2005 Pontiac Sunfire: Reliability Data

94
Total Complaints
61,000mi
Median Mileage
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
Top Issue
0
Crash Reports

When Do Complaints Happen?

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

37,000 25th Percentile
61,000 Median Mileage
80,000 75th Percentile

What Fails?

Most reported component issues from NHTSA complaints.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
47
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL
15
STEERING
4
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
3
ENGINE
3
SUSPENSION
2
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
2
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING
2
EXTERIOR LIGHTING:TURN SIGNAL
1

Severity Assessment

0
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0
Deaths

Sample Complaint Reports

"FATAL FLAW. THE VEHICLE I AM SPEAKING OF IS A PONTIAC SUNFIRE POSSIBLY 2005 MODEL YEAR. I HAD RENTED IT FROM A RENTAL COMPANY AND USED IT FOR ABOUT A MONTH. DURING THE USE THERE WERE A COUPLE OF INCIDENTS WHERE I WOULD REMOVE THE KEY FROM THE IGNITION THINKING THE CAR WAS OFF BUT COME BACK AN HOUR L..."
"THE REAR TURN LIGHTS ON OUR 2003 PONTIAC SUNFIRE CONTINUE TO FAIL LEAVING US WITHOUT TURN SIGNALS. WE HAVE TAKEN THE VEHICLE BACK TO THE DEALER, INCLUDING UNDER A SAFETY RECALL, BUT THE FIX (PUT "GREASE" ON THE BULB) HAS NOT ENDED THE PROBLEM."
"WHILE DRIVING WITH CRUISE CONTROL ON IN A REMOTE AREA OF UTAH (BETWEEN MILFORD AND MINERSVILLE) I RAN OVER A CATTLE GUARD RUNNING ACROSS THE ROAD. IMMEDIATELY, MY GAS PEDAL DROPPED TO THE FLOOR AND ATTEMPTED TO GAIN MAXIMUM SPEED. SEVERAL STEPS ON THE BRAKE PEDAL FINALLY DISENGAGED THE CRUISE CONT..."

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.

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM 47 complaints
25th: 40,000 mi Median: 64,000 mi 75th: 80,000 mi
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM: INSTRUMENT CLUSTER/PANEL 15 complaints
25th: 39,000 mi Median: 60,000 mi 75th: 80,000 mi
STEERING 4 complaints
25th: 18,142 mi Median: 49,573 mi 75th: 84,750 mi
ENGINE 3 complaints
Median: 98,000 mi

Where Are Complaints Coming From?

Top states by complaint count.

FL: 18 NY: 14 OH: 11 CA: 6 GA: 5 PA: 4 TX: 4 VA: 3 00: 3 MO: 3

Who Files Complaints?

12.8%
Original Owners
87.2%
Second+ Owners

Pontiac Sunfire — Other Years

See how this model compares across different model years.

YearComplaintsCrashes
199515415
199632036
199725735
199814913
19991289
200016915
2001839
20021289
20031137
2004414

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