Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||||
| 0004 | 04/01/2000 | 612663 | Upper radiator hose contacts the battery tray, which may result in engine collant leak, with a low coolant telltale (warning lamp) illuminating on the instrument cluster. *mjs | 06/12/2000 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||||
| 010602012 | 12/01/2001 | 628890 | Some owners may comment on leakage of a few drops of coolant after parking their vehicle. *tt | 03/21/2002 | |
| NAS19990040 | 05/21/1999 | 606008 | Subject pertaining to correct coolant level for proper cooling system operation. *tt | 08/05/1999 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||||
| 98041 | 10/27/1998 | 615098 | Upper radiator hose contacting battery tray. *tt | 12/27/2000 | |
| 00113 | 04/07/2000 | 6092323 | Some vehicles may exhibit a condition in which the upper radiator hose contacts the battery tray. *tt | 12/05/2000 | |
| 00004 | 04/05/2000 | 612033 | General motor has dediced that certain vehicles equipped with 2.2l engines (vin 4), may exhibit a condition in which the upper raditor hose contacts the battery tray. *tt | 06/05/2000 | |
| 98041 | 08/01/1998 | 609675 | Upper radiator hose may contact battery tray. yd | 04/06/2000 | |
| 98119 | 08/25/1998 | 602268 | Subject on the upper radiator hose. *yc | 10/20/1998 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||||
| 98017 | 08/01/1998 | 609673 | Valve rocker arm cover failed, causing oil cnsumption to increase. yd | 04/06/2000 | |
| 98017 | 08/24/1998 | 602394 | Some vehicles may exhibit increased oil consumption. *yc | 11/03/1998 | |
| 98120 | 08/25/1998 | 602267 | Some vehicles may exhibit a increased oil consumption. *yc | 10/20/1998 | |
| 98876519 | 05/01/1998 | 601392 | Subject on dtc u1016, stored code with no active symptoms ( reprogram pcm ). *yc | 08/03/1998 | |
| 971101776525 | 11/01/1997 | 54201 | Comments about hesitation, engine sag, or a cold engine stall during light acceleratation (driveway). *yc | 03/30/1998 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||||
| 010601030A | 05/01/2002 | 010601030 | 634811 | Some owners may comment on higher than expected engine oil consumption. *tt | 10/09/2002 |
| 010601030 | 12/01/2001 | 628900 | Some owners may comment on higher than expected engine oil consumption, and having to add oil between oil changes. *tt | 03/21/2002 | |
| 090801 | 08/09/2001 | 625380 | Customers may complain of excessive oil consumption and having to add oil between changes. *jg | 11/20/2001 | |
| 010601004 | 01/01/2001 | 618071 | Exhibiting a loud hoot / whistling noise at start up during cold ambient temperature. *jb | 04/03/2001 | |
| 98017 | 08/01/1998 | 615103 | Customer satisfaction campaign involving vehicles exhibiting increased oil consumption. *tt | 12/27/2000 | |
| 00032 | 05/01/2000 | 613587 | Some customers may experience illumination of the service engine soon (ses) light and code p0300 (general misfire), with driveability complaints of engine misfire, rough idle and hesitation. **mr | 07/25/2000 | |
| 990138003 | 09/01/1999 | 608380 | Some vehicles with 2.2l engines may exhibit a engine / transmission whine at 2800 - 32000 rpm. *tt | 11/24/1999 | |
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||||
| 636604C | 09/01/1998 | 63-66-04B | 603835 | Comments that a metallic noise or cold rap heard on cold exhaust system. *tt | 03/08/1999 |
| 98636604B | 06/01/1998 | 63-66-04A | 601911 | Comments that a metallic noise on cold exhaust systems. *tt | 08/28/1998 |
| 98636604A | 04/01/1998 | 601051 | Some owners may comment that a metallic noise or | 06/24/1998 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING | |||
| 10/23/2000 | 3 | 10/06/2000 | |
| 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. *ak | |||
| 09/25/2003 | |||
| Consumer prefers to send a more detailed description of the engine failure. *nlm | |||
| Consumer states that vehicle had been shut off for about 4 hours, when suddenly the vehicle was filled with smoke. consumer states that the vehicles steering wheel melted. please provide any further information. | |||
| 03/24/2003 | 42000 | 1 | 08/25/2000 |
