"How reliable is the 1999 Pontiac Sunfire?"

"Based on 128 NHTSA complaints, the 1999 Pontiac Sunfire has a median complaint mileage of 92700 miles. The most common issue is UNKNOWN OR OTHER."

"What are common problems with the 1999 Pontiac Sunfire?"

"The most frequently reported component in NHTSA complaints for the 1999 Pontiac Sunfire is UNKNOWN OR OTHER, accounting for a significant portion of the 128 total complaints filed."

1999 Pontiac Sunfire: Reliability Data

Source: NHTSA — 128 complaints

128

Total Complaints

92,700mi

Median Mileage

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

Top Issue

Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

Distribution of NHTSA complaints by vehicle mileage at time of report.

50,000 25th Percentile

92,700 Median Mileage

133,700 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

AIR BAGS:FRONTAL

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE

SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:ANTILOCK/TRACTION CONTROL/ELECTRONIC LIMITED SLIP

ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

STEERING

AIR BAGS

EXTERIOR LIGHTING:HEADLIGHTS

Severity Assessment

Crashes

Fires

Injuries

Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"VEHICLE CONTINUALLY STALLING."

"HORN HAS NEVER WORKED SINCE I BOUGHT LAST MONTH. *AK"

"BRAKES DON'T WANT TO WORK RIGHT, SOFT PEDAL; BAD ODOR WENT AIR OR FAN IS RUNNING;DOORS SQUEAK:UNGOING PROBLEM SINCE A MONTH AFTER I GOT THE CAR."

Source: NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Names and identifying details omitted.

When Were Complaints Filed?

Number of complaints by the year the issue occurred.

When Does Each Component Fail?

Median mileage at complaint for top components.

UNKNOWN OR OTHER 7 complaints

Median: 20,000 mi

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 7 complaints

25th: 86,750 mi Median: 90,850 mi 75th: 123,450 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

OH: 12 CA: 11 TX: 10 MI: 8 NJ: 8 IN: 8 NY: 6 WV: 6 PA: 6 GA: 5

Who Files Complaints?

40.6%

Original Owners

59.4%

Second+ Owners

Pontiac Sunfire — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

Year	Complaints	Median Mileage	Top Issue	Crashes
1995	154	90,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	15
1996	320	136,050	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE	36
1997	257	96,000	STEERING:RACK AND PINION	35
1998	149	77,000	ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE	13
2000	169	56,500	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	15
2001	83	64,586	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	9
2002	128	29,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	9
2003	113	40,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	7
2004	41	48,275	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	4
2005	94	61,000	ELECTRICAL SYSTEM	0

Data source: View this vehicle on NHTSA.gov | NHTSA ODI Complaints Database. Public domain.

Methodology: Complaint counts and mileage distributions are computed directly from consumer-reported NHTSA complaints. This data represents reported issues, not failure rates — vehicles without complaints are not represented. Full methodology.

Data through: 2026-03-28