Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. The contact stated that while driving approximately 45 MPH, the odometer and fuel gauges fluctuated. The contact also mentioned that the driver's front window failed to open or close. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the instrument panel assembly would need to be replaced. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the problem. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
2005 Pontiac Sunfire electrical complaints
Page 2 of 3: complaints 11 to 40 of 60, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Daughter called during late night drive from university, temp gauge has gone too high! Had to get off freeway and drive through bad part of town back to university detroit mercy. Call for ride home. Make arrangements to have towed to shop. Temp gauge not working at all now. Shop says that the whole gauge panel needs replacement!
All gauges in the vehicle have stopped working (I.e. Speedometer, tachometer, fuel, and temp gauges). Told that this is a known issue with pontiac sunfire models from years 2003-2005. Also, with the chevrolet cavalier 2003-2005, which is basically the same car. Gm changed suppliers for the instrument cluster for these years. Instrument failure is caused by the inferior parts used by gm, and it is a safety issue. One can not blame instrument failure on a lack of maintenance of the vehicle on the owner. Especially on a vehicle that travels roughly 5,000 miles a year. Such an issue is the fault of the manufacturer, and their use of sub-par materials. Have checked fuses, and had the electrical system checked (I.e. It's not a short to ground problem). These are not the result of the gauges failing. Told the cost would be over $500 for a new instrument gauge cluster. There should be a recall by gm for this known safety issue.
Speedometer is stuck at 60mph will go up from that but not down. I see a bunch of other people with same issue! Can gm see there is a problem that needs taken care of !!
Instrumentclusterinop,speedometer,&temperaturegaugefailing.rpmgaugefailing,ranintospeedometer&effectingthespeedofthecar.veryunsafe,multiplecomplaintsondefectiveinstrumentcluster.www.carcomplaints.com.$500.00repair,pontiac/gmhasnorecallsontheissue.multipleownersofthevehicehavesamecomplaintsofthissameproblem.dontknowthetemperatureofthevehicle,dontknowthespeedi'mdriving.speedometerisglitching.problem&defectisapparently,problemwithsteppermotersarefailingincluster.
I had just bought the car in december 2007 and the cigarette lighter next to driving wheel was not working. Car was in storage for over a year and around may 2010 the drivers window stopped "rolling up" so we got the window motor changed as they said it was burnt. Window worked for about a week and then it turned out to be another electrical issue having to do with the switch controlling the windows. Around april 2011 a new issue, high beams stopped working on and off. They eventually stopped working and leading to no beams at all, not signals and no light in dashboard. Another part had to be replaced. May 2013 - stereo light is not working, but stereo is operating. July 2013 - trunk will not lock.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. The contact stated that while driving 55 MPH, the instrument panel failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnosis where it was advised that the instrument panel needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 75,000.
The entire instrument panel (I.e. Speedometer, gas gauge, temp gauge, RPM gauge) ceased to function one by one.
I bought this car in 2007 with 27,000 miles. A little over a year later, the gauges started quitting one by one. It's been almost three years since any of my gauges worked in any capacity. After reading so many complaints about this, I really feel its a defect that needs to be taken care of by the manufacturer. Mine quit before I hit 50,000 miles!
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. While parked, the contact noticed that the fuel gauge would not display a reading. A few weeks later the temperature gauge and the speedometer also failed. The vehicle was taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The technician stated that the instrument panel would have to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The approximate failure mileage was 80,000. Updated 11/13/12 *cn updated 12/03/12
Speedometer is stuck at 85-90 MPH.
The fuel gauge show different amount of fuel in it, erratic shows full then half then you out of gas. Right electric window goes down but only goes up an inch at a time, and it takes along time.
At first the speedometer would freeze and not work. Sometimes it would; however, I did not know if it was accurate. Then the fuel gauge and other gauges would randomly go on and off. This car was intended for my 16 year old daughter, but I cannot let her drive it due to safety issues. I have read all the complaints on this car and mine is just like theirs. When is gm going to do something about this?
The speedometer varies in it's position. It's sometimes ok, then it will freeze at maybe 50 MPH, then go up to over a hundred MPH. Next time it may freeze at 20 MPH, etc. I don't know how fast I'm going, and don't want to get a ticket for speeding. I'm trying to use my odometer, but distracts me to try and figure it out. I don't see a recall, but I know there are many complaints on this issue. I think it's time gm owns up to it's responsibility to fix this, not, at the owners cost. My research shows me that there are thousands of complaints on this speedometer failure. I am told by my dealer that it is the cluster, which is extremely expensive to repair. I am retired and love this car, but don't have the money make it safe to drive.
