Failure to the headlight harness, with time, corrosion attack the headlight harness. Which will cause the headlight intensity to lower or worst, total headlight failure. That mean that you can be driving at night and totally lose your headlight. This defect has been repaired 4 times now, and I need to have it repaired a 5th time april 2004.
2003 Pontiac Sunfire lights problems
25 complaints (35% of all complaints for this car). Typical mileage when it fails: 18,000.
- owner complaints
- 25
- of this car's complaints
- 35%
- typical mileage
- 18,000
- crashes
- 0
- recalls
- 1
Which part fails
- Turn signal7
- Headlights4
- Turn signal: flasher unit3
- Brake lights2
- Tail lights1
- Headlights: high/low beam dimmer switch1
- Fog lights1
- Brake lights: switch1
At what mileage
Complaints by mileage at the time of the problem.
0k-25k
25k-50k
50k-75k
75k-100k
100k-125k
125k-150k
150k-175k
175k-200k
200k+
Pontiac Sunfire lights problems in other years
Specific symptoms reported on the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire lights
Phrases found in the owners' own descriptions, so one complaint can mention several symptoms.
Related recalls
Exterior lighting: turn signal
- What is wrong
- On certain passenger vehicles, the rear lamps that provide stop and turn signals and tail lamp functions stop working because of inadequate contact between the bulb and socket. In addition, if one bulbs were to become inoperative while the vehicle was operating in cruise control, the cruise control would disengage when the remaining bulb was activated. If both lamps were to become inoperative, the cruise control would not engage.
- Risk
- An inoperative brake lamp will not convey the driver's intention of stopping to drivers in following vehicles, and an inoperative rear turn signal lamp will not convey the driver's intention to turn to drivers in following vehicles. Both of these failures can increase the risk of a crash.
- Remedy
- Dealers will inspect the rear lamp bulb socket assemblies and apply grease or replace them if necessary. The recall began on january 18, 2005. Owners should contact chevrolet at 1‑800‑630‑2438 or pontiac at 1‑800‑620‑7668.
Recall number 04V524000 · Recall details
Related investigations
Turn signal malfunction
On may 14, 2004 the office of defects investigation (odi) opened a preliminary evaluation (pe04-043) based on consumer complaints alleging that the brake/tail turn signal lamps would not operate properly when either the tail lights were turned on, the brake pedal was depressed, or when the turn signal switch was activated.on september 14, 2004 odi upgraded pe 04-043 to an engineering analysis (ea04-028).gm states that some brake/tail/turn signal lamp bulbs can prematurely become inoperative due to excessive heat buildup within the bulb sockets.the cause of the excessive heat build up was determined to be a lack of thermal grease placed in between the bulb and the socket. By letter dated october 27, 2004 gm notified the federal safety agency that it will conduct a safety recall (the federal safety agency # 04v524) covering all my 2003 vehicles.gm dealers will inspect the rear lamp bulb socket assemblies and apply thermal grease to them or replace them with new assemblies with thermal grease already attached.model year 2004 and newer vehicles have the thermal grease installed from the factory. The action taken by gm is sufficient to resolve the issues raised by this investigation.accordingly, this investigation is closed.
EA04028
Turn signal malfunction
Complainants allege that the rear turn signals fail to illuminate and do not provide a signal to drivers in following vehicles.odi has received one report of a crash where the complainant braked and attempted to make a left turn and the following vehicle impacted the complainant's vehicle in the driver-side door.in may 2002, gm's supplier made changes to the bulb socket that included stopping the use of thermal-mastic grease in the bulb socket.gm reports that the grease reduces arcing at the contacts and dissipates heat thus preventing melting of the socket material or burning of the contacts.most of the subject vehicles were produced without grease applied to the bulb socket.in june 2003, gm directed the supplier to resume the use of grease in the socket.gm issued technical service bulletin (tsb) 04-08-42-004a on july 15, 2004 advising technicians to make sure that adequate amounts of grease were added to the bulb sockets on all service parts.odi will upgrade this investigation to ea 04-028 to further examine the issue.
PE04043
What 2003 Pontiac Sunfire owners say
Most recent owner complaints, unedited.
2003 pontiac sunfire. Headlamps do not work. Found out thru internet search this is a common problem on this vehicle. There are multiple wiring problems with this vehicle that gm should fix (fog lamps as well). The lamps already went out a couple of times before. It is a safety hazard because if this happens at night you have no lights. Gm keeps skirting around the issue until your warranty runs out then it costs you more money than you have to get it fixed. Very, very, very frustrating. Just do a internet search for sunfire headlight problems/do not work/ etc. And you'll see.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 pontiac sunfire. While driving approximately 40 MPH at night, the headlights suddenly became extremely dim. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and repaired according to a safety recall. The vehicle was taken back to the dealer on three separate occasions for identical failures, but the repairs did not correct the issue. The federal safety agency campaign id number was unknown. The failure mileage was 3,000 and the current mileage was unknown.
Head lights fail for no reason and at any time. This can include both high and low beam and fog lights. Has been repaired now for the 5th time at a gm dealer ship.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 pontiac sunfire. The contact stated that the driver's side headlight was not working on the vehicle. The forward electric harness allowed water to enter into the light and caused it to fail. Soon after purchasing the vehicle in 2003, the headlights failed. The dealer informed him that there was a recall (gm recall number 03029) on the lights. The vehicle was repaired because it affected the signal lights and driver's side headlight. The contact recently took the vehicle back to the dealer for repair, but they stated that it was previously repaired and would not be repaired a second time. The failure mileage was 8,700. Updated 03/23/09. *lj updated 03/24/09.
