Pontiac Vibe

samsvr6

There is a dimmer switch at the left of the steering column. Slide it to the max. and the dash lights will not dim when headlights come on. Experiment by having the headlights on and adjust the dimmer.

vonnyvonce

Am I dreaming this or did I hear there was a way to track a new Vibe order similar to UPS package tracking. Does anyone know anything about this or should I stop snacking before bed?

howardpm

I'm not sure if this is normal. But if I have my AC/Heater off, I still get either cool air or hot air from the ducts. It seems to be harder blowing depending on how fast Im going. The only way I can avoid this is by setting the temp control to just bottom vents cause atleast then its not blowing on me. Is this normal?

webguyster

All newer cars are required to allow fresh air into the passenger compartment. Thats the norm these days, so it rough when your stuck in traffic behind some old diesel dump truck, or a school bus. I have not read too much abot the Matrix/Vibe, but my Vibe is from the last few postings, it may be the new Focus!?! I was pricing the Matrix, and cannot fiqure out whay so much!?! Is it more fun than say, a Civic???

jas28

If you don't like the airflow, there should be a little button for recirculated air - that will stop the airflow from outside.

vonnyvonce

Jas28 is correct. You can stop the flow of OUTSIDE air into your car by putting the hvac into recirc mode. If you keep the fan on in this mode air will blow thru the vents but will only be air from inside the car, thus recirculated. You of course can adjust the temperature of either fresh/recirc air with the temp control. If you want no air at all, recirc mode with fan off.

johnclineii

and even then a tiny bit of fresh air will come in. It is impossible, for safety reasons, to shut off all outside air. You should, however, be able to control the temperature of that air!

webguyster

The car is designed to allow fresh air in, regardless of what you do, short of duck taping the vents.

webguyster

Whats the draw to the Vibe/Matrix. I liked it when I saw a commercial at a movie theather, but in person it looks somewhat cheap, even with the car tricked out. Tricked out, its still a Corolla. I am considering it, as I want a small practical car, but what makes it twice as expensive as a comparable Ford Focus?

odman

The new C&D just hit the stands and it includes the Vibe in a 6-way comparison with other cross-over/hatches. It was a base Vibe, FWD with the 130 hp engine. They ranked it #5, beating the Suzuki Aerio.

They were disappointed by the low performance of the base engine, and felt that despite the tall cabin, the driver's seat should have been elevated a few more inches. They couldn't get a comfortable fit -- the pedals were too close and the steering wheel too far away.

Rankings were:
1st: Protege5
2nd: Chrysler PT Cruiser
3rd: Toyota Matrix (180hp)
4th: Ford Focus ZX5
5th: Pontiac Vibe
6th: Suzuki Aerio

I was looking forward to this comparison, and wished the Vibe had done better.

dindak

I wish they had compared apples to apples. Pitting a 180HP Matrix against a base Vibe was not really fair. It's almost like they set the Vibe up to fail in the ranking. I usually like Car and Driver, but I thought that comparison was very poorly done.

npaladin2000

Anyone know why they didn't include the Subie Impreza/Outback wagon or the VW Golf or GTI? Might be nice to see how they stack up in that company.

vonnyvonce

Must disagree with the contention that outside airflow cannot be shut off in a modern car. That is exactly the purpose of the recirc mode. It is used to heat/cool the interior quickly and is also recommended when driving behind a stinky city bus. Yes perhaps a few molecules of outside air will sneak in past the closed door the same way some air sneaks by a closed house window but basically recirc and no fan equals no air flow. My understanding is some German cars, BMW/MB will go into the recirc mode automatically when sensors in the hvac detect high levels of pollution. In New England I see a number of cars during the cold months with the windows completely fogged. That's someone cruising around with hvac in the recirc mode, no fresh air, no flow thru ventilation=fogged windows from condensation of the occupants breathing.

touareg88

Dindak is right. It's a very unfair comparison since the Matrix and the Vibe are basically twins under the hood. Whoever was testing it must be clueless. If the reviewer was blindfolded, I don't think he can tell the difference if he was on a Matrix or Vibe. It's like comparing the base XR to XRS. Of course they will be dissappointed with the low performance of the 130 base engine relative to the 180HP..DUH.