In looking up what the problem with my car I have found that several other cars seem be having the same problems. The instrument panel cluster works when it feels like it. Most days the only instrument that is working is the speedometer. Generally I use a garmin to make sure that I am at the correct speed. The temperature gauge and the tachometer is no longer working. Recently I have notice that the lights in the radio are not all lighting up. Seems that this should be a recall issue that the dealer should be handling for the amount of complaints I am finding on this vehicle. This problem seems to be a common problem with the 2005 pontiac sunfire.
We have a 2005 pontiac sunfire with 50000 miles on it. The other day the speedometer started fluctuating erratically. It is now stuck on 50mph. After reading several forums on the internet, it is very apparent that this is a common problem with the sunfire and cavalier vehicles. The instrument panel cluster is defective on these vehicles and it also affects the other gauges. Gm has not issued a recall despite the numerous complaints and it is a 500 to 800 dollar repair bill to replace the instrument cluster. To me this is a serious safety issue. Not knowing the correct speed of the vehicle at any given time is an issue. There are several instances on car complaints.com where people have been driving causing panic when their speedometer starts jumping around. To me the car manufacturers are depending on unreliable electronics to do vital tasks that used to be done by more reliable and safer mechanical means. Example being the toyota throttle problem. It is my hope that if enough complaints are filed, a forced gm recall could be obtained. We are already paying for gm's mistakes through the government bailout. It's time they paid for theirs.
The instrument panel, driving along and all of a sudden all gauges are lost including speedometer. This happens intermittently, with no rhyme or reason then comes back on own and goes out again. Includes all gauges on instrument panel. Stays out for up to half hour or more.
I have a 2005 pontiac sunfire 4 door, VIN [xxx] . I have been generally happy with the car. Starting in early december of 2010, my entire intrument panel cluster stopped working. It started with the fuel gauge showing out of the range of the gauge and then the temperature gauge started malfunctioning and reading artificially high. I brought it to scherer chevrolet, buick, gmc in kitchener, [xxx] where I work. I asked if there were any hidden or secret warranties on this as I didn't feel this was something that should go on a car. They said there wasn't. They did extend me a "goodwill" discount but even with that it cost me $635.55 parts and labour to replace the instrument cluster. I intend to write to gm canada and include copies of these other reports and try and negotiate a refund as I think this repair should be covered. *kb information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. While driving approximately 35-65 MPH, the contact noticed the entire instrument panel failed to function including the speed odometer and fuel gauge. The failure occurred during extremely hot or cold weather temperatures. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer who stated the failure was related to a faulty instrument cluster. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the defect. The approximate failure mileage was 60,000.
Own a 2005 pontiac sunfire and the instrument cluster is failing. It started a month after my vehicle went out of warranty. I took it to the dealership and they said, "oh your car is not really overheating and it will cost too much to fix it, estimating over $800"--there suggestion was to just leave it because I should know when my car is really overheating. Since then both the gas gauge and temperature gauge will get stuck in extremely hot weather or erratically go around in circles like the hands on a clock. This is definitely a safety hazard and gm should really consider fixing it considering all the testimonies that are listed on the internet of people having the same issue. It is a manufacturing problem not the buyers.
Own a 2005 sunfire and the instrument cluster is malfunctioning. The gas gauge has stopped working altogether and the temp and RPM gauge work erratically. This is definitely a recall issue and has nothing to do with the maintenance of the vehicle. Gm wants me to have a dealer check the vehicle when they are well aware of this issue as there are multiple posting from owners of this issue online.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. While driving approximately 35 MPH, the contact noticed that the instrument cluster was not functioning properly. The rpms and speedometer gauges were touching one another and preventing both from moving. The contact could not determine the speed at which she was driving due to the defective speedometer. The vehicle was taken to several local mechanics who stated that the instrument cluster was defective. The vehicle had not been repaired. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage is 48,909. Updated 5/24/11 *cn updated 06/20/11
I have a 2005 pontiac sunfire. The gauges on the dashboard have completely gone bad. I cannot even acquire a proper speed reading.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. While driving at an unknown speed, the contact noticed that the instrument cluster and none of the gauges were working. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer nor a local mechanic to diagnose the failure. The failure had been ongoing for three months. The approximate failure mileage was 100,000 and the current mileage was unknown.
Tl*the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire. The contact stated that the all of the gauges on the instrument panel have failed and are misreading. The vehicle had not been inspected by a dealer, but when she called them they informed her that there would be a fee for diagnostic testing. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 35,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Odometer and speedometer malfunction and failure pontiac sunfire 2005.