| March 24, 2003 dear sirs, i recently had a water pump failure on my 1998 sunfire convertible. the car has had a noise from the front of the engine for about a year, i thought it was an alternator bearing. the car has been in a gm dealer twice in that time for oil changes and of all the things the dealer has tried to sell me they never said anything was wrong with the water pump. on the night of friday, march 14th the car began leaking antifreeze and the noise increased. i live in south lyon, mi and the closest pontiac dealer is waldecker in brighton. i attempted to telephone waldecker several times on saturday, march 15th, but did not connect, because of a dead phone line at waldecker. i thought waldecker went out of business, since it is an oldsmobile dealer also. i later found, from the waldecker service manager (larry) and the receptionist, that they were in fact having phone problems for several days. with no other pontiac dealers in the area, i refilled the radiator and took the car to walkers garage, the closest auto repair. the bill came to $700 parts and labor, i asked waldecker and they said it was a fair price. having to take the exhaust manifold off, access through the front cover of the engine, gear drive off the timing chain and the location above the cv joint is a poor design for a serviceable part. vehicle description, 1998 sunfire convertible, currently: 42,000 miles vin# 4g2jb32t5wb206051, 2.4 liter dohc engine. i called the pontiac 1-800 number and a representative told me the warranty was 3 years / 36,000 miles and the work was not performed by a pontiac dealer, so i had no recourse. i explain to no avail why the work was not done at a pontiac dealer. i am hoping you will reconsider this. enclosed is the bill. please contact me even if this claim is rejected. i expect better from the number 1 automate company in the world. sincerely, gordon culver, 28654 danvers ct., south lyon, mi. 48178 phone: 248-437-5582. *nlm | |||
| 09/07/1999 | 2 | 05/01/1998 | |
| I think you have a problem when you have a 2 year old car seems to be falling apart from the inside out. i originally owned my car for 3 months when the temp. gauge zeroed out from a shorted out fuse. the next problem was odometer went blank and showed me symbols in 05/1999, and the electrical cluster was replaced. later in 09/1999, my coolant system busted after a visit to the dealership, where i was told that cars are okay to reach the red line before it will overheat. most of the coolant system was replaced and tests done. i did not trust the work, and took it to another gmc dealer, to find that the coolant temp. sensor needed replaced, just 2 days later. now in 08/2000, my odometer is showing the same old symbols, due to an electrical problem. my problem is electrical problems are right in front of me, and i am unaware of it. also, some dealerships don't care to find the bad things, when it is warranty work. wyatt johnson does not seem to be a people saving people establishment, if you cannot trust them to find their cars mistakes. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM | |||
| 07/14/2007 | 110000 | 1 | |
| Coolant had been leaking for over 3 months off and on. put in stop leak for a temp fix. however dexcool continued to eat away at my coolant system. car has overheated on many occasions. finally able to use jb weld to fix leak . *tr | |||
| 03/12/2004 | 24000 | 1 | 07/01/1998 |
| The temperature guage flutters from time to time. then it will go all the way down to 0.when it starts to flutter again the engine seems to be racing. the tach. guage will bounce about 200-300 prm. i also noticed that when the car is in park and you idle the engine up to about 3000 rpm, it acts like there is a rev limiter. it has never done that untill a few months ago. the check engin light has never come on until today. i changed plugs and plug wires and it didnt help at all. *ak | |||
| 08/05/2003 | 1 | 11/28/1997 | |
| I've been having multiple problems with my 1998 pontiac sunfire gt. last month i had a fuel injector and water hose go bad and need replaced. the suction hose pump for the ac was leaking and had to be replaced within the past 3 weeks. in the same time period, the compressor started leaking. i've had 2 different compressors put in, and both have leaked still. the 3rd compressor is being installed today, so we'll see whether it leaks too. a compressor should really last longer than 5 years, and i shouldn't have 3 compressors in a week trying to find one that doesn't leak. there's also a crack in the welding that needs to be fixed or it will start leaking. one of the fan parts went bad, so now level 1 on the fan adjustment doesn't work. this seems like alot of problems in a short timeframe, especially with 3 problems being for the air conditioning. i've contacted the pontiac customer service department, and they contacted a dealership who said that problems should be expected after 5 years. guess i thought they would build a better car. so far, i'm out $1900 and haven't had the fan or the welding crack fixed yet. i would appreciate any help that could be offered. *ak | |||
