Pontiac Vibe

maxx4me

I say: recall the paint job!!!! My chips (mmmmm, chips) are getting annoying.

hudrahead

maxx:I guess if enough owners beef about the fragile paint on the cladding GM might do something about it. To think I paid $300 for the problem gripes me no end.

I have a good friend in the body / paint biz who'll paint the offending claddng for free. I think I'll take him up on the offer. Maby go with a "argent" silver or a light beige metallic to contrast the white. It just looks like the paint is just too thin on the base material. That cladding is probably not even painted by GM but by a sub contractor. Toured the Vette plant a few years back and was told by the tour guide that the facia panels come into the plant prepainted from whoever supplies them to GM. This may account for the often seen slight mismatch of paint colors seen on the plastic "noses" of many GM cars,in particular most of the metallic colors. We have a bunch of Cavalier / Sunfire company vehicles and they all have a slight mismatch of these panels. Great quality control, eh ?

HUD :)

tinosasso

there some kind of coating i can use on the bottom to prevent it from chipping. My brother does body work for a living so i could probably easily get him to do it for me. How bout that clicking noise when first backing up?

jmcknight2

- Do you have antilock brakes? It might be the self-checking of the system.

dindak

Definition : Limited to the number of them they think they can sell.

;-)

tinosasso

heard a mysterious clicking noise when first backing up or sometimes when turning the wheel when vehicle is stopped. It comes from the l/f and its not all the time. Anyone else heard this?? It almost sound like the cv boot has no grease but that seems impossible?

dudleyr

Upper strut bearing is a candidate.

chesterkulus1

Hello,
   I have thoroughly looked under my 2004 AWD Vibe and have not found any grease fittings. Am I missing something, or are there really none?
   Also, I want to put in Synthetic automatic transmission fluid. I noticed that there is a drain plug in the transmission pan. I also notice that in the torque converter there is another drain plug. Should I undo both drain plugs and drain both, or drain from the transmission pan?

Thanks,

Chet Kulus

ab348

It seems commonplace these days to have suppliers paint components before assembly. Yesterday I stopped by a Nissan/Infiniti dealer and was surprised to see a G35 in dark blue metallic with quite visibly mismatched painted door handles and surrounds. Not impressive on such an expensive car. Actually I was fairly unimpressed with a lot of what I saw there - their interiors are generally pretty cheesy (the Quest being the worst offender).

mattjs

i noticed something wierd about the 2004 vibe GT horsepower. its DOWN from 2003. in 03, it was rated at 180. this year, 2004, its 173. this is according to edmunds.com, pontiac's website, AND a 2004 Vibe GT i saw on a dealer's lot. now, oddly, the 2004 matrix XRS, same engine, has the full 180 horsepower, according to edmunds, and toyota's website. any ideas on why this is?

dindak

I don't think that engine really has 180hp, never has.

nippononly

from the celica GTS most certainly does have 180 hp...get it over 6000 rpm, and it will quickly convince you. As to the Vibe GT's lower rating this year, perhaps they had to reroute the exhaust and it became more restrictive?

montanafan

I believe I saw a post somewhere that said the 2004 Vibe GT has added an air pump and other changes in the emissions. This results in the slightly lower HP ratings. Not sure why Toyota isn't showing the same.

vonnyvonce

Have moons and tunes cd/radio. Noticed yesterday right side 1/3 of the display is darkened. Anyone know if this is a led/bulb that can be replaced or is the radio display dead. Owned for 14 months and 35,000 miles.

johnclineii

sounds like only 1000 miles left on that warranty.

Hie to thy dealer!

maxx4me

uh, oh...maybe I should be getting that extended warranty afterall.....he, he, he

gfletcher

To tinosasso: yes I had the same thing happen when I first got the car, happening intermittantly, and during shifting into reverse. I had the dealer investigate. Their response was that the other Vibes on the lot had similar behavior and that no service bulletins had been issued about it. Since then the condition has been absent though. Perhaps it was a "break-in" thing but I suggest taking to the dealer and documenting it just in case there's a problem in the future.

Kirstie_H

Don't forget tonight's member-to-member chat -- Our topic tonight is "Warranties: Are they worth it?"



http://www.edmunds.com/townhall/chat/townhallchat.html

6-7pm PT/9-10pm ET. Drop by for live chat with other members. Hope you can join us!

kirstie_h
Roving Host & Future Vehicles Host

wildcorgis

I hope this topic hasn't been asked a hundred times so I'll be real specific.I've driven both and would probably settle with the one with best deal& equipment.
Seat(cushions) felt better in the Matrix than Vibe, are they the same?
Liked the ride in the Vibe, is the suspension the same?
Any differences in reliabilty so far?

Thanks,

Steve

johnclineii

In the USA, the Toyota comes with a better warranty than does the Pontiac. The Pontiac comes with the better price, usually.

