2001 Pontiac Sunfire 4 door 2.2L from North America

Summary:

Awesome, little vehicle; a real gas saver, very impressive

Faults:

Radiator fan stopped working, overheating... just started.

Noticed the A/C & heater are a real power draw from the engine; wants to die out when idling.

Interior roof light comes on and off!

Not sure what maybe is causing all this trouble.

Well maintained vehicle.

A good gas saver.

Hate to get rid of it over this easy fix to it. I know it could be a faulty radiator fan motor!

For the A/C it could be the motor under the dash (passenger side).

For the interior roof light! Not sure.

It's a mystery to me.

So if anyone could give me an answer on my trouble with this vehicle, it would be kindly appreciated.

General Comments:

New alternator.

New wire harness & spark plugs!

A good battery.

Fuses seem to be okay! Inside & under the hood.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 26th September, 2017

2001 Pontiac Sunfire SE 2.2 from North America

Summary:

The biggest waste of money I have ever encountered

Faults:

Transmission blew at 122k.

Passenger seat stopped being adjustable at 123k.

Starter went out at 124k.

Rear speakers blew at 127k.

Stereo stopped working at 130k.

Fuel pump stopped working at 142k.

Engine cradle rusted, cracked, and bending at 144k.

General Comments:

I bought this car for 1800, and have put easily 4 times as much money into this car as I spent on it.

I drove the car for about two months before the transmission went out with absolutely no warning, and in retrospect, I should have gotten rid of it then.

A few months after getting the trans fixed, a lot of little things started going wrong with the car (passenger side seat wouldn't adjust forward or backward, speakers suddenly stored working due to bad wiring, stereo went out for the same reason, heat and air conditioner only work when the fan is at its highest setting).

Somewhere in between all these smaller problems, my car wouldn't start due to a bad starter.

After a few good months where I thought maybe this car wasn't a big of a piece of crap, the fuel pump went out.

Almost immediately after replacing the fuel pump, I had to replace the tie rods and ball joints. Took my car in to get an alignment afterwards, and was told that the cradle is rusted and cracked pretty badly, which has caused the driver side tire to be about three inches further back than the passenger side, and my car is unsafe to drive.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 12th April, 2011

12th Apr 2011, 16:36

You get what you pay for unfortunately. A great deal of 1800 dollars turns into a great deal of auto repairs. I usually stay away from those "great deals". Don't blame the manufacturer for your misfortune, blame the original owner or the used car salesman who bent you over... Next time, take a used car to a reputable mechanic that you trust and have them look it over before you buy it.

2001 Pontiac Sunfire Sedan 4 door from North America

Summary:

Well worth it for its value

Faults:

The catalytic converter when I got it, but the dealer covers the catalytic converter for the first 7 years of the car's life, so it was a free repair.

A recall with the starter possibly causing fire; fixed by dealer free of charge.

The alternator at 200,000km.

The fan blower motor for inside the car at 300,000km.

The fan cooler for the engine under the hood. 300,000km.

Driver seat replaced faulty mechanism at 300,000km.

CD player acting-up. 200,000km.

Speakers front left and rear left static. 200,000km.

General Comments:

This car is great. It's very reliable, and I believe I was able to make it last this long because I stayed on top of the maintenance. Oil changes on time, full tune-ups every other winter.

Please note I used synthetic oil 99.9% of the time, however I changed synthetic oil every 8000km instead of 5000km.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st November, 2010

22nd Nov 2010, 21:02

Yes, these cars are known to run past 300k with no issues when well maintained. My friend's Sunfire was sold with over 350k when he got rid of it, it's probably still running, it was not burning or leaking any oil!

Like you said, pretty good value for your dollar with this car. Much cheaper to fix than imports too.

26th Jan 2011, 00:03

I just got my first car, it's of course a Pontiac Sunfire =) It had only 50k miles on it, so I'm very happy to hear it should last a good 250k more! Thanks for helping me settle my worries!

26th Jan 2011, 14:52

The Sunfire/Cavalier are not known for their reliability. They have a lot of mechanical issues. Consumer Reports summed them up as 'crude, outdated, and unpleasant."