GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

sooo...i notice that everytime i normally get in my car, drive, park, open my door, then proceed to close it, the SECOND i touch the exterior of the car, it ALWAYS shocks me. seems like its a build up of static but i dont know from where or why or what.What could be causing this? its really annoying.

stop rubbing your feet on the floor mats and moving around in your seat......haha jk i really have no idea

It happens to me all the time.

Ditto for me. Now I grab the frame before I put my foot on the ground to keep from getting shocked.I also notice the hairs on my right arm raise on end when it's close to the center console lid as well

yea, i got it too. also happens when i get in the car somehow, when i put the key in the ignition i will either get a shock on that or when i plug in my mp3 player to the adapter cable

yeah there were a few months when i got the same thing every time i touched the door getting out... just seems to have stopped on its own...

Quote, originally posted by gr8vibe »sooo...i notice that everytime i normally get in my car, drive, park, open my door, then proceed to close it, the SECOND i touch the exterior of the car, it ALWAYS shocks me. seems like its a build up of static but i dont know from where or why or what.happens all the time to me, sometimes its a pretty big shock

That is how people blow themselves up at gas stations also. it is not the cell phones it is getting back into your car while pumping gas. get out ....poooof.

It only happens to me when it's cold out

Happens to me everytime I get out of the car.

Those of us who have been struck by lightning scoff at your tiny sparks.......

it happens to me every single time, even in the middle of a rainstorm!! I thought I was just special.

You are special. That's what they tell all the kids that ride the short bus.

Quick note: That spark from the static shock is in the neiborhood of 50-80Kv... !!! Almost zero current, but LOTS of voltage right there...

i never get shocked when i come out of the car

Quote, originally posted by Digger »That is how people blow themselves up at gas stations also. it is not the cell phones it is getting back into your car while pumping gas. get out ....poooof.id be scared to pump gas if this happened to me haha

woe! that's crazy! I'm sorry to hear it.

Quote, originally posted by Digger »That is how people blow themselves up at gas stations also. it is not the cell phones it is getting back into your car while pumping gas. get out ....poooof.Come on now, that myth was busted...

I think it has to do with the tires as they roll or rolled...I had a Z24 that shocked my now wife, before we got married every time. Never shocked me though! Glad it was not a deal breaker! Ironically we do not have any other cars now that do this. Seriously though, if you add those static strips, the kinds on all the pimp rides from the 1970's, it will probably stop!

Quote, originally posted by Renthorin »Those of us who have been struck by lightning scoff at your tiny sparks.......Some of us have been struck by lightening...wow...!!!!

I just found the answer to all the static problems... http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/9de7/

Buy these!http://www.mizter.com/

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »Buy these!http://www.mizter.com/LoL... I see them a lot on cars... and I have to think, does anyone here know what a Vandergraph generator is? Or in laymens terms, a static electricity generator... I know many of us got to play with one in middle/high school... Now, does anyone know that main functionality of HOW it produces static.... Well, it has a rubber belt the revolves virtically inside the "tube" at the top where the "bun" is there is a braided metal strap that rests on the belt, as the belt passes the strap, it collects the static, storing it in the "bun" like a capasitor, waiting for you to touch it... lol.... those straps look awefully close to what's inside a Vandergraph....lol... It looks like I found something that is NOT on Wikipedia.. lol...

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »I think it has to do with the tires as they roll or rolled...Here is an article that says that silica in certain tires can lead to static buildup in a rolling car. http://www.cartalk.com/content....html

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Come on now, that myth was busted... Cell phone yes static no.

Quote, originally posted by Fatty Lumpkin »http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V...ratorDOH, own3d..... I was looking at VANDERGRAPH, not Van De Graph... lol....

Quote, originally posted by Digger »Cell phone yes static no.You might wanna revisit that eppasode, they had a spark plug set up, with gas spraying into there little "room" they build (it might have been the gas in the sewer show) it took a LOT of vapor and the right combo of O2, to get it to light off... Vapor out in the open, like when pumping gas, difuses so fast, there really isn't a huge concern... I'll test my theroy on my way home tonight..... Ok, maybe not..

http://blogs.edmunds.com/Straightline/4410 This is an article with embedded video showing an actual gas station fire started by static electricity. If I remember correctly, mythbusters weren't able to reproduce it but they did talk to a safety official who said it does happen many times each year so be careful.

Yes you are right. I think it still can happen when filling gas cans though. spark jumps from small can opening to tip of the gaspump hose. At least my father in law ( fireman ) tells me it can and does happen. I remember that episode now. I thought the stadic shock was listed as plausable.

Just last night my girlfriend was complaining about static in the Vibe, and when I drove it, I got a nasty shock too. Something about the Vibe and static seems much worse than other cars I've owned.She's a nanny for two young girls, and she tells me how the three of them dread getting out of the car for fear of shocking themselves or each other. She mentioned that last week she shocked the four year old so badly when she helped her out of her car seat that the kid started crying I'm wondering if it's the seats/upholstery/plastic dash & sidepanels causing the static, as I can touch the metalwork on the car when getting out and not get shocked.

Quote, originally posted by ToolGuy »Buy these!http://www.mizter.com/Do like some of the fire trucks and EMS trucks ... hangs chains from under the frame and let them drag on the ground.

Someone was digging thorugh the way, way back machine tonight! Maybe the Vibe is a rolling Van de Graaff generator. Or a Car de Graaff generator.

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »I just found the answer to all the static problems... http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/9de7/as much as i love thinkgeek, why?ohh, it tells you if you are statically charged and then grounds you.so does touching your hand to a door, or if you don't want to be shocked grab a key by the metal then touch the end point of the key to a grounded item. does the same thing. xDand actually, from the description of the item "touch the rubber tip to a grounded object". oO rubber is an insulator, how can this thing possibly work if it isolates you (negativity charged from electron buildup) from a relatively positively charged area?

Mine does the same, I just always thought it was that PONTIAC EXCITEMENT That I've read so much about!

This occurred about two miles from me.....http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/0310/713323.html...So, the potential is there for static discharge to cause a fire.

The potential is there, but statistically it's not common.. Nothing is 100%, so I just said the myth was busted, nothing is 100% though... lol... It takes a VERy specific vapor mixture in open air for it to become explosive.. the problem is, you can't know what that mix is correct or not, at that point of discharge.. lol

Did any of you find something that worked? I have had my Vibe for about two weeks and I am getting shocked every day when I leave the car. The dogs (so far) seem unaffected LOL

May want to give this a tryhttp://www.amazon.com/Static-G...IRBG4

That item seems to be for clothes. Would it work on car seats?I also get shocked almost every time I get out of the car and touch the door to close it. This is my first car where I can expect it to happen. Sometimes it's pretty powerful and I can certainly understand that baby crying when it happens.

Just for yucks and giggles, when you get out of your car at a filling station, once you have the gasoline nozzle in your hand, touch the car with the other hand, to make sure there are no potential differences. What you don't want is a spark between the nozzle and the gas filler neck on the car. This is the area where, depending on conditions, you could find the proper gasoline vapor ratios to cause ignition.Touching the car while you hold the gas nozzle should equalize any charge potential. A very dry airmass in Winter helps set conditions for static discharges. So, on a dry Winter's day, watch out!

I find I don't get nearly as many shocks from my Vibe as I did from my sunfires. But instead of buying a $20 grounding strap you could get 8" of light gauge chain from a hardware store and bolt it on the frame under the car. This would effectively ground you out for 85 cents or so.