2009 Pontiac Vibe

[peacock]

Hello GenVibers,

I've been creeping this forum for a couple of years and figured I should introduce myself. Back in November 2009 my wife and I traded our black 5-speed 2002 Mazda Protégé 5 for a white automatic 2009 Pontiac Vibe. I worked as a Toyota technician in 2007 so I was already quite familiar with the GM/Toyota relationship. At the time, we were trying to keep costs down so we didn't opt for a 2.4 or GT. We also have a 2001 Ford Taurus that I drive most of the time.

With the help of GenVibe (and other Toyota forums), I've done the following upgrades:

- Stubby antenna
- Remote start
- Camry fog lights
- Multifunction switch for fog lights (from 2008 Prius)
- Toyota relay for fog light circuit
- Variable speed wiper switch (from 2008 Prius)
- Curt class 2 hitch 12228 (Used for my bike rack)
- Heated seats
- Toyota Matrix all season mats
- Front chin spoiler
- Fast Wheels Virus 17" (Painted grey) w/ General Tire P215/45/R17
- Painted brake calipers (black/silver)

I’ve taken some pictures while working on some of the vibe projects and will try to get them up here soon.

[peacock]

More pictures:

[trb]

Nice looking Vibe! I'm usually not a fan of white cars, aftermarket wheels, or really dark or black wheels, but your car sure pulls off all three very nicely! I really like those wheels for aftermarket ones.

[tpollauf]

Sweet looking base Vibe I too love those 17" rims What brand remote start did you install and was it fairly simple to do? I'll assume it replaced the original key FOB and the newer one now takes it's place (unlock, lock, panic, etc.) Visit often !

[KITT222]

Welcome! That's a very nice looking Vibe!

[peacock]

Thanks! I picked up those wheels and tires on Kijij for $450. They were silver but I gave them a coat of grey. I also bought the center cap stickers on ebay.

The remote start brand is Nordic. It was installed at Futureshop. I'm a little fuzzy on the details but I remember needing to purchase a bypass module. They had to hack up a lot of wires to install it, so I'm glad I didn't try to tackle it myself.

I don't know if this is the same kit but the fob look exactly the same:
http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/ ... 57fa8cen02

[tpollauf]

Future shops ??? Hearing that told me where you were located (Canada) and since you are in Canada your Vibe has the immobilizer which requires an additional transponder (something like that). Here in the states we do NOT have the immobilizer so for us to install it would go much smoother

[vibenvy]

Welcome! Glad you finally decided to stop lurking and make a post !

Your Vibe is really nice looking! The dark wheels look great against the white exterior. It's cool to see you've done quite a few mods to it. Keep up the good work and keep us updated with any new mods you may do in the future.

[chearn4522]

what kind of heated seats and what year was the fog lights off of, I really do like them
never mind found out my info..tnx

[peacock]

Fog light kit was for an 07+ Camry (eBay Seller: meautopart). I did not use the the wiring harness, bezels, relay or switch that came with the kit. I bought a multifunction switch from a Prius and a used Toyota relay.

[peacock]

The heated seat kit was universal (eBay Seller: heatedseat). I'm pretty happy with the result. Here are some pics:

[peacock]

More pics from the heated seat install:

[peacock]

More pics:

[peacock]

More pics

[peacock]

More pics

[vzDean1600]

Hi Peacock, sure like the white Vibe, Where did you get the front chin spoiler? Did you remove the steering wheel to change the multifunction switch? I just bought a white 09 Vibe base, actually it was my company car, I've had it since new. Its the best company car I have ever had, and I've had lots, new car every 4 years, and been I've been there 28 years. Anyway, wanna make it a little less "base", and abit sportier to give to my son next summer to go to college with. I already have the "ebay camry fog kit" but would rather use the existing wiring and OEM stalk. But not sure I really want to get into pulling the wheel, variable speed wipers would be nice tho. If I do end up pulling it, do you have any tips.
Thanks,
Dean

[peacock]

I bought the flexible chin spoiler from this Ebay seller: comtechknowledgies

It was round $35 and I think the quality is very good. Installation wasn't too hard but I needed a second set of hands. Getting the curves right was a little tricky.

Pulling the steering wheel wasn't much trouble at all.

If memory serves:
Disconnect battery
pop the top and bottom covers off
Remove a couple of screws from behind which attach to the air bag
Pull the air bag (unplug the wires)
Make a scribe mark so the steering wheel in correct placement
Remove bolt or nut
I wiggled the steering wheel from side to side and it came off. (I bought a puller but I didn't end up even using it.)

I uploaded some videos that I recorded on my phone: http://www.youtube.com/user/kcocaepnosaj/videos

[peacock]

I replaced the rotors and pads last weekend.

I bought them locally since shipping to Canada and paying duty would probably end up costing the same. I ended up paying about $525 with taxes.

Front disc: 43512-02240 $79.95 each (you need 2)
Rear disc: 42431-02200 $79.95 each (you need 2)
Front pads: 04465-AZ018 $58.95 set
rear pads: 04466-02260 (replaces 04466-02210) $85.89 set

I used sample Base Matrix VIN: 2T1KU40E29C049168


Here are some pictures

[peacock]

Here are some additional pictures:

[peacock]

I bought a set up from ProClip USA. I should have bought this a long time ago. The fit and quality are very good.

[peacock]

Aftermarket horns installed today. I like the tone of this horn much better. It is hard to tell but I'd say it is at least twice as loud. I bought it on eBay for about $80 with the wiring harness. The install was pretty straight forward. The oem wire uses a blase connector so I can easily revert back to the original horn.

[peacock]

Here is the before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVC3KrcI-G0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Here is the after: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YwCFlOkQoU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;