21st Mar 2005, 11:52

I'm happy to hear how everyone is enjoying their cars, first off, Internally locking? Sounds like the engine seized to me. You know what can help fix that? Checking the oil in the engine. Sorry it never occured to anyone out there. But oh well, I've had my Sunfire for about 8 months now, no problems whatsoever as long as you maintain it just like any other car. So have fun all, and let me keep reading these reviews. p.s My oldest vehicle so far was a 23 yr old chevy C10 truck, so yeah, GM is a good company and at least the parts won't cost you 400 dollars for an alternator.

5th Oct 2005, 09:35

I own a 1997 Pontiac Sunfire. It has 365,000 miles on it. Never put a great deal of money in it, currently still have it and had it since two years ago. It has been a great car, only basics have been fixed, like new brake pads, and change of oils. It runs like new and it has many miles and is 8 years old. I wouldn't blame the maker or the type of car. You just got a bad egg, that the owners before never checked up on it and fixed, that's all.

4th Jan 2006, 19:09

I have a 1999 Pontiac sunfire. I had a few problems, but nothing major. I think that your sunfire was just a lemon and everything happened, but don't blame Pontiac, every manufacturer has lemons it's just a matter of if you get a good one or not.

10th Jan 2006, 06:50

I have a 1996 GT Sunfire and there is 170.000 miles up, its the best car I have driven in a long time. I live in Donegal, Ireland and if anyone out there could help, I am looking for the softwear for the diagnostics and also a parts supplier, I have a 1979 6.6 T-Roof Trans-am which I have for 11years and I think Pontiacs are just great cars.

19th Aug 2006, 06:16

The 2.4L "Quad Four" Pontiac Sunfires are fun to drive, and have plenty of torque, but there are lemons out there with any vehicle. I think I understand what the initial poster meant when they said that the engine is "internally sealed" - it's not ceased, but rather GM's ploy to get you to take the car to the dealership for maintenance. When you get into replacing engine internals, it becomes increasingly difficult because all of the mounting screws/bolts have triangular heads on them - making them almost impossible to work on in your driveway at home, or at a local mechanic's shop. Be very wary before buying a sunfire of this vintage with the 2.4L quad four - have it looked over before buying!!

1st Sep 2006, 11:53

I have a 1996 Sunfire Quad-4 4-door and the thing runs like a champ. It currently has about 180k miles on it with no major repairs in its lifetime. It does not eat oil or wear the brake pads unevenly. It starts up in all manner of weather and is fantastic grabbing the road (mix of toyos and kellys).

I consider that well above average considering it has been in two accidents. I was t-boned downtown (say about 25-30mph) and the second was in a parking lot. I leave it in its spot - I came back and someone had hit me from the front hard enough to shove my car back about 6 inches and crunch in the hood.

4th Apr 2007, 10:43

OK whoever wrote this little nugget is completely full of horse manure. There is no way in HELL that you were able to get a Pontiac Sunfire to 365,000 miles with only oil changes and light service work. These POS cars are not built that well. If you said you had a late 80's model Volvo 240 I MIGHT have believed you, but c'mon a Pontiac Sunfire making it to 365K is about as likely as pigs flying. Nice try GM worker.

4th Jul 2007, 22:00

I purchased my 99 Sunfire new, my husband was very disappointed with my choice of a "mickey mouse car". I am at 200,000 miles with regular oil changes, and a few parts such as alternator, fan motor, brake pads, and rotors, and now an a/c compressor. This was my first new car, and I haven't had to replace anything out of the ordinary, and I never had a used car make it to 200,000 miles. I love my sunfire, and now my husband is thankful for my mickey mouse gas mileage.

About the brakes, mine were doing the same thing - not stopping correctly, I was told my rotors were warped, but within specs when still under warranty, I changed all the rear brake stuff (rotors and pads) and haven't had the problem since.

13th Dec 2007, 17:58

I've had my 1999 Sunfire since 2002. It's a pretty good car. I have worn it into the ground by driving all the time and not keeping up with oil changes, but I haven't really had any serious issues. The only problems I'm having right now are the driver side windows that I've had to have fixed three times because it just stops working (although, reading the other message boards about Pontiacs, this seems to be a common issue), and my odometer stopped working when I got my alternator replaced. It's the oddest thing, it just keeps restarting at 64,000 miles. I think the person who bought that car got a lemon. Sad too, Pontiacs are good first cars.

2nd Dec 2008, 10:56

Well, I bought my 99 Sunfire at 150K. Right away I had to get the clutch bearing replaced, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the clutch needed to be replaced. So no additional expense there.

Then the battery had to be replaced (normal maintenance), and so far this car hasn't let me down yet. I'd say I put in normal maintenance, I try to replace the oil regularly. It's now at around 177K after 2 years. I do a fair amount of highway driving.

This is my first vehicle, and I agree that Sunfire is not bad for first time owner. It's not a Mustang, but with 115 HP @ 5000 gives me enough to fool around here and then. Needless to say I give her a little punishment now and then. I think, secretly they like that ;)

21st Jul 2009, 16:24

I also have a 1999 Pontiac Sunfire, and I have to say I love it. It is genuinely a nice ride, and I admire him because he takes a lot of abuse and keeps rolling. I often refer to this beastly creature as being " The Ninja", "Agent Inferno", or the most recent "Decepticon".

I've been bouncing from site to site comparing my car with other consumers, and have found that we share many of the same small problems.

First of all, I have paint chipping on my hood in the shape of a perfect circle. I saw this on another website and took note that the other consumer's car was also black.

Second problem is that my brake lights keep going out when my ABS light decides to go on. I tried to take my car in today for this, but the brake lights decided to work, and the ABS light thought it would stay off for the day.

Also my air conditioner has two settings off and on. The middle two controls do not work.

I also do not like that there is only one cup holder in the front and that you cannot shift into park if you have a cup there.

At night my dims and brights are wayyy too dim. I cannot see very far in front of my car.

Another thing is that the back seat is very cramped so if I'm not driving, I'm calling shotgun.

The black car with the dark interior is also like an oven, and the cruise control decides if it wants to work or not.

Good things about my car would be that the trunk and glove box are spacious. It looks cute, and handles great, especially around curves. It is comfortable in the front and the speakers work well, minus the one I may or may not have blown.

The front of my car comes to a point acting as a deer plow. I hit a deer with it without so much as a scratch. Kudos to the decepticon. And it is overall fun to drive. For me this car has been overall reliable.

Running problems.

- Underside got packed with snow one time, wouldn't start.

- Pulley system came loose. Cheap replacement.

- He wants to stall if I'm idling and have the A/C on.

- Engine sometimes makes a ringing noise (Pretty Sure it's the Air Compressor.)

Other than that, he's good to go so far.