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Vibe Maintenance & Repair Concerns
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Comments
I was gonna remark about your comment from a month or so ago when you said your XRS wasn't loud enough, thel. I thought you must have be being sarcastic but I guess not. My XRS is plenty loud for me.
I've got Number of the Beast in my CD changer, but sometimes it is entertaining enough to listen to the engine.
BTW, I saw your comments in the smartshopper boards about ditching your car. Is it really that bad for you? I know you're coming from a Miata and all, but so bad you want to be rid of it so soon? The trix is easily the best handling and performing car I've ever owned. The only things better that I have been privileged to drive were an old RX7 and my dad's 330Ci.
It's been over a year since the trix had the TSB.
Did GM ever get their own TSB out? If yes, Anyone with details from a dealer after the fix? I think it was a relay switch.
As for the car, the seating position has done such a number on my left leg that I can barely stand to drive it. The pain is quite bad, almost unbearable...something about the upright seating position and the relatively high engagement point of the clutch I guess.
Anyway, Carmax offered by $13,500, I ran, not walked, out of the place and let my wife drive home. She thinks that she can handle the stick even thought she prefers the sluchbox in her Civic so we're going to trade for a little while and see if my leg heals. If it does, I'll blame the car. If it doesn't, I'll blame something else like tennis season. Either way I won't be getting rid of it anytime soon if that is all the Matrix is worth...Even my Protege5 didn't depreciate that quickly.
I paid $15,500 for the P5, a few months later, a dealer offered $12,500...not too bad. I paid $19,500 for the Matrix back in November of 03 and now I'm offered $13,500 and I'm left wondering if I really bought a Hynundai or something!? LOL!
I was worried about the seating position since pretty much all the reviews said something about the seats being designed for short people. When I test drove one, I found that I didn't need to make any adjustments from where the salesman had it when he brought it around.
The clutch action is not affecting my knee at all as far as I can tell. The clutch is a little tricky in 1st because of the peakiness of the engine. I like shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th though.
I think that carmax offer was their way of telling you that they don't want the car. I get the impression carmax wants mass-market vehicles, not niche vehicles. Betcha they'd offer more if had an automatic. Other enthusiast sites for the trix have members talking about much higher trade values. Have you gotten it appraised by a Toyota dealer? They might have a different view on its desirability.
If you are serious about selling, the $13,5 is pretty good.
There are fire sales now on P5s around where I am, for the ones that are left. I kinda doubt that one that had been $15,5 new would be worth $12,5 any more.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Anyway, I could have sworn that some other owners had gotten significantly higher trade in values. I went looking on some other sites. So far I found one guy who traded an XRS for a Mazda3 and got 14,5 for his.
As for the Matrix being a niche vehicle...I'd say the XR is pretty standard but the XRS is very nichey. A 6-speed, high-hp (relatively speaking) grocery getting wagon...yeah, that's not a mass market appeal car IMO.
Anyway, thel, what attracted you to the trix and why did you buy it? What things will you pay more attention to the next time you are in the market?
The local dealer has two XRS's - they have both been there longer than two months. Both have stickers on them advertising $2500 off MSRP, which would bring their price to about $17,500.
If you figure a used car would go for at least 10% less than the best price you could get a new one for, even in excellent condition and with very few miles, that would make an '04 worth about $15,750. But in reality I don't think they are going for that. Some guy on the local automart (weekend sell-your-own-car type of thing) has had his XRS in there so many consecutive weekends, he qualified for a free weekend. His is an '03, with 10K miles. He is joining the military and shipping out, according to his sign. The price has marched steadily downward from $17K at first (a bit optimistic) to $13,500 last weekend.
Now, of course, the XR I had is a much higher-volume model, so it is no surprise the depreciation was worse than an XRS's.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2. What would I pay attention to more next time? I'd say it's more of an issue of knowing exactly what it is I want more than anything. I thought I knew, and I was wrong. I've learned to be more deliberate and patient the next time. I figured that there was about a 20% chance that I'd actually sell my XRS, but I thought I'd give it a try and see what they said.