Back in Feb 2002 they wrote a good review of the Vibe GT. What happened from then to now. I am thinking of writing to C&D about this oversight.

npaladin2000,

You can't really put the Subaru or VW along with them since they probably would consider it in a different class on it's own in terms of price and performance.

petl

Take these "comparisons" with a grain of salt. Most of these car magazines use subjective criteria and accept major advertising bucks by the manufacturers. The end results can be too easily slanted. Some of the information in these tests is valid and useful. However the buying public will ultimately decide which vehicle best suits their needs. The C&D comparison is the reason why I subscribe to only one magazine... Consumer Reports.

webguyster

The fogged window cars are usually older model cars fully loaded with too many people. Air still gets in, in recirc!

jas28

Let me set this straight once and for all (I'm an engineer for a company that designs these for cars)...some cars can shut off the air flow 100% by going into recirc. This can cause a fogging problem in recirc, so some cars will have an interlock which forces outside air in defrost(the Vibe does not). Some cars have holes in the outside air/recirculated air door which always lets outside air in during the recirculated air mode. This is primarily a reminent of the old days when it was feared that cars might be sealed too tightly and CO2 might build up in the cabin and suffocate people. (This is not really worried about these days.) I'm not sure if the Vibe/Matrix has these holes, although I don't think that it does. Even if it does, however, if you switch to recirc, you really should not feel any airflow from the panel vents - the holes are so small that the ram air would have a hard time reaching the vents. The holes are not big enough, however, to prevent fogging during defrost - you should always be in outside air during defrost. One final note - if your windows are fogged up on a rainy, humid day and you want to clear them quickly, turn on the a/c compressor - this will dehumidfy the air and clear them very quickly (some cars, like the Honda Accord do this automatically).

zircon2

The new CR-V has auto air conditioning with defrost on at any time. I think it is a real pain in the a-- because there is nothing better than poorer gas mileage during winter because you've got the defrost on with A/C (with external or recirc). Bogus. You used to be able to turn it off once you realized there was no humidity, but honda engineers must know something us ordinary dupes don't.

Glad to hear the Pont. dealer bargained a toyo.
price for the GT.

Re: C/D: just switch the 180HP Matrix for the Vibe 130 HP and you see it comes in 3rd. What is amazing to me is the the Cruiser was 2nd? Come now.

regfootball

Car and Driver used to put many miles on each car for these 'comparison tests'.

These days, they don't outright say, but I don't think they test these cars for longer than just a few days.....each driver only gets but a precious few miles in each vehicle. I'd bet each driver doesn't put more than maybe 1000 miles on each car, if even that....no way to gain an unbiased opinion of a car in that short of a time.

In a case as such, they will vote for a pretty face or for reputation.

dindak

petl : Consumer Reports has it's own flaws and problems. Nothing is perfect. Best to read as many magazines as you can.

zircon : Our old Cavalier used to use the A/C with the defrost also. Apparently it works better that way and many cars work that way. Didn't use it much as our cars are garaged in the winter anyway.

petl

Dindak: I fully understand that no periodical is perfect. I do read every car magazine/article I can get my hands on or have access to. However, for a most impartial assessment of any product I tend to trust CR. The others are too susceptible to bribes (who butters their bread?). Heck it wasn't that long ago that Honda threatened to withdrawal advertising dollars if the Accord was removed from Car & Driver's ten best car list. By the way J.D. Power and associates is another reliable source.

dindak

Unfortunately CR is a little too practical and as a car enthusiast you will not get a good picture from CR. They also pick out strange items for concern.

Take it all with a grain of salt.

petl

I am car enthusiast and fortunately I am also practical. I get the picture just fine. I will gladly discuss with you any of CR's "strange items of concern" you may not understand.

npaladin2000

CR seems to have a love affair with Honda and Toyota...they'll recommend those brand of cars over cars that even they rate higher, citing reliability issues (even though sometimes the reliability figures will be equal or in favor of the other car company). 90% of what they recommend are Japanese models, or ultra-high end luxury model vehicles (They recommend Volkswagen as well, even though it's reliability is at average...they'll NEVER recommend an American car who's reliability is only "average"). They also look for carlike handling in trucks, which simply shouldn't be the highest priority.

