTURE 2 · 3.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 42 complaints, 65.6% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 · 65.6% · 3 crash reports 2 fire reports 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

UNKNOWN OR OTHER is an NHTSA classification artifact and is always listed last.

View component data as a table
System / Component Complaints Share of Reports Safety Reports (Crashes / Fires)
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 15 23.4% 1 crashes · 2 fires
ENGINE 14 21.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 7 10.9% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 6 9.4% 5 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 4 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 4 6.3% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 2 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 3.1% 1 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 2 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 42 65.6% 3 crashes · 2 fires
NHTSA Consumer Complaints, NHTSA Safety Recalls, and NHTSA Defect Investigations Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Problem & Recall Timeline

Observed complaint volume and manufacturer recall actions over time

Problem & Recall Timeline Owner reports in this snapshot begin in Jan 2001; the first recall shown was reported in Jan 2004. 2001-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2001-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2001-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2002-Q3: 7 owner reports 7 2002-Q4: 4 owner reports 4 2003-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2003-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2004-Q3: 6 owner reports 6 2004-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q4: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2017-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Jan 2001 Apr 2017 Recall campaign 04V036000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V036000 Recall campaign 07E021000 ◆ Recall campaign 07E021000 Recall campaign 08E063000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E063000 Investigation SQ01002 ● Investigation SQ01002 Investigation EA02028 ● Investigation EA02028
  • Campaign 04V036000 was reported 913 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
  • Campaign 07E021000 was reported 1,659 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2001-Q1 Owner reports 3
2001-Q3 Owner reports 1
2001-Q4 Owner reports 4
2002-Q1 Owner reports 4
2002-Q3 Owner reports 7
2002-Q4 Owner reports 4
2003-Q1 Owner reports 2
2003-Q2 Owner reports 1
2003-Q3 Owner reports 2
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q1 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 2
2004-Q3 Owner reports 6
2004-Q4 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2005-Q4 Owner reports 2
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 1
2008-Q3 Owner reports 1
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2012-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2014-Q4 Owner reports 3
2017-Q1 Owner reports 1
2017-Q2 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V036000
Recall campaign 1 07E021000
Recall campaign 1 08E063000
Defect investigation 1 SQ01002
Defect investigation 1 EA02028
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (3)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V036000

    Report date
    Component:
    ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
    Consequence:
    IF THE SWITCH IS DAMAGED, A FIRE COULD OCCUR IN THE STEERING COLUMN, EVEN WITH THE ENGINE OFF AND THE KEY REMOVED. THE FIRE COULD SPREAD TO THE INTERIOR OF THE CAR, WHICH COULD INJURE OCCUPANTS OR CAUSE DAMAGE TO ADJOINING STRUCTURES.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS WILL INSTALL A RELAY KIT IN THESE VEHICLES TO PREVENT HIGH CURRENT FROM FLOWING THROUGH THE IGNITION SWITCH, AND CHECK THAT YOUR CAR WILL START WITH A PROPERLY CHARGED BATTERY AND, IF NECESSARY, REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH. OWNER NOTIFICATION WILL BEGIN ON MARCH 1, 2004. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438, PONTIAC AT 1-800-620-7668, BUICK AT 1-866-608-8080, OR OLDSMOBILE AT 1-800-630-6537. CUSTOMERS CAN ALSO CHECK THEIR VEHICLE ONLINE BY GOING TO WWW.MYGMLINK.COM AND ENTERING THE VEHICLE'S IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  2. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 07E021000

    Report date
    Component:
    FUEL SYSTEM, OTHER
    Consequence:
    FUEL MAY LEAK, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A FIRE.
    Remedy:
    DELPHI WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE UPR FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON APRIL 23, 2007. OWNERS CAN CONTACT DELPHI AT 877-411-8770.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
  3. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 08E063000

    Report date
    Component:
    Not available in the source record
    Consequence:
    IF THE WELD FAILS, LOSS OF STEERING COULD RESULT, POSSIBLY RESULTING IN A VEHICLE CRASH.
    Remedy:
    DORMAN WILL NOTIFY OWNERS AND REPLACE THE STEERING SHAFTS FREE OF CHARGE. THE RECALL BEGAN ON OCTOBER 16, 2008. OWNERS MAY CONTACT DORMAN TOLL FREE AT 1-800-523-2492.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →
NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Complaint Narrative Explorer

Verbatim owner-reported defect narratives from NHTSA public records

Data: NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation · snapshot 2026-08-21
Safety incident filters
Showing 0 of 64 complaints · page 1 of 3

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EPA Fuel Economy Database Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Estimated Ownership Cost

EPA fuel economy ratings and annual operating cost estimates

Data: US EPA Fuel Economy Guide · snapshot 2026-08-21
Supported range: 1,000–60,000 miles per year
Supported range: $1.50–$10.00 per gallon
55% city45% highway
Estimate unavailable

EPA fuel-economy data is unavailable for this vehicle.

No estimate is shown when required EPA values are unavailable.

Open Ownership Cost Calculator →

Adjacent Model Years

Immediate preceding and succeeding model year records

NHTSA Consumer Complaints Snapshot 2026-08-21 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Complaint counts reflect self-selected reports and are not normalised for production sales volume. We publish no reliability scores, superlatives, or vehicle rankings.

Methodology & Data Integrity

Data sourced from NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation. Snapshot date: 2026-08-21.

Read our complete data methodology → Sources