2004 Pontiac Vibe Complaint Log

WHILE DRIVING ON SUNNY DAYS, CONSUMER CANNOT SEE THE SPEEDOMETER NEEDLE. HOWEVER, IT IS ENCASED IN BLACK, AND THE NEEDLE ITSELF IS VERY DARK RED, WHICH MAKES IT VERY HARD TO SEE HOW FAST CONSUMER IS GOING. *AK *TT

2004 PONTIAC VIBE THE RUBBER STRIPING AND MOLDING ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR KEEPS SPLITTING AND WEARING OUT EVERY 3500 MILES. ALSO THERE ARE 2 SPOTS ON THE INSIDE OF THE DOOR WHERE THE PAINT IS GONE IN 2 EXACT ROUND SPOTS FROM THE DOOR VIBRATING. I WAS TOLD BY SOMEONE OTHER THEN THE DEALER THAT HIS COULD BE CAUSED BY ONE OF TWO THINGS. EITHER THE BODY IS FLEXING OR THERE IS A WELD MISSING ON THE UNIBODY. THE FLEXING WOULD BE BECAUSE OF THE SUNROOF. THEY (THE FACTORY) REMOVES A BEAM TO PUT THE SUNROOF IN AND THIS CAUSES A STRUCTURE PROBLEM WHICH IS CAUSING THE POSSIBLE FLEXING. THE DEALER REPLACED THE MOLDING ONCE AND GM IS REFUSING TO REPLACE IT GAIN. THEY HAD AN ENGINEER PUT THE VEHICLE ON A FRAME MACHINE TO SEE IF IT IS STRAIGHT. I HAVE BEEN ADVISED THAT THIS IS A SAFETY AND DEFECT ISSUE AND SHOULD BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL DRIVING THIS VEHICLE. *AK

2004 PONTIAC VIBE, 3.000 PAINT IS CHIPPING OFF AND BUBBLING. *AK

SPOTS/DISTORTION ON DASH AND GETTING WORSE. *JB

2004 PONTIAC VIBE BASE,3000 MILES, DRIVERS SEAT HAS BECOME LOOSE TO THE POINT YOU CAN MOVE IT BACK AND FORTH BY HAND,CENTER OF UPPER BACK IS ALSO COLLAPSING, LEAVING LITTLE SUPPORT TO LOWER AND UPPER BACK, HAD TO ADJUST SEAT SEVERAL TIMES ON SHORT TRIPS.DEALER IS GOING TO REPLACE LOWER LEFT SEAT TRACK FIRST TO SEE IF THIS CURES THE PROBLEM,I CAN SEE WHERE THIS MIGHT FIX THE MOVEMENT AND THE POPPING OF THE SEAT AND I DO NOT SEE THIS FIXING THE SEATBACK WEAKENING AND SINKING IN.*AK

NEW CAR HAS VERY BAD PAINT PROBLEMS - CHIPS AND CRAZING - ONLY 12,000 MILES ON ODOMETER. *AK

2004 PONTIAC VIBE WITH 5,200 MILES HAD ENGINE SEIZE. EXPERTS SAY DUE TO ENGINE FAILURE, GM WON'T HONOR WARRANTY, GM REP VISITED WITH ME AND SAID DON'T TELL ANYONE FROM GM I WAS TALKING WITH YOU AND LIED DURING CONVERSATION, YET SUBMITTED REPORT AND SAID DENY CLAIM, OTHER VEHICLES HAVE SAME PROBLEM. *JB

THE PAINT IS VERY EASILY CHIPPING AND IT'S PITTING IN THE FRONT. THERE ARE NUMEROUS PAINT CHIPS ALL OVER THE VEHICLE. THIS VEHICLE HAS BEEN CHIPPING SINCE I BOUGHT IT NEW IN EARLY 2004. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALERSHIP AND THEY SAID IT WAS NORMAL. I BELIEVE THE PAINT IS BAD OR THE CLEAR COAT IS WAY TO THIN. THE CAR ALREADY NEEDS TO BE REPAINTED AND I HAVE ONLY HAD THE CAR FOR ABOUT 7 MONTHS. *JB

CHECK ENGINE LIGHT HAS COME ON TWICE IN FIRST 3000 MILES. DEALERS UNABLE TO FIX PROBLEM; COMPUTER CODE INDICATES SOMETHING IN THE EVAP CANISTER AREA. ALL DEALER'S DO IS RESET THE LIGHT.*AK

THE OEM BATTERY IN MY 2004 PONTIAC VIBE IS OF INSUFFICIENT CAPACITY FOR WINTER STARTUPS. PONTIAC INSTALLED A 310 CCA BATTERY, WHICH IS HAVING DIFFICULTY CRANKING THE ENGINE WHEN ATTEMTPTING TO START IT AT LOW TEMPERATURES (BELOW 15 DEGREES F). I HAD DIFFICULTY STARTING MY CAR AT -5DEGREES F THIS WEEK (IT TOOK 4 ATTEMPTS; I HAD ALL ACCESSORIES TURNED OFF, I.E. RADIO, FAN, LIGHTS. MY CAR IS LESS THAN 2 MONTHS OLD). THERE ARE MULTIPLE REPORTS OF SUCH NEAR FAILURES OF THE 310 CCA BATTERY ON THE 2003/2004 PONTIAC VIBE MODELS, ALONG WITH REPORTS OF COMPLETE BATTERY FAILURE IN COLD WEATHER ON WWW.GENVIBE.COM. IT IS RECOMMENDED TO GET A BATTERY ABOVE 500 CCA FOR COLD CLIMATES FOR A 4 CYLINDER ENGINE LIKE THE VIBE'S 1.8L. THE UNDERPOWERED BATTERY INSTALLED BY PONTIAC ON MY CAR COULD RESULT IN GETTING STRANDED IN COLD WINTER CONDITIONS AND COULD POSE A LIFE THREATENING HAZARD.