| 09/07/1999 | 2 | 05/01/1998 | |
| I think you have a problem when you have a 2 year old car seems to be falling apart from the inside out. i originally owned my car for 3 months when the temp. gauge zeroed out from a shorted out fuse. the next problem was odometer went blank and showed me symbols in 05/1999, and the electrical cluster was replaced. later in 09/1999, my coolant system busted after a visit to the dealership, where i was told that cars are okay to reach the red line before it will overheat. most of the coolant system was replaced and tests done. i did not trust the work, and took it to another gmc dealer, to find that the coolant temp. sensor needed replaced, just 2 days later. now in 08/2000, my odometer is showing the same old symbols, due to an electrical problem. my problem is electrical problems are right in front of me, and i am unaware of it. also, some dealerships don't care to find the bad things, when it is warranty work. wyatt johnson does not seem to be a people saving people establishment, if you cannot trust them to find their cars mistakes. | |||
| 11/29/1999 | |||
| When vehicle reached a normal temperature it caused hesitation. vehicle has been in dealer's shop on two occasions, and had the clutch replaced between 1500-2000 miles. however, problem has reoccurred. dealer wanted to replace the clutch again. seeking help in nhtsa in this matter. | |||
| 09/23/1999 | 3 | 09/01/1997 | |
| The coolant light has continuously flashed for the past few days. the vehichle was returned to dealership in order to fix. the manual states that coolant should only be replaced at 155,000 miles or every 5 years. this is the third incident, which leads me to believe that the vehicle has a major malfunction. the previous incident, the oil was in the coolant and the coolant was in the oil. i am in the process of discussing this situation with the military legal services about my options. my vehichle should be ready this afternoon if the problem is fixed. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - COOLING SYSTEM - RADIATOR ASSEMBLY | |||
| 07/14/2007 | 110000 | 1 | |
| Coolant had been leaking for over 3 months off and on. put in stop leak for a temp fix. however dexcool continued to eat away at my coolant system. car has overheated on many occasions. finally able to use jb weld to fix leak . *tr | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE | |||
| 04/06/1998 | 7 | ||
| Vehicle would stall out for no reason while driving about 40mph. had vehicle towed 4 times to dealer for engine. no reason found for stalling. problem not duplicated. speed would vary when stalling occurred. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - ENGINE - GASOLINE | |||
| 11/16/2002 | 12 | 03/01/2099 | |
| 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 | |||
| 10/15/2002 | 10 | 07/01/2099 | |
| 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 | |||
| 07/15/2001 | |||
| Ongoing problem with engine starting, took several cranks before engine would start or not start at all. dealer was not notified at this time. feel free to provide any further information.*ak | |||
| 02/05/2001 | 40 | 11/01/2099 | |
| 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.*ak | |||
| 02/06/2002 | 1 | 02/01/2001 | |
