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Fuel systemPart report

2003 Pontiac Sunfire Fuel system Problems

Complaints
7about this part
Share
10%of 72 total for the year
Median mileage
65,500miles
Trend
Not enough dataFewer than 15 complaints, too few for a reliable trend.

NHTSA recorded 7 complaints about the fuel system of the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, 10% of the 72 complaints for this model year. Where a mileage was given, the median is 65,500 miles.

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.

“I purchased the car in october 2003 and the car was great. In march 2006 I started having problems where the car when attempted to start would take a few seconds extra and then start, then 6 months later I was driving down the street and the car just cut off in the middle of an intersection. The car restarted about 10 minutes later. Then in november this started happening more an more frequently. One night in december the car cut off and would not restart at all. I was able to pull of the road. I waited an hour and still the car would not start. …”

NHTSA complaint #10204414, filed 2007-09, 80,000 miles

“Was driving on the freeway, traveling at 70 MPH and all of the lights both dash and exterior went out and the engine stopped. Pulled to the side of the highway and tried to restart the car, no luck. Waited for 30 minutes and tried to restart it and it started up, but when I got up to 40mph, it repeated what it did before, pulled to the side of the road and waited another 15 minutes and it started again, and it did it again. Again I pulled to the side of the road and waited, then it started, and I finally got it to an exit off of the highway. …”

NHTSA complaint #10124992, filed 2005-06, 42,000 miles

“The contact owns a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire. The contact stated that while driving approximately 5 MPH, the vehicle stalled without warning. The vehicle was towed to a private mechanic where it was diagnosed that the fuel filter needed to be replaced. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The vehicle was repaired but did not rectify the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 120,000 and the current mileage was 130,000.”

NHTSA complaint #10566774, filed 2014-03, 120,000 miles

“Vehicle has several problems; fuel gauge is not reading properly, causing vehicle to shut off when the gauge reads 1/4 full. Also, left turn signal light does not operate all the time.”

NHTSA complaint #10034223, filed 2003-08

Related service bulletins

Fuel system: other model years

YearComplaintsShare of year
200534%
2003710%
200267%
200158%
20001617%
199865%
199784%
1996126%
199543%

Other parts of the 2003 Pontiac Sunfire

Exterior lighting
25 complaintsElectrical system
23 complaintsBrakes
8 complaintsEngine cooling
8 complaintsAir bags
6 complaintsTransmission and drivetrain
4 complaintsVisibility (wipers, defrost, mirrors)
4 complaintsEquipment
3 complaintsBody and structure
3 complaintsEngine
2 complaintsLatches, locks and linkages
2 complaintsSeat belts
2 complaints

← All problems reported for the 2003 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