Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Technical info on the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix including do-it-yourself info
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treesleavedents
Posts: 200
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:50 pm
Location: phoenix

Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by treesleavedents »

The pictures in the old thread are long lost to the ancient sands of whatever, so I took pics as I did it today to make a new thread detailing how to remove the front bumper cover.

Tools:
-screwdrivers both flathead and phillips
-10mm socket
-extension for ratchet
-ratchet
-brain

Step 1: Open hood and jack up car, make sure to use those jack stands kids!
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Step 2: Using a phillips head screwdriver, remove the FIVE things up top holding the bumper cover onto the car. Three are clips so be careful not to break them, the other two are screws.

One screw
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Two screw
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Three clip
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Four clip
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Five clip!
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Step 3: Crawl yo a$$ under that front end and poke it a bit with your 10mm socket (If you catch my drift...) Remove the two 10mm screws holding the wheel well liner to the bumper cover on both the passenger and driver side.

One screw
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Two screw
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Three screw
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Four screw
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Step 4: Gently pull the wheel well liner away from the bumper cover and let it hang down below the car.

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Step 5: Undo the two push pins behind the bumper cover above the lower mesh part of the grill. These are accessed by admitting you like laying on your back under your car while fervently hoping no rusty bits fall in your eye. Seriously though, stick your head under the center of the bumper and look up.

Step 5.5: While you're under there, go ahead and detach the fog lamp bulbs by rotating them counter clockwise and gently pulling till they come free. Let them hang but be careful not to smack them.

Push pin one
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Push pin two
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Step 6: move to the wheel wells, sit on a short stool for perfect heightness and gently pull the wheel well liner away from the front edge of the bumper cover all the way up to where the bumper cover ends and the quarter panel takes over. Do this on both sides.

Like this, real gentle like.
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Step 7: Undo this screw on both the driver and passenger wheel well.
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Step 8: wiggle wiggle wiggle... Yeah! Gently pull out at the edges of the bumper cover, then wiggle it away from the front of the car.

DONE!
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Last edited by treesleavedents on Sun Nov 29, 2015 4:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2003 Vibe GT. PPE exhaust. Injen CAI. Mfactory LSD. Eibach springs. Corbeau GTS2 seats. Custom stereo, lighting, sound deadening, and upholstery. http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 30&t=44330
treesleavedents
Posts: 200
Joined: Thu Apr 16, 2015 12:50 pm
Location: phoenix

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by treesleavedents »

To re-install the bumper cover, do those steps in reverse. Easiest way to get it all to line up is to gently place it on over the foam from the front, then crawl underneath and line up the two hidden clips from step 5. The rest of the bumper cover will fit nicely once those are lined up.
2003 Vibe GT. PPE exhaust. Injen CAI. Mfactory LSD. Eibach springs. Corbeau GTS2 seats. Custom stereo, lighting, sound deadening, and upholstery. http://forums.genvibe.com/phpBB3/viewto ... 30&t=44330
RDUNick
Posts: 32
Joined: Sat Nov 07, 2015 5:21 am
Location: Raleigh, NC

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by RDUNick »

Thanks for sharing the knowledge. I will be pulling mine in the near future.
Currently in the garage:
2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee
2003 Pontiac Vibe GT
2010 Audi S4
vegetony
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 18, 2015 1:50 pm

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by vegetony »

Thank you very much! This is something I was just thinking of doing.
tpollauf
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Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:37 am
Location: Toledo/Oregon, Port Clinton Ohio
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Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by tpollauf »

Excellent tutorial and nicely done ;) Almost makes me wish I owned a first gen Vibe so that I could apply this in the future!
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2009 Vibe GT (manual), 2009 G8Gt, 2009 Vibe GT (auto)
2014 Silverado, 2004 Vibe GT

"everything is modifiable"
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Chiadog
Posts: 971
Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2012 9:41 am
Location: Abrams, wisconsin

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by Chiadog »

THANKS!
krugnet
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Dec 24, 2015 5:07 am

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by krugnet »

Thought I would add a picture that I modified that work perfect for my vibe for future removal.
Attachments
pontiac vibe front bumper removal
pontiac vibe front bumper removal
pontiac vibe front bumper removal.jpg (58.63 KiB) Viewed 22786 times
streaks1783
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:42 pm
Location: Uniontown, PA

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by streaks1783 »

I'm unable to remove the two screws under the rubber very easily. They are stripped out. I know I can remove them, but I would like to have replacement ready. Does anyone have a part number for these so I can order a couple?
zbyers
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: Step by step front bumper cover removal.

Post by zbyers »

streaks1783 wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2019 5:44 pm I'm unable to remove the two screws under the rubber very easily. They are stripped out. I know I can remove them, but I would like to have replacement ready. Does anyone have a part number for these so I can order a couple?
No idea on a part number. Just clamp some vice grips on them to break them loose. It's a screw, with the rubber bump stop over it. You can remove that rubber easily to then remove the screw.
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