GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Myself

A lot of cellphones take 5v as a charging input. Check around the bargain bin to see if you can find a lighter adapter for an obsolete cellphone that puts out 5v, and just hardwire it in.

Myself

I discovered that the passenger seatback tray has a nice edge to it. I was hooking bungees under it to keep things from sliding down, and I bet you could fashion some simple hooks that would hang the keyboard back there if you need it out of the way. Otherwise, velcro is my poison of choice. My dash...

Myself

I velcroed a camera to my dash a few years back. I never recorded any movies to disk, I was just serving live video over my cellphone data service. I'd be heading to a friend's house, and she'd know my arrival time exactly, because she'd recognize the scenery I was driving past. No need to call and ...

Myself

Yeah, a service manual would be a great idea if I were only working on one type of vehicle, but I might end up under the hood of everything from a honda to a jaguar. I'm looking for general information.

Myself

Wanted the Vibe: roof racks always come in handy, and I have a friend at GM who might've been able to pull strings. Plus, it says Pontiac on it, and if I end up with another union job, driving a "foreign" car might be hazardous to my health. (morons.)Test-drove a base Vibe, loved the handl...

Myself

I'm looking at setting up a dual-battery system for myself and possibly a bunch of other cars, friends of a friend who need to run a lot of accessories with the engine off and don't want to risk draining the starting battery. RVs usually have these setups, and they're very straightforward.On one han...

Myself

I went to Murray's, and they had Amsoil which will work according to the thread I linked above. But they didn't carry Toyota fluid. I'll try Auto Zone tomorrow. It would surprise me if they had it, in the past Murray's has always had a better selection.

Myself

Now, I know I'm easily amused, but I sat there and switched radio, cd, radio, cd for about 5 minutes after noticing this. It's just sooooo cool! For the next week, any time someone would get in my car I'd have to show them the nifty feature. FYI, the butons work the same way on the CD/Tape model. I ...

Myself

Yeah, I had to change a tire in August and it was terrible. I've used scissors jacks on other cars in the past with no problem, but this one was just awkward beyond belief. The joint where the handle meets the jack is terribly designed and binds up every half turn! Next time I visit the friend to wh...

Myself

Yeah, back in feb '02 when I got my 'Trix, the dealer said the 2zz engine had a tendency to blow up the AWD system because of torque when it hit lift, hence the combination wasn't available together. Optimism remains high that in a future model year they might be able to beef up the AWD components. ...

Myself

My Matrix manual specifies Toyota T-IV ATF. The guys at my local auto parts store have never heard of it, and even the Amsoil "works in everything" fluid doesn't mention being compatible with Toyota applications.Does the Vibe manual specify a different type of fluid? Is T-IV just rebranded...

Myself

The extra tweeters are up by the side mirrors. At the Michigan meet, TritonGT noticed that my Matrix had chrome door handles, compared to the black ones in his Vibe. Each of us wanted the other, so ilquikgtx swapped them for us. Doing audio installs he has a lot of experience ripping doors apart! Wh...

Myself

I had a nifty idea some time ago: When it's winter, you're probably carrying around coffee or hot cocoa, and you want it to keep warm. You've also got your climate control system set to warm up the interior of the car. When it's summer, and you're pumping freon to chill yourself out, you probably wa...

Myself

Whatever the car's lineage, I think it's counterproductive and confusing to keep the Corolla name on this car. It's listed that way on fueleconomy.gov too.My registration says "TOYOTA 4 DOOR", and my proof of insurance just calls it a Matrix. I think that might be because State Farm had ne...

Myself

The Michigan meet today yielded all sorts of interesting tidbits: Toyota's leather-wrapped shifter is apparently not available in the Vibe, nor are the chrome door handles. Matrix side mirrors are body colored, whereas Vibe mirrors are always black. There was talk of ordering some of this stuff from...

Myself

The gauge chrome comes right off if you pull the cluster cover and come at it from the back. That's the first thing I did to my Matrix when I bought it. As far as the gray/silver plastic (like the radio bezel), I've never had reflection problems from it.Today I just had my chrome door handles (stand...