ANd that's not even touching the oft-quoted concerns about their sampling techniques as far as their reliability surveys go. But they DO have to fix their comparision choices..they compared 4 sport coupe convertibles against a Ford Thunderbird, and expected the Thunderbird to keep up? The new one I mean..this was just last month. The Thunderbird is a luxo-cruiser, not a sports car! And what about pitting the Land Rover Freelander and Jeep Liberty against the Saturn VUE, and keeping it in the same category as the CR-V and RAV4? I realize they're similarly-sized SUVs, but the first two I mentioned are more meant for off-road work, while the others are meant for on-road work. Gearing and suspensiuon differences will lead to great ride differences, and CR basically penalizes for heavy duty suspension...at least when driven on the road calling it an unsteady or stiff ride.

I still read CR, actually. I don't trust their ratings though. I read them for the same reason I read any other car review...for information only, and not for the ratings. Take the information presented (and interpret it, in the case of CR) and you'll be fine.

They should be reviewing the Vibe/Matrix soon...at least I hope so.

webguyster

yeah, Matrix has fresh air with recirc or regular, either way. Unless Vibe did something different, you still will get the fresh air. You can move it to the defroster, but it still comes in, the faster you go, the more it comes in. Just looked at the Matrix tonight.

As far as J.D. Power and Consumer Reports go, IMO, they are too biased. I work for a company that buys the J.D. Power award annually. They look nice in the Executive Office Suites. As far as Consumer Reports goes, they gave great scores to all the Toyotas that have been prone to sludging, ie. Sienna, Camry, Solara, Avalon, Highlander, RX 300, ES300, even after Toyota announced its special policy adjustment for the issue. My advise, is ask someone you see driving the car you like, "What do you like/dislike, about your car, if you don't mind me asking?"

woo_by

I just talked to a pontiac dealer who said that this:

"according to our
factory rep, the Vibe is scheduled for a dramatic price increase
shortly...i do not know when or how much"

has anyone here heard anything along these lines?

hpulley4

"Price is going up, better buy now!" "Lease rates going up, better sign today!" "If you give me a deposit I can hold the current deal for you..." Give me a break! Run, don't walk, away from slimeballs who give you these kind of lines. They are trying to pressure you into a quick order/sale.

jas28

I agree with hpulley4, but I would not be surprised if prices went up - the car makers have been silently raising prices lately to offset their incentives - for example, in January the Ford Escape had a $500 rebate - the base price was raised by $435 in January and again by $50 in Feb.

beater

Has anyone had occasion to install a trailer hitch on their Vibe yet? I have been looking and no one in my area stocks one although they all will special-order if I pay in advance. I have no problem with that except they can't tell me if they will have to make any cuts on the fascia around the rear bumper to provide access to the hitch. They tell me that I cannot get a refund on special orders so if it takes cutting the fascia, too bad. Since my interest in the hitch is only to support a bicycle carrier, I don't want to have any permanent alterations made to the car. It looks like without cutting the fascia, the hitch might be too close to the ground but I'm not sure. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's installed a hitch who can answer my concerns. I'd also appreciate knowing what kind of hitch they went with and how to order it and whether it bolted into existing holes in the frame or required drilling or welding.
Thanks in advance.

webguyster

it has been my experience from buying a new car every 2 years, and shopping for one, frequently, that all salesmen use this line, and that if you wait until the next model year, the price drops, usually, and you get more! Go figure.

jas28

Careful in your assumption about the price dropping and getting more - GM is rapidly decontenting all of its vehicles (and I'm talking about more than the ABS issue)...GM is trying to save money and things that used to be standard (like cabin particulate air filters) are no longer offered or are delear installed options that cost more $$. I don't know what Toyota is planning on doing, but the trend in the industry right now is to cut "non-value added content" to raise profits (and at the same time increase the base price to make up for the incentives).

