1998 Pontiac Sunfire: engine stalls while driving

Filed Jan 4, 2005 · Electrical, Engine · OH

When I bought the car used in october of 2000 it had to keep going back to the dealer for about 3 months because the engine in the car kept cutting out while driving around 55-60 MPH. Dealer could not duplicate the problem. Finally after the 3rd month they found the main computer was bad. That was replaced. It ran fine until the next winter. The check engine light came on & car kept stalling when at stop signs/lights. Took to dealer had diagnostic ran which read faulty gas cap, tps sensor.... I replaced them myself. Check engine light went out till the next day. Took car back in for diagnostic which read faulty gas cap, tps sensor,egr ,coil packs,gas tank sensor.....had dealer work on it.... They could not see why all this stuff was popping up ....had it all replaced. Replacing it did not work. Check engine light came on again about 2 days later!!! I checked car over & found if you wiggled the main wiring harness connections the car ran fine & engine light went out! Took to dealer to have wiring fixed. They took all the wiring apart & cleaned everything. They found no problem in the wiring. Check engine light came on next day.took to dealer again finally they said I needed a new battery..... Weather was nice again & had no problems with car.... Now that winter is here again the check engine light is on again , diagnostic stated tps sensor was bad... I again replaced it & check engine light went out for a couple hours & is back on again & car stalls when stopping & trying to go ....car is at dealer right now again. The whole time the check engine light is on I also have problems with the car stalling.................... Have had numerous problems from 2000 to now & still having problems.

Filed Feb 16, 2004 · Fuel system · 78,150 miles · MI

This concerns the fuel system on '98 (and similar year) pontiac sunfires. On december 29, 2003 this vehicle was taken in for replacement of the in-line fuel filter. The vehicle had been losing acceleration and has 78,000 miles on it. It was taken to a pontiac dealer for the service. The filter is connected to the fuel line with a 'snap' fitting. Upon trying to service the filter, either the dealer broke the snap fitting or the previous owner had damaged it (vehicle was purchased with 45,000 miles on it, and there were no leaks so I suspect that it wasn't damaged). Also, there was a fair amount of corrosion on and in the fitting. In the end, the filter could not be replaced without correcting the 'snap' fitting. To my surprise the fuel line could not be replaced as a separate piece, you have to purchase the entire fuel delivery module. This cost (with the technician time) was $ 425 vs. $50 for a filter replacement. It would seem to me that since the filter is a critical part of the system (a clogged filter could result in vehicle stalls and/or no starts, emission issues etc.) that it should have some sort of reasonable way to replace it without paying for an entire module that was not needed. The filter is a recommended service item.

Filed Nov 19, 2003 · Electrical · AZ

I purchased my vehicle on 06/1999 brand new with only 122 miles. Within a few months it didn't start. I called the dealer and advised them of the situation. They couldn't find out what was wrong with it? About two days later they told me that the gas tank had sugar in it??? Since it was still under warranty they fixed it I had to pay $500.00. Which I feel was a discrepancy on their diagnosis?? On 06/00 the vehicle again would not start and this time they advised me that it was my battery? A few days later the car kept tugging and jerking. I drove it to the dealer again.their diagnosis this time was: engine cuts out under load; plug wires are defective;per tech bulletin#00032.that same day my sterio cd player gave out! It kept reading error code, and my carpet came loose from the passengers side? On 08/00 the car began to stall again, it was pulling back and forth,it left me stranded in the middle of the desert! The vehicle was taken to the nearest dealer ship.they figuref out that it was a wiring to motor broken code p0507, iac motor. On 09/00 my radio again went out;had to be sent out for repair? On 03/01 the vehicle began to shake and the check engine light turned on. I took it again to the dealer ship and they told me it was the intake air temp sensor. I declined the dealers service since I have lost confidence in their work performance. I took it to a local mechanic and he fixed the problems that it had; fuel injection, valve cover, serp v-belt, whl cylindes l/r, temp sensor @ a cost of $450.00. Now I have the same problem, the check engine light keeps turning on and the vehicle is stalling and shaking. I took it to the same local mechanic and he told me that in the system it came up as the air temp sensor. When he tested the sensor, it came up as working properly. He doesn't know what the problem is??? By the way my sterio and carpet are still defective but now I feel like, why complain?? Do you have any suggestions on this matter?

Filed Aug 7, 2003 · Engine · 52,000 miles · NY

Consumer was having problems with the egr valve. Dealer notified. *ak while driving the egr valve became stuck in the open position which caused the engine to rough or stall without warning. *ph

Filed Nov 20, 2002 · Engine · PA

Car stalls at any speed while driving. Dealer serviced 3 times and still not fixed. Dealer states they don't have any idea what else it could be. No error codes from modules. Dt

Filed Nov 10, 2002 · Engine · MD

This car has been stalling intermitantly. It has happened on most ocassions when making a slow turn (like from a stand still and turning at a light). It has had a tune up and still continues to do this. It has been to the dealers for about 2 weeks and they can find nothing wrong or recreate the problem. In my search on the net I have found numerous 1998 sunfire owners with the same problem. When the engine stalls the power stearing is affected and the car is dangerous. My daughter has this car in ga while attending college and has had to rent a car for the past 2 weeks. I hope this can be resolived soon. Dt

Filed May 9, 2002 · Engine · MI

Vehicle stalls multiple times in reverse. Normally does this when cold or has been sitting overnight. Also has rough idle condition. Sometimes vehicle malfunctions when wet also. Took to dealership, they were unable to duplicate the problem, even when they allowed it to sit overnight. After taking car from dealership and parking it for about two hours, vehicle again stalled two times in reverse, and was also very hard to start. Also, transmission growls when engine is running and parked on a incline. Acellerator cable has stuck 3 times when I pass vehicles as well.

Filed Apr 6, 2001 · Engine · TN

Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks. *ak( dot number: )

Filed Apr 6, 2001 · Engine · TN

Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. This also seems very dangerous to me because I never know when my car might stall or hesistate. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks.( dot number: )

Filed Apr 6, 2001 · Engine · TN

Problem with car stalling, hesitating, and idling rougly. Started about a year ago. Was having this problem and received technical bulletin # 00032. Took car in. One spark plug wire was replaced. A month later same problem. Another spark plug wire was replaced. Now, about eight months later...same problem except seems to be more extreme. Replaced all spark plug wires on my own, but still having problems. This has been an on going problem for over a year and the dealership still has not been able to fix the problem. Have become very disgusted with the dealership and no longer want to take my car there. This also seems very dangerous to me because I never know when my car might stall or hesistate. Please give me some information on how I can fix this problem. Obviously, this is in other cars to or they would not have sent out the technical bulletin. And plus, I read many complaints of the same problems on your complaint page. Any assistance will be well appreciated. Thanks.*ak( dot number: )

Filed Jan 21, 2000 · Engine · WI

Ongoing/intermittent problem with engine stalling during low/high speed from a stop position while turning; etc. Vehicle been in/out of dealer shop on several occasions, and problem still reoccurring.

Filed Dec 14, 1999 · Electrical, Engine · NY

When starting out, vehicle starts but when you push the accelerator it stalls, when you try to restart it keeps turning, it won't catch. It has also hesitated while driving at 30 MPH and 60 MPH. It has done this 15-20 times and been to the dealer at least 7 times. They say that there is nothing wrong, once they updated my computer, another time they replaced my computer, but it still stalls and hesitates.