2002 Pontiac Sunfire Air bags Problems
- Complaints
- 5about this part
- Share
- 6%of 82 total for the year
- Median mileage
- 26,624miles
- Trend
- Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.
NHTSA recorded 5 complaints about the air bags of the 2002 Pontiac Sunfire, 6% of the 82 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 26,624 miles. 2 of these say a crash was involved, according to the filers.
Fewer than 15 complaints name this part, so treat the figures as a rough indication only.
Example complaints
Selected from NHTSA records; personal details are removed. They are consumer reports, not findings.
“My son was driving home the night before his wedding, was not drunk according to the coroner. The police report said he must have went off the road, overcorrected and began spinning and rolling.the car went 469 feet before it came to rest on top of him, the report says he must have been ejected through the sunroof. My son was 34 very muscular. I do not believe that unless there was something mechanically wrong with the car thar he could not have controlled it. I have seen other reports of the same thing happening to other people with the same car. …”
NHTSA complaint #10070372, filed 2004-01, 6,249 miles“We just bought a new car and I would like to have permission to have an on/off switch put on the air bag on the passenger side of the car because I have 9 grandchildren and often I have 4 of them with me. The back seat only has 3 seat belts. Would it be possible to have the air bag unhooked or do I need the on/off switch? Meralyn chipman.”
NHTSA complaint #761421, filed 2002-05“I have a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire and I was in a car/cow accident in may 0f 06 I was going at speeds of 55 MPH we hit head on and the air bags did not deploy. Now what's up with that??? Thank god now one was hurt.”
NHTSA complaint #10196786, filed 2007-07“The contact owns a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire. The vehicle was parked with the engine running as the contact placed her child in the rear child seat. When she pushed the passenger seat back, the air bags deployed unexpectedly. She called GM and was informed that someone would come out to inspect the vehicle. The current and failure mileages were 47,000. Updated 03-04-08”
NHTSA complaint #10210359, filed 2007-11, 47,000 milesAir bags: other model years
| Year | Complaints | Share of year |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1 | 3% |
| 2003 | 6 | 8% |
| 2002 | 5 | 6% |
| 2001 | 7 | 11% |
| 2000 | 9 | 9% |
| 1999 | 10 | 11% |
| 1998 | 11 | 9% |
| 1997 | 27 | 14% |
| 1996 | 33 | 16% |
| 1995 | 13 | 11% |
Other parts of the 2002 Pontiac Sunfire
24 complaintsBrakes
16 complaintsEngine cooling
11 complaintsSteering
11 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
10 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
7 complaintsExterior lighting
6 complaintsFuel system
6 complaintsEquipment
5 complaintsBody and structure
5 complaintsInterior lighting
3 complaintsSeat belts
3 complaints
← All problems reported for the 2002 Pontiac Sunfire
About this data. Data from NHTSA (ODI) complaints, recalls, TSBs and investigations, updated Oct 30, 2026. Complaints are unverified consumer reports and may be duplicated or inaccurate.
To check a specific vehicle for open recalls, use its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls. Methodology