zircon2

The dealer was feeding you codswallop. They priced the vehicle at the very high end for the GT and mid-high end for the base. AWD also seems high. Time will tell if they chose the right strategy, but if you ask me, they priced this like the Aztek, and will have to make some retreat toward Toyo and Mazda prices if they want to get tons of sale. They should do exactly this, just to show that the devision is alive.

hudrahead

Most dealers here in Florida have LOTS of Vibes in stock and they seem to just be sitting there. A dealer in Orlando (not the largest by any means) has over 40 in stock and they seem to be not moving. How long will it be before the cash back virus is infected on the VIBE.

hud :)

touareg88

Why would they have 40 in stock just for ONE dealer ? That's too much. Isn't the population of Orlando only 1.7M. Is the target market really there ? Over 70% of the population there are over 35. The 24-35 are under 20%. I think the older folks are not into this type of car (the majority). I thought GM would allocate them to each dealer according to some factor they use in their distribution system just to make sure they would be able to sell it. This does not sound right.

If it's not selling hotcakes there..it is selling hotcakes here in CANADA due to the lack of supply.

zircon2,

How much is the Toyota Celica selling for ? Maybe it was priced relatively since they use the same engine.

I think 3 items are not standard on the Toyota Matrix XRS: Side Airbags, Block heater, Roof Racks if someone is comparing both. OOops I forgot about the side claddings .

hudrahead

touareg88: Go to "GM Buypower.com" plug in the 32804 zip code and click on McNamara Pontiac. As of this morning they list 38, count'em, Vibe "base" cars and some GT's too. Heck, I don't know WHY they have so many on the ground.Plus there are about 5 more dealers in the immediate area that have from 6 to 20 in stock too, go figure. As to the targeted age group I think maby they missed on that one too. Most of the drivers I see in PT Cruisers are gray hairs and I thought the PT was supposed to appeal to the "cool" generation. They even have a Ron-Jon surfer model here in Florida too, not too many takers either.

The small town dealers all have 5 or 6 in stock. Gainesville had five yesterday morning and they are discounting $1000 !! Not exactly a repeat of the lunacy seen @ the intro of the PT would you say. The bloom is OFF that rose too. Mopar dealer in my little town (6oK pop.)has 20 PT Cruisers in stock !! Too much hype and now too much inventory.

hud :)

footie

There have been a couple of posts in the Matrix board about the A/C's inability to cool down the car in hot and hot/humid weather. With summer just around the corner this will be a big factor for many shoppers including our family.
Are there any Matrix/Vibde owners out here that have actual experience with vehicles which they have test driven or own with their A/C's? What's your feedback on the A/C?
TIA!

footie

I haven't checked the Vibe dealer stock, but I think the Matrix is moving slowly here in the Boston area. Boch Toyota is the areas volume leader (7,000 Toyota's / yr.). They have 21 Matrix in stock and have had them for the last several weeks. They are all auotmatics, 15 base, 5 AWD base, 1 XRS 2wd. No ABS here in New England. Other dealers here have 10 or more in internet inventory. IRA Toyota advertises that they have 35. I think the car is moving very slow because the configs are for grandma.

A sales manager at Boch told me that the Matrix was not as popular as Toyota expected, but quess what is far exceeding their plans - the new Corolla. Inventory is very low here for that car.

I checked and found that South Eastern Toyota zone dealerships (GA, FL, AL, SC, NC) have 940 Matrix in inventory, including 140 XRS's. I got an internet quote from one of the dealers in that region for about $1500 under MSRP. It looked attractive until I chased the option list and found over $1000 worth of 'port' options they stuff the cars with - including $660 worth of fabric protector and paint sealant. (They must have a 1970's sales approach in that part of the country I guess....).

