Trouble starting 2001 Pontiac Sunfire

jkyoung1999

Hello, over the last few weeks we have been having trouble getting my wife's 2001 Pontiac Sunfire to start. The problem only happens first thing in the morning or after the car has sat for a long period of time (12 + hours). when we turn the ignition key the engine begins turning over and then just stops. After several tries the car will eventually start. After starting up for the first time of the day the car runs fine and has no problems until the next morning. My immediate thought was that the fuel pump was going bad but after reading through some more online forums I'm not so sure. It seems to me that if the fuel pump was faulty than the car would have trouble starting through out the rest of the day but I'm no car expert. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

93tracker5spd

Hello, welcome to Edmunds. I'm not sure there is enough information here to attempt a starting point or a solution. Are you saying that the car just stops turning over, or that it fires momentarily and then stalls? If it stops turning over, it is definitely not the fuel pump. You could literally remove the fuel pump and the car will still crank, not start, but crank until the battery dies. And as the car cranks that first time in the morning, does it crank well, or sound laboured, as if it is struggling to crank? If it struggles, I would have both the battery and starter tested, find a shop that does in car testing not bench testing. And have the starter amp draw tested. If all is well, you may have a phantom drain on the battery. On the other hand, if the car fires and dies, but then eventually starts up. You could simply need a tune up or have a vacuum leak. Would love to be of more help, but need more info. If you could be more descriptive of the problem, I would be more than happy to post again. A great day to you!

jkyoung1999

Hey thanks for responding. I'm not much of a car person so I'll do my best to try and explain. When I try to start the car the engine begins turning over for a few seconds and then stops. After a few tries it actually starts to sound like it's fixing to start and then it just stops again. Eventually it will start and then just start right up throughout the rest of the day. I have literally checked nothing on the car yet because I haven't had a clue where to start other than my own uneducated guess lol. Thanks again for helping out.

93tracker5spd

Hello again! I have found a web page where owners of sunfires are posting their problems and a lot of the problems sound very much like the one you are having. The address is below.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Discussion-c3314_ds498652