The test drive was one of those preprogrammed routes and it lasted about 5 miles...not long enough to notice any fatigue issues. It performed much better than the SVT and the WRX IMO, so I bought it and made the worst car buying decision of my life (and I've made 4 really bad ones).
I bought the Pro5 and then sold it when the dealer's service and parts departments made me very upset and angry over their ignorance and I allowed it to sour my view on the car which is dumb, but it happened anyway...
I bought a Tahoe from my mother-in-law b/c it was a great deal and I thought I needed 4WD. I went this last winter with only FWD and did fine and despite the good deal, I still couldn't afford the payments....again, dumb.
I've got a million dumb trade-in stories. If I get time, and you guys want to really hear them for a good laugh at my expense, I may post them...but I don't think this would be the best forum for that...
I have fun driving, though I don't like the bumper to bumper stuff. I have learned how to start off at a crawl in 1st gear now, thanks to the DC traffic I was in. Now I am in Miami and I still get bumper to bumper traffic but I can still let her rip. Having the 6 speed and the power allows me to get around the land yachts driven by cellphone addicts well enough.
I think part of our traffic problems are caused by the automatic transmissions and the driving style they encourage. Anyone in a manual hates to come to a complete stop, where someone with an automatic doesn't mind the stop and go and actually contributes to it.
XRS availability. I was hard pressed to find one. I originally wanted to test drive one in June of 03, but the nearest one was 150 miles away. So I waited. A year later and there were still none in my neck of the woods (Richmond, VA). I bought mine 150 miles from home.
Oddly enough I spotted two other XRS one day in Richmond. There were three of us in a row. I was behind a dark blue one, and behind me was a silver one. Mine is cosmic blue. Must have been a lunar eclipse.
I've seen a couple down here in Miami. One was an 03 with an auto.
With the new car, I will miss the people-carrying ability of the Matrix, but apart from that I am very satisfied with the trade, and I was mindful of the passenger-carrying downside before I signed the papers.
thel: I wouldn't mind hearing a trade-in story or two some time! I am like you - I didn't have a precise enough idea of what I needed in a car when I bought the Matrix - should have stuck to what I knew (sport coupes). I loved the looks so much that I didn't look enough before I leaped.
tinosasso: if you search back through this thread and the Matrix and Vibe threads, you wil find this squeaky gauge problem to be very common in early cars, and lots of people had homegrown remedies that they claimed success with. Or you could have the dealer fix it.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I would have preferred an RSX from the very start, but I could not allow myself the luxury of a vehicle with no space.
I am considering legal action against GM on this issue and am wondering if anyone else is as fed up with this as I am. I live in Chicagoland and you have either the heat or air-conditioning on about 9 months a year.
Anyone care to join me in a discussion of a class action law suit?
-Larry
not sure if it is an interference engine or not...but that would be unusual for Toyota.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
-Larry
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
It sounds like something is sliding around in a plastic box under the seat. It is not unlike the noise a coin or something would make while sliding in a tupperware container that stops when it hits the side. Not only do I hear it, but I can feel it. It happens around every corner or when I brake or accelerate.
There is some kind of appendage with wires coming out of it under the seat, but it doesn't seem to be coming from it
Does anyone have this problem or know of a fix?
2021 Toyota Venza Limited Hybrid, 2022 Ram 2500 Laramie 6.4 Hemi, 2007 Mazda MX-5 Miata PRHT
They acknowledge that there is a smell but state that there is nothing they can do about it. They then state that they are sorry that I am unhappy with their decision and refer me to the Better Business Bureau.
I am absolutlely dumbfounded by this response. What GM is saying is that they acknowledge a major defect in the Vibe but won't do anything about it. I know some of you may feel that this is petty but believe me when that smell kicks in, it is awful.
Bottom line from this Vibe owner, don't buy one. I have owned 4 pontiacs in the last 12 years (2 ssei's, 1 montana and the Vibe) and after this experience would never, ever, buy another pontiac or GM product. If this is how they treat a loyal owner, I wonder how they treat others.