Speedometer was not steady during acceleration or deceleration then it just stopped at 55 to 60 MPH. Next time I drove the vehicle it did not work at all until the car got warm and all of my other gauges started having problems. My fuel gauge and temperature gauge went all the way around and just stopped and my RPM does not work at all. I took the vehicle to the dealership and they put it on the computer and said that it just needs to be reset and that I needed a new battery, after I got that fixed I took it home and 2 days later it started all over again. I took the vehicle back to the dealership and they said that it might be a gauge cluster they were not sure and that it would be $500. I could not afford it at the time so I decided not to get it fixed since they could not guarantee me that was the problem. My speedometer does work as long as it is warm outside. I looked online for any information on the problem and found out that it is not only my vehicle make, model or year that has the exact same problem and that there is now a class action suit against gm for the issue.
Tl* the contact owns a 2005 pontiac sunfire coupe. The contact was driving 55 MPH when the temperature gauge spiked into the red zone. The contact moved off the roadway and turned the vehicle off. Once the vehicle was restarted, all gauges on the instrument panel were inoperable. The dealer advised her that the instrument panel could be replaced but could not guarantee that the repair would remedy the failure. The manufacturer advised the contact that the repair would be at her expense yet they also could not guarantee that the repair would rectify the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 68,000. Updated 03/16/11
Purchase a 2005 pontiac sunfire in 2006. Vehicle was purchased as a program car. The speedometer started malfunctioning during the winter times when it was cold outside. After the car had warmed up the speedometer would ,again, function as intended. This month, november 2010, the vehicle's fuel gauge, speedometer, and tachometer have all malfunctioned and are not correcting after the vehicle warms. The failures have not corrected and are still malfunctioning today, november 27,2010. Gmc has class action settlement qualifies certain owners for a special coverage adjustment (special policy adjustment 07187a) to their standard warranty for allegedly defective speedometers. The common cause for all these issues is a faulty stepper motor (xc5.168). The motor was used throughout general motor's entire production line from 2003 to 2007. For those with a technical bent, this includes the gmt800, k20, gm360, and gmx380 platforms. Models effected include : * buick lesabre * buick rendezvous * chevy avalanche * chevy silverado * chevy suburban * chevy tahoe * chevy impala * chevy trailblazer * chevy monte carlo * gmc yukon * gmc yukon xl * gmc sierra * gmc envoy * gmc denali * cadillac escalade * cadillac escalade esv * cadillac escalade ext * hummer h2 * pontiac sunfire on november 7, 2008, the u.s. District court in seattle granted final approval of a class action settlement for owners and lessees of certain 2003 to 2005 general motors vehicles with allegedly defective speedometers. Those certain vehicles did not include all of the vehicles with this problem. Why not! Those included include: chevrolet avalanche, chevrolet silverado ,chevrolet suburban, chevrolet tahoe, gmc yukon, gmc yukon xl, gmc sierra, cadillac escalade, cadillac escalade esv,cadillac escalade ext . Something should be done to include all vehicles affected due to faulty manufacturing!
My husband and I purchased a 2005 pontiac sunfire in 2006. It had 13,000 miles at that time and had been a really reliable car. My husband has changed the oil and filter on a regular schedule as well as the air filter. It still gets 33 mpg on the freeway and the mileage was about 68,000 when the instrument cluster started to go bad. If the gauges hadn't started to malfunction about 6-8 months ago I would have no complaints. The vehicle's temperature gauge started climbing off the charts one day when we were about forty miles from home. We we driving 65 MPH. On the freeway when it started. We pulled off as soon as we could to check the motor and found that it was not overheated at all and we had no leaks in sight. I feel very blesses that no one was injured. With in a month the gauge eventually spun all the way around and started effecting the tachometer. Now the speedometer is not working properly because of the tachometer. If the cluster had been designed with a bumper pin to stop the gauges from making a complete 360 rotation, it might have not burned out so soon. Our temperature gauge has made about 3 or 4 revolutions so far making the other gauges even more inaccurate. The tachometer is on it's second trip around the gauge so we know the speedometer is not far behind. We are very disappointed with our choice at this time and are considering a different manufacture for our next vehicle. My father was a diesel mechanic for fifty years and he always instilled on me to buy american when it came to my cars. I always have and don't plan to change that but, I will do more research next time. This problem was posted on every web sight I found and has been happening for years. It's time to be more cautious.
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