Myself

Woohoo, that really went well! Thanks to everyone who came, and especially to Joseph Pontiac for hosting it. I learned a lot and met a ton of cool people. I'm uploading my pictures into my gallery, everyone's welcome to check them out. Go to http://howstuffworks.rtor.net/ and click the Vehicles albu...

Myself

Who said anything about making money? The fact is, Delco's not selling the adapter I want, so they wouldn't be losing any money by releasing the spec. The only people losing would be PIE, who charge absurd amounts for a simple device.All I want is to look at the protocol, come up with a simple imple...

Myself

quote:He is working on getting me a prototype radio with special firmware to allow the aux button to work correctly with inputs on the back. I also know that the 2005 or 2006 units will have an aux input on the front in the form of a 3.5 mm jack.Well, I'll just have to get one of those. In all serio...

Myself

quote:I've seen some 600-700watt inverters around. Of course I suppose I could always use the 12v socket to plug the inverter into.That's WAY more power than your lighter socket can supply. Any inverter over 200 watts or so should include cables with lugs or clamps so it can be connected straight to...

Myself

Most RDS encoders don't bother encoding the time signal. There are a handful of RDS stations here in Detroit, and only one of them (WDET 101.9) has a time signal in their RDS stream. It's great when driving across timezones, even before I cross into Central, I can just tune a Chicago-based station a...

Myself

Okay, I've got the AM/FM/CD/TAPE model, and I'm not sure whether it can control a changer. The lack of "AUX" on the buttons worries me.I decided to peek at the back of my radio but I didn't have the right nutdriver handy to pull the unit out, so I wedged my webcam back into the dash and to...

Myself

Thanks for the info about the noise, I had a feeling that was part of it. I figure anyone can build a Formula 1 racer if they're willing to make it look like a formula 1 racer. The goal of modifications, to me, is improved efficiency, handling, or power without changing the look, sound, or utility o...

Myself

"room to spare"... yeah. I try to find a pump where the pavement is sloped, and park so the driver's side of the car is higher than the passenger side. This seems to reduce the tendency of the pump to stop so prematurely.I wonder if I could add an air bag on the rear driver's side suspensi...

Myself

Actually when I was driving an Encore, the guys at the repair shop used to call me Inspector Gadget. I think it had something to do with the shop-style dwell/tach wedged into the dash. What else was I supposed to do? The car didn't include one!I work in telecommunications equipment installation and ...

Myself

I had a Sony CDX-M650 unit in my last car, and it had the ability to connect to a Sony changer, which I was never interested in. I did find out, however, that the protocol is called S-Link. It allows the head unit to receive track names and send disc/track seek commands to the changer unit.Someone w...

Myself

On the showroom floor, I poked around under the hood for a few minutes and said to myself "that intake has got to go!". I've had my Matrix for a 15 months and 42,000 miles, and it's as good a time as any.There seem to be several CAI and ram air options available for these cars. Anything wo...

Myself

Factors weighing in favor of the Vibe:I have a friend at Pontiac who could've scored an extended warranty for cheap.Roof rack! The optional rack on the Matrix looks like crap.Attending union meetings in a "foreign" car is dangerous.Somewhat nicer front styling, although tainted by similari...

Myself

Driving home from my brother's place in buffalo NY, through PA, OH, and back here to Detroit, I had about 385 miles on the tank and the low fuel light wasn't even on yet. This includes about 2 miles at W.O.T. showing some kids in a Camry who's boss. I drove to work the next day, the light came on ar...

Myself

It's very easy to get in and out of, when I picked up my grandmother to go to the store she loved it. The seats are comfy, the belts in front are easy to use. I completely understand the 60-plus age group.I also see a lot of thirtysomething women, the "soccer mom" group. With kid-seat tied...