1) Vibe with 11,000 miles
2) The wheel alignment was off when she bought the car
3) After having the dealer try to fix it several times, she reports that the steering has no "play". Meaning that the car turns significantly with minimal steering effort. Kind of like a go cart.
4) Also, the dealer said that since the Vibe has a relatively narrow track, she will have to get used to this kind of handling.
Otherwise she really likes the car. Any thoughts on what can be looked at or if she should elevate to GM? At the least, I would like her to take the car to another dealer. Thank you.
mc dawg is right about the many posts around Edmund Town Hall. Here is one opinion on the subject of the sulfer smell.
"practically, any of the majors in your area are using the same refinery stocks and just adding your additive package for gas. There ARE differences in the refinery stocks. Some have already cut over to newer equipment that cuts sulfur in the gas to essentially none, some haven't yet. If you have a recent car that has a permeable-ceramic catalytic, sulfur can build up in them under light driving, and release in a hot stinky cloud of hydrogen sulfide if you floor it, tow, start driving uphill, or otherwise load the engine more or get the cat hot. There are a lot of yowls about that across the Edmunds Boards. The car makers all say use the lowest sulfur gas you can get. But, who has it is something a little hard to tell.
-by Scott Schrader Mar 20, 2004 Town Hall
1. GM owns Pontiac, therefore the liability rests with GM.
2. I said they said they could not do anything about the problem since they don't have a solution. However, they could offer restitution in the form of buying back the vehicle or offering another vehicle. This they WON'T do.
3. As stated in my original post a couple of weeks ago, I have tried different brands AND octanes of gas, none of which has worked. For your Mazda Proteges you state that you smell it when you step out of the car. In this Vibe, the smell is like that inside when you are driving. LOL?
The quoted text above seems to indicate that the occurances are sporadic because people have different driving styles. Since I have an XRS, I don't have the problem with "light driving." I rev it up now and again and have yet to experience the smell. So perhaps I keep my system hot enough to prevent the buildup in the first place.
What is your daily drive like?
BTW, I find it odd that you seem to expect a replacement vehicle for this problem.
One thing that I think needs to be said to others who have responded. I keep hearing about this being a gas thing, and it's common because of the type of gas, or it's common with Toyota or Mazda, yada, yada, yada. I have a Pacifica and an Audi which both use the same gas as the Vibe. No problem. I am 55 years old and have owned probably 20 vehicles in my time. No problem. If you, as a consumer, are comfortable with having this experience with the smell then all I can say is that you get what you deserve. I won't allow that. I have contacted the BBB and I will make Pontiac pay for damages in both real dollars and reputation.
Reputation? I can't begin to fathom what you are getting at with this one.
I would imagine GM has taken their position because of several factors. One is that only a small portion of owners report this problem. The second is that when these owners bring in the car for work, no mechanical defect can be found. They could replace the catalytic converter, but that would likely leave things unchanged if they believe that this a gasoline mixture and driving habit issue, not a mechanical one.
Real damages in terms of either buying the car back or in offering another vehicle, both at a premium. I know you think this sounds undoable but let me point out a key mistake that they made. I let them (the local dealer, with their approval) have the car for one week and they came back with no solution. However, the in milage was identical to the out milage which means that they did not even try to duplicate the problem or resolve it. I think the BBB will not look kindly on that.
In terms of reputation, I have already cost them one sale. Don't forget, this is a perfect car for the teenagers and I am often asked by other parents what I think of the car. I already talked one potential buyer out of it. I will do my best to cost them as many sales as possible simply by telling others who ask the truth behind Pontiac's actions (or lack thereof).
By the way, your point about how a car is driven is mentioned in their bulletin. Just to make sure that the car was being driven only the way they want it driven, I personally took the car out a couple of times to make sure I complied with how they want a car driven. Same problem. But think about it. Is what they are saying is that you cannot drive a Vibe for short trips without this problem occuring? That's absurd. The Vibe is not marketed as a road car, I wouldn't buy it for that reason. It is marketed as a small fun car for the young. Look at their adds if you don't believe me.