The front wiring harness on my 2003 pontiac sunfire 2 door has failed for the 4th time due to corrosion of the obviously-too-small gauge wiring and inappropriate placement and water-proofing of the wiring harness and connectors. Headlight(s) or foglight(s) typically either fail outright, or dim to about 10% intensity, caused by corrosion in the wires and connectors. Previous failures of this wiring harness affecting both headlights and/or foglights occurred in jan 2005, jan 2006, and jan 2007, and were repaired by removal of corroded wire sections and re-splicing of wires. Discussions with both gm and independent mechanics confirm my suspicions of similar failures in many other sunfires and cavaliers. I agree with a lifelong mechanic who says the only proper solution is a complete rewiring job. This is an extreme hazard as complete headlight failure or dimming can happen any time without warning. A dead of night failure anywhere, in the city, near a school, or on a country road as happened to my daughter's friend in her sunfire, cannot be construed as anything other than life-threatening; fog light and headlight failure at any other time is dangerous. If the failure of sunfire/cavalier rear brake and turn lights warranted a 2004 recall, then surely this equally or more threatening chronic problem deserves one. Why this has not been addressed already is beyond me. Gm has acknowledged the problem by issuing a series of tsbs over the years on this problem: #03018, #0309, #030842002, #021903, and the federal safety agency has been apprised of them. I am a hobby mechanic who has spent 45 years building and racing powerboats and working on and restoring cars. I know a design fault when I see one. This issue must be addressed before someone is killed or seriously injured. The suspect wiring harnesses should be recalled and replaced, rather than waiting for them to fail (time and time again) and then making splices to the wiring and cleaning up the connectors.
Referring to the passenger-side headlight: while driving my children home after it was already dark, I noticed that the passenger-side headlight seemed a little dimmer than the driver-side headlight. I also had on my driving lights that are below the headlights. We were on a particularly dark road where there is a tendency to be deer, so when it was clear of opposing traffic, I put the high-beam lights on. After putting the high-beams on, all the lights.....headlights, high-beams, and driving lights went out....while I was driving. A red "service" light came on the dashboard. I was very startled at this and had to pull over to the side of the road. I switched the lights off and then on again and nothing would work and the "service" light remained on. Fortunately, I was not in a high traffic area or this could have been a very serious accident waiting to happen, especially if I panicked. My children were very worried that we were pulled off in the dark. I decided to shut the car off, hoping to reset something, and turn it back on. When I did this, the "service" light was not on, and the headlights and driving lights came on. The passenger-side light was still dim when I looked at it, and I also noticed that the high beam lights were lit and dim, although the high beam switch inside the car was not on. I bought a new headlight and changed the bulb, but there was no change in the brightness of the headlight, it was still dim.
I had bought 2003 pontiac sunfire from mcelveen pontiac-buick-gmc truck, summerville, sc in 2002. This car was recalled under following recall for rear stop lamps and work was done on 6/8/2005. The federal safety agency action number: ea04028 the federal safety agency recall campaign number: 04v524000 make: pontiac model: sunfire year : 2003 manufacturer : general motors corp. Component : exterior lighting:turn signal my passenger side rear signal light failed in december 2007 and I took the car to lou sobh pontiac, duluth, ga on 12/13/2007. They replaced the turn lamp. In feb. 2008 this lamp failed and I took the car back to lou sobh pontiac, duluth, ga and they replaced the bulb (no paper work was generated by service dept. And work was covered under part warranty). In march 2008 both rear signal light failed. I took car again to lou sobh pontiac, duluth, ga on 4/5/2008. This time they checked all wiring and informed me that the both sockets are melted due to overheat and may be loose contacts. They replaced both socket. Sockets will melt over the time only if they are loose to begin with, and if it is not caught in time, than wiring may catch fire and also may cause accident. This also may be related another incident I had encountered with my power windows which failed due to failure of regulator due to short (if I remember correctly) which happened at the same time as when rear signal light failed in dec. 2007.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 pontiac sunfire. While driving at night, the low beam headlights failed to operate. The dealer stated that the headlamp circuit malfunctioned due to a failed wire and corroded connection. They made the repair. The current and failure mileages were 55,346. Updated 3/5/08 *cn the rear turn signals were inoperative as well.
Low beam headlights quit working. The bulbs tested fine, the fuse tested fine and the multifunction switch seems to be working properly. I replaced the switch with a known working switch and the low beams still do not work. I drive when it is dark outside and am forced to use my high beams to see and make sure that I am seen by other drivers. I talked to the dealership and they suggested replacing the multifunction switch which I did and the low beam lights still do not work.
Questions about the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire lights
Does the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire have lights problems?
Owners have filed 25 complaints about the lights of the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, 35% of all its complaints, more than any other problem.
At what mileage do 2003 Pontiac Sunfire lights problems start?
The typical (median) mileage in owner complaints is 18,000 miles.
Was there a recall on the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire lights?
Yes, 1 recall: 04V524000. Check your VIN to see if your car still needs the free repair.
What year does the Pontiac Sunfire have the most lights problems?
The Pontiac Sunfire model years with the most lights complaints are 2003 (25 complaints), 1996 (17 complaints) and 1997 (11 complaints).
Other 2003 Pontiac Sunfire problems
Electrical 23Engine 10Brakes 8Fuel system 7Airbags 6Transmission 4Visibility 4Body 3Locks 2Seat belts 2Steering 2Acceleration 1Driver assistance 1Seats 1Suspension 1Tires 1Wheels 1
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2003 Pontiac Sunfire?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history