Which parts fail
Components named in complaints (battery, alternator, wiring, ignition, instrument cluster, infotainment).
Mileage when the problem started
Owner reports
Selected complaints filed with NHTSA by 2003 Pontiac Sunfire owners, lightly cleaned up (personal details are redacted by NHTSA).
I purchased the car in October 2003 and the car was great. In March 2006 I started having problems where the car when attempted to start would take a few seconds extra and then start, then 6 months later I was driving down the street and the car just cut off in the middle of an intersection. The car restarted about 10 minutes later. Then in November this started happening more an more frequently. One night in December the car cut off and would not restart at all. I was able to pull of the road. I waited an hour and still the car would not start. I came back the next day and the car would not start. I got the car towed to a mechanic who said that he thought it was the fuel pump so I replaced that and the car worked for 2 days and then the same problem again. He then tested the car and saw there was no power going to the fuel pump. …
The 2003 Pontiac Sunfire is an inferior car. Mine currently has approx 57,000 miles on the odometer. The day after I purchased it brand new, it would not start. The dealer came out and replaced the battery. The car had white paint overspray on it. The dealer repainted it. The sunroof malfunctioned and the dealer fixed it. The turn signals kept going out & it was fixed due to the recall. The dash had to be taken out due to the fact that the air was not coming out of the vents properly. The power window driver's side failed completely around 38,000 miles & passenger intermittently would not work. This was fixed at my expense. The car has been in the shop for brake problems numerous times. I had the dealer check them several times while still under warranty and they finally replaced them at their cost because they said it should not be necessary given the mileage on the car. …
Was driving on the freeway, traveling at 70 MPH and all of the lights both dash and exterior went out and the engine stopped. Pulled to the side of the highway and tried to restart the car, no luck. Waited for 30 minutes and tried to restart it and it started up, but when I got up to 40mph, it repeated what it did before, pulled to the side of the road and waited another 15 minutes and it started again, and it did it again. Again I pulled to the side of the road and waited, then it started, and I finally got it to an exit off of the highway. It would only run at 25mph, anything above that it would repeat the same symptoms as above. The next day after leaving the car sit overnight, it started just fine, ran just fine, except the engine light came on. …
Bought a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire in oct 2003. From feb of 2004 to feb 2005 it has been in the service dept of franklin motor co in jasper al a total of five times for the same problem. The car dies in the middle of the hwy. For no reason. Almost got rear ended at one point, was turning across traffic on a four lane hwy and it dies across 2 lanes. Can not make the car mimic the problem at any time but dealership will not take responsibility because it has not done it with them while being driven by them. Have gone thru arbitration which was a joke, was told because our complaint letter reached GM company in nov of 2004 that our year according to the lemon law was up. It didn't matter that we had tried to get them to do something about it for the last year.lawyer for GM company said the car was not a hazard because there had not been an accident. …
Failure is in the left and right dim headlights. The left went out 1 week ago. The service light came on and there was a constant clicking noise until the lights were turned on (similar sound when turn signal lamps go out). The bulb was replaced and the service light went off. The light still did not work and the clicking noise was the same. The old bulb did not have the filament burnt out. Today the right bulb has done the same thing. Both bulbs have been replaced and still the same results. No headlights. Bright headlights still work. Luckily this happened during the day else my wife would have had a heck of a time getting around and avoiding an accident due to loss of visibility. Currently this condition still exists and we are swapping vehicles to play the drive during daylight game. From the research I have found this is fairly common to the Pontiac Sunfire. …
I have been driving a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire since 2008. My family bought it brand new with only 27 miles on it. Every winter when it is really cold, the temperature gauge would not always reset itself after the car was turned off. This would result in the fuel gauge going all over the place but eventually it would reset itself. However, in September of 2012, all of my gauges on my dash went all over the place. My temperature gauge has since spun completely around and is stuck on the plastic from the dash. Also, my speedometer is now not resetting itself. It has said that I was at 40 MPH while sitting at a stop light. I do know that the temperature has dropped which could be effecting things but this issue is just plain annoying anymore. I can deal with the fuel gauge not working, I can use my mileage to figure that out. But the speedometer not working is a real issue for me.
I was driving home from vernon down's casino and was making a right and was about to switch into third gear the RPM's where 3000 and the engine just died ........ Maugeri''s auto on albany and bleeker st. Towed my car to his shop fixed the steering column as a result of the engine dieing the window's wont roll up and the interior just got soaked in wet in the rain after on the date of 7/714 paid almost a grand for towing and steering column in the vehicle . I am a recipient of the traumatic brain injury program and use the vehicle to and from my structured day as well as my neurologist as well as my hematologist who's offices are 57 miles away from my house it is going to be very uncomfortable to drive to my dr. Appt. In the morning... I am on social security disability and a fixed income receiver less then 700 dollars a month... Updated 2/6/2015
Every time I let my car sit for 2 hours or more, I start it up and the belt on the tensioner squeak for 15 seconds. Also the battery light comes on and the rim fluctuate between 1,000 and 2,000. When I drive it the battery light will continue to stay on but every time the air bag light turns on and I'm accelerating the engine will not shift, the rpms will rev up to red line if pushed that far, eventually the light for airbag and battery will shut off and it will shift. Sometimes when I hit the gas pedal while this is doing this at night, my dashboard as well as radio lights will shut off until rpms go down to 2,000.
2005 headlights went out when driving at night - Pontiac dealer wrapped harness with electrical tape. Stated it was from washer fluid leaking. Approx 12 months later incident occur again. Taken to another dealer on request of Pontiac. Re-wrap harness different area. Service light on 2 weeks ago. Dealer wrapped entire harness. Pontiac service notified several times complaint numbers obtained. Safety issue as lights go out. Wiring harness deteriorated. Bandaided 3x. Concern re: lights going out again at night. Feel this is a dangerous situation.
The wiring harness on the vehicle has failed three times since 2003 causing failure of the low and high beams on the headlights as well as the turn signals. My understanding is that this is being caused by early corrosion. There is no warning of the impending failure. The lights immediately go out with no recourse until serviced. There is a great deal of discussion of this common problem, and the service department has admitted that this has been a common failure.
Electrical complaints in other Sunfire years
Frequently asked questions
How common are electrical problems on the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire?
NHTSA has 23 complaints about the electrical system of the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, 32% of the model year's 72 complaints. The component named most often is wiring (3 mentions).
Is there a recall for 2003 Pontiac Sunfire electrical problems?
No. NHTSA lists no electrical system recall for the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, though it has 1 recall for other components. If the problem is widespread, a repair may still be covered by an extended warranty or a manufacturer service bulletin — ask a dealer.
At what mileage do 2003 Pontiac Sunfire electrical problems start?
Half of the complaints with a recorded mileage happened before about 50,000 miles, and 38% before 25,000 miles.
Is it dangerous?
Owners linked 0 crashes, 1 fire and 0 injuries to electrical system problems on this model year. If you notice symptoms, have the car checked before driving further.
Source: U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) — owner complaints through October 20, 2026, recalls and defect investigations; fuel economy from the EPA. Complaints are unverified reports and are not proof of a defect. How we rate model years.