2004 Pontiac Sunfire electrical problems

Filed Sep 18, 2014 · Acceleration, Electrical · 112,000 miles · MO

Bought car used in 2013. Everything seemed to be okay until 9/12/14 when the theft system service light came on and I noticed the speedometer, rpms, and gas indicators were not reading - car began stalling like it was going to shut down. I was traveling about 50 to 55 MPH on a busy street. After car is shut off for a time it starts up okay and runs until the same thing reoccurs after going about 20 miles or so - if car shuts down while moving it could cause a serious injury or death. I have read numerous complaints about this same thing on various websites. Apparently, the approximate cost to fix is $400.00 - I am on a limited income and cannot afford. Please help.

Filed Jun 5, 2014 · Brakes, Electrical · 102,000 miles · WI

Vehicle does not always start right away. The vehicle has shut off multiple times while driving in town and on the highway.

Filed Apr 24, 2014 · Electrical, Engine · 55,000 miles · OH

Vehicle was driven and parked for the evening. In the morning went to start the vehicle and vehicle would not start. Multiple attempts were tried to start. New starter installed and still no success to start. Vehicle was towed to repair shop. After evaluation it was found the timing chains had broken and infringed on the cylinder heads. Vehicle requires replacement engine as per mechanic. Investigated other claims of the same incident happening and have found that the 2.2l ecotec engine has had several complaints over the last 5-7 years.

Filed Jul 10, 2012 · Electrical · 71,000 miles · VA

The RPM needle went totally on the right side into the needle of the speedometer. Can't tell how fast I am going. Expensive to replace. Paint starting to chip in different places. This is the second vehicle that I had that the paint peeled and general motors states that it is too old of a vehicle to pay to have painted. That is totally sad.

Filed Jan 10, 2011 · Electrical · NC

When it is very hot or cold outside the speedometer and all of the needles in the instrument panel will stick at certain points or stop working completely, this occurs randomly and I can not see how fast I am going. This was part of a gm class settlement but my vehicle model was not included for a free repair or a recall of this part. I do not plan to get it fixed at a dealer because of the cost but I plan to ship the instrument cluster off and get the stepper motors in it repaired.

Filed Mar 16, 2010 · Electrical · 56,000 miles · NC

Can't recall events leading up to failure. The speedometer is always registering 100 MPH even when it is not moving. Sometimes it will register to 70 MPH, by running backwards from 100, while it is moving. I did some research to find out the history of this problem. I found where gm settled in a class action for this defect which listed my car as a car that had this faulty component, but my car was not included in the settlement. I searched this website's complaint data base and seen numerous complaints about this very same issue, the speedometer. My question is, how may complaints will it take for odi to initiate and investigation, so that a proper recall can take place?

Filed Dec 3, 2009 · Electrical · 35,000 miles · TX

Electrical gauges on dash do not function correctly. Tach is pegged out, fuel gage not correct and speed is inaccurate.

Filed Apr 14, 2009 · Electrical · 100,000 miles · WA

My gauges (all but the speedometer) have gone crazy! The fuel gauge and temp gauge are the worst. Sometimes the tachometer , though not often. My fuel gauge never reads correct and sometimes points directly down or is into the speedometer. My temp gauge either never moves or once it moves, it stays stuck in the new level. It sometimes gets into the tachometer causing that one to stop working. It sometimes goes back to normal if the car is turned on and off many, many times. Other times that doesn't even work. It occurs all the time and for the past few months they have been stuck. I would get it repaired, but can't afford the costs.

Filed Mar 30, 2009 · Electrical · 85,000 miles · AZ

The speedometer on my 2004 pontiac sunfire sticks at various speeds and does not return to 0mph when I stop. At highway speeds it will be pegged all the way to max. This condition seems to be worse when the temperature is cold. I have also noticed that the tachometer will do the same thing but is not as bad as the speedometer. When the engine is shut off and restarted the tach will reset back to 0.

Filed Dec 3, 2008 · Electrical · 60,000 miles · MI

I own a 2004 pontiac sunfire and the headlights are extremely dim, making it very difficult to drive at night without using the "brights". After replacing headlight bulbs, the problem continued. I took it to a mechanic that told me this is a common problem with the sunfire and it involved corrosion to the headlight wiring harness. I looked online to see if there was a manufacturer recall, which I did not find. While researching the problem I found that this problem is very common and there is much written about the problem in several auto forums, but gm has not addressed the issue with a recall. My daughter drives this vehicle and had complained to me about the problem which I did not acknowledge until she was following me at night and I saw that her headlights were extremely dim. This is a safety hazard and could cause accidents, why hasn't this problem been addressed. I see the dealers are charging approx. $600 to repair the wiring harness, which seems ridiculous, considering it is a manufacturing defect. Does there need to be deaths involved in order for this problem to be addressed?headlights