Faults:

Nothings gone wrong with the car since I have bought it. I work at a dealership in the service depot so I got this car pretty cheap, but I was not expecting it to be this good to me.

General Comments:

This car handles great!

I bought a short ram air intake for my car shortly after I bought the car, makes the car run even better and faster!

Faults:

Car started overheating-A new computer was needed.

Brakes need to be done almost every 20,000km-30,000km.

Window Regulators are very very slow.

Remote stopped unlocking the doors.

Engine light always stays on.

Traction control constantly malfunctions.

Interior is very cheap and makes lots of creaking noises.

Starting to rust.

Valve cover gasket is leaking.

General Comments:

This is the first and last General Motors product I will ever buy. The dealer service is so terrible that I fell as though I want to light my car on fire. I have never been treated so horrible when dealing with customer service. This car must have been put together by drunk or stoned employees.

Faults:

What hasn't gone wrong...

First problem: I had the car a month and the dash lights kept going on and off; 6 months later I got a recall notice. I bought this car used from a little used car lot by my house. When I got it in for the recall (ignition switch could catch fire) I had already spent $900 on a new battery, alternator, starter, you name it. The entire problem was related.

Second problem: you cannot get to anything under the hood, as everything is so compressed under there it's a wonder I can even get an oil change.

Third problem: This car doesn't want to start in the winter time and when it rains, it shakes and stalls until it "dries" off.

Fourth problem: there is a long vertical bracket in the trunk and this just broke so now my trunk will not stay open.

Fifth problem: I see this on every Sunfire--the exhaust hangers break and you drive around with your exhaust just hanging and boucing. Have had this fixed several times and it won't stay.

General Comments:

Well I like the fact that I didn't pay much for it (used) and the insurance is cheap, but it is quite small for me and I am impressed that after putting 40,000 miles on it in 3 years, the brakes still work great and the gas mileage is fantastic!

Faults:

The interior is terribly cheap, whereas the seats are faded badly, the door handle has fallen off, there is a crack in the plastic door panel. Also, the paint has worn off of interior and exterior details. Other than these minor issues, the head gasket has already blown- leaving me to replace the engine. There was a recall on the ignition which I had to tend to. Lastly, the AC has just blown with a $1500 leak cost in order to fix. In all, this car has managed me through the past four years comfortably, but with little reliability. These cars are cheaply made, therefore, one mustn't expect too much of a smooth ride. However, if you are looking for a car to last several years, don't look for a 2000 Sunfire.

On the bright side, I love the steering, brakes, and gas mileage that this car provides me. It is a very attractive car that deserves some great credit for what it's worth. :)

Faults:

I recently purchased a 2000 Sunfire GT with 138,000k, and have experienced the few problems others have had in the first day I got the car.

I noticed that the fan does not work in the settings 1-3, and looked at the wiring diagram, to figure that it was the blower motor resistor. It was fairly simple to figure out, because the 1-3 settings only go to the resistor, where the 4th setting is a parallel circuit to the blower motor. So the blower motor will always have power in the 4th setting, whether or not the resistor is working.

The other interesting problem, is the fact that the stupid reminder beeper for the 'keys in ignition' doesn't shut off when the key is in the accessory position. So, in other words, I can't listen to the radio when the car is off without that annoying beeping in the background. The interesting thing, is that I think that the dome light problem I'm having might be related to this as well. I'll have to see what I find out in the wiring, door switches, etc.

Whenever the car is on, the dome light and reading lights in the rear-view mirror are on... until you start driving, and they decide that it's a good time to turn off. When I stop the car, they will sometimes come back on. I have been able to find the "sweet spot" where the reading lights won't stay on, but I had to take the dome light right out of the car for now. Let's just say it's not a fun thing to happen at night while driving. So I'm not sure what the problem with all that is, but I think that it might have a similar source. We will see soon enough.

I had the check engine light come on too. I went to the shop where I work and checked the codes. It was: "p0420" catalyst efficiency low bank 1. So that directs me to the first 02 sensor or the Catalytic converter.

I am taking it back to the dealership to have these few problems fixed, however, I think that I will end up doing the majority of the repairs, because they probably won't want to fork out the money. I did not purchase the hugely overpriced warranty that they had offered, because I feel that I would rather fix problems myself. At least that way I know that they are done right (I am a young female mechanic). So I now see that I am in for a lot of electrical troubleshooting with this car.

The trunk latch totally sucks too. I am going to have to either modify this one to fit tighter, or replace it so that it stops rattling every time I go over a speed bump. The rear seat latch is also not doing anything to hold the seat in place. The part where the latch is supposed to connect with the 'hook' isn't even lined up. I really wonder about the previous owner sometimes... This one escapes me. I will simply adjust it or replace it.

I discovered that I have to bypass the immobilizer and disable the airbags to install my after market CD player. I just hope that my massive stereo (2000W, 2X 12" dual voice coil competition subs @ 1ohm mono) won't be setting off the airbags while I'm driving!!

So if anyone has already done some of this before, all comments are welcome before I go get dirty playing in the wires. Contact me @ murder_of_crows@hotmail.com only if you are serious about informing me or asking intelligent questions.

I very patiently await the long list of repairs I will be completing on this car. Despite all the weird things that have gone wrong, it isn't much different from any other manufacturer's defects in workmanship that I've seen. I like the little thing and can't wait to be rid of these inconveniences. *Sigh* I suppose that I have my work cut out for me, I just hope that I won't have all these other problems that everyone else is having with the DRL and fuel pump etc.

OK everyone, safe driving!

General Comments:

I believe it to be a well designed car, but maybe not so well manufactured. It handles well, runs quick, and has been reliable thus far.

I can't wait to modify the heck out of it:

Competition stereo, lowered, performance brakes, rear disc conversion, beefed up alternator and ignition system, air intake (exhaust already done), lowering struts, rims and tires - 225/35r18 is the plan, a few engine mods - bore out cylinders, send out crankshaft and cams to machine shop and valve job, fuel delivery - pump and injectors improved, racing seats with 5 point seat belts, and eventually I will repaint the thing. The paint on these cars is really cheap in my opinion...