Myself

I'd sue the cop for libel, saying the Vibe was an Aztek. Ewww. That's just not cool at all! I happen to think the Vibe is one of the sharpest looking cars to come out of GM in a long time, resembles the '03 Sunfire but with more dignity, less smirk.The only problem with the Vibe is that it does look...

Myself

It took me forever to figure this one out! After having pulled the radio surround to peek at the wiring, I noticed this big cable running up there but couldn't for the life of me figure out what it did. After days of head-scratching I finally gave up.Months later, I accidentally nudged the recircula...

Myself

Cubby near turnsignal: Registration, proof of insurance, receipts, and when I use a tollway the ticket sits here for easy retrieval when exiting.Left wheel coin holder: Golden dollars, quarters, and a carefully bent paperclip to stop the rattle no matter how many coins are in there. I might glue it ...

Myself

Yeah, same here, if I go to reach for something on the passenger side floor as I come to a stop, the belt stops me. This happens regularly. I'm religious about my seatbelt use, and there's no way I'd go without simply to avoid this little annoyance.However, I can't blame my rear-seat passengers if t...

Myself

I picked up a six-foot extension cord with 3 outlets on the end. It stays plugged into the dash permanently, then coils under the passenger seat with all my junk.At all times, I have a battery charger plugged in, with a set of four NiMH AA's for my digital camera. Nothing like having freshly charged...

Myself

Assuming I don't have a job by then which conflicts with it, my unemployed self will be there. 16

Myself

The Radio Data Service (RDS) has only caught on in some areas, but cost seems to be the only reason not to run it. RDS is simply a subcarrier transmitted along with the audio on an FM station. It can carry all sorts of information, and the specification is long and detailed. Usually you'll find it u...

Myself

A poster on Matrixowners.com stated that there was a cable available to do just this, apparently it plugs into the back of the radio somewhere. He's got the 6-disc changer and the point of his post was to find out whether an equivalent cable is available for that.I've had no luck finding the cable m...

Search found 38 matches

Re: (Jahntassa)

Re: (Jahntassa)

Re: Interesting project if you are ever bored. (Mr. Poopypants)

Re: General electrical info on modern vehicles? (ragingfish)

Re: What made you buy the Vibe over the Matrix? (ArcsVibe)

General electrical info on modern vehicles?

Re: Is T-IV transmission fluid Dexron-III compatible? (silverawd26)

Re: token feature of stock 1CD stereo (joatmon)

Re: First time using the jack for flat tire (vibenorth)

Re: Supercharger for AWD model (millster)

Is T-IV transmission fluid Dexron-III compatible?

Re: Technical Soundsystem questions (Toasted7)

Re: Rear Heat ducts ? (huy397)

Re: Toyota "Corolla" Matrix? (ragingfish)

Interest in Matrix interior parts for Vibes?

Re: Replacing interior silver trim? (fennrysha)

Michigan meet kicked (removed)!

Re: Aux/Line level input into standard CD radio? (johnsoax)

Re: Aux/Line level input into standard CD radio? (johnsoax)

Re: What are people plugging into their standard power outlet? (Herb)

Re: Radio traffic reports (PieBoy)

Re: Aux/Line level input into standard CD radio? (cohocarl)

Re: Which intake mods? (MadBill)

Re: Most miles on a tank of gas (furrydogs)

Re: All the little storage areas and cubbie holes on the Vibe.... (Cidderiforous)

Re: Aux/Line level input into standard CD radio? (johnsoax)

Which intake mods?

Re: Why did you pick Vibe over Matrix (viBert)

Re: Most miles on a tank of gas (furrydogs)

Re: Vibe an old person's car? (Sputnik)

Re: Have you been pulled over in your Vibe? (Lancer)

The little-known recirc cable!

Re: All the little storage areas and cubbie holes on the Vibe.... (ragingfish)

Seatbelts...

Re: What are people plugging into their standard power outlet? (LadyHwk750)

Re: Michigan Meet Preliminary head count (Pablo1669)

Re: Radio traffic reports (MA-VIBE-FAN)

Re: Aux/Line level input into standard CD radio? (PJE)