Much depends on the dealer. Are you going to use the dealer for service? Check them out.

stillageek

They are mechanically identical. The Vibe may have been an AWD which would ride differently as AWD models (Vibe and Matrix) have 4 wheel independent suspensions. My XRS has been rock solid. I only have 8000 miles on it (not a daily driver). About the seats...I assume they are the same.

montanafan

Was just checking out the web site for the New England International Auto Show, coming to Boston Nov1-9th. The Vibe GXP and Sunfire GXP are scheduled to be there (along with the Solstice).

5679

What is that anyway?

montanafan

"GXP" is a line up of special versions of current Pontiac cars. Pontiac had a display at the specialty show in Las Vegas last year. There were "GXP" versions of each of their models. They have already announced the Bonneville GXP will start production this winter. I think if you go to Pontiac's web site and find the concept/show car section, you can see the "GXP" family.

revka

montanafan is correct. Here's the a direct link to the Pontiac site: Pontiac Concept Cars. You'll find information on the Vibe GXP halfway down the page.

To wildcorgis & others interested- Regarding Vibe/Matrix. Have you had a chance to check out our Matrix vs. Vibe discussion? Good luck with your decision!

Revka
Host of Hatchbacks & Wagons

5679

Thanks for the info and the link on the GXP.

I have just turned the 30,000 Km mark on my Vibe with virtual carefree driving experience except for: a dead battery (-30 degrees celcius!), a cracked (inner) plastic wall of the liftgate, and a skipping CD player (replaced). Several small paint chips prompted me to buy some touchup.
During the summer my highway mileage surpassed the advertised limits, a pleasant surprise as prices peaked.

mikus

Hmm... Basically the same Vibe with 130 hp engine + supercharger, but right from the factory.

heysharon

Apologies for my ignorance...what are the 'rules' for using overdrive? For day to day driving should it be off? Does it make sense that the dash says 'overdrive off' if this is normal driving? Can I turn it on and off at any speed or while stopped? As you can see, I've always driven a standard tranny.

Speaking of which, does anyone find the automatic to slow to shift?

nippononly

for O/D is on...you can turn it off to hold lower gears if you want, but it will lower your gas mileage. You can turn it off when stopped or at moderate speed.

The philosophy of the drivetrain in the non-GT is gas-saver, not power and performance. Hence the slow shifts, especially from first to second. The auto in the '03 GT/Matrix XRS was a lot more snappy, holding gears much longer and whipping from one gear to the next when shifts occurred. Of course, for '04 they dropped the auto altogether in the high-power versions.

poisondartfrog

New 2003 Vibe (base) owner... wife complains about light to dark transition (line) at the top of the low headlight beams. I would like to adjust the beams up a bit, maybe it will diffuse the light better? I looked, and it wasn't obvious how to make the adjustment. Anyone with a service manual could "shed some light" on this subject?

mikus

> wife complains about light to dark transition
> (line) at the top of the low headlight beams.
> I would like to adjust the beams up a bit,
> maybe it will diffuse the light better?

Say what? You want to diffuse the sharp light/dark line? Why would you want that? This is the whole point of european headlights, which have the special cut-off screen in the headbulb to prevent light going up. This provides for better road lightning and at the same time helps drivers going in the opposite direction not to get blinded by your headlights. This design is superior than ancient american headlight type. Along with this must be said, that european cars has a special headlight corrector which is operated by the driver or, recently, automatically, like on HID headlights. A driver can select the load ratio of a car, like "driver only", "driver and passengers", "driver only and a full trunkload", etc. Hydraulic or electric system then adjusts the headlights so the cut-off line is kept on the proper level for a given load.

O/D. Keeping it "on" you just enable the highest transmission gear. O/D off would mean that transmssion will use only three gears. Look it up on howstuffworks.com.

jpprivate

I seem to be the last person on the planet (or so it feels sometimes) who thinks bumpers are there to get bumped or bump into something. Therefore they should be able to endure some stress and not look too fancy. The idea to paint bumpers might make them looks nice, but it's completely useless once the color chips off.
I have to admit - this idea was partly responsible why I looked into the Vibe.

So does anybody have any experience on how good the bumpers hold up?

Thanks,

steine13

(also posted in Matrix group)...

.. I just got a new Vibe, and I really really really like it, more so than I thought I would.
I was hauling 3 seats from my wife's smashed minivan in the back, with plenty room to spare. Impressive.

But my question: I heard some nasty cracking sounds while I was crawling around the back getting stuff in place... is the load floor meant to hold a person? I'm 180, maybe 190 pounds, and when most of that rests on one knee, I'm not sure that's a good idea... does anyone have any insight here?

