GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

I just posted my intro in another thread - we just bought our daughter a Vibe, and for the foreseeable future, I will be the principal mechanic (until my daughter can afford to pay a real one).

I have a couple questions about this car based on my initial prep of the Vibe before giving it to our daughter (2009 2.4 FWD, 83,000 miles with Sun & Sound package, 18" wheels)

1. The center console doesn't open all the way (only about 45º) . Is that normal? Also the lid wobbles a lot, but the two screws will require a right-angle driver (which I don't possess right now). is there a better way to disassemble this console and tighten everything up?

2. When I originally test drove the car, everything mechanical looked perfect, but it shuddered badly at idle when in D and warmed up. I was worried about motor mounts, and so I brought the seller down $500 on the price for this. When I got it home, I pulled apart the throttle body and scrubbed it out and used some MAF spray to clean the MAF. Upon reassembly, she *seems* to run fine now. Is this a common issue and should I be confident that I addressed the problem? (the TB didn't seem overly dirty or varnished, but there was a slight ring behind the butterfly).

3. The exterior weatherstripping is nearly absent around the front windows. Is this relatively easy to find and replace? What is the best source?

4. The car has a sunroof. Other than lubricating the tracks, is there anything else I should worry about before winter comes? I don't see any signs of leakage in the interior, so I believe for now it is good, but this car spent its entire life outdoors parked under oak trees, so the rubber isn't in the best shape.

Any other advice for a new Vibe mechanic would be most welcome!

1. The center arm rest, as far as I can recall, only opens partially. I don’t think it opens to a full 90 degrees… With that said, it should open enough that you can get a screw driver in there to reach those two screws holding the lid on. What likely has happened is the hinges broke, since most people put their weight on it to shift their body when in the car… They’re very fragile hinges.

2. Have you checked the spark plugs, air filter, etc? Cleaning MAF on these cars doesn’t do much, really. Cleaning the TB does help though. The shuddering has probably disappeared since you disconnected the battery to do these, and the car is relearning it’s idle. Give it some time. If it starts happening again, try to pull the codes. It may have pending codes that haven’t caused the MIL on the dash to illuminate.

3. That is a good question… I need to address the weather stripping on my ’04 GT. Quick search brings me to this which gives a breakdown on how they replaced it… Would be similar on your second gen vibe. viewtopic.php?t=45951 Not sure if a source for the seals... Quick google search suggests eBay or stealership.

4. I would take an air compressor and blow out the sunroof drains. I don’t know about the second gens, but the first gens are prone to plugging up… You’ll then take a turn and look like you peed yourself. Outside of that, there isn’t too much to worry about on the sunroof.


Not to detract from our grand website, but if you’re on FB, come join us there too. www.facebook.com/groups/Genvibe Nothing will ever beat this site, but we do use FB to the extent (not that great) that we can for a forum.

PS: You get brownie points for adding pictures to your introductory post you made.. More brownie points if you add general location so we can try to link with other members in your area if need be.

Thanks! Responses below:

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am 1. The center arm rest, as far as I can recall, only opens partially. I don’t think it opens to a full 90 degrees… With that said, it should open enough that you can get a screw driver in there to reach those two screws holding the lid on. What likely has happened is the hinges broke, since most people put their weight on it to shift their body when in the car… They’re very fragile hinges.

Hmm. The hinge seemed to be in good shape, just the screws were loose. I tried to start disassembling the entire assembly, but quickly realized that it looked like a much bigger job than I wanted to tackle (essentially requiring removal of the entire center stack). Perhaps I'm wrong. The lid won't open far enough to get a stubby in there. I'll try to take some pix the next time my daughter comes for a visit.

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am 2. Have you checked the spark plugs, air filter, etc? Cleaning MAF on these cars doesn’t do much, really. Cleaning the TB does help though. The shuddering has probably disappeared since you disconnected the battery to do these, and the car is relearning it’s idle. Give it some time. If it starts happening again, try to pull the codes. It may have pending codes that haven’t caused the MIL on the dash to illuminate.

Yup, yup, yup. Plugs looked very good - Iridium units with just a hair of normal brown/gray oxidation - no uneven burns, no oil residue and no off-color blooms. Air filter had a lot of acorn shells but in terms of dust, it was good (could see through it). Knocked the big chunks out, hit it with the vacuum and called it good until the next oil change. The shuddering did happen after I did the comp test, so that may have been the culprit, however in subsequent tests of disconnecting the battery, it relearned the idle very quickly (within minutes) whereas my original test drive lasted a good 45 minutes with a lot of stopping and starting. But... Still could be the issue.

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am 3. That is a good question… I need to address the weather stripping on my ’04 GT. Quick search brings me to this which gives a breakdown on how they replaced it… Would be similar on your second gen vibe. viewtopic.php?t=45951 Not sure if a source for the seals... Quick google search suggests eBay or stealership.

Thanks for the link

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am 4. I would take an air compressor and blow out the sunroof drains. I don’t know about the second gens, but the first gens are prone to plugging up… You’ll then take a turn and look like you peed yourself. Outside of that, there isn’t too much to worry about on the sunroof.

Good to know. Are the drains in the aft part of the track? I didn't see them, but I also didn't look carefully.

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am Not to detract from our grand website, but if you’re on FB, come join us there too. www.facebook.com/groups/Genvibe Nothing will ever beat this site, but we do use FB to the extent (not that great) that we can for a forum.

I don't really do facebook any more. I noticed that it was a closed group - am I automatically added as a member there, or do I have to request membership separately?

zbyers wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 10:07 am PS: You get brownie points for adding pictures to your introductory post you made.. More brownie points if you add general location so we can try to link with other members in your area if need be.

While you were typing this, I was updating my Signature and User Profile to include my background info. Thanks!

Our family no longer owns a 2nd gen, so I cannot help further regarding the center console lid. I never spent much time in it to recall how exactly it was, but i know it wasn't much different than mine.

I'd chalk the shuddering to tinkering on it. See how it goes from there and reassess.

The drains are in each of the four corners of the assembly... kinda hard to see. You might see the fronts better when the glass is slide open all of the way. They come out behind the front wheels, and in front of the rear wheels somewhere.

You do not automatically get added.. I think there are a few questions you have to answer (darn spammers!) For pure info, the website is better. If you like bantering and chitchat, the FB group is good.

Assuming you have the same 2 level storage bin/arm rest (top: tray; bottom: deep storage), yes, both "doors" open to 90 degrees and stay open in that position. As was previously stated, the "doors" do wiggle a lot as they are only cheap plastic. Something is wrong with your plastic hinge if it is not opening up to 90 degrees

Actually they open up about 100' - 105' as shown in these pics.

'
The center console closed up


The upper portion opened up only


The lower lid opened up

Thanks for the pic! There is definitely something wrong, then. The center console will only open about 3-4" - just barely enough to get a hand in there. I thought it seemed weird!