2004 PONTIAC SUNFIRE — Owner-Reported Problems

NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation Snapshot 2026-08-22 32 complaints · 2 recalls
Most-reported system: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM (13 complaints · 40.6%)
Safety signals:
  • Crashes 3
  • Fires 1
  • Injuries 1
  • Deaths 0
Compare with 2003 →
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 13 of 32 owner complaints (40.6%) in this vehicle snapshot. ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: 13 complaints, 40.6% of reports ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 13 · 40.6% · 1 fire reports ENGINE: 4 complaints, 12.5% of reports ENGINE 4 · 12.5% EXTERIOR LIGHTING: 3 complaints, 9.4% of reports EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 · 9.4% STRUCTURE: 3 complaints, 9.4% of reports STRUCTURE 3 · 9.4% SERVICE BRAKES: 2 complaints, 6.3% of reports SERVICE BRAKES 2 · 6.3% · 2 crash reports AIR BAGS: 1 complaints, 3.1% of reports AIR BAGS 1 · 3.1% STEERING: 1 complaints, 3.1% of reports STEERING 1 · 3.1% VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL: 1 complaints, 3.1% of reports VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 · 3.1% UNKNOWN OR OTHER: 20 complaints, 62.5% of reports UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 · 62.5% · 3 crash 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 13 40.6% 0 crashes · 1 fires
ENGINE 4 12.5% 0 crashes · 0 fires
EXTERIOR LIGHTING 3 9.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STRUCTURE 3 9.4% 0 crashes · 0 fires
SERVICE BRAKES 2 6.3% 2 crashes · 0 fires
AIR BAGS 1 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
STEERING 1 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL 1 3.1% 0 crashes · 0 fires
UNKNOWN OR OTHER 20 62.5% 3 crashes · 0 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 Oct 2003; the first recall shown was reported in Jun 2004. 2003-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2004-Q2: 3 owner reports 3 2004-Q3: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2005-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2005-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2006-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2007-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2008-Q1: 2 owner reports 2 2008-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2009-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2009-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2010-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q1: 1 owner reports 1 2011-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2012-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2013-Q4: 1 owner reports 1 2014-Q2: 2 owner reports 2 2014-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2015-Q2: 1 owner reports 1 2017-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 2020-Q3: 1 owner reports 1 Owner reports Oct 2003 Jul 2020 Recall campaign 04V300000 ◆ Recall campaign 04V300000 Recall campaign 08E063000 ◆ Recall campaign 08E063000
View timeline records as a table
Date Record type Count Record identifier
2003-Q4 Owner reports 1
2004-Q2 Owner reports 3
2004-Q3 Owner reports 2
2005-Q1 Owner reports 2
2005-Q2 Owner reports 1
2005-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q3 Owner reports 1
2006-Q4 Owner reports 1
2007-Q4 Owner reports 1
2008-Q1 Owner reports 2
2008-Q4 Owner reports 1
2009-Q1 Owner reports 1
2009-Q2 Owner reports 2
2009-Q4 Owner reports 1
2010-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q1 Owner reports 1
2011-Q4 Owner reports 1
2012-Q3 Owner reports 1
2013-Q2 Owner reports 1
2013-Q4 Owner reports 1
2014-Q2 Owner reports 2
2014-Q3 Owner reports 1
2015-Q2 Owner reports 1
2017-Q3 Owner reports 1
2020-Q3 Owner reports 1
Recall campaign 1 04V300000
Recall campaign 1 08E063000
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 04V300000

    Report date
    Component:
    SEAT BELTS
    Consequence:
    IN A SEVERE CRASH, THE UPPER SEAT BELT ANCHORAGE MAY SEPARATE. THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE SEAT BELT COULD THEN BE REDUCED AND THE OCCUPANT COULD RECEIVE GREATER INJURIES.
    Remedy:
    DEALERS ARE TO INSPECT THE SAFETY BELT ANCHORAGE AND INSTALL A NEW NUT AND BOLT, IF NECESSARY. THE RECALL BEGAN ON AUGUST 23, 2004. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT CHEVROLET AT 1-800-630-2438 AND 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 32 complaints · page 1 of 2

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