DT: THE CONTACT STATED THE VEHICLE HAD MANY DIFFERENT PROBLEMS AND SAFETY DEFECTS. THE FIRST PROBLEM STARTED JUST SEVEN DAYS AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE. WHILE PRESSING ON THE BRAKES THEY SOUNDED LIKE THEY WERE FALLING APART. THE NEXT PROBLEM CONCERNED THE ENGINE. AT TIMES THERE WAS NOISE AND THE VEHICLE SHOOK VERY BADLY. ALSO, THE VEHICLE LURCHED FORWARD WITHOUT WARNING. THE THIRD PROBLEM INVOLVED THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM. WHEN THE VEHICLE WAS STARTED THE RADIO MADE A CRACKING SOUND, AND THE POWER DOOR LOCKS WORKED INTERMITTENTLY. THE INTERIOR LIGHTS FLASHED/TURNED OFF AND ON. DUE TO THE LACK OF ILLUMINATION, AND THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER WAS VERY HARD TO SEE. WHEN THE POWER WINDOWS WERE ROLLED UP ONE CAN HEAR A BUZZING SOUND .WHILE PARKED IN A PARKING LOT THE KEYLESS ENTRY OPENED ANOTHER VEHICLE THAT WAS 30 FEET. AWAY. ALSO, THE SMELLS OF RAW GAS FUMES WERE COMING FROM INSIDE OF THE VEHICLE. THE DEALERSHIP INSPECTED THE VEHICLE, AND FOUND THE FIREWALL SHIELD SCREWS WERE LOOSE. THE MANUFACTURER HAS BEEN CONTACTED, AND WAS CURRENTLY IN ARBITRATION. *AK

MY VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL WILL FAIL TO HOLD A CONSTANT SPEED. ESPECIALLY ON HILLS AND IN COLDER WEATHER. I REPLACED THE SPEED CONTROL SERVO , HAVE HAD THE CAR IN THE SHOP 4 TIMES AND MECHANIC CAN'T FIX IT. THEY CALLED TO A GM SHOP AND MECHANICS TOLD HIM THIS IS A KNOWN ISSUE. I SEE MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS ON YOUR SITE AS WELL. PERHAPS A RECALL IS IN ORDER AS THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AND COULD CAUSE AN ACCIDENT OR FATALITY MUCH LIKE THE PEDAL PROBLEMS TOYOTA HAS EXPERIENCED/ THE CAR WILL DECELERATE QUICKLY AT THE MOST INOPPORTUNE TIMES. THERE IS OBVIOUSLY AN ISSUE HERE BEYOND MY VEHICLE. WHY IS THERE NO RECALL OR SIMILAR ACTION PLAN TO DATE? *TR

DRIVER NOTICED THAT THE AUTOMATIC DOOR LOCKS MALFUNCTIONED. DRIVER WAS UNABLE TO OPEN THE DOOR FROM THE INSIDE OR OUTSIDE. VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION NUMEROUS TIMES, BUT MECHANIC COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM. *AK

ON MY 2004 PONTIAC VIBE, THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER IS LINED WITH A CHROME FINISH THAT REFLECTS INTO THE WINDSHIELD MAKING VISIBILITY REDUCED. RALPH NADER CRITICIZED THIS OVER 30 YEARS AGO WHEN CAR MANUFACTURES WERE USING CHROME FINISHES THAT CAUSED NOTICEABLE GLARE. APPARENTLY, PONTIAC FORGOT DRIVER VISIBILITY WHEN THEY ADDED CHROME AND BRUSHED ALUMINUM TO THEIR INSTRUMENT CLUSTERS. *LA

AFTER THE CONSUMER REMOVED HIS FOOT OFF THE ACCELERATOR PEDAL, THE VEHICLE SLOWLY DECELERATED. *AK THE ENGINE IDLE WAS SLOW TO RETURN TO NORMAL WHEN THE ACCELERATOR WAS RELEASED. THE PROBLEM COULD CAUSE AND ACCIDENT AND RESULTED IN AN EXTENSIVE USE OF THE BRAKES. THE DEALER ACKNOWLEDGED THE PROBLEM AND STATED THAT IT WAS A DESIGN FEATURE AND NOT A FAILURE. THE DEALER INSTALLED AN EVENT RECORDER ON THE CONSUMER'S VEHICLE. *SCC *JB

DURING THE NIGHTTIME BRIGHTNESS OF THE HEADLIGHTS CANNOT BE ADJUSTED. THIS CAUSES POOR VISIBILITY TO THE DRIVER. THE HEADLIGHTS WILL ONLY ADJUST TO THE HIGH BEAMS. DRIVER HAS TO DECREASE SPEED WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT IN ORDER TO SEE THE ROAD. CONSUMER CONTACTED THE DEALER AND STATED THERE WAS NO SOLUTION FOR THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE THIS WAS HOW THE HEADLIGHTS WERE DESIGNED. *AK