TIA,
-Mathias

tinosasso

Have a couple issues on my fwd 04 vibe. Wondering if anyone else has the same concerns or problems: 1) skipping cd player when the cd is barely scratched, 2) slight wobble when accelerating at low speeds 3) distortion of my speakers, (i have the six speaker), 4)clicking noise everytime i turn my defroster on (maybe normal), and clicking noise heard from l/f when first shifting into gear and sometimes after moving from a stopped position (especially when shifting into reverse), Any comments or suggestions??????

tinosasso

.....???

jmcknight2

- My '03 AWD has not exhibited any of those problems, but I've heard of some people that have them. Do you have antilock brakes? There's a clicking noise when the computer does a self- check of the system, shortly after you drive off. Mention your concerns to your dealer when you have a chance.

tinosasso

i do have abs....but why would the computer do a check after the car has been driven for a while. For instance after i pull away from a toll booth many times i hear it. I also started to notice a rotten egg smell coming from the heater. It only lasts for a little while then goes away. Anyone else experience any of the problems i mentioned??

npgmbr

Not sure about your other issues, but the rotten egg smell is an old Toyota issue. The Vibe is a Matrix which is itself a Corolla. This smell has existed with the Corolla for a while, but I don't know if there is a fix.

jmcknight2

- The egg smell seems to be a common complaint, especially with AWD owners. Apparently, when the wind is behind you and blowing toward the front of the vehicle, you suck in the sulfur smell from the exhaust. Some fuel brands may be worse offenders than others, but mention the problem to your dealer, as well as the clicking noise.

vibefan

I have noticed that the egg smell seems to go away after the car is completely warmed up. Until then it is bad. Have a bad rattle somewhere in the right rear part of the car, maybe by the rear fender area or hatch. I have tried putting cloth etc. all over in the compartment under the rear floor door to no avail. Anyone else have rattles in this area and solved it?

nippononly

many of the "available rattles", but nothing from behind the rear seats. Could it be the glass in the rear door, rattling because it is not seated properly when closed?

A click is normal when turning on the defroster. I have had no problems with wobbling or skipping CD player.

tkapres1

Can anyone please give advice to upgrading the tires on my 2003 Vibe. I would prefer a long lasting quiet tire that is also a great mud and snow tire. It is not a option to totally upgrade to a snow only tire at this time, so I would like to keep the stock rims.

Thanks,

205/55/16

nippononly

Energy Plus MXV4 is long-lasting and quiet, with good wet traction. Expensive though, and I am not sure what snow handling would be like. I suspect poor.

Which did you have before, the Continentals or the Goodyears?

tkapres1

My Vibe came with the Continental set. As a brand I really like Michelin, but the tire I'am leaning towards right now is the Bridgestone Turanza LS-T.

There are so many tire choices.

thanks

nippononly

at the Turanza, take a close look also at the Toyo Proxes TPT. It is a fairly new tire from them, and is quiet and comfortable. The ones I have on a different car have about 10K on them now and hardly show any wear at all. It is supposed to be a tire with great handling, but I would call handling moderately good, and ride great. Same as Turanza, in my experience.

sb55

Will Matrix rims fit the Vibe? I assume that they will, but want to confirm, if anybody knows for sure. My vibe has steel rims, and I want to upgrade. I saw some on ebay and I like the design a little better than the Vibe alloys.

steine13

...I'm contemplating getting snows for our cars. And I'm happy with steel wheels; have had trouble in the past getting alloys off the hubs; who needs that.
Tirerack is offering "painted steel wheels". If they're like the white painted rims I got from Discount Tire for my wife's truck a couple years back, I want nothing to do with them. They started rusting the moment we put them on. OTOH, the black steel rims on my Vibe look ok to me. Does anyone know (i) if the tirerack wheels are ok and (ii) how much "regular" Vibe wheels are and where one can buy them for a good price?
My wife's car is now a Sienna, and I basically have the same question there. Anybody?
TIA,
-Mathias

jmcknight2

- The painted steel wheels I got from Tirerack for my wife's Grand Am were black. You can buy wheel covers for them and they don't look too bad.

tinosasso

the GY Eagle GTH-R is an awesome tire (around 80 on sale)and as a sales associate at sears i've heard many good remarks about the tires from my customers. Everyone knows manufactures put crappy tires on stock vehicles and the vibe is no exception with the cheap conti's or cheap GY RSA's. I also strongly recommend the Michelin Pilot XGTH4. They can be pricy (around 110) but there probably one of the best all around tires out there. Also fellow vibe owners i would strongly recommend staying with the H speed rating because although you'll get better mileage out of a S or T the handling will suffer. Maybe it's just me but i want my vibe to grip the corners as tight as possible. Hope this helped. I too have experienced rattles from the rear of vehicle when driving over bumps but have yet to investigate. PS Michelins are on sale right now. Thanks

vibefan

I bought my Vibe in June 03 and my father in July 03. Today in Wisconsin we had a temperature of 6 dgrees. Both of us had concerns of our cars starting. It seems as though the engine barely cranks over enough to start. Really took a while to actually start. I was surprised to hear him say the same thing. What happens when the temperature gets below zero? Is this normal for the Vibes? Are they fitted with a smaller battery than needed? This is really a concern as we are not even into the cold weather yet. Thanks in Advance.