1996 Pontiac Sunfire SE from North America - Comments

My 1997 Pontiac Sunfire Sedan is gone, and nobody has an explanation for this. I first purchased my Sunfire at a local Pontiac dealer that was having an end of the year close out sale. I looked over the car and loved the price and the features. The car ran great at first and then started falling apart slowly. Too much to add here but mostly wear and tear and the brakes I had to replace 4 times in two years.

I am here to tell you all exactly how this car came to be a heap of expensive garbage and to warn you about some of the security features that Pontiac claims are so great.

I first started noticing that my radio system with, a built in cd player, started dimming when it was in the heat for awhile. In Texas there is no escape from the heat! I had this car for 2 years and the mileage had barely hit the manufacturers warranty limit, so that was a lost cause!

Finally, it happened, 100 miles after my warranty ran out the car was locked. I called Pontiac and asked them why my car would not start. They asked me what the problem was and I told them that I thought it was the radio. See the radio is the cars alarm feature. When I first bought the vehicle, I had to enter an ID number into the radio so in case the radio was ever stolen, the car would be disabled. Well My car was disabled and no one touched the radio.

They told me to bring the car in and they would fix it for free. I agreed and had the car towed to Pontiac. I left the car there and called about 3 hours later and was very concerned about what they had to say. They said that they were in the middle of fixing my vehicle and asked for my permission to continue. Of course thinking that the problem was simple, but maybe they were over stocked with cars, I gave the o. k and said I would pick it up in 2 days. On many occasions it was about 2 days so I just mentioned 2 days.

2 days later, I am at Pontiac and looking at my car, totally disassembled and laid out everywhere! I was so shocked. I asked to speak to someone immediately and was taken to their main office. They explained that by some freak accident, (and I quote) the car threw a rod and blew the whole motor to nothing! I know nothing about cars, that is my husband's job, so I called him and told him to speak with this guy. My husband asked why they didn't tell him about this 2 days ago. And guess what they said... yes we told your wife and she said we should work on it. The car was not even 2 years old it shouldn't have happened.

I have been writing Pontiac and plan to win this one. I did let the car get repossessed because they wanted $3,000.00 in order to finish the work on it or (get this) I could have it for $346.98 but I would have to get it towed from there (with the engine in the trunk) and it would never work again. The motor had metal in it and I had a mechanic check it out. He said he wouldn't pay them a dime for it!

Needless to say it was money down the drain and now to top it off I have bad credit. They have recently sent me the remaining statement. They have auctioned the car off for $1000.00 and I am liable for the remaining $8,000.00.

I have never heard a story like mine about the 1997 Pontiac Sunfire, but where there is one incident, a similar one can follow.

Yeah I have a 96 and I have a ton of problems with it too. The car is running good then all of a sudden it dies. The computer is garbage cause it never tells you what the right problem is have spent plenty to fix and it never seems to solve any problems. This car is great on gas, but is a lemon in mechanical over 80,000 miles. To boot the brakes are junk and need to be replaced about 10000 miles and the rotors every 20000. Buy this car at your own risk. The radio under powers if you custom put in one. To solve this have them run additional power to it from under the dash. If your car stalls for no reason. Try replacing the overhead cam sensor and the fuel pump. Check for leaking in the gasket region. Replace O2 sensor at 100000 and then once fixed get rid of and cut your losses past 100000.

I finally got rid of my 96 Sunfire 3 months ago. I too had problems with stalling, not starting, etc. My mechanic changed the crank sensor, the fuel pump and the ignition switch twice (the second time it was still under warranty and he didn't know what else to do, think it was a faulty part, so it cost me nothing) This happened over the course or 2 years, with the worst of it the last 6 months. This all happened after 100,000Km also.

I'm telling you I'll ever buy one again, I don't care if they improved the new ones. I saw 6 months ago, recalls go out for the 2002s with that steering column issue (you know, the faulty wire one). Still using crappy parts years later. Unbelievable!

Do not keep these cars for more than 5 years or over 100,000Km. They are a cheap, get them out there car.

I have a '96 Sunfire and it runs fine. I now have a little over 150,000 miles on it. I had problems with the car in the past, but nothing out the ordinary that any car will run into. I do agree on one thing though, Pontiac customer service is horrible! It seems like they always trying to scam their customers out of their money. For example, my CD player went out and when I went to go see what was wrong with it they made up some lie saying it went dead and I needed a brand new CD player costing me $500.00 when I can get one on E-bay for $35.50. I personally think if you get a used car you should look up the history of the car because past owners do have a big impact on the car in the future.

I have a 1996 Sunfire and I have loved it since I have gotten it. I have been in an accident lately with this car and the insurance company is telling me that they may total this car out. I have been fighting with them and trying to get them to fix it in stead of totaling it out. I love the car for a lot of reasons. I do also have problems with my stereo when my heat is on, but it goes away after a few seconds. I would get another sunfire if I ever find one that I really want.

I own a 96 Sunfire and regret ever buying it. I bought my car in 2000 and have had problems every since. I had to first replace the fuel pump within a year after I bought it which cost $800. I have had to replace almost everything under the hood except the transmission and the starter (knock on wood) I had to replace the head on it less than a year ago which was another $1500 and now it is overheating again. In the last week I have again put another $300 or more into the car to try and fix the overheating problem and it still isn't fixed. I paid $5500 for my car 5 years ago and have probably put at least that into it to get it running right. I wish I would have never bought that car, it has been nothing, but problems. So right now I once again have no car and it is going to cost me more money within the next 2 days to try and fix it again. My advice, don't ever buy a Sunfire they are JUNK. I know some people have Sunfires and love them, but those few have just been very lucky. My mom got a 2002 Sunfire and almost a year after she got it the transmission started going out. So that just goes to show its not just the older models. Pontiac just needs to retire the Sunfire. Good luck to all of you who have had luck with the Sunfire, but I wouldn't be surprised if that luck runs out.

I'm not sure if this applies to the problems the people above me are/were having, but I thought i'd post the following info to hopefully help in some way:

on the site internetautoguide, under recalls, under 1996 Pontiac Sunfire SE, there are 7 recalls.

Here's the subjects regarding some of the recalls:

rear suspension, electrical system: ignition switch, rack and pinion steering, and vehicle speed control.

Thanks for your time.

Well I don't feel too bad now as I thought it only happens to me. I too had the problem of the car (1996 SE) completely stopping. Car has over 100,000 miles and I was on way to work on a cold day in 2000 and it totally stopped. I had the vehicle towed to my repair shop and the owner basically said that the engine was shot. He noted I had (2) blown rod and also noted thst the antifreeze was not even processing through the engine. I owed a good amount on the car and replacing the engine etc. would be more than what I owed in a long run. Boy, I contacted the finance company about this and to this day they have not even come to reposes that vehicle as they noted that the value versus the cost to fix it was not worth them reposing it. Nice loss! All I have is a money pit in my yard as the lemon law was not in place at that time in my state. I learned my lesson on this one; a classy looking car is not worth everything.

DJ in NJ.

My girlfriend bought the car with 146,000 KM on it. Her father and I have replaced the following items:

Headgasket

MAP

fuel pump

wires

plugs

cleaned the throttlebody due to the car stalling

exhaust including the cat.

This car had overheating problems to car stalling while your driving. if your having the stalling while your driving check the fuel injector wires specially the main one. We replaced all the parts under the hood trying to figure it out. The car would drive perfectly fine for a few days and it would start to hesitate and try to die on you. Worst car ever, but now the car runs great.