| First this clicking/popping sound started coming from the steering wheel when you turn it at low speed. the mechanic said its the inner tie rods that need to be replaced. but to replace them you have to replace the whole steering assembly because there made as one piece. then one month ago the car started shacking at idle speed. if you are in drive or nuetruel at a stop light standing still you could feel it shacking a little. the dealer said it could be anything from electric problems to coil problems. but just yesterday i was driving at night on the freeway going about 60mph when i saw smoke behind my car. i got on the shoulder and saw smoke comming out of the engine. then i tried starting the car but it won't start. so i had it towed to my house. at my house i checked the engine with a flashlight and found a big hole (3-4 in diameter) in the engine by the dipstick. it seems that something got loose in the engine that made the car shacking and when it got lose it just flew out. luckly it didn't when tru the hood. if anyone could help me please in finding maybe theres like a service bulletin or a recall for this problems. also i will never buy any stupid pontiacs and won't reccomend one for anyone. *ak | |||
| 04/30/2001 | 1 | 05/01/2000 | |
| The oil pressure switch went bad and pumped all the oil out of the engine ruining it within minutes with no warning to the operator. the pontiac dealer said there was no way for me to know what happened until it was too late. if i was not pulled over by a police officer telling me the car was smoking i would not have known until i stopped that i was smoking. i am alarmed pontiac has refused any blame for engineering an engine part to fail and ruin the engine without any prior indication. i had no option to try and prevent this problem. it is a defect in manufacturing to happen at 44,000 miles and ruin my engine.*ak | |||
| 08/01/1998 | |||
| Severe engine hesitation after accelerating with a cold engine. *ak | |||
| 04/05/2001 | 3 | 11/01/1997 | |
| 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: ) | |||
| 04/05/2001 | 3 | 11/01/1997 | |
| 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: ) | |||
| 04/05/2001 | 3 | 11/01/1997 | |
| 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: ) | |||
| 04/01/1999 | 15 | 04/01/1997 | |
| The vehicle stalls at low speeds or stop and go traffic. *et | |||
| 09/11/1998 | |||
| 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. *ak | |||
| 03/18/1998 | 15 | 02/01/1998 | |
| 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. *ak | |||
| 07/15/1999 | 2 | 11/01/1998 | |
| This problem has occured several times since original incident, almost everyday. the vehicle turns over many times before starting, and has stalled at intersections twice. it has been to the dealer two times in the past year for this problem, and each time they stated that they were unable to duplicate the problem. there are no certain conditions that this tends to happen in, they vary everytime. this is not necessarily a safety hazard, but more of a hassle to have a new car and these sort of problems....... | |||
| 11/01/1998 | 26 | 10/01/1998 | |
| Stalls intermittently. manufacturer can't duplicate the problem. been i to dealer 4 times. *ak | |||
| 07/09/1998 | 3 | ||
| Consumer experiencing vehicle hesitation at random when vehicle is being used. vehicle been/out of dealer shop more than three times and condition cannot be corrected. *ak | |||
| 01/09/1999 | 3 | ||
| While driving about 15 mph vehicle stalled and battery light came on. *ak | |||
| 10 | 10/01/1997 | ||
| Engine doesn't start all the time, i've had it in 3 times to be checked, they cannot duplicate problem. | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM | |||
| Consumer noticed a very bad odor within the passenger compartment, causing the occupant to become sick. consumer has contacted the dealer, dealer unable to determine the cause. please provide any further details. *ak | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - EMISSION CONTROL - GAS RECIRCULATION VALVE (EGR VALVE) | |||
| 07/17/2003 | 52000 | 2 | 01/01/1998 |
| 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 *nlm | |||
| ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING - EXHAUST SYSTEM - MANIFOLD/HEADER/MUFFLER/TAIL PIPE | |||
| 10/31/2004 | 120000 | 1 | |
| In my 98 sunfire gt i have some major problems with yet i still own the car. a little bit ago it seems like my exhaust pipe falls off from the exhaust manifold from the flange. with causing your car to sound like it was a drag racer. well i went to pontiac and figured out that it was going to cost me a pretty penny $500 some odd dollars. and the funny thing is that this has not just happened to me. it has happened to a few of my friends as well. i don't how know many times you have gotten letters about the faulty exhaust flanges. *jb | |||