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Pontiac Sunfire Exterior Lighting Headlights Safety Report | Mar 28, 2004
Reported on Mar 28, 2004
| LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FAILED TO OPERATE. DAYTIME RUNNING LIGHTS OPERATE ERRATICALLY (SOMETIMES BLINKING RAPIDLY). I REPLACED BOTH BULBS AND DRL RELAY. I TOOK THE VEHICLE TO THE DEALER HOPING THAT HE WOULD BE MOST EFFICIENT AND LOWEST COST TROUBLESHOOTER BASED ON HIS FAMILIARITY WITH THIS MODEL. CALLS TO MULTIPLE MICHIGAN DEALERS ACKNOWLEDGE THE EXISTENCE OF THIS ISSUE ON 1998 AND 19'99 SUNFIRE/CAVALIERS. ROOT CAUSE IS CORROSION OF WIRING WITHIN THE WIRE HARNESS. IT TOOK 6 HOURS ($500 WORTH OF LABOR, $0 PARTS!) TO LOCATE AND CORRECT A BROKEN WIRE WITHIN ITS INSULATION AND WITHIN THE HARNESS. UNFORTUNATELY, GM DOES NOT DEEM THIS TO BE AN ISSUE WHICH IS WORTHY OF PROVIDING REIMBURSEMENT ASSISTANCE TO ITS CUSTOMERS. OF COURSE, HEADLIGHTS ARE AN IMPORTANT SAFETY COMPONENT OF A VEHICLE- AND I SUSPECT MANY OTHER 1998 AND 1999 CAVALIER/SUNFIRE OWNERS RECOGNIZE THIS FACT. A SEARCH OF THIS ODI DATABASE REVEALS OTHERS; REF ODI ID #10053346, 562403, 8009447, 831751, 718361 AND 8008072. I AM CERTAIN THAT MANY, MANY OTHERS GO UNREPORTED TO THE ODI. I ENCOURAGE THE NHTSA TO INVESTIGATE THIS CONDITION AND ENCOURAGE THE MANUFACTURER TO ADDRESS THIS PRODUCT DEFECT- IF NOT PROACTIVELY, AT LEAST WHEN IT MANIFESTS ITSELF IN ITS CUSTOMERS VEHICLES.*AK | |
| Make: | Pontiac |
| Model: | Sunfire |
| Manufactured by: | General Motors LLC |
| Year: | 1999 |
| Was a crash reported? | N |
| Was an injury reported? | 0 person(s) were injured. |
| Was a death reported? | 0 person(s) died. |
| Was a fire reported? | N |
| Location: | TROY MI |
| Vehicle Identification Number (VIN): | 1G2JB1241X7 |
| Mileage: | 67000 miles. |
| Speed: | |
| Number of cylinders: | 4 |
| Vehicle type: | FWD |
| Vehicle fuel: | GAS Fuel injection. |
| Was a police report filed? | N |
| Tire size: | |
| Dealer name and location: | SHELTON PONTIAC ROCHESTER MI 48307 |
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