Pontiac Vibe Tire/Wheel Questions

motoxracer30 · March 2009

I was wondering... How do I get to the rear wheel bearings so I can check them and grease them?

Thanks

lorena59 · October 2012

What is the tire pressure for a 2006 Pontiac Vibe. Thank you!

loosenut · October 2012

There is a sticker in the door jamb or the glove box door that should tell you what the folks who built it recommended.. 32is probably right

gmcustsvcsarah · October 2012

Good morning lorena59,
A Tire and Loading Information label is attached to the vehicles center pillar (B-pillar), below the drivers door latch. This label shows your vehicles original equipment tires and the correct inflation pressures for your tires when they are cold. The recommended cold tire inflation pressure, shown on the label, is the minimum amount of air pressure needed to support your vehicles maximum load carrying capacity. For additional information regarding how much weight your vehicle can carry, and an example of the tire and loading information label, see Loading Your Vehicle on page 4-31.

Sarah, GM Customer Service

newvibebuyer · October 2012

I've had 2 Vibes (one currently) and have always run 35 lbs. Tire wear is as expected - no extra wear on the center of the tread that would indicate over-inflation. Some gas mileage increase is noted from the slightly higher pressure. The small tires on a Vibe go around a lot of times in a mile, so I cannot say I'm over exited about the miles I get before they wear out!

Too bad Chevrolet did not take over the partnership with Toyota after the demise of Pontiac to keep the Vibe available. Maybe it could have been a revival of the Chevette nameplate!!

stan92 · March 2014

I have a Pontiac 2009 Vibe that has developed a rotational noise in one of the front wheels...it makes a row row row sound at speeds around 20-30 MPH...both front wheel bearings have been replaced and the wheels aligned....what is wrong with my Vibe to cause this sound?

gmcustsvc · March 2014

@stan92 said:
I have a Pontiac 2009 Vibe that has developed a rotational noise in one of the front wheels...it makes a row row row sound at speeds around 20-30 MPH...both front wheel bearings have been replaced and the wheels aligned....what is wrong with my Vibe to cause this sound?

Hi stan92,

Did you have the front wheel bearings repaired at the dealership recently? I only ask because there is a 12 month/12k mile parts warranty once a repair is performed. If you're interested in having a dealership check into this for you, I'd be happy to reach out to them on your behalf. Please private message me your contact information, VIN, mileage and preferred dealership if I can be of assistance.

Amber N.
GM Customer Care

imidazol97 · March 2014

@stan92 said:
I have a Pontiac 2009 Vibe that has developed a rotational noise in one of the front wheels...it makes a row row row sound at speeds around 20-30 MPH...both front wheel bearings have been replaced and the wheels aligned....what is wrong with my Vibe to cause this sound?

If both front bearing hubs have been replaced, you probably heard a noise from one of them. Sometimes bearing noises differ. This may be a bearing even if it's different than the original noise you might have heard from a defective bearing.

The replacements should be under warranty.

However, I would look very carefully at the tires. If they are 4-5 years or more old, the tread may have hardened and the tread may not have worn evenly. You may be hearing noise from that. Were the wheels switched from front to back for a rotation recently so that you are now hearing a noise from the tire tread while you didn't hear it on the rear?

If you didn't have a tire rotation, I would suggest having a tire store rotate them or go to the place that did your wheel bearings and have them check the replacement bearings and rotate the tires front to back for you. Then see if the noise has left, changed, or is still there.

If it's still there, then bearings...
If it left, take a close look at tires, life, and replacement.

capriracer · March 2014

A second vote that the tires are the source of the noise - and the tires are generating that noise due to irregular wear - and the irregular wear is due to a misalignment condition.

You need to replace the tires to get rid of that noise or put up with it until you do. Rotating will help, but that only moves the problem tires from a sensitive position to an insensitive one. That really isn't a "fix".

PF_Flyer · March 2014

Count me on the "good chance it's a tire" team, especially with the noise coming in a certain speed range after the bearings have been replaced. At the very least, rotating the tires will either move the noise and confirm it's a tire, or the noise will remain where it is and confirm that a replacement bearing may be bad. And it's the cheapest first step

imidazol97 · March 2014

Let me add that my experience at that was with 8-year old Michelins on my 98 leSabre. I had replaced the front wheel bearing. About a year later I had this similar sound. My shadetree expert up the street was too busy to catch to have him drive the car. When I replaced the bearing, under warranty, I still had the noise. He drove the car and felt the tires. He used to work in a tire store as manager in his earlier life around cars.

He said it was the tires. And indeed later, one of the tires started to show belt problems with a bulge.

So it comes down to diagnosis before replacement.

09Viber · March 2019

I have been experiencing an unforgivable road noise since I acquired my 10 year old vibe. Thanks to frequent over-the-road snowbanks and ice buildup, I now know that the clips for the wheel well liners as well as the engine splash guard in the 2009 Vibe break/pop out/vanish with ease under ANY stress. So long as there's a couple clips still hanging on, the plastic guards appear to be in place when parked, but that is not the case when the vehicle is moving. Wind catches those plastic pieces and they tend to find their way to rub on the tires. This is what causes the worst road noise, but even with all the clips in place, the engine splash shield, which rubs on nothing, sounds like a thousand pop bottles throwing themselves at the undercarriage on the highway. Now that the prescribed clips (and Pontiac) have gone out of production, it's been difficult to find an effective solution to the problem so I'm already in need of replacing my front passenger liner for the second time in 5 months due to the tire wearing a hole. I'm starting to feel like this car is THE real reason Pontiac went under given all the 'quirks' that make a person hate the manufacturer more than the model.

Anyone else still driving a Vibe experiencing these issues? Any positive solutions (other than replacing the car)?

imidazol97 · March 2019

I think I'd replace the clips with bolts that are brass or aluminum to resist corrosion if you're in a road salt climate. I'd check with a quality body shop or a NAPA store with finding how to replace the clips.

The plastic parts around the wheel well on my Cobalt are held with screws that screw into the metal parts of the body. A few are clipped with the plastic studs to other plastic.

Also take a look at any air dam that's under the front of the car. If it's not secured or it broken into pieces, those can flap under a car. I've seen cars, sometimes premium cars, on the highway where the pieces of the damaged air dam is fluttering and can be seen from behind or beside the car from a couple lanes over.

I've also seen toyota sedans with the rear plastic bumper wrap around behind the rear wheel flapping in and out because it's not properly braced. I wonder if the passengers can hear that fluttering as a road noise, not realizing their rear plastic parts are fluttering away.

You might have to have someone drive the car while you watch from another car.

Pontiac Vibe Tire/Wheel Questions

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