FYI

beater

I took my new Vibe on a trip this weekend on a rural road thru small towns. When checking out the cruise control, I noticed that everything worked like my other cars except for the "resume" function. After setting the speed, "resume" would work above 25 mph just like the manual said. However, if I came to a stop as when entering a town, "resume" didn't work even after accelerating up past 25 mph. I had to reset the cruise speed from scratch. The description in the owner's manual isn't specific on it, but I think it's a problem. I'm not sure I want to let the dealer play with it since I doubt there's much of an experience base yet in their shop. It's not a major problem at this point but I was curious if another Vibe owner had the same experience. Maybe somebody can try it out on a test drive and get back to me.

johnclineii

Sadly, that is the way all TOYOTA cruise control equipped vehicles operate. There is nothing wrong with your particular example that isn't the same way on all the rest....(and yes, I said Toyota, a Vibe is a Matrix under the skin, with some GM designed and specified parts and some Toyota designed and specified parts on each vehicle...)

Or, this is one time when the dealer would be right if s/he said: They are all like that!

zircon2

Lack of supply does not equate with gangbuster sales. It will be interesting to see if they start dumpin' em in Canada if sales in the states are already leveling off. Ulike Aztek which was handicapped with the combined killer duo of high price and 'modest' appeal, this car is nice looking. Thus, I would equate slow sales with high price.

beater

Thanks for the response. I'll get used to it. If it's the biggest surprise I get with the car I'll be happy. Most of the surprises have been minor. I miss having the ability to adjust the timing on the automatic headlights. My other car let me set the time that the headlights remained on after I turned the car off. That was a nice feature when I wanted the headlights on for a bit until I entered the house. I also liked having the the odometer and trip meter mileage visible at the same time as opposed to having to select one or the other. As I said, the surprises are minor. Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

touareg88

I read somewhere that GM pulled a fast one by switching the 200W MONSOON system (Delco) to another lower version of what they call a Delco premium stereo system. By doing this they are saving money since the original price was never adjusted. The savings never get passed on to the consumer. They were hoping no one would notice the bait and switch. Is there anyway to confirm this ??

montanafan

I still have my handout from the New England Auto Show (Nov '01) and it referes to a "200 Watt Premium" sound system option.

prime99ca

I think they did pull a fast one. I got stuck with the premium 6 speaker stereo and I think it's weak even for a factory stereo. I understand people like the Monsoon (which I've never heard) but the premium one really is quite poor. I was surprised especially given that they are marketing this car towards the 'generation' that likes decent sound in a vehicle. My recommendation is to go with the low end stereo from the dealer (if you can) and then add your own.

edchen

AC has not been a problem in hot and humid Florida. It turns cold quick, has neat little vents and blows quite hard on fan setting 2 of 3. There are no rear vents so rear passengers may be uncomfortable until the ambient temperature goes down. Also the solar glass works fairly well.

cfilkins

Well, took my car in 3 weeks ago to get the compartment in the center console fixed - the spring had popped out and I couldn't figure out how to get it back in. They said that they'd have to order a part, and would call. Well, 3 weeks go by and I call them to find out what's up. Apparently, they have no clue how it goes in there, and are waiting for another car to come onto the lot or come in for service so that they can look at that one and figure out out.

Um, is it just me, or is that kinda absurd that a car that is not cheap by any means (we're not talking Kia here), doesn't have support from the manufacturer to handle what sounds like a fairly common problem?

With regards to the stereo, I know that when I was first shopping for them all the places I looked had a 200 watt Monsoon stereo listed as part of the moons & tunes package. I don't know the difference right off, but I'll admit that the standard speakers don't exactly have the best bass response. Anyone know if anyone is developing some aftermarket speakers that could provide some lows without eating up my precious cargo space?

joelis

Why don't you just drive up to a Toyota dealer and ask them nicely to put it back in for you. I'm sure they know how to do it, since its really a Corolla under the skin anyway, and they shouldn't even charge you for something that simple on their part.

cfilkins

Is the shifter the same setup on the Corolla as on the Vibe/Matrix twins?

I really love that little storage spot under there...now if I could somehow mount my cell charger into the little pocket so that when I put the phone in there, it starts charging on it's own....hmm....

montanafan

Saw a Vibe with a hitch from http://www.etrailer if anyone is looking. Looks like a real simple install.

beater

As to the hitch you saw on the Vibe. Did you notice if the fascia had been cut to accomodate the hitch? I emailed etrailer.com and asked their customer service dept about it and they weren't sure. They did say it was a bolt-on using existing holes in the frame. Thanks for the info.