2003 PONTIAC SUNFIRE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 71 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: EXTERIOR LIGHTING (18 complaints · 25.4%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 4
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 3
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2002 →
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 EXTERIOR LIGHTING appears in 18 of 71 owner complaints (25.4%) in this vehicle snapshot. EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 18 complaints, 25.4% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18 · 25.4% ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 16 complaints, 22.5% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 · 22.5% · 1 fire reports SERVICE BRAKES: 7 complaints, 9.9% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 7 · 9.9% · 1 crash reports ENGINE: 6 complaints, 8.4% of reports ENGINE 6 · 8.4% FUEL SYSTEM: 5 complaints, 7.0% of reports FUEL SYSTEM 5 · 7.0% POWER TRAIN: 3 complaints, 4.2% of reports POWER TRAIN 3 · 4.2% AIR BAGS: 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports AIR BAGS 2 · 2.8% · 1 crash reports SEAT BELTS: 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports SEAT BELTS 2 · 2.8% · 2 crash reports VISIBILITY: 2 complaints, 2.8% of reports VISIBILITY 2 · 2.8% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 44 complaints, 62.0% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 44 · 62.0% · 2 crash reports 1 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)
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 18 25.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 16 22.5% 0 crashes · 1 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 7 9.9% 1 crashes · 0 fires
ENGINE 6 8.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
FUEL SYSTEM 5 7.0% 0 crashes · 0 fires
POWER TRAIN 3 4.2% 0 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 2 2.8% 1 crashes · 0 fires
SEAT BELTS 2 2.8% 2 crashes · 0 fires
VISIBILITY 2 2.8% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 44 62.0% 2 crashes · 1 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 Jul 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Nov 2004. 2003-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2003-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q1: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q2: 4 owner reports 4 2004-Q3: 5 owner reports 5 2004-Q4: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 2005-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2007-Q1: 3 owner reports 3 2007-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q2: 6 owner reports 6 2008-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q1: 4 owner reports 4 2009-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2010-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q3: 3 owner reports 3 Owner reports Jul 2003 Jul 2014 Recall campaign 04V524000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V524000 Recall campaign 08E063000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E063000 Investigation PE04043 ● Investigation PE04043 Investigation EA04028 ● Investigation EA04028
  • Campaign 04V524000 was reported 398 days after the first earlier complaint mapped to its component.
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q3 Owner reports 5
2003-Q4 Owner reports 3
2004-Q1 Owner reports 5
2004-Q2 Owner reports 4
2004-Q3 Owner reports 5
2004-Q4 Owner reports 3
2005-Q1 Owner reports 3
2005-Q2 Owner reports 3
2005-Q3 Owner reports 3
2005-Q4 Owner reports 1
2006-Q1 Owner reports 2
2007-Q1 Owner reports 3
2007-Q2 Owner reports 1
2007-Q3 Owner reports 2
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q2 Owner reports 6
2008-Q3 Owner reports 2
2009-Q1 Owner reports 4
2009-Q2 Owner reports 1
2009-Q3 Owner reports 1
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 2
2010-Q2 Owner reports 1
2010-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q1 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q1 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 1
2014-Q3 Owner reports 3
Recall campaign 1 04V524000
Recall campaign 1 08E063000
Defect investigation 1 PE04043
Defect investigation 1 EA04028
NHTSA Safety Recalls Snapshot 2026-08-22 Open source record Read our complete data methodology →

Safety Recalls (2)

Official safety recall campaigns filed with NHTSA

  1. Manufacturer action

    Recall campaign 04V524000

    Report date
    Component:
    EXTERIOR LIGHTING
    Consequence:
    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.
    Remedy:
    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.
    View authoritative NHTSA record →

  2. 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 71 complaints · page 1 of 3

No complaints match the current filters.
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