26th Aug 2003, 20:15

I have a 99 that has had a plethora of problems. Fuel pump went at an outrageous cost, rad hose blew on the highway, spilling coolant all over the place. Then the head gasket went, allowing coolant into the cylinders, creating a no start condition overnight (and wonderful sweet smelling white exhaust). Looking at total engine replacement... on a side note, looked at a used 2003 Sunfire at a local Chrysler dealership-only 20K and it's smoking prestone too. General Motors needs to shape up to compete with imports, their current products are junk.

1st Apr 2004, 06:24

Well I have a 2000 Pontiac Sunfire and have had no problems with it. It has been a good car for me. It looks like you all don't know how to take care of a dang car.

3rd Aug 2004, 10:30

I`ve had my 1999 Sunfire for 5 years now and all I`ve done is the required maintenance. I plan on keeping it another 5 years!!

5th Aug 2004, 12:59

My step cousin has a 2001 Pontiac sunfire. The first problem with this sunfire was it wouldn't start because it was so cold. Then the tire was flat for the second problem. also. This car didn't run out of gas. It was something that causes to not start. Other than that, no problems so far. It was a little over 40.000 miles.

16th Sep 2004, 11:45

My 1999 is around 60,000 and not a single problem. Half a dozen people I know own Sunfire's and they love them, no problems with them either.

23rd Nov 2004, 19:23

I have had my 1999 Sunfire for almost five years now. For the most part, it has been a good running car. My problems lie with the steering and suspension. I have now had the rack and pinion replaced twice in the last two years. I am about to take it in again for what appears to be the same issue. Third time is a charm, so they say.

Aside from that I think it is a good car for the price.

22nd Jan 2005, 15:36

By the way. The car never started because you wouldn't pump the gas pedal a few times. If I were the owner of the sunfire, I pump the gas pedal a few times before start. So let's try that. thanks.

2nd Sep 2005, 07:37

I drive a 99 sunfire and I have had nothing, but trouble out of it. First, the ignition switch went out (90,000mi) BEFORE the recall was announced, which left me stranded for a week. The next problem I had was with the thermostat and overheating. It seemed like once one problem was fixed, another one was ready to make my life even worse. Not long afterwards, the car began making a whistling sound, and 2 days later the alternator died (108,000mi). And currently, I am having problems with the battery. The battery light comes on whenever I depress the brake. I have no idea what this is going to cost me. No more sunfires for me.

5th Dec 2005, 14:28

My mother's vehicle is a 99 Sunfire SE with 167,000mi on it, and aside from the exhaust rattling loose now and then, we've had not a single major problem with the car. Seems that GM is really hit-and-miss with their reliability.

6th Dec 2005, 12:15

I agree with the hit and miss point. But I think it could very well be narrowed down to where the car was built. Build quality is generally better than when campared to the same vehicle built in Mexico. It all depends on the vehicle serial number. I believe a beginning "3" digit means it was built in USA and a "1" meaning it was built in Mexico, or the other way around.

3rd Jan 2008, 00:32

Certainly you might be right, but it would not be a big help to state that the 'origin' and place of birth determines the final quality of the product, since that would give us a list where Japan and Germany would be on the top, followed by Sweeden, UK, Spain, Korea, America, Mexico, and well below India, Brazil, Turkey and China... Is this an accurate picture of the industry? Humm, I